Anti skate. I think something's wrong

I think all this discussion of anti-skate is interesting.   My object for deciding to us a/s or not is that when listening to a record, there is an ease in the sound that changes to something else when I apply a/s.  The object of all of this is to get sound that is closest to a live performance (I know that I can get it close but somehow..) Anyway...s/f is applied to counteract the inward moving force of the arm.  What we forget is that the arm is succumbing to that force by moving in that direction anyway.  I am a musician, not a physicist, but the thing simply sounds better on MY system with any cartridge I have installed with no a/s.  If that damages my stylus so be it....I don't have a balloon raise my car off the ground to safeguard my tires...just the cost of doing business.

I am curious about a long length, underhung tonearm.  None seem to exist, yet it would appear to be an interesting option, curing one of the problems with the available underhung tonearms (they tend to be short in length which increases the tracking angle error on both sides of the single null point) and at the same time avoiding the necessity for headshell offset.  Something like 12 inches with no headshell offset angle.  Seems to me that Nottingham made a 12-inch tonearm with no headshell offset, but it was not "meant" for under hanging.  One could try that though.  Probably there is nothing like that on the market, because of the fact that it would require quite a lot of real estate back at the pivot point. It might require a custom-made plinth/arm board.

mmakshak, In your post of 4-15, I am not sure what you are referring to.  I took no issue with anything PL said about stylus wear.  I only noted that his brief reference to headshell offset angle as being THE cause of skating force is not quite accurate.  Otherwise, I would never dare to doubt anything he says about cartridges, especially one he personally has examined with his own eyes.  

By the way, it's Lew M (or Lewm), not Lew N.  You're not the only one who misreads the "M".  Thanks.

Dear Stringreen: "  The object of all of this is to get sound that is closest to a live performance.... "

well my target is to stay closer to the recording.

Anyway, what need we to stay closer to the recording?: a nearest " perfect " cartridge ridding/tracking to the LP recorded grooves. At least is the primary characteristic to achieve that goal.

The cartridge stylus/cantilever/suspension has a very hard days trying to track the LP grooves because the existence of so many forces that has influence during the tracking job all over the LP recorded surface.
The ridding of the cartridge stylus goes from one side to the other and running at the same time up and down even if the LP is flat. Additional to that the excentricity of the LPs introduce additional movements/forces to the free cartridge tracking as the LP waves too. Before the skating force the cartridge is against many other micro vibrations generated by the action between the cartridge/tonearm and from the TT too and all the feedback of those generated diferent kind of vibrations with diferent kind of amplitude.

Now, on all those overall " forces/vibrations  sea " lives the skating force with an additional influence that we can't just disappeared in some ways, perhaps we can set up at minimum for almost no influence but we can't be sure we can do it and with so many variables surrounded the skating force is really dificult to aisle its critical influence in the performance quality sound level.

Yes, you said: I like it  what I listen more with out a/s and I'm with you on this subject or at least I was w test with the Telarc 1812 recording where I found out that some cartridges tracked in better way with a/s that with out it.
Because I want to be nearer to the recording I prefer to use a " minute " kind of a/s till I found out a way that improve the cartridge tracking with out the a/s.

That more open sound with out a/s that you mentioned was my experience too  and now I think that that " better " sound quality could be a form of some added distortion.

My test was performed using the vintage Lustre GST 801 tonearm that has a magnetic ( not mechanical. ) a/s mechanism and I think the EPA 100 too. In a few days to come I will try to do it again with other today tonearms and se what happen.

The analog experience is a nightmare. Everytime we change the VTF in theory we have to change the a/s too and other related parameters.

Regrads and enjoy the music,
R.