A new mat for my Linn LP12

I loved the Herbies mat on my Music Hall, but hated it on the Linn. Herbies gives a money-back guarantee, so there’s minimal financial risk in trying one, but I’ve tried several mats on the Linn and always came back to the standard felt. Of course, it all depends on whether you want to change the basic character of the Linn sound.  I liked what the stock Linn did, so I did not want it changed that much.  

Just use the Linn felt mat. Bought my LP12 in 88'. Kept it a Linn till 95/96; then started to think that I could tweek it for the better. Still sounded great, but didn't realize that I had lost the Linn ability to "Play the Tune" In April, I took it to "Tom" at Ovature Audio in Ann Arbor, MI. Tom overhauled my Linn, - upgraded Tonearm cable, New Felt Mat, put the special mat I had on it along w/ the SOTA Cosmos record clamp in a box. The Linn now "Plays the Tune" again! As it says in the Linn manual. They are continually trying to improve the LP 12!! Stay with stock Linn or Linn upgrades ( even if they are expensive) You will have a great table that will play with other tables at their respective price points.
 
Best Wishes on your Journey 

Hi Peterdamroth,  I have an Linn LP12 circa early 80s.  I have the original Linn mat and the new Herbie 2 mat.  I read on the forums here how most prefer the original Linn, but I decided to give the Herbie's a try anyway.   Most who had tried the Herbie's had the original Herbie's mat instead of the 2.  I don't know what the difference is between the original Herbie's and the new one.   The Herbie's 2 seemed to lessen the bass response slighltly, but focused the mids and highs.  It was a trade off, but I kept the Herbie's 2 on the table.  The original Linn felt mat occasionally would stick to the lp because of static when I removed it from the table and you won't have that problem with the Herbie's.  I almost put the original mat in the LP cover a couple of times because I hadn't noticed it stick to the LP!  

Thank you for your thoughts. I think I'll go for the Linn product....next week, in case someone throws out some new info.:-)

Ivor T. told me to try the felt mat on both sides. Apparently there is a preferred side.