Will fine tune adjustments with protractor help with "brightness?"

Milty was a great suggestion and use it regularly. Anti static brushes, ointments, salves, I've got em all. All records clean with Record Doctor, stored in anti sleeves, the whole works. Still get static once played and pulled from TT. I Milty and play the other side or store it. 

@chakster :

Great minds think alike. 

@chakster  I've been wondering if there's a "set up" album for about a week now. I've been curious regarding a few albums with the voice placement and thought how nice it would be if there was a record you could test your system to too. Would this album have this voice placement test?

Knollbrent,
  There are probably hundreds of LPs that were created for testing and setting up audio systems. Many of them were made and marketed by Shure, the cartridge company.  Audio Teknika also made several.  I wouldn’t really know where to begin in order to tell you what you should seek. Stereophile made a series of at least five CDs that provide for testing of vocal reproduction, but that’s on CD. One of the best test LPs made in recent decades is the Cardas test LP, but that one doesn’t have human voice.

Set-up will affect the sound. Period. I suggest that you buy the right equipment right away, and no more guessing. But note that the best installation won't do much for a damaged or malfunctioning tonearm.

Alignment will affect the sound, and is the most obvious candidate for your problem, in my opinion. Lew posted a very good response. A good protractor is worth it's weight in cursing.

So will VTA: higher at the pivot is brighter. There is a distinct point at which the sound changes from bright to mellow.

So will azimuth (looking at the cartridge from the front, the angle at which the stylus meets the record). Exactly vertical is what you want.

So will the exact angle at which the cartridge is installed, especially with more exotic stylus shapes. Good callipers are handy here to install the cartridge exactly parallel to the headshell.

So will torque on the mounting screws. I did not even bother to test such a crazy hypothesis until I saw a posting by a Linn engineer. Then I bought a torque screwdriver, and heard the difference, as did my wife, as did my friends.

Any or all of these might affect the exact problem which you identify. There are too many variables to be sure - the easiest (!!! yeah, but it's true !!) thing, is to do the most accurate installation you can, and try it out on many records. Then make fine adjustments accordingly.

Antiskating and VTF should not affect the situation you describe, unless your tonearm is malfunctioning.

Hey, it's a hobby !