I'm a Dummy, Tell Me About Turntable Mats

The Funk Firm mat uses double sided tape. I was able to remove the tape residue when I replaced it with a Herbies Mat.

They are all different. They all affect the sound, but in rather different ways. In addition to whatever they do in terms of vibration effects they also add thickness and change VTA and so will change the sound that way unless you correct VTA. 

Because they are all different and because all platters and tables are different it is very hard to predict what mat will work on your table unless someone else with the same table has used it, and even then you need to know what it did and not just that it was "better". So good luck.

The one mat I would pay money for is Origin Live. All Mark Bakers stuff that I have tried is excellent. The mat is thin, only about 1mm and deceptively sophisticated in material and construction. Most mats are just one material, felt or whatever, all the way through. This is a simplistic view of vibration control at best. What you want is something firm but not super hard at the surface, because otherwise anything soft will suck a bit of dynamics. But not too hard or it reflects them back. Ideally vibrations from the record flow through the mat into the platter and not back into the record. This is the goal. Equally important is this happen uniformly regardless of frequency. Most mats (most materials period) absorb or reflect different frequencies differently. This inevitably leads to tonal imbalances that distort the natural timbre of instruments. In other words they sound tilted up, or damped, or in some way have a signature of their own. You don't want this. But you get it with most mats.

So those are the basics. You have a good table. I would get a Origin Live Cartridge Enabler before would mess around with a mat. Cheaper and guaranteed to be impressively effective. Or both at once. Or both and the belt. Belt compliance has a similar effect on tone and dynamics. But that is just me. Good luck!

I have a Funk Firm Achromatic 5mm platter mat on an aluminum VPI platter. I didn’t use the tape, just set it on the platter. No issues using the record weight.

Other poster mentioned record weight.

You said dummy, so in case you don't know, he meant one of these (other less costly ones exist)

https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-At618-Disc-Stabilizer/dp/B00008B5DZ/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&ke...

Definitely get one if you don't use one, for any mat, existing or new. 

You can always remove adhesive from the materials used for platters. Lacquer thinner will take it right off. The way the record is clamped to the turntable is more important than the mat. The mat should be firm, have a depression for the label and be 113/4 " in diameter, just under that of the record so that the records lip hangs over. There are two decent ways to clamp the record down. The first is reflex clamping. A thin washer is placed over the spindle and the camp only contacts the record at the rim of the label. This flexes the record into the mat. The best example is the Sota reflex clamp. SME and Kuzma tables come with reflex clamps. The second is vacuum clamping which requires a turntable design for it. With reflex clamping you do not need a rim or ring clamp. Ring clamps do not work well and are bulky and difficult to use. I have seen records and turntables damaged by them. They are also additional mass on the bearing. They will not work with any end of record auto lift that I know of.