Cartridge alignment, WallyTractor, SmartTractor, oscilloscope and Analogmaigk.

@chakster I have a few osciloscopes, I work with electonics, the SmartTractor and and Wally, plus AnalogMagik.

We used to have the Feicker too but it is now gone..

That protractor is one seriously impressive looking piece of kit for sure.

Now stop and think a moment about what it is doing. 

The hole on the left centers and fixes it on the spindle. The arm with the vertical rod precisely aligns the grid with the arms pivot point. This assures both precise overhang (axial mark) and alignment (tangential marks) with the extra parallel axial marks also aiding in setting alignment.

Okay. Great. Do this and you are perfect. No doubt about it.

But, wait! Why are there only these few alignment grids? Well, because the arm pivots. It swings on an axis. One degree left or right, everything changes. All your expensively and painstakingly acquired alignment goes right out the window!

This strikes me as an awful lot of bother for something you will only hear for those few seconds per side when the stylus crosses those null points.

Still, it would be totally worth it - if it made any difference we could hear. If we put on a record and it sounds funny, then better and better until right at the null point it sounds great! But then it gets bad again.... You get the idea. This never happens. Nobody ever in the history of playing records- we're talking millions of people, over a hundred years- not a one ever complained about hearing this.

Well, the tangential arm guys sometimes talk about it. They are so proud of their having a whole different set of problems! But even they never really complained about hearing the sound vary across a record. No one does.

I've tried. The velocity at the outside of a record is greater than at the inside. Higher velocity results in greater clarity, better detail. Always. This I can hear. Miniscule changes in cartridge bolt torque? This I can hear. No problem. Side bias? Yes, when it is dialed in the image is more solid. This I can hear. 

Tracking error changing the sound across the record? This I cannot hear. 

Can you? Would love to hear about it. While you're at it, would really, really love to know why you kept this a secret for so long?

Once the Smartractor is adjusted for the alignment you want and there are 5 alignments, each one with it's own gauge, it is a breeze to adjust overhang and offset angle. The SmarTractor is the best to use because of the very fine gradations with the optical clarity of it's mirrored surface. It is so much easier to see what you are doing I did not have to use the magnifier even though it works a treat. It also accurately measures P2S distance. I used it to mark the spot for drilling the tonearm board. I have no complaints with it. I was not crazy about the price but after using it I have to say it is worth it. It is a precision device. 

I disagree that the Mint is easy to use. It is pretty difficult to pick up the parallax. I have two Mints and they will likely never see the light of day again. I also have the same protractor pictured above (btw, it is nice to see that this site finally allows images) and I like it. 

But, I like handing it over to Brian Walsh more. The better your analogue rig is the more you appreciate what Brian Walsh does. He brings out all the magic. 

I need a magnifying glass for sure, and that is the kind of difficulty I have with the Wally, I have tried almost every magnifying glasses type there is and when it comes to setting the azimuth that is when I struggle. 

Specially with cartridges like Koetsus and others that the stylus is almost buried in the cartridge. 

With overhang I use an USB microscope.