how do you determine anti-skate settings?

I keep it as minimum as possible as long as stylus doesn't damage the groves from the start by sliding rapidly or simply try to place the needle right on the beginning of playable grove.

What I would try is to keep backing the skate level off until the needle just starts to skip and sounds like it isn't playing right..That tells you the A/Skate is too low..Then just add back a very small amount at a time..Once it sounds great don't go any further..As mentioned less is better.....Trust your ears..It works...

In addition to the suggestions above, a commonly used method is to view the cartridge from the front while a record is being played, and adjusting the anti-skating force such that the left or right deflection of the cantilever (if any) is the same as it is when the stylus is lifted off of the record.

Skating force will vary somewhat with the position on the record, so if that method is used the check should be performed at more than one point.

There are more sophisticated methods available, for instance using an oscilloscope to monitor the signals while a suitable test record, such as the Analogue Productions "Ultimate Analogue Test LP," is being played.

As the others have indicated, it is best to err in the direction of too little anti-skating force, rather than too much. Some people find that none at all works best.

Regards,
-- Al

If you consistently observe mistracking in the left channel, decrease the anti-scating; if the mistracking is in the right channel, increase it. You can use test records for this or just listen to your own records. The inner cuts are usually the most critical.

I recently spoke to a Clearaudio rep about this very topic. I was trying to figure out how to set up anti-skate. His response surprised me. He said that as long as your TT is level (use a bubble leveler to make it so), anti-skate is not only worthless, but can actually harm both stylus and record. So, I asked, if that's true, why even bother to supply your rigs with anti-skate weights and hooks for them? He said, "if we don't, people think the design is incomplete or defective." Basically, he said the stylus will track most true in the grooves without any anti-skate at all. He also told me that on cartridge tracking forces, what's listed is actually a bare minimum, tossed out there to prevent a cacophony of phone calls about damaged styli. He suggested that I nearly double my "suggested" tracking force to get optimal results. Take it for what it's worth....I've ditched AS entirely, and my turntable seems to produce better bass as a result. I've also set the tracking force on my Talismann cartridge for 3.5 grams, well above the recommended 2.2-2.4 grams.