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Mistracking

I am re starting this thread with new found additions.

Does anyone have this new music fidelity pressing? Awesome to say the least, however on Track 3 on side one, "the wind that shakes the barley" I notice only on certain dynamic volume increases the recording sounds as though it was a little "hot" in the vocals? In other words I hear a ever so slight distortion for a split second no matter what volume level I listen to this track at. Could I have a bad pressing or do you think it's simply so resolving, it's coming through via the remaster? Any help or input would be greatly appreciated.

I installed a new Rega Exact cart which has the 3 point allignment that locks you into a nearly perfect tracking angle and I still hear the same ever so slight distortion in the left channel only. Again, only on the parts of the song where Lisa really belts out a lyric. And I tried it with a Graham Slee Era Gold phono preamp, same situaion.

Could the vinyl be damaged due to mistracking with a shibata stylus on the 2M black??

I'm at a total loss.
jimbojrjb
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Again, only on the parts of the song where Lisa really belts out a lyric.
If the distortion were happening during quiet passages then it would be random and I'd agree with Chayro. However, the coincidence with moments of big dynamics makes it far more likely that there's a system fault. The question is, which fault?

I still hear the same ever so slight distortion in the left channel only.
Eureka! This makes anti-skating (aka, anti-bias) the most probable culprit. Unbalanced lateral pressure can allow loss of stylus/groovewall contact during moments of great dynamics (big groove modulations). Excessive anti-skating pulls the stylus away from the inner groove wall, which is where the L channel information lives. Try decreasing the amount of A/S. Most inexperienced vinylphiles apply far too much and I'll wager you're one of them. :)
rodman99999
6,202 posts
 
Another good reason for the purchase of the Shure Audio Obstacle Course test record: the anti-skate test track.
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,490 posts
 
Rodman9999,,,an improperly working cartridge can ruin a test record with one pass making the test worthless on susequent runs.
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
The steady-state conditions of a test record don't teach us how to fine tune for the varying conditions presented by real LPs. The OP's problem is with one particular passage on one particular LP. He may be able to play a test record perfectly yet still have a problem if his passage varies markedly from the test track.

A test record is not useful for adjusting antiskating (or most other parameters) for the dynamic conditions presented by real music. Better to train one's ears to describe a problem clearly (as the OP has done), then learn how each adjustment alters certain sonic effects. This develops our understanding of what we're actually doing when we fuss with our vinyl rigs.

A/S and VTF are adjustments where the optimal setting depends on what the groove is doing to the stylus at any given moment. Adjusting them based on a test track is valid for that test track only. The ideal settings actually vary constantly, as the OP has discovered.
rodman99999
6,202 posts
 
Mr S- Please, tell me: How can a cartridge, with it's anti-skate out of adjustment, ruin a track with no grooves? Mr D- I've found the anti-skate track, on the Shure disc, to be very beneficial. It's saved me a lot of time, when setting up cartridge/tonearm/table combinations(my own and others', over the years). Of course; everything needs to be verified aurally(and further adjusted, perhaps), but- I've found the blank test track, a much more accurate tool than most manufacturers' calibrated anti-skate adjusters or VTF/weight estimates(ie: Those given for Magnepan's shot-in-the-bucket system).
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