Anti-Skate dial-How to set it? + a bonus question

I would just get a Shure mechanical one; I have found the digital ones unreliable and prone to failure. Some quite good arms did not have the anti skate calibrated correctly; the Grace 707 provided twice the necessary force if I remember. I would start with the minimum and slowly increase it if you think it necessary. Most of the time I use none at all; I have never even installed the AS part of my Graham 2.2. No matter where you set it it will be wrong for most of the record anyway.

So Stanwal, while it seems a precise science what is wrong listening for the sound tou like the best?/ I noticed that no one amongst the analog gurus will say they change he VTF for specific recordings. I hope more respond.

A cartridge's ability to track correctly depends on a number of things, however the range of acceptable VTF is very small. To set the VTF at "what seems like a light force" is madness. There may be legitimate reason to change VTF to suit a particular record, but get a good scale and experiment with the VTF within the range recommended by the manufacturer. Most cartridges cannot track correctly at the low end of this range except on the very best tonearms. Set it too light and the stylus cannot maintain solid contact with the groove. The stylus can then bounce around causing groove damage. It's better to be a little too heavy than a little too light.

While some on here have said that they change the TRACKING ANGLE for different records, even writing the correct angle on the jacket, I don't remember anyone changing the force. I was suggesting you set the anti skate by ear if you want to use it; too little being preferable to too much IMHO. There is little about LP playback that is agreed upon; look at Vinyl Engine for more info on arm set up and proper geometry etc.

Q1)IMO a good starting point for anti-skating adjustment, which can then be further optimized by listening, can be determined by observing the cartridge from the front as it is lowered onto a ROTATING record, and adjusting the setting such that the cantilever deflection to the left or right, if any, is the same when the stylus is in the groove as when it is not. Since the setting may vary at different points on the record, perform this check at several points and find the best compromise.

Based on my experience with older turntables I suspect that the numerical value of the setting that is found in that manner, as indicated on the anti-skate dial scale, will be in the rough vicinity of 60% of the value of the tracking force.

Q2)I second the caution about the possibility of groove damage if VTF is set too light. Usually some value towards the upper end of the range suggested by the cartridge manufacturer is best.

Q3)I don't.

Best regards,
-- Al