tracking distortion on a p5 + rega cartridge?

As far as record cleaning... I give em a go with Orbitrac 2 (to get alot of the initial grime/dust/debris off), followed by a thorough clean with the Nitty Gritty 1.5fi. Then a quick spray with compressed air before playing.

I can't imagine vinyl getting any cleaner than that...

Well, just tried the Baerwald alignment with my existing setup... exact same prob. Distortion in the right channel. Adjusting the antiskate doesnt help either.

Guess I'll wait for my new cartridge to arrive.

BTW, is it safe to use Caig ProGold contact cleaner on both the headshell and tonearm leads (or whatever you call the wires that connect the arm to the cartridge)? Just want to make sure...

The problem is now if you have actually damaged any records and so don't use any new ones for testing,as the damage does not have a magical cure.If you have something you can use for testing by all means try to get your adjustments right.I would go to the Van Den Hul cartridges site and look for their phono faq which you can download.It is one of the best comprehensive intros around.Mr.Van Den Hul recommends contact oil to improve the cartridge/tonearm connection.I would be wary of getting contact cleaner on the cartridge as there are delicate parts that might be affected by aggressive chemicals.

sigh...

well, installed a brand new Exact cart, aligned with geodisc (baerwald and cleaned the tonearm leads with caig progold.

Right channel distortion remains.

???

Sorry to hear about this.Obviously to my mind you have alignment issues happening.Have you checked your azimuth and overhang to see if they are correct? You can check with a level if the Rega arm's face where it meets the cartridge is perfectly flat.