Balancing the arm with new cartridges - desperately need help!

M

Mellie Jeen

New member
Hi there,

I'm pretty new to everything, so please forgive my ignorance if I ask a dumb question here...but...I bought some new Ortofon Concord pro cartridges and have discovered that my records don't play properly anymore...they skip..which has lead me to discover the world of balancing stuff.

I've read a few things on how to balance the arm, but I'm finding it a bit confusing. The articles advise that I need to get the arm horizontal to the deck and then set the arm to 0; which I've done...however, then the cartridge doesn't touch the record. If I adjust the tracking force to 3.5, it still doesn't touch. The only way I can get the record to play is if I move the weight all the way (or just about) forward, but then I'm worried about tearing my records up.

What am I doing wrong here - I know it's probably really simple and obvious.:cry:
 
Once you've set the tone arm to zero, you're supposed to set the weight to an amount specified for each needle. Your paper work that came with the needle, or the package itself should have a weight listed. It may be that they're designed to be used with the weights maxed out, or even turned around, but I'm not really sure.
 
Thanks for the advice! I worked out how to set the arm. So the next problem is that Ortofon advise that the needle pressure should be set to 3, but it maxes out at 1.75. Should I turn the weights around, and if so, do you know what it should be set on the other way?
 
If you turn the weights around, you just spin them in all the way. I'm not sure if a backward weight can fit in any other position. If you're using the Ortofons that are designed for scratching, they should have a really good scratch wear rating, meaning they shouldn't cause much vinyl burn, even with the weights maxed.

A lot of turntablists turn their weights around regardless of the needle. Especially when performing live. It is good to practice with the weights light though, so you don't needlessly wear out a record when you're practicing techniques, plus it'll make you steadier with your hands.
 
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do you have the straight ortofons? what kind of tables u using? is the tone arm straight or S?

the reason i ask is becase i had some straight headshells and styllus, and they wont work on s arms. I had to get straight headshells, and i bought sure m447 cartridge and stylus

when u have thaty setup, get to 0 grams, thearm will just float, then turn to 3.5

also do ur tables have height adjustment?
 
Hi guys,

Thanks for the tips. I've got a pretty shaky hand, so I might practice light as you suggest.

Gutty> Ortofon Concord Pro cartridges and Technics SL1200MK2 turntables.

M
 
yea then you have straight headshell/cartidge

i have had no luck with staright headshells/cartidge/styllus, they always skate

ok so u got technic 1200's, time to move to shure m447 cartidges, they are perfect but pricey, cartidge and styllus is 70 bucks, they never skip, and u know where you screw the cartidge to the headshell?make it angeld so you kinda havea straight tone arm, kinda hard to explain

so, with technics, 0 grams is usually the weight flush with the back of the tone arm, set it to zero, then turn the weight to 3.5 grams, works perfect, i have mine balanced awesome, i can bang on the record and it doesnt skip
 
Gutty's the man, and he's right, you should get m447s anyway. They're better :)

I'd never heard of the S-arm problem with certain needles, is it just that they don't grip, or is it something about the architecture that's the problem? I've only used ortofon-type needles once, and I didn't really like them (luckily I'd brought my own). They seemed to wobble a lot.
 
All my mates go on about how good Ortofons are, so I went and got a pair (incidentally they cost me £70 for the pair which isn't cheap). Doh!

It's good/bad to know that they don't grab the record properly...and here I thought it was a combination of crappy technique and poor setup, but it sounds like maybe it's also got to do with the needles a little bit? I might think about hocking them on eBay and switching to the Shures.
 
I'm sure you could sell the Ortofon's no problem. They're still in mint or "like new" condition, so you should be able to make most of your money back.
 
I've had two sets of Ortofons in the past, if you follow the Turntable manufacturers instructions to the letter, along with the instructions for the cartridge - you'll have no problem (providing your decks arent defective)....

I did go off Ortofon's not because they didnt perform (they performed exceptionally well) - just didnt like the way they looked - compared to my stanton 680s
 
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