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Old 9th Jul 2011, 8:47 pm   #6
Darren-UK
Retired Dormant Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Blackpool, Lancashire, UK.
Posts: 4,061
Default Tracking weight.

At the beginning of this guide there is mention of the assumption that your record deck is in good order and adjusted correctly. However, a mention of tracking weight might be worth including. "Tracking weight" is the pressure applied to a record by the stylus.

On the majority of vintage record decks, tracking weight is adjusted from beneath the tonearm. This may simply be via a knurled thumbwheel which alters spring tension, or via the cruder and more fiddly expedient of physically moving the spring to a different anchor point.

The Garrard deck illustrated in this guide has a more upmarket tonearm fitted with external means of weight adjustment. See image attached below.

This brief description will suffice for the purposes of this guide. This is because the exact setting must be accomplished using data supplied by cartridge/stylus manufacturers and by using suitable equipment with which to check the weight. Needless to say, you must not meddle with tracking weight just to 'see what it does'. If you suspect tracking weight is wrong, then you should seek advice via the Vintage Audio forum section or search same for pre-existing threads.
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