Turntable stabilising clamps

[Edward Huggins]

The concurrent and long running Thread on "Vinyl Record Cleaning" has now segued into the virtues of Record Clamps.
I have never used one, but am prepared to try......he said, gamely.
I guess my concern is the stress the additional (and necessary) weight/mass may put on to my four Belt Drive/DC Motor TTs - 2 x Rega 3s, Project Elemental and Thorens TD170.
Also I assume I might need to strobe test and, where necessary, tweak the speeds?
If I had Direct or Idler Drive units, I probably would not have raised this.
Views, Comments, as always, will be welcomed!

[Beobloke]

It depends on what you are intending to use - a record clamp is different to a record weight. A clamp can be a simple perspex or plastic item that is very light, such as the Michell clamp you can see on this page: https://www.michell-engineering.co.u...ce-accessories

This is an item that is physically pushed down and then the knob is tightened to grip the spindle - it's very light and so shouldn't upset any suspensions or feeble rubber band motors (sorry, couldn't resist...). Note - if you fancy one of these, you'll need the special version for your Rega decks if either is a recent version with the shorter centre spindle.

On the other hand, the solid lump of slate that you can see at the bottom of this page is definitely a record weight. https://www.northwestanalogue.com/sl...s-plinths.html

I have one and you could definitely use it to open a window the quick way. I wouldn't recommend one of these for your decks, but my Garrard 301 and 401 don't even notice it.

And then of course there's the periphery clamp such as shown here - https://www.better-records.com/produ...d=TTWring_1150 I've had one tucked away in a cupboard for about ten years - I really should dig it out and give it a go!

[Edward Huggins]

Many thanks for the message and associated links. I've been listening to Vinyl since 1955 and have always rather poo-pooed such devices as fads. Being brought up on Collaro 4TPs and SP25s, such thingys were just not around then. Even in these my later years, this is something I've never fussed with. But having read the Thread I might explore more.
Given my, er, puny drive systems, the Record Clamp looks more like the route to follow so I'll investigate further.

[ajgriff]

Many years ago I had the use of a Revolver belt driven deck for a few weeks. It was fitted with a Linn arm plus cartridge and came with Revolver's very own Pig which looked rather like a rubberised chess pawn. This is the Hi-Fi News description of the Pig:

'Also supplied with the deck was a novel and rather small rubber record clamp which also got its own name – The Pig (Precision Instant Grip). The idea was to push it over the spindle, so clamping – to an extent – the disc firmly against the mat.'

Subjectively I did think that the Pig offered a slight but audible improvement in the clarity of reproduction. At the time I put this down to a damping effect on vibrations emanating from the platter bearing. I did wonder if Revolver was aware of a bearing issue and used the Pig to compensate. Being light it had no appreciable effect on belt or motor.

Moving forward a few years I came across a purpose built weight at a good price. I tried it on a rather average Trio (Kenwood) belt driven turntable with an MM cartridge and later on a similarly driven Linn Basik deck with an MC cartridge. In both cases I found the results disappointing whereby the weight seemed to induce a sort of muddy quality to the sound. I can offer no scientific explanation other than to speculate about matters such as amplification of vinyl resonance or vibration. The weight certainly slowed the time it took for the decks to reach the correct speed but I don't know if there would have been any adverse mechanical effects in the longer term.

In conclusion I think you're inclination to try the clamp option makes sense. It'll be interesting to learn what you think.

Alan

[Radio Wrangler]

Some of these clamps seem more appropriate for re-cutting a record rather than playing it

David

[DonaldStott]

Record Clamps - simple answer, not for me!

I have a felt mat on my turntable platter which helps to decouple the record from resonances and noise associated with the drive system, suspension and other components.

You may, however, opt for a record clamp to hear more of this noise and less of the music.

Looking forward to Edward's findings and feedback (oops, sorry about the pun!)

[Whaam68]

As a counterpoint I’ve been using this eBay cheapie on my old planar 3 for years and to me it does make a positive difference compared to without. That said I have an offboard power supply for the motor and it doesn’t affect the speed. Worth a try.

[Radio Wrangler]

Clamps and things to hold records down were fine and useful things back in the seventies, when you were lucky if you got a vaguely flat record in some genres.

And, yes, they did improve the sound, they removed the wow induced by warps.

David

[ajgriff]

Originally Posted by Radio Wrangler

.... And, yes, they did improve the sound, they removed the wow induced by warps.

David

Not entirely sure they even did that as all the pressure's concentrated in the middle. Ok for one side of a dished disc maybe and not much help with wavy ones from my admittedly limited experience.

Alan

[Radio Wrangler]

I was looking at one referred to above that clamped the LP round its periphery.

David

[ajgriff]

Never tried one of those. Think I'll pass anyway!

Alan

[qualityten]

Only $299 to try out.