Finally someone who can take the mystery out of a simple concept. I’ve seen all the anti skating videos and you know how to talk to the common music lover
Wow, this is the best explanation I've come across so far. It's actually helped with with an almost 50 year old Magnavox record changer. LOL I had to replace the cartridge and there's really zero info (for vintage turntables) out there to get everything set back up properly. I got the weight correct with a small electronic scale, but it just sounded funny riding in those grooves. Grinding, scraping.Too much anti-skate! The only way I found out about the anti-skating adjustment was from my mom. "There's that screw right there. You have to adjust it. I don't know how, but that's it." It's a tiny screw to the right of the tonearm. No markings. Nothing telling which direction to go. I didn't know what to do. So, ANYWAY, you're explanation of how it actually works and which direction to turn that screw has helped me get rid of that "groove eating" sound. Many thanks!
Goodness gracious!! I'm somewhat what of a TH-cam junkie and I look at all types of videos. Without a doubt your video has to be one of, if not THE best explained video I have ever seen!! You did a masterful job with your presentation.....clear, concise, to the point, your drawings enhanced what you were talking about......everything was just superb. Regardless of the viewers skillset...novice to an expert...anyone can understand and learn from your presentation. GREAT JOB!!!!!!!!!
Very informative, have owned 1200s &1210s for 20 years, always wondered what the anti skate did. Explained very well, very clear, very appreciated. Types of Stylus explained very clearly as well. Thanks
You have the most comprehensive and easy to understand instruction on You Tube. Looked at other instructional videos for adjusting turntables, didn't understand any of them. Great job!
Nice explanation :) I would humbly add three things (gathered in other vinyl videos) that came to mind and might help some users: - Level your TT (with a 'bubble' spirit level) before doing anything on it. - Regarding the drawings in the video, a stylus that 'floats' towards the edge of the groove will produce an imbalance in the left/right audio channels so if a speaker always sounds louder, this might be the cause. - Lastly, on stylus shape, DJ (round) ones can achieve very nice audio qualities on normal home hi-fi's and preserve records if reverse playback occurs. Audiophile (elliptical) styli perform better but ruin grooves if used backwards. Have a nice day.
Hello viperfrank (James) and thank you for showing this step by step video on outlining us on how to set your anti-skating on the correct dial, depending on what stylus (needle) you are using. I used it on both my Technics SL-B3 & Technics (By Panasonic) SL-1300 & it worked....seriously, this is an outstanding job you did tutoring us with this method. And thank you Mikey Phillips.....I was able to purchase The Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Blue Record EP from J&R Record shop for pennies and I got two for the price of one!!! We, as humans, learn something everyday we live. Everyone here on this blog stay Blessed.
What a refreshing change from all these so-called experts (all USA dudes). I've got a really good vintage turntable - suspended chassis, belt driven - that I can't part with. But never once has anybody told me that the anti-skate setting number doesn't really have to match exactly with that of the gram weight of the tone-arm - and as you instruct, as long as you set it to when there's no skate. Man, before this I've messed around for hours and then watch this and hey presto. Brilliant!
The force that pulls the tonearm/stylus toward the center is call SKATE; the tone arm skates to the center of the record. So, the counter measure is then called Anti-SKATE. As indicated in the video, you want to balance those two forces. It is very subtle, but I can hear it on my turntable, when the Anti-skate is set correctly.
iv been djing for four years, and am ashamed to say that i did not know what the anti-skate was for before watching this, thanks man! much appreciated.
I knew most of that, but your diagrams enlightened me. I never imagined the needle crawling up one side. Just thought it would apply more pressure to one side or the other. thanks.
Thank you so much for the thorough explanation not only of what anti-skate does, but also the difference between spherical and elliptical needles. Now I understand!
I'm not a DJ or anything but I'm a starting record collector and your video's are extremely informative for keeping them in good condition! Thank you very much!
This has been extremely informative. I never really knew if my anti-skating on my old sl-h401 panasonic TT ever worked. Luckily I have a blank record and I've been able to equalize my anti-skating perfectly like you shown here. Now I can't wait to have a listen to hear the difference in quality. I saw a video before that showed me how to tune my TT correctly and the only thing that was bad was that it said to set the anti-skate at the same number as the tonearm adjustment, which for me was 1. Which was terribly wrong. Now I have it set to something close to 0.67 and it looks good. Thank you again for sharing this with us.
Nice work. I've been a pro DJ on and off since the late eighties, and I've never seen anti-skating explained more clearly than in your video. For those reading, the use of an "un-cut" vinyl record is key to getting this somewhat misunderstood turntable adjustment set properly.
Hi James,Gijs Thieme here from Hamburg,Germany..... Just wanting to let you know that your video is exellent and in particular your style of explaning.Well done......
my dad played his records on a gramophone when i was very young and here i am learning all these skills on how to use a turntable in my late forties, all the tutorials i watch here teach me tricks i would never have known about and remind me that young people like vinyl too. thank you.
Thanks - after looking at video after video, and reading explanations, your video finally made the concept clear, and showed how to tell if my anti-skate is working.
Great video Frankie!! The reason I searched. I got a record yesterday, when I dropped the needle on, the needle just kept skipping all the way to the center. I realized by the name of it that anti-skating was the corrective mechanism but didn't understand the underlying mechanics. I thought it was just specific to singular situations with poorly cut records, I didn't realize it was something that should be set to a single level for all records. Good thing I also got a couple 1-sides in my order yesterday. Thanks for the information!!
Anti skate was developed long before DJ'ing and scratching was a thing... It's purpose was to center the stylus pressure in the groove in order to achieve an equal sound level balance between the left and right channels.
Thank you, Sir! I am trying to bring my old Dual CS 522 back to life after years of neglect. This was a very succinct, to-the-point tutorial. You could not have made it any more clear than this! This explains thoroughly why my left channel was always so weak. Thank you for posting. ~Jon
Thank you soo much for this explanation. For years ive always wanted to know how and what it did. I can now play my records at it optimum sound. Have you done a video on how to setup the counter balance for the tone arm?
Been djing for 20+ years and never taken a second thought about the adjustments. Just got a pair stantons after stupidly selling my Technics years ago and just thought what is that dial for and i'm glad I know now. Cheers for the upload.
That was a great help ViperFrank...thanks a lot. I used to turn the counterweight backwards on my 1210's to make it skip less when scratching. I tried this with a 1 sided record & it works a treat. To everyone who uses Shure M44-7's with Technics 1200/1210's. There's no need to turn your counterweight backwards. I find putting counterweight on normally & setting to it 2.5 & setting Anti -skate to 2, I can scratch great now & get no skipping. Try it people...it works well. Peace!
Spherical does NOT make your records last longer - quite the opposite. Advanced shapes can give you the same (or smaller) side radius (better ability to read high frequencies) with a bigger contact surface (less wear) than spherical designs.
Yes! switching to an elliptical will greatly improve the soundstage on just about any cartridge, a cost effective way to improve sound quality and make your records last longer.
yes I would say that I kind of got a fell with the tone arm and I seem to get it right I was a DJ years ago got a good felling all round a beautiful pice of machinery love them glad their coming back.
So when using the blank disc set the anti skate so it pulls a little bit outward? Subsequently, when using a regular vinyl track, it will THEN sit straight down perfect?
@@Tunz909 Yes, on blank disc it should pull a little bit outward. It will never be PERFECT in the sense that louder tracks have more traction and more skating force. But it will be about right. Perfect can only be with a liner tracking arm.
Superb video! I've been using turn tables for over 25 year, but never knew the function of anti skating. Thanks to you now I know. Thanks for the first class tutorial!
Thanks for this! I went through a few different written & video instructions trying to figure out how to calibrate individual parts of the tone arm on an Audio Technica AT-LP120. This is the first video I found which clearly and thoroughly explained the function of the anti-skate feature. On a side note, I used my blank Side 4 of Vijay Iyer's "Far From Over" to test the calibration of the anti-skate, and it worked like a charm with your instructions.
That's even easier. Just set the counterweight back until the tonearm balances itself horizontal, set the dial to zero and then move the whole thing forward for your desired tracking force. Safe range for playback is 1.5 to 2.5 grams, 3 grams to 3.5 for DJ ing some cartridges demand more, some less. Your cart's manual should have the ideal weight somewhere.
PS, get a stylus weight scale, because the counterweight numbers are really not 100 percent correct.Then again, I play my concorde pro's at 2g, whilst ortofon recommends 4g ...
I'm just about to start work on digitalising all my old 12"s, and your videos have been a fantastic help for getting the best sound quality. Huge appreciation mate.
H- it's a great video, BUT I went out and, very luckily, found a one-side LP. However, I found that I could only get the arm to stay in one position, basically near the middle (not the label). That was on about 2.5 on the dial, but when I put the stylus on the outside, it zoomed into the centre no matter how much I turned up the antiskate. Same case for moving the arm close to the label. What am I doing wrong? I have a Denon DP 500 M; cart is Denon - DL 110.
@echoed61 Did you ever figure out if what you first experienced with setting the anti skate was normal and correct? I purchased a blank calibration LP just for this purpose. Instructions for use said to place the tonearm at the middle of the record, lower the stylus, and adjust the anti skate so that the tonearm stays in the middle. Like you, I was concerned with other parts of the record and the tonearm moving toward the middle. What is right? I have the AT-LP120 USB which is known for not having the right spring for adjusting the anti skate. I haven't modified it yet because I want to know if adjusting anti skate with the tonearm set to the middle is the correct method or not because the spring change-out is rather involved.
Do not forgot the Tone Arm the Tone Arm must be balanced as level as you can get it with the needle not just backed off and weighted down. I am a pro and you are right but the Anti-Skate also is to be set by the weight of the Tone Arm, For example you put a new needle on different type, It has the weight so the Tone Arm is to be re-balanced as level as can be then once you have this you turn the weight till the Tone Arm touches the Vinyl then the black nob on the weight is to be turned back to the weight till it reaches the number of the needle used this nob it will bring the weight back to its setting after this is done the Anti-Skate is to be set like you say its normally set too. But donot forget the balance of your Tone Arm if it is not weighted the Anti-Skate will have problems. I have been at this since 1985 and have helped many DJ's. Not Saying your wrong, But the Tone Arm must be weighted right also. There are also video's you can find on this.
@@DJ1Hands1on Your tone arm when balanced properly should be somewhere @ +2 - 3 grams depending on make of cartridge and needle you are using etc, and can make a difference to the anti skate.. Don't trust the tone arm increments as being perfect as they will invariably be slightly out.. Easier to buy a digital stylus force scale gauge, which will be totally accurate.. But you also need to ensure your cartridge and needle is properly centred, otherwise the needle will pull from the grooves in certain positions on the vinyl if not sitting straight, and not give steady sound quality.. That's a job in its own right, and I've seen DJ's who don't bother to do it properly, then complain about the sound, saying, "my tone arm and anti skate is all set properly, so it's not my fault"..
I bought my anti-skating record on ebay for $20.00 plus shipping. Serious vinyl people need this if you like keeping your records in pristine playing condition. don't listen to all the negative comments from the jerks in this thread. you'll notice they don't have and videos up! most are just trolls! Have fun, enjoy your vinyl.
a lot of bootleg twelves are one sided.Boots or white labels were a thing in the 90s.Ask a dj fiend that has a lot of white labels.Some will have a groovless b side
James, I have great respect for you for how you can break things down and translate thoughts to others. I have been a producer in LA for 20 years and you have truly added to my knowledge. Thank you!
max bauer he's talking about placing a CD (write side UP) on the platter and using it to set antiskate, it works for setting the AS but it will ruin the CD. A blank CD is alot easier to find than a blank vinyl disk.
Nice work bro. I've had a set of decks since I was 15 and now I'm 37 and I never knew that is the way to set the anti skate! Appreciated, and you never stop learning! 👍
I would really like to help you as that is not how anti-skate is set. Not dissing you but you need to understand, if you set anti-skate with the tonearm raised or on a BLANK disc, you are not setting it correctly. Its NOT about keeping the arm in the middle with no resistance, its about countering the force that PULLS a tonearm IN. So the way you are doing it, that force will be in place when the stylus in on the album..and will be heard as IGD (inner groove distortion) on the inner tracks. There are several ways to set anti-skate. Trust me, this is not one of them, But like I said, no dis...you are just trying to help folks..
Sorry, not really the right method actually. Putting the needle on a blank vinyl will not put the same forces on the arm as when putting it into the grooves. Although the blank side of the vinyl will force the arm inwards, it is no where near the same force as the grooves. If you use this method, you will set your anti skate wrong, unless you like listening to blank vinyls only. The rule of thumb is to set your AS to the same as your tracking force (stick to that). The needle also has something to say about how to set your AS. Also the TT must be 100% level, not sure the floor of the room in the video is that? It takes a bit more science to do this then just what is shown in the video.
I have a Technics 1600 MK1 which uses a very long straight spring for antiskate. It is so strong that at the last song i cannot use more than 0.5g let alone 1.8g (tracking force of cart) otherwise when you lower the arm down it pulls it back 2-3 cm earlier in the song. Also the start and stop for autoreturn gets out of wack. There is no skipping and no IGD when antiskate is set to 0.
All these technics videos are so helpful. I've had one of those blank sided records for ages, no idea I could use it to calibrate the anti-skate. Cheers mate!
Ha ha Ive had Technics since 1990 and never really understood what the anti-skate did before I saw this! Clearly explained without sounding patronising like some other tutorial vids on here. Thanks!
Brilliant. My anti skating is not working so I needed to understand how it works. This explanation provides this. Spot on - many thanks. Now to mend it!
Nice guide! I always put on my turntable 2.5 vtf (0.5 minimum measure) and same 2.5 on antiskating, but, the dial no got dashes between integer measures (ex. only got 0 1 2 and 3) and always tried to get on middle of 2 and 3, and always the needle tended to got outside. I put 2 as measure and solved! needle stays on its site on all surface, and resulted on less silibance (and that is a very worn needle). My turntable is a akai ap-006 with a shure m44g, generic needle m44-7 and technics headshell
Same thing happens to me on an old JVC QL-A5 I have set up. I believe there's a gear inside the turntable that controls the factory calibration of what 0 is.
that's the best explanation of anti skate on you tube, and a practical way of setting it up, looks like you can forget those numbers on the dial, found a blank record on ebay, but not cheap, think ill have a piece of perspex cut to size, and try this out . ive read you can use a CD, as the blank record.
Oh my God! I wish I'd seen this before playing out at a stack of parties getting completely frustrated with skipping needles, and ultimately looking like a fool. Great explanation. Top diagram. Always wanted to know. I'm sure this will save me from frantically swapping needles on the fly next time! Big thanks;)
Just want to say thanks for posting all these vids (anti skating/weight/height)...it really helped me out to set my 1200. now my records sound sicker than ever. Cheers bro, Roy
Great tutorial mate. Very well explained. Thanks to you I'm now re-discovering my whole vinyl collection. I've had a Project Debut turntable for about 5 years and never bothered with the anti skating counterweight. Ignorance is bliss as they say. Always used to wonder what the fuss was about over this turntable. I just accepted the sound as it was at got on with my life. After fitting the anti skating weight properly, the difference is nothing short of amazing. Thanks mate I owe you a drink.
Very useful vid. Now I understand why I couldn't rip my vinyls properly. Signal from left channel was weaker than the right one. Thanks a lot. Need more people like you to make things go forward. Peace!!!
I just stumbled on your videos and I love them! I'm one of those people that always learns better when I see a picture of what your talking about and you do that in all the videos that I've watched so far! Great video's my friend, keep them coming!
Well done,my friend. This gives the "unwashed multitude" of vinyl users an insight to the finer details of making their grooves stay intact longer. Thanks for your expertise, as I'm a long ago user, just getting back into what I've forgotten.
About the anti-skate with a spherical and an elliptical needle: I used to use the Ortofon Concorde DJ-S (a.k.a. "The Blues"), which has a spherical needle, with a perfect anti-skate at about 1.5 grammes. Now I use the Ortofon Concorde Nightclub MK2, which features an elliptical needle, and the anti-skate is now a whole gramme higher at 2.5 g.
Excellent & helpful Video. Just a couple of things. If you want max fidelity, you go with an elliptical stylus. If you are a DJ, you go with a conical needle because they are better for scratching and sampling. Conical is in the groove the same regardless of the angle of the tone arm. DJ tables tend to have short tonearms causing a sharper angle near the center. Also, DJ's don't really want maximum fidelity; they want loud with lots of bass. I've another comment, I'll leave that separte.
I always thought anti skate was for helping the record from skipping by pushing it forward. Boy was I wrong. After I saw your video I did what you said to do and very happy to be using the anti skate for what it was meant to be used for. You would think that after nearly 40 years playing with records I would know this. Now I do. Thank you for your help.
awesome this helped me so much.Your videos are all fantastic.My turntable is sounding a million times better.keep up the top effort.cheers james from downunder in new Zealand
Thanks that definitely helped. I have been using my tables for a while now thinking that it was properly set up. There is a definite change in quality after doing this.
Good video ! Regarding getting hold of a blank piece of vinyl to carry out the anti skate test , there was a Test record made By Decca records ( uk ) "How to Give Yourself a Stereo Check-Out" which has a special blank track to carry out this very test. It can be got very cheaply on various internet auction sites , it also has many other useful test's .Old and funny but very useful !
Best anti-skat explanation ever!! Easy to understand and made perfect sense. That guy is bristling with common sense, he should be working for NASA designing Mars rovers and tings like that. Thanks and respects.
Using thge same carts/needles as you for scrathing (I mix but can't afford a spare set for when I scratch from time to time) always thought the antiskate pushed it further into the grrove but didn't realise more could be counter productive. Have since calibrated my anti skate properly and shit do they stick 10X better than before! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!
hi there, it does effect balance, it tends to make one channel sound brighter than the other but not to the extent that it can stop a channel working all together, it sound like you may have a problem with the connection, try cleaning the contacts on the back of the cartridge and inside the end of the tone arm and try wiggling the wires on the back of the deck one of the RCA cables may be dodgy, try one of those. i hope this was a help and thank for your comment. nice one!!!
Thank you very much,James! you just saved me buying a new turntable. I followed your instruction and it worked.I still have some fine tuning to do. Also I found out that I have a Stanton 681eee cartridge installed on my Garrard turntable. (I inherited the turntable from my dear brother.) Thanks again!
this vid is so good i subscribed to your channel i highly doubt i'll ever need your other videos (this was all i needed) but i subbed anyway because if you're going to go to this much trouble to produce good, quality videos, then, if you ever decide to monetize them, you deserve it. also you sound funneh.
Finally someone who can take the mystery out of a simple concept. I’ve seen all the anti skating videos and you know how to talk to the common music lover
don't you have google? It's been explained on the internet for many years, so you waited for this to find out, seems kinda stupid to me
@@cirrus1964 Not as stupid as you replying to a 2 year old comment just to put someone down.
Your videos are still the best 15yrs later !✌👍
Wow, this is the best explanation I've come across so far. It's actually helped with with an almost 50 year old Magnavox record changer. LOL I had to replace the cartridge and there's really zero info (for vintage turntables) out there to get everything set back up properly. I got the weight correct with a small electronic scale, but it just sounded funny riding in those grooves. Grinding, scraping.Too much anti-skate! The only way I found out about the anti-skating adjustment was from my mom. "There's that screw right there. You have to adjust it. I don't know how, but that's it." It's a tiny screw to the right of the tonearm. No markings. Nothing telling which direction to go. I didn't know what to do. So, ANYWAY, you're explanation of how it actually works and which direction to turn that screw has helped me get rid of that "groove eating" sound. Many thanks!
Goodness gracious!! I'm somewhat what of a TH-cam junkie and I look at all types of videos. Without a doubt your video has to be one of, if not THE best explained video I have ever seen!! You did a masterful job with your presentation.....clear, concise, to the point, your drawings enhanced what you were talking about......everything was just superb. Regardless of the viewers skillset...novice to an expert...anyone can understand and learn from your presentation. GREAT JOB!!!!!!!!!
Very informative, have owned 1200s &1210s for 20 years, always wondered what the anti skate did. Explained very well, very clear, very appreciated. Types of Stylus explained very clearly as well. Thanks
You have the most comprehensive and easy to understand instruction on You Tube. Looked at other instructional videos for adjusting turntables, didn't understand any of them. Great job!
Nice explanation :) I would humbly add three things (gathered in other vinyl videos) that came to mind and might help some users: - Level your TT (with a 'bubble' spirit level) before doing anything on it.
- Regarding the drawings in the video, a stylus that 'floats' towards the edge of the groove will produce an imbalance in the left/right audio channels so if a speaker always sounds louder, this might be the cause.
- Lastly, on stylus shape, DJ (round) ones can achieve very nice audio qualities on normal home hi-fi's and preserve records if reverse playback occurs. Audiophile (elliptical) styli perform better but ruin grooves if used backwards.
Have a nice day.
Hello viperfrank (James) and thank you for showing this step by step video on outlining us on how to set your anti-skating on the correct dial, depending on what stylus (needle) you are using. I used it on both my Technics SL-B3 & Technics (By Panasonic) SL-1300 & it worked....seriously, this is an outstanding job you did tutoring us with this method. And thank you Mikey Phillips.....I was able to purchase The Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Blue Record EP from J&R Record shop for pennies and I got two for the price of one!!! We, as humans, learn something everyday we live. Everyone here on this blog stay Blessed.
Wow thank you. An amazingly good explanation of something I've never understood.
+Derek Williams no problem, I'm glad the video was useful.
thank you for your comment.
+Derek Williams here here!
What a refreshing change from all these so-called experts (all USA dudes). I've got a really good vintage turntable - suspended chassis, belt driven - that I can't part with. But never once has anybody told me that the anti-skate setting number doesn't really have to match exactly with that of the gram weight of the tone-arm - and as you instruct, as long as you set it to when there's no skate. Man, before this I've messed around for hours and then watch this and hey presto. Brilliant!
The force that pulls the tonearm/stylus toward the center is call SKATE; the tone arm skates to the center of the record. So, the counter measure is then called Anti-SKATE.
As indicated in the video, you want to balance those two forces. It is very subtle, but I can hear it on my turntable, when the Anti-skate is set correctly.
iv been djing for four years, and am ashamed to say that i did not know what the anti-skate was for before watching this, thanks man! much appreciated.
I knew most of that, but your diagrams enlightened me. I never imagined the needle crawling up one side. Just thought it would apply more pressure to one side or the other. thanks.
Thank you so much for the thorough explanation not only of what anti-skate does, but also the difference between spherical and elliptical needles. Now I understand!
I'm not a DJ or anything but I'm a starting record collector and your video's are extremely informative for keeping them in good condition! Thank you very much!
This has been extremely informative. I never really knew if my anti-skating on my old sl-h401 panasonic TT ever worked. Luckily I have a blank record and I've been able to equalize my anti-skating perfectly like you shown here. Now I can't wait to have a listen to hear the difference in quality.
I saw a video before that showed me how to tune my TT correctly and the only thing that was bad was that it said to set the anti-skate at the same number as the tonearm adjustment, which for me was 1. Which was terribly wrong. Now I have it set to something close to 0.67 and it looks good.
Thank you again for sharing this with us.
Wow.....perfectly explained!
Thank you lots and lots for taking the time to make this tutorial for us!
Nice work. I've been a pro DJ on and off since the late eighties, and I've never seen anti-skating explained more clearly than in your video. For those reading, the use of an "un-cut" vinyl record is key to getting this somewhat misunderstood turntable adjustment set properly.
Hi James,Gijs Thieme here from Hamburg,Germany..... Just wanting to let you know that your video is exellent and in particular your style of explaning.Well done......
my dad played his records on a gramophone when i was very young and here i am learning all these skills on how to use a turntable in my late forties, all the tutorials i watch here teach me tricks i would never have known about and remind me that young people like vinyl too. thank you.
Thanks - after looking at video after video, and reading explanations, your video finally made the concept clear, and showed how to tell if my anti-skate is working.
Great video Frankie!!
The reason I searched. I got a record yesterday, when I dropped the needle on, the needle just kept skipping all the way to the center. I realized by the name of it that anti-skating was the corrective mechanism but didn't understand the underlying mechanics. I thought it was just specific to singular situations with poorly cut records, I didn't realize it was something that should be set to a single level for all records.
Good thing I also got a couple 1-sides in my order yesterday. Thanks for the information!!
Anti skate was developed long before DJ'ing and scratching was a thing... It's purpose was to center the stylus pressure in the groove in order to achieve an equal sound level balance between the left and right channels.
Randy Levine really. Do you not get an expression in this video that’s the case?
Thank you, Sir! I am trying to bring my old Dual CS 522 back to life after years of neglect. This was a very succinct, to-the-point tutorial. You could not have made it any more clear than this! This explains thoroughly why my left channel was always so weak. Thank you for posting. ~Jon
Thank you soo much for this explanation. For years ive always wanted to know how and what it did.
I can now play my records at it optimum sound.
Have you done a video on how to setup the counter balance for the tone arm?
Been djing for 20+ years and never taken a second thought about the adjustments. Just got a pair stantons after stupidly selling my Technics years ago and just thought what is that dial for and i'm glad I know now. Cheers for the upload.
Very good explanation. Thanks a million!
+Rick Langley I agree. I clicked on this to hate on it. The guy's legit.
That was a great help ViperFrank...thanks a lot. I used to turn the counterweight backwards on my 1210's to make it skip less when scratching. I tried this with a 1 sided record & it works a treat. To everyone who uses Shure M44-7's with Technics 1200/1210's. There's no need to turn your counterweight backwards. I find putting counterweight on normally & setting to it 2.5 & setting Anti -skate to 2, I can scratch great now & get no skipping. Try it people...it works well. Peace!
Spherical does NOT make your records last longer - quite the opposite. Advanced shapes can give you the same (or smaller) side radius (better ability to read high frequencies) with a bigger contact surface (less wear) than spherical designs.
Yes! switching to an elliptical will greatly improve the soundstage on just about any cartridge, a cost effective way to improve sound quality and make your records last longer.
Great video. Never considered using a blank vinyl to set the anti-skate. Genius! Thank you so much.
See my newest video about using a vintage grooveless Garrard test record to set anti-skating. You may want to reconsider using this technique.
actually you should set it to just a bit more, because the tracks "pull" the needle more than the blank vinyl. especially louder tracks.
Correct.
yes I would say that I kind of got a fell with the tone arm and I seem to get it right I was a DJ years ago got a good felling all round a beautiful pice of machinery love them glad their coming back.
So when using the blank disc set the anti skate so it pulls a little bit outward? Subsequently, when using a regular vinyl track, it will THEN sit straight down perfect?
@@Tunz909 Yes, on blank disc it should pull a little bit outward. It will never be PERFECT in the sense that louder tracks have more traction and more skating force. But it will be about right. Perfect can only be with a liner tracking arm.
@@zagyex Thanks for replying!! Liner tracking arm?
Superb video! I've been using turn tables for over 25 year, but never knew the function of anti skating. Thanks to you now I know. Thanks for the first class tutorial!
the best explanation for the anti-skating ever!
18 years and never knew what that was for until now! Thank you!
"crazy doodle time"
Love it.
Thanks for this! I went through a few different written & video instructions trying to figure out how to calibrate individual parts of the tone arm on an Audio Technica AT-LP120. This is the first video I found which clearly and thoroughly explained the function of the anti-skate feature. On a side note, I used my blank Side 4 of Vijay Iyer's "Far From Over" to test the calibration of the anti-skate, and it worked like a charm with your instructions.
do you have video on how to set the balance of the arm?
That's even easier. Just set the counterweight back until the tonearm balances itself horizontal, set the dial to zero and then move the whole thing forward for your desired tracking force.
Safe range for playback is 1.5 to 2.5 grams, 3 grams to 3.5 for DJ ing some cartridges demand more, some less. Your cart's manual should have the ideal weight somewhere.
thanks!
PS, get a stylus weight scale, because the counterweight numbers are really not 100 percent correct.Then again, I play my concorde pro's at 2g, whilst ortofon recommends 4g ...
Yeah but then again, unlss you do radio, 2g and 2.1g wont make a difference
I'm just about to start work on digitalising all my old 12"s, and your videos have been a fantastic help for getting the best sound quality. Huge appreciation mate.
H- it's a great video, BUT I went out and, very luckily, found a one-side LP. However, I found that I could only get the arm to stay in one position, basically near the middle (not the label). That was on about 2.5 on the dial, but when I put the stylus on the outside, it zoomed into the centre no matter how much I turned up the antiskate. Same case for moving the arm close to the label. What am I doing wrong? I have a Denon DP 500 M; cart is Denon - DL 110.
+echoed61 Usually you set the anti skating to what your counter weight is...if its at 2 the anti skate is 2
Uses LP as mention to set up. Good idea it work fine. Thanks for sharing.
@echoed61 Did you ever figure out if what you first experienced with setting the anti skate was normal and correct? I purchased a blank calibration LP just for this purpose. Instructions for use said to place the tonearm at the middle of the record, lower the stylus, and adjust the anti skate so that the tonearm stays in the middle.
Like you, I was concerned with other parts of the record and the tonearm moving toward the middle. What is right? I have the AT-LP120 USB which is known for not having the right spring for adjusting the anti skate. I haven't modified it yet because I want to know if adjusting anti skate with the tonearm set to the middle is the correct method or not because the spring change-out is rather involved.
@@tooshort4892 i Got the same
@@imxg I never did the spring change-out or any mods. I left it as good as I could with the middle sweet spot and trusted my ears..... Good luck!
This is the best explanation of anti-skating and adjustment I've ever seen. Thank you.
How do you do this for virtual dj
Best explanation of antiskating adjustment I have ever seen. Thanks a lot, mate.
Do not forgot the Tone Arm the Tone Arm must be balanced as level as you can get it with the needle not just backed off and weighted down. I am a pro and you are right but the Anti-Skate also is to be set by the weight of the Tone Arm, For example you put a new needle on different type, It has the weight so the Tone Arm is to be re-balanced as level as can be then once you have this you turn the weight till the Tone Arm touches the Vinyl then the black nob on the weight is to be turned back to the weight till it reaches the number of the needle used this nob it will bring the weight back to its setting after this is done the Anti-Skate is to be set like you say its normally set too. But donot forget the balance of your Tone Arm if it is not weighted the Anti-Skate will have problems. I have been at this since 1985 and have helped many DJ's. Not Saying your wrong, But the Tone Arm must be weighted right also. There are also video's you can find on this.
Wut
Useful additional info
Correct.. anti-skating forces will be incorrect if the tip weight is not set to the actually operating weight.
Deany D Arton does the height of the tone arm play a part also on the anti skate.
@@DJ1Hands1on Your tone arm when balanced properly should be somewhere @ +2 - 3 grams depending on make of cartridge and needle you are using etc, and can make a difference to the anti skate.. Don't trust the tone arm increments as being perfect as they will invariably be slightly out.. Easier to buy a digital stylus force scale gauge, which will be totally accurate.. But you also need to ensure your cartridge and needle is properly centred, otherwise the needle will pull from the grooves in certain positions on the vinyl if not sitting straight, and not give steady sound quality.. That's a job in its own right, and I've seen DJ's who don't bother to do it properly, then complain about the sound, saying, "my tone arm and anti skate is all set properly, so it's not my fault"..
This is the best explanation I have seen for anti-skate set-up and about stylus differences.
Thanks very much.
This is real rocket science isn't it? ha ha! Just one question - where in heck do you get a record that is perfectly smooth i.e. no grooves?
+Mrphilharmonic At the no music record store.
Mrphilharmonic you could use a CD
I bought my anti-skating record on ebay for $20.00 plus shipping. Serious vinyl people need this if you like keeping your records in pristine playing condition. don't listen to all the negative comments from the jerks in this thread. you'll notice they don't have and videos up! most are just trolls! Have fun, enjoy your vinyl.
A laser disc would be better than a CD. @@MikesRecordBox
a lot of bootleg twelves are one sided.Boots or white labels were a thing in the 90s.Ask a dj fiend that has a lot of white labels.Some will have a groovless b side
James,
I have great respect for you for how you can break things down and translate thoughts to others. I have been a producer in LA for 20 years and you have truly added to my knowledge. Thank you!
Its basically a light tension spring that puts force on a rod connected to the tone arm. Nothing hocus pocus.
some turntables use a little weight on a string to achieve this.
WOW!!!! I adjusted the antiskating and the sound of my vinyls improved dramatically!!! Thank you my friend!!!
Use a cd, doesn't have any grooves. Just did it, thanks!
that's a good idea, thanks for your comment.
you dont get it do u
max bauer he's talking about placing a CD (write side UP) on the platter and using it to set antiskate, it works for setting the AS but it will ruin the CD. A blank CD is alot easier to find than a blank vinyl disk.
Nice work bro. I've had a set of decks since I was 15 and now I'm 37 and I never knew that is the way to set the anti skate! Appreciated, and you never stop learning! 👍
Everyone should just check the owners manual for their tt.That will show you how to set anti skating the right way.
Ive been djing since 92 and now i know how to set my anti skating properly... Nice tutorial... Thank you
He sounds like Nigel Tufnel (Spinal Tap) ;)
r3v3rs3tWiLiT3 "This [anti-skate control] goes up to three, but yours might go higher... like, to eleven, maybe"
Hello there! For antiscate adjustment, I was using a CD, and it worked perfectly! No blank vinyl needed!
I would really like to help you as that is not how anti-skate is set. Not dissing you but you need to understand, if you set anti-skate with the tonearm raised or on a BLANK disc, you are not setting it correctly. Its NOT about keeping the arm in the middle with no resistance, its about countering the force that PULLS a tonearm IN. So the way you are doing it, that force will be in place when the stylus in on the album..and will be heard as IGD (inner groove distortion) on the inner tracks. There are several ways to set anti-skate. Trust me, this is not one of them, But like I said, no dis...you are just trying to help folks..
Excellent video. Not only explaining anti-skate but also the differences and benefits of each type of needle. 👏🏻
Sorry, not really the right method actually. Putting the needle on a blank vinyl will not put the same forces on the arm as when putting it into the grooves. Although the blank side of the vinyl will force the arm inwards, it is no where near the same force as the grooves. If you use this method, you will set your anti skate wrong, unless you like listening to blank vinyls only. The rule of thumb is to set your AS to the same as your tracking force (stick to that). The needle also has something to say about how to set your AS. Also the TT must be 100% level, not sure the floor of the room in the video is that? It takes a bit more science to do this then just what is shown in the video.
www.sound-smith.com/faq/how-do-i-adjust-anti-skating-my-cartridge
Upload video and show how actual method to set up properly. i cannot understand the link that provided. Too slow draft inwards !
I have a Technics 1600 MK1 which uses a very long straight spring for antiskate. It is so strong that at the last song i cannot use more than 0.5g let alone 1.8g (tracking force of cart) otherwise when you lower the arm down it pulls it back 2-3 cm earlier in the song. Also the start and stop for autoreturn gets out of wack. There is no skipping and no IGD when antiskate is set to 0.
All these technics videos are so helpful. I've had one of those blank sided records for ages, no idea I could use it to calibrate the anti-skate. Cheers mate!
A very good film, my only criticism would be calling records "vinyls". The plural of vinyl is vinyl and those round black discs are called records.
adam morris ahaha. Cheers
Just tell him “good video” and get on with your day. Do you want somebody who makes movies to tell you why this isn’t a “film”? Internet pedant.
Ha ha Ive had Technics since 1990 and never really understood what the anti-skate did before I saw this! Clearly explained without sounding patronising like some other tutorial vids on here. Thanks!
Brilliant. My anti skating is not working so I needed to understand how it works. This explanation provides this. Spot on - many thanks. Now to mend it!
Excellent video mate! Just bought a turntable off ebay and this has helped me to understand the principles.
Nice guide! I always put on my turntable 2.5 vtf (0.5 minimum measure) and same 2.5 on antiskating, but, the dial no got dashes between integer measures (ex. only got 0 1 2 and 3) and always tried to get on middle of 2 and 3, and always the needle tended to got outside. I put 2 as measure and solved! needle stays on its site on all surface, and resulted on less silibance (and that is a very worn needle). My turntable is a akai ap-006 with a shure m44g, generic needle m44-7 and technics headshell
No problem, just glad the video was of some use.
Thank you for your comment and your feed back.
Nice One ; )
Same thing happens to me on an old JVC QL-A5 I have set up. I believe there's a gear inside the turntable that controls the factory calibration of what 0 is.
that's the best explanation of anti skate on you tube, and a practical way of setting it up, looks like you can forget those numbers on the dial, found a blank record on ebay, but not cheap, think ill have a piece of perspex cut to size, and try this out . ive read you can use a CD, as the blank record.
Oh my God! I wish I'd seen this before playing out at a stack of parties getting completely frustrated with skipping needles, and ultimately looking like a fool.
Great explanation. Top diagram. Always wanted to know. I'm sure this will save me from frantically swapping needles on the fly next time! Big thanks;)
Just want to say thanks for posting all these vids (anti skating/weight/height)...it really helped me out to set my 1200. now my records sound sicker than ever.
Cheers bro,
Roy
Great tutorial mate. Very well explained. Thanks to you I'm now re-discovering my whole vinyl collection. I've had a Project Debut turntable for about 5 years and never bothered with the anti skating counterweight. Ignorance is bliss as they say. Always used to wonder what the fuss was about over this turntable. I just accepted the sound as it was at got on with my life. After fitting the anti skating weight properly, the difference is nothing short of amazing. Thanks mate I owe you a drink.
Very useful vid. Now I understand why I couldn't rip my vinyls properly. Signal from left channel was weaker than the right one. Thanks a lot. Need more people like you to make things go forward. Peace!!!
Thank you 15 years with my 1210's only set them up again last week anti skate works near perfect on both. And i now know what its for!
Thanks for the education! I'm not a DJ but I am new to 'proper' turntables...this helped out!
Very informative video! It helped me clarify what antiscating is for and how to adjust it. Thank you!
I just stumbled on your videos and I love them! I'm one of those people that always learns better when I see a picture of what your talking about and you do that in all the videos that I've watched so far! Great video's my friend, keep them coming!
finally a great straightforward explanation without too much nonsense talking and endless intro.
You win. I've been spinning for years and I didn't know this. Well done brother.
yes your right, thank you. constructive criticism is always welcome. thank you for your comment and your info.
nice one!!! : )
Well done,my friend. This gives the "unwashed multitude" of vinyl users an insight to the finer details of making their grooves stay intact longer.
Thanks for your expertise, as I'm a long ago user, just getting back into what I've forgotten.
Awesome explanation!!!!!!!!!! Clear, concise. You're a great teacher.
So so helpful, i've had my decks for 15 years and have always been confused by the set up! Off to test it out now! :)
@RingsideViolence Thank you, I'm glad the video was useful. thanks for your comment and feedback.
nice one!!!
About the anti-skate with a spherical and an elliptical needle:
I used to use the Ortofon Concorde DJ-S (a.k.a. "The Blues"), which has a spherical needle, with a perfect anti-skate at about 1.5 grammes. Now I use the Ortofon Concorde Nightclub MK2, which features an elliptical needle, and the anti-skate is now a whole gramme higher at 2.5 g.
No problem, glad the video was a help.
Thank you for your comment.
Nice One ; )
Excellent & helpful Video. Just a couple of things. If you want max fidelity, you go with an elliptical stylus. If you are a DJ, you go with a conical needle because they are better for scratching and sampling. Conical is in the groove the same regardless of the angle of the tone arm. DJ tables tend to have short tonearms causing a sharper angle near the center. Also, DJ's don't really want maximum fidelity; they want loud with lots of bass.
I've another comment, I'll leave that separte.
I always thought anti skate was for helping the record from skipping by pushing it forward. Boy was I wrong. After I saw your video I did what you said to do and very happy to be using the anti skate for what it was meant to be used for. You would think that after nearly 40 years playing with records I would know this. Now I do. Thank you for your help.
awesome this helped me so much.Your videos are all fantastic.My turntable is sounding a million times better.keep up the top effort.cheers james from downunder in new Zealand
Thank you, I'm glad the video was of some use.
thank you for your comment.
Nice One ; )
Excellent video explaining the anti skate facility. You took out the mystery about it all. Well done. Thanks.😊
Thanks that definitely helped. I have been using my tables for a while now thinking that it was properly set up. There is a definite change in quality after doing this.
Good video ! Regarding getting hold of a blank piece of vinyl to carry out the anti skate test , there was a Test record made By Decca records ( uk ) "How to Give Yourself a Stereo Check-Out" which has a special blank track to carry out this very test. It can be got very cheaply on various internet auction sites , it also has many other useful test's .Old and funny but very useful !
thank you for this nice explanation. im always happy when someone explaines very properly like he knows what hes talking about!
Best anti-skat explanation ever!! Easy to understand and made perfect sense.
That guy is bristling with common sense, he should be working for NASA designing Mars rovers and tings like that.
Thanks and respects.
Finally a great explanation I found nowhere else on websites. And with a blank vinyl I already had, could set it up properly!
Using thge same carts/needles as you for scrathing (I mix but can't afford a spare set for when I scratch from time to time) always thought the antiskate pushed it further into the grrove but didn't realise more could be counter productive. Have since calibrated my anti skate properly and shit do they stick 10X better than before! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!
Thanks for this video. I've been having issues with my player not reaching a full sound. This helped a lot.
Thanks again :)
hi there, it does effect balance, it tends to make one channel sound brighter than the other but not to the extent that it can stop a channel working all together, it sound like you may have a problem with the connection, try cleaning the contacts on the back of the cartridge and inside the end of the tone arm and try wiggling the wires on the back of the deck one of the RCA cables may be dodgy, try one of those. i hope this was a help and thank for your comment.
nice one!!!
Greatly helpful. I wasnt much for messing with that knob till i knew. Great way to explain it.
Thank you for taking the time to do this video, your presentation really helped me grasp what anti-skating means.
Thank you very much,James! you just saved me buying a new turntable. I followed your instruction and it worked.I still have some fine tuning to do. Also I found out that I have a Stanton 681eee cartridge installed on my Garrard turntable. (I inherited the turntable from my dear brother.) Thanks again!
this vid is so good i subscribed to your channel
i highly doubt i'll ever need your other videos (this was all i needed) but i subbed anyway because if you're going to go to this much trouble to produce good, quality videos, then, if you ever decide to monetize them, you deserve it.
also you sound funneh.