Do Not Tolerate Mistracking-Ever!!

[flavio81]

Causes of mistracking, most likely to least likely

1. Dirty stylus
2. Dirty record
3. Too low VTF
4. Wrong cartridge alignment
5. Damaged record
6. Worn stylus
7. Poor quality stylus assembly
8. Tonearm effective mass too low / cartridge compliance too low for the tonearm
9. "Grado dance" / cartridge wants fluid damping or other tonearm
10. Cartridge is not a great tracker (very unlikely)
11. Too much AS (unlikely)

 

[rnorton]

Mistracking IS a fact of life for anyone not using a linear tracking arm. Except, of course, for two points on on the disc. Radial arms have NEVER made any sense to me.

 

[flavio81]

Mistracking IS a fact of life for anyone not using a linear tracking arm.

Care to explain? I think you're using the "mistracking" word for a meaning that is different to the generally used meaning.

My radial arm tracks beautifully, by the way. Right to the innermost groove with no distortions.

 

[Karma16]

Mistracking IS a fact of life for anyone not using a linear tracking arm. Except, of course, for two points on on the disc. Radial arms have NEVER made any sense to me.

HI rnorton,
Mistracking IS DEFINITELY NOT a fact of life either for pivoted or linear arms. I have both. I have a Graham 2.2 Deluxe unipivot arm and a Eminent Technology ET2.5 linear tracking air bearing arm and both track perfectly.

I think you may be misusing the term "mistracking". I use it in the sense that distortion is caused by the stylus loosing contact with the groove wall and momentarily produces crackling or sibilant distortion. For example, inner groove distortion is a type of mistracking. And, as flavio has pointed out, there are several common causes of mistracking.

This is definitely not the same as distortion caused by tracking error which is much more benign and subtle.

Sparky

 

[iLUVanalog]

Mistracking IS a fact of life for anyone not using a linear tracking arm. Except, of course, for two points on on the disc. Radial arms have NEVER made any sense to me.

Really?????? Despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of turntables throughout their history have radial/pivoted arms?????

 

[iLUVanalog]

HI rnorton,
Mistracking IS DEFINITELY NOT a fact of life either for pivoted or linear arms. I have both. I have a Graham 2.2 Deluxe unipivot arm and a Eminent Technology ET2.5 linear tracking air bearing arm and both track perfectly.

I think you may be misusing the term "mistracking". I use it in the sense that distortion is caused by the stylus loosing contact with the groove wall and momentarily produces crackling or sibilant distortion. For example, inner groove distortion is a type of mistracking. And, as flavio has pointed out, there are several common causes of mistracking.

This is definitely not the same as distortion caused by tracking error which is much more benign and subtle.

Sparky

Agreed. And while I may not have the same caliber tonearms Sparky has, my less expensive tables with a standard arm (ATLP240 for example) and linear arm (Sony PSLX55II) don't give me any problems because they are SET UP CORRECTLY.....it's all about correct set-up.

 

[ponderwilu]

Could someone actually define "mistracking"?

I don't believe my table mistracks...but how does one know??

silly question? :headscrat

When I decided to get back into playing records again (ooops I mean vinyl) I wanted to do it right this time so my education began. You can make a science out of it... I did. Simply put if the stylus is not properly aligned with the grooves it will at the very least produce sound distortion and at it's worse ruin the record. There are many factors that can be the culprit but a good first step in avoiding the issue would be to properly set up your cartridge in the first place. Here's how to properly do that if you haven't already ...
http://stereos.about.com/od/systemsetup/ss/Turntablesetup.htm

Now stop reading before you go any further and go to the kitchen and get a hot cup of joe and a plate of jelly donuts before continuing. Here's where the fun starts. But hey ... I got thru it and you can too!
http://www.soundfountain.com/amb/ttadjust.html

After that is accomplished I still wanted to nail it, so I bought one special record that is specifically designed to reveal the slightest failure in the path between the stylus and my ears, which afterall is the name of the game. If you fail any of these test you'll need to delve into that particular area to resolve the issue. Here's a link to where you can get the test record and a link describing all it's functions.
http://www.needledoctor.com/Hi-Fi-News-Test-Record
http://www.vinylengine.com/hfn-001-test-lp.shtml

It's a hobby ... right? Have fun with it. But remember ... in the end ... the sound you take ... is equal to ... the sound you make.:thmbsp:

 

[GrampaDave]

Hey, that looks like my area. Only nicer.

Let's say you're playing - without mistracking - a record previously damaged by mistracking. Does that sound the same as mistracking occurring now? Can you tell the difference? How does it sound different? (I'm asking about the sound - switching carts is cheating.)

Dave