[kalel]

Okay, I may appear to be ignorant, and that is because I am.  So please bear with me.  I have recently purchased a used VPI Super Scoutmaster with the JMW 9 arm.  I am using a Van den Hul Frog Gold cartridge.

1) Is it bad that I am playing the turntable on the floor due my not having a table for it just yet?  My previous thread addresses that problem.

2) I do not have a force gauge.  Am I chancing any harm to anything using the turntable other than my understanding that too little force can be bad for the record compared to too much force.

3) If there is no hum, do I need to attach the ground wire?  I couldn't find anything about it in the manual.

Thank you for your advice and patience.

Kalel

[oracle309]

a couple of answers:

• If the floor doesn't bounce, then no problem, If it does then definitely a problem--it will hurt the sound, but not your turntable (unless you step on it). Depending on where in the world you live, "IKEA" or "Habitat" sell the Lack end tables. Stack a couple of them together and you will have an excellent sounding stand for less than USD $40
• Get a guage. They are very inexpensive (or a postal weigh scale or similar that can read to 1/10th of a gram or better--no way around this one.
• Not sure about your arm, but many send the ground down one of the negative conductors for the output of the cartridge. If no hum, I'd leave it well enough alone

Hope that helps. In a pinch you can also use cement patio pavers (about 24" X 18" X 1.5") on your floor and rest the TT on there.

stew

[TONEPUB]

Way too much force can do your cartridge in pronto...

Go to Music Direct or Acoustic Sounds and at least get the SHURE.
It's only about 30 bucks and usually accurate to about .1 gram.

That way you won't grossly exceed tracking force.

Good luck!

[kalel]

Great advice, thank you.

The floor is concrete, so I am good there.  As for the gauge, I was about to order the Shure but then I found an interesting one on the Mapleshade website at a reasonable price.  I will research it a little then order something tomorrow.  Thank you again.

Kalel

[twitch54]

Great advice, thank you.

The floor is concrete, so I am good there. 

Actually you are not good at all, for a concrete floor is a major 'dust generator' ! Good Lord man you have a fine TT there, get the damn thing off the floor !!

[jazzcourier]

Go to the Goodwill or the Salvation Army and get a table.Get yourself a level at the hardware store.Make sure the table is level and get yourself a nice piece of Butcher Block,or a nice chunk of wood.keep that level working to stabilize the table.That will get you off the floor and into the game for almost nothing.Those rubber furniture foot savers are good for cheapo insulation of the table.Keep in mind the damage that can be done without proper hand,eye coordination with arm and stylus.Maybe the word i am looking for is.........delicate.Good luck!

[sanlanman]

Instead of buying the Shure stylus force guage , go to www.saveonscales.com and buy one of the pocket scales with a thin base, (1/2" or less) and a plastic tray, in the tenth of a gram increment range.
(One hundredth of a gram is way overkill for your needs) This same scale can check your stylus guage and be used for other things, and you can buy one for about the same price as the dedicated Shure guage.

Lok at some of them here:
http://www.saveonscales.com/digital_gram_pocket_travel_scales.html

[Wayner]

If you but one of those fancy digital scales, be forwarned, accidentally touching the load cell can destroy it. That is why the $25 dollar Shure is always the best bet, IMO.

Wayner

[kalel]

Tracking force gauge -
I have already received my Shure tracking force gauge and it seems to be pretty simple to use.  I am having trouble getting enough weight on the headshell, but that will hopefully be addressed by VPI next week.

Floor -
As for my floor, my rack has spikes that will penetrate the thick Berber carpet and padding.  I didn't mention the carpet as I was addressing the comment about a bouncing floor.  Sorry for any confusion.

Based on a conversation with a gent at VPI, I am going to go with a 5" thick slab of maple butcher block, which will rest on screws.  The screws will be resting on the top shelf of my Target equipment rack.  I had considered granite but the gent at VPI favored the thick maple with screws.  I can let you know how it sounds in case anyone is interested.  I am having the slab cut by a local wood store.

Thank you for the comments.  Keep those cards and letters coming!!

Kalel

[TheChairGuy]

Wow - 5" slab of maple will do you great, Kalel.

I have a 3.5" block and it did wonders for my TT set-up.

The VPI guys, right hand guy Mike and Harry, the owner, himself, really do take care of their customers.  Superb customer service is the norm for those guys.  Given how finicky a TT can be, it's great to have that backup when you need it.

John

[kalel]

Hey, John.  Thank you!! 

I am excited about the potential of the set-up to be.  I needed the maple (or another material) due to my not taking into account the additional space required for the SDS drive on my rack (another thread).  You know, if it's not one thing it's another.  LOL  Given my lack of experience working on a turntable, I have been a bit unsure of myself.  Right now, the TT is sitting on the floor with a Ginkgo dustcover on it until I can get the slab.  The Ginkgo is pretty nice, too.

BTW, as you stated, Mike at VPI has been awesome.

Thanks again.

Kalel

[TheChairGuy]

Yeah Kalel...you took quite a leap to the big leagues going right to a SSM.....there are better of course (heck, there always is! ), but you have one top ranked deck there 

There was a guy selling one in the Bay area about a month ago (where I am) and it was at a great price because he wouldn't ship it.  I was really tempted to buy it (like $3000 with JMW arm, too).  But, it was 23" across...my maple block is a whopper at 20", so I'd need even longer to fit it in.  It's a dang wide machine...even tho it's less wide than the gargantuan HRX models.

So, I passed for that reason.....and that I'm a teensy bit cheap 

So, I understand your situation...'tis a biggie deck.  Get it going and your likely to be rewarded.  They have the rim drive option (Mike may have told you) for $1000.00 more (with trade in I think) and you'll have stronger, better defined bass (in particular) with it.

Regards, John