squaddy Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Well I have been in the process of reviving my 1200MK2s. Just replaced the rca on one and had an internal ground mod performed. So far so good, except, my anti - skate doesn't work at all. In order to test my anti - skate, since I do not have any vinyl with a blank side, I simply position my counter weight all the way to the rear of the tonearm so that it's suspended & move my anti skate value from 0 - 3 & vice versa. Nothing happens there is no movement of my tonearm from the spindle to the arm rest...absolutely nothing happens. My tonearm remains at rest. As for basic/intermediate scratching, I am quite surprised there isn't much skipping at all. The needle stays in the groove for the most part. Of course it can be improved but it only jumps when intense pressure is applied with techniques such as scribbles etc. I guess my question here is: If I do have an Anti - Skate issue should I replace the fixing plate or do you think I should just replace my tonearm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericuk Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Its a small possibility that the horizontal pivot on the tonearm could be over tightened slightly thus preventing the antiskate's force from moving the tonearm. Secondly, I've never used antiskate (and I'm a heavy handed mofo) so I doubt you'll be missing anything. If you want real skip proof action, try and pick up a cheap pdx 2000 or a TT500 :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Rock Well Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Anti-skate is really about getting the needle to track correctly during playback (generally you match the tone arm weight and the antiskate)... with scratching it's more of an unnecessary hindrance. For scratching, this will help... If when your needle skips, it always jumps back to the previous groove - you've got to much anti-skate. If it skips into the subsequent groove, you don't have enough anti-skate. If it skips either forwards or backwards in equal amounts, then you've got about the right amount and it's only you're own skills and the quality of your stylus that are potentially holding you back. The vast majority of scratch djs just leave on zero and keep it well out of the equation. That said, with my current ortofon Q-Berts, headshell weight and the hands I've had since I was born, I find 1 gram of anti-skate works best for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waxdestroyer Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Anti-skate is really about getting the needle to track correctly during playback (generally you match the tone arm weight and the antiskate)... with scratching it's more of an unnecessary hindrance. For scratching, this will help... If when your needle skips, it always jumps back to the previous groove - you've got to much anti-skate. If it skips into the subsequent groove, you don't have enough anti-skate. If it skips either forwards or backwards in equal amounts, then you've got about the right amount and it's only you're own skills and the quality of your stylus that are potentially holding you back. The vast majority of scratch djs just leave on zero and keep it well out of the equation. That said, with my current ortofon Q-Berts, headshell weight and the hands I've had since I was born, I find 1 gram of anti-skate works best for me. cosign. 1 gram works best for me as well..i use Tech M5Gs so i tightened the tonearms with the spring adjustment..together with M447s cant go wrong..unless the record is too warped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squaddy Posted January 31, 2013 Author Share Posted January 31, 2013 Its a small possibility that the horizontal pivot on the tonearm could be over tightened slightly thus preventing the antiskate's force from moving the tonearm. Secondly, I've never used antiskate (and I'm a heavy handed mofo) so I doubt you'll be missing anything. If you want real skip proof action, try and pick up a cheap pdx 2000 or a TT500 :-) Thank you for your response. I was just wondering if the fact that my anti-skate was not working will affect my cartridge and tonearm performance in any way. Based on your response it appears that there's a possibility that my anti-skate may not be the culprit. I was trying to avoid messing with any of the pivots since any further damage may be irreversible. Nevertheless, I appreciate your reply. I prefer to stick with my techs though, I really don't have any extra cash at the moment to purchase a new pair of decks. Thanks again for the suggestion, I will definitely keep that in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squaddy Posted January 31, 2013 Author Share Posted January 31, 2013 Anti-skate is really about getting the needle to track correctly during playback (generally you match the tone arm weight and the antiskate)... with scratching it's more of an unnecessary hindrance. For scratching, this will help... If when your needle skips, it always jumps back to the previous groove - you've got to much anti-skate. If it skips into the subsequent groove, you don't have enough anti-skate. If it skips either forwards or backwards in equal amounts, then you've got about the right amount and it's only you're own skills and the quality of your stylus that are potentially holding you back. The vast majority of scratch djs just leave on zero and keep it well out of the equation. That said, with my current ortofon Q-Berts, headshell weight and the hands I've had since I was born, I find 1 gram of anti-skate works best for me. My current anti-skate setting is at 0 based on sure's recommendation for the N-447. That's what I'm running on my Techs 1200MK2. Thanks for the info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squaddy Posted January 31, 2013 Author Share Posted January 31, 2013 cosign. 1 gram works best for me as well..i use Tech M5Gs so i tightened the tonearms with the spring adjustment..together with M447s cant go wrong..unless the record is too warped When you say you tightened the tonearms, with the spring adjustment what do you mean? Are you referring to the anti-skate spring/cancelling spring or whatever it's called? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squaddy Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 Here's a video of what happens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 it's a combination of what eric and rockwell have said. you're at neutral antiskate at the moment, if you really want to you can fiddle with the gimbal suspension by loosening the screws on the tonearm but there's really very little need because antiskate is only really necessary when working with light carts with low track hifi tonearms that get pulled out of rotation by the record rotation. There are two screws that will adjust how the tonearm flexes and it's only really if your tonearm won't go up and down freely or drags *in* that you need to fuck with it, if you're only djing and scratching with a spherical needle like the m447 you're fine imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squaddy Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 Thanks for your insight Chris, I guess I have been misled or confused by too much information & rehearch. I just wanted everything to be in tip top shape when scratching & spinning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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