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bluethumb

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Posts posted by bluethumb

    Motor Hum: A Story of Victory

    in Turntables & Other Audio Equipment

    Posted

    I thought I would throw this together for any others experiencing a similar issue - it may be common sense to some, but it sure helped me.

     

    TLDR: Oil your motors and sub-platters!

     

    I've had my current Pro-Ject table for about 8 years now, nothing special but it's been a solid performer and never let me down. Over the past year or so I noticed a very slight hum developing - this would occur only when the needle was in contact with a moving record. After searching high and low, attaching and detaching motor mounts, oiling parts, replacing the belt, isolating the table, etc., I could not get the hum to go away and over time it became more and more noticeable.

     

    At this point, I had just about accepted this as part of my set-up when I stumbled on an old post in the blackholes that are audio forums from the early aughts. I was turned on to a small bottle of sewing machine lubricant and a few places to try oiling so I thought "what could it hurt?"

     

    I started by oiling the base of the motor spindle, which immediately made a noticeable difference in sound, the hum had been reduced to about 60%. In search of the cleanest sound possible, I started poking around the table for more metal-on-metal action when I moved to the sub-platter. This was most likely the true culprit as there was very little lubrication on either the spindle itself or the surfaces inside where the spindle rotates. Just 2-3 drops of lubricant onto the spindle, a few manual rotations to spread the oil and my table is running as it did out of the box on day 1 – ZERO HUM.

     

    For those interested, I used ProTeca synthetic oil per some suggestions to look into sewing machine oils – it's $8.99 on Amazon and the needle applicator works like a charm for those tight spots!

     

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0041OXUZS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    Spring Cleaning - $5/$10/$15/$20 Records

    in Sale/Trade/Wants

    Posted · Edited by bluethumb

     

     

    I'll make deals for multiple, just trying to free up some much-needed space - freebies as long as I have 'em 

     

    $5

    • Autarkeia – S/T (NM/VG – black vinyl)

    • Collections of Colonies of Bees – Six Guitars (NM, single-sided & etched, plastic jacket)

    • Dave House – See That No One Else Escapes (NM/NM - grey marble swirl, /600)

    • Pacemaker – S/T (NM/VG – silver vinyl, /200)

    • Wedding Dress – Desperate Glow (NM/NM – black vinyl)

    • Rural Alberta Advantage - Terrified - 7" Flexi (NM - clear vinyl)

    • Rozwell Kid/TWIABP - Split - 7" (NM/NM - white vinyl, /500)

     

    $10

    • Neutral Milk Hotel – On Avery Island (NM/NM – 180g black vinyl)

    • You Blew It! – Abendrot (NM/NM – pink vinyl)

    • Bicycle Sunday/Park Jefferson - Split - 7" (NM/NM - black or "smurf blood" vinyl, /100 & /225 respectively)

    • Modest Mouse - A Life of Arctic Sounds - 7" (NM/NM - clear vinyl, /421)

     

    $15

    • Sweet Valley – Eternal Champ II (NM/NM – blue vinyl)

    • Underoath – Erase Me (NM/NM – 180g acid green vinyl)

    • Beach Slang - Beach Slang - 7" (NM/NM - black vinyl)

    • Father John Misty - Real Love Baby - 7" (NM/NM - black vinyl)

     

    $20

    • Father John Misty – Pure Comedy (NM/NM - red cover, black vinyl)

    • Moving Mountains – Foreword (NM/NM - 2012 RSD RP)

    • Thursday/Envy – Split (NM/VG+ - #’d, gold/black swirl, screen printed jacket)

    • Senses Fail - Let it Enfold You (SEALED M/M - black) 

    • The Rick and Morty Soundtrack (NM/NM - Loser Edition: dark green & light blue)

     

    Other

    • Bon Iver - 22, A Million - (NM/NM - transparent red vinyl) - $35

    • Circle Takes the Square – As the Roots Undo (NM/NM - gray/aqua /600) - $40

     

     

     

    SOLD

    • Blis. – No One Loves You (NM/NM – black vinyl)

    • Kevin Devine – Bulldozer (NM/NM – black vinyl)

    • Kevin Devine & The Goddamn Band – Bubblegum (NM/NM – black vinyl)

    • Dowsing – It’s Still Pretty Terrible (NM/NM – mustard yellow /350)

    • It Looks Sad. - Sky Lake (NM/NM - translucent blue & sea glass split  /200)

    • Modern Baseball – Holy Ghost (NM/NM – 180g Easter yellow /3700)

    • TWIABP - Harmlessness - (NM/NM - clear & pink swirl, /1000)

    Stylus alignment

    in Turntables & Other Audio Equipment

    Posted · Edited by bluethumb

    If you're only getting distortion on the inner-tracks, then you've most likely got a bad alignment. Take care with the protractor (go by the glass Ortofon protractor, not the paper print-out) to see that the cartridge is equally aligned at both the outer and inner points. Also, the stylus (not the cartridge body) should meet the record in as perfectly vertical a manner as possible.

     

    I always follow-up a cartridge alignment with a visual and auditory inspection. Take a flashlight and shine it directly at the point where the stylus meets the record - the needle should be receiving the groove as "straight" as possible at any given point. If you still hear distortion, stop and start again. Good luck!

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