Analog - Basic Tools

reference tones, out of phase pink noise and a soldering iron are all good. I think a sense of humor is good too. I's very easy to get caught up in wondering why your preamp doesn't resolve the bottom octave on a particualrly dear lp, until you realzise there is no bottom octave to resolve.

I maintain an audio toolkit in my listening room with all of the various tools needed to maintain the system. The items that get used in maintenance of the analog rig are as follows:

1 set of "electronics" screwdrivers. These are high quality, small flat and phillips head screwdrivers designed for electronics work. They are non-magnetic and have caps on top of the handles that spin freely.

1 set of Bondhus balldrivers (allen keys with screwdriver handles). I keep one of each size required for the turntable.

1 pair of spring-loaded needle nose pliers. Again, electronics grade and non-magnetic. Very fine point and very handy for dealing with cartridge clips.

1 pair tweezers

1 bubble level (center bubble). I'm using the clearaudio branded level that came with my table. I did verify its calibration. Oddly the old level that I had was off a bit.

1 Magnifier - came with my tonearm. I should replace this with a jeweler's loupe.

1 small flashlight. I'm using one of the very bright LED flashlights.

1 set of shims for securing the platter when doing cartridge alignment. I cut up a couple of pieces of closed-cell packing foam for this application. Saved me many times from an oh-s*** moment.

1 pair of earplugs. I use these when setting azimuth via the 1KHz test tone method. 2 - 3V at the speaker terminals is LOUD.

1 Voltmeter - for azimuth adjustment and other tasks.

Items not specifically in the kit include:

Various protractors and alignment jigs.
Cardas Test LP
Littlite (gooseneck light) on the TT shelf
Zerostat
Carbon fiber brushes
Hannl RCM
Too many cleaning fluid concoctions to count
MoFi record brushes
MoFi sleeves
6mil outer sleeves

and surely a lot of other things I'm forgetting. This truly is a sickness.

In addition to CMK's list above I would also add;

For Setup;
- Patience
- Free Protractor from VinylEngine.com
- Magnifying glass
- Flashlight or other adjustable light for viewing under the cartridge
- several spirit or bubble levels
- and maybe a DVD; Michael Fremer's practical guide to turntable set-up
...did I mention Patience

For Maintenance:
Stylus Cleaner - Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
.

Tequila, Salt, Lime. Works well with Los Lobos and Calexico vinyl.

For setup:
Protractor
VTF guage - digital preferred
Speed strobe - KAB
various tools - allen keys, screw drivers, torchlight, etc...

For maintenance:
Record cleaning machine
Record cleaning fluids
Stylus cleaner - zerodust
Anti-static brush

record cleaning solution, pads/disks, a record cleaning machine is nice but not a requirement, stylus gauge, some basic tools for setting the stylus correctly, getting the angles right. After that it can only get more precise