Recording doesn’t matter. You can set VTA just fine with anything.
For years I was the guy who fine tunes VTA for every record, writes it on the sleeve, then sets it every time. Every new record I would tweak VTA. Its really not that hard. Once you get the hang of it. The hardest part really is the first time, because at that point you’ve never really heard perfect VTA before and so naturally have no idea what its like. Once you get it, believe me, you will know it was worth the effort.
What I listen for, every sound, doesn’t matter what, there is the leading edge or attack where it starts, and then there is the body or fundamental tone. Not saying that’s all there is, just this is what to listen for with VTA.
When VTA is too high, the arm base is too high, or the arm is angled down too much, however you want to think of it, that’s where we’ll start. You can even deliberately raise your arm to where its for sure too high just to be extreme and exaggerate what I’m talking about. This is where I was the very first time I did this after mounting a new Glider on a Graham.
When VTA is too high the sound will exaggerate the attack and leading edges. It will seem detail is really good but the fullness of tone, the body of the note will be a little lean. Not that it will sound that way at first. Its only when you lower it that this will become apparent. You will be surprised how good it will sound even being way far off. That’s analog for you!
Lower it down just a tiny little bit. You should notice improved body and tone but with hardly if any loss of leading edges, attack, detail. Lower and lower, better and better. Depending on how far off you were and how small your changes and how good your listening you may be freaking amazed for how long it just keeps getting better and better. I sure was.
Then suddenly one time when you go lower all of a sudden boom, where’d the detail go? Attack, edges, detail just got a little soft. Bass, tone, fullness continued to get better, but now if you listen real close you notice the bass is fuller but just a wee bit wooly, not taut like before.
Okay so now you’re too low. But only very slightly. Raise it up half the distance you just came down. Go back and forth like this until you are splitting hairs or happy or whatever. Done.
Now people will tell you this needs to change with the thickness of the record. Almost always this is people who never actually did what I just described. In my experience, setting by ear, its the record not the thickness. Once you do this a few times you will know your system sound so well you will be like me, no longer caring what someone says, because you know what actually is.
Now it could be that what this is doing is not really matching stylus rake angle to the cutter head angle, which is what they tell you its supposed to be. It may well be that what this is doing is "just" achieving the sound I want. To which I say, "Works for me!"
For years I was the guy who fine tunes VTA for every record, writes it on the sleeve, then sets it every time. Every new record I would tweak VTA. Its really not that hard. Once you get the hang of it. The hardest part really is the first time, because at that point you’ve never really heard perfect VTA before and so naturally have no idea what its like. Once you get it, believe me, you will know it was worth the effort.
What I listen for, every sound, doesn’t matter what, there is the leading edge or attack where it starts, and then there is the body or fundamental tone. Not saying that’s all there is, just this is what to listen for with VTA.
When VTA is too high, the arm base is too high, or the arm is angled down too much, however you want to think of it, that’s where we’ll start. You can even deliberately raise your arm to where its for sure too high just to be extreme and exaggerate what I’m talking about. This is where I was the very first time I did this after mounting a new Glider on a Graham.
When VTA is too high the sound will exaggerate the attack and leading edges. It will seem detail is really good but the fullness of tone, the body of the note will be a little lean. Not that it will sound that way at first. Its only when you lower it that this will become apparent. You will be surprised how good it will sound even being way far off. That’s analog for you!
Lower it down just a tiny little bit. You should notice improved body and tone but with hardly if any loss of leading edges, attack, detail. Lower and lower, better and better. Depending on how far off you were and how small your changes and how good your listening you may be freaking amazed for how long it just keeps getting better and better. I sure was.
Then suddenly one time when you go lower all of a sudden boom, where’d the detail go? Attack, edges, detail just got a little soft. Bass, tone, fullness continued to get better, but now if you listen real close you notice the bass is fuller but just a wee bit wooly, not taut like before.
Okay so now you’re too low. But only very slightly. Raise it up half the distance you just came down. Go back and forth like this until you are splitting hairs or happy or whatever. Done.
Now people will tell you this needs to change with the thickness of the record. Almost always this is people who never actually did what I just described. In my experience, setting by ear, its the record not the thickness. Once you do this a few times you will know your system sound so well you will be like me, no longer caring what someone says, because you know what actually is.
Now it could be that what this is doing is not really matching stylus rake angle to the cutter head angle, which is what they tell you its supposed to be. It may well be that what this is doing is "just" achieving the sound I want. To which I say, "Works for me!"