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Upgrade for users of 1/2" mylar belt

This thread will be of interest to Galibier, Redpoint and Teres belt drive TT owners, or anyone using or thinking of using a drive belt made from 1/2" mylar. The belt material of choice on these tables for several years has been the silver holographic mylar streamers from sources linked on the Teres and Galibier websites. This outperforms everything else we've tried but like anything it's not perfect - and we've now found something better.

One of the silver holographic mylar's assets can also become a liability. That metallic layer, when new, gives the belt exceptional "grip" on the platter and motor capstan. Minimal slippage on transients is one reason the material works so well. Unfortunately, that layer can wear over time, leaving a silvery gray residue and allowing performance to deteriorate. The only solution has been a good cleaning and a new belt. No big deal, but if there was a better or more stable belt Paul and I wanted to find it.

I'll spare you a recounting of our many experiments and jump to the good news: thanks to (yet another) brainstorm by my resident genius/partner, we've developed a belt that both performs better and lasts longer. I've held off posting until we were sure, but after 4 months of steady use Paul’s idea is still working perfectly. The only negative is that making this new belt takes an hour or more of work spread over two days, but to us it's worth the effort.

HOW TO MAKE ONE

1. Cut a length of the silver holographic mylar tape sufficient for your TT, plus 3-4" extra.

2. Remove the silver metallic coating off the backside of the mylar. Paul used an acid etching cream popular with stained glass hobbyists to dissolve the metal - safe, quick and easy (use skin and eye protection).

3. Rinse thoroughly under running water, inspect to make sure you got all the silver off, wipe and hang to dry overnight.

4. Splice as normal to make a TT belt, making sure you tape on the OUTSIDE (which will be smoother than the now bare inside).

5. As always, the best splicing technique is to overlap the ends and cut on a 30-40 degree angle. Apply 1” video splicing tape (*not* tabs) across the belt at the *same* angle and trim away the excess.


WHY IT PERFORMS BETTER

Unlike any plain mylar ribbon you could easily buy, the silver holographic streamer has an ultra fine texture embossed on the back side of the *mylar* during manufacturing (*before* the metallic backing is applied). Once the silver layer is applied you can't see this texture, but that's what diffracts light like a million tiny prisms to produce the shimmery rainbow effect. Stripping the metal backing away exposes this texture, which becomes the contact surface of your new belt.

Paul realized this texture must exist and then hypothesized that using it for the working side of a TT belt might provide more “grip” on the platter rim and motor capstan than either plain mylar (which is extremely smooth) or the metallic backing. He was right. This belt produces more lifelike dynamics, both macro- and micro-, than even a brand new silver holographic belt - which heretofore was the best.

WHY IT LASTS LONGER

Removing the metallic backing exposes bare mylar, which is much sturdier than that fine layer of metal. Under normal use and assuming no accidents, one of these belts should last many, many months, perhaps years, while delivering consistent performance. Ours is going into its fifth month with few visible and no audible signs of wear.

Different motor capstan materials might interact with this belt differently, but I urge anyone with a compatible table to give this a try. Like all our favorite little tweaks, we'd find it hard to go back.

A FEW TIPS

1. Clean any silver/grey residue from your old belt off the motor capstan and platter before mounting the new belt.

2. As many of us have learned, the more inelastic the belt, the more critical motor leveling becomes. That is truer than ever with this new belt. Getting the motor set just right is touchy. Take care that your new belt is riding level in the center of the capstan before you start to play. You don't want it sliding up or down and mangling itself.

3. Motor distancing is also more critical than ever. Since this belt will not slip *or* stretch, tension must be perfect. The right amount is just shy of the tension that would tilt the motor off its feet.

4. Depending on your climate, the belt can build up static potential during use. Not enough to spark, but more than enough to attract airborne dust. I dust the belt's inside with my CF brush after each side before stopping the platter.

5. With this or any belt, always start your platter spinning with a helping push. Just pressing the motor's ON button creates lots of belt-wearing friction as the rapidly spinning motor tries to drag that heavy platter up to speed.

It all sounds like a pain, and it is! But the sonic and longevity results are worth the effort.

Cheers,
Doug
dougdeacon
jtimothya
612 posts
 
>>The timbre of a Baroque oboe is more complex than its modern counterpart and that complexity is difficult to reproduce accurately.<<

I wholeheartedly concur about the challenges in reproducing complex harmonics and the importance of proper platter speed yet remain doubtful about the above claim. Yes, between Baroque and modern oboes there are different woods, different keys, different reed constructions, different impositions on the musician, consistency of instrument construction, etc. etc. yet timeline would seem to have little impact on musician's note bending abilities. Doesn't the modern instrument also have a broader range? Not being an oboist I cannot speak with authority, but having sat next to enough of them I've heard no lack of harmonic complexity from modern instruments, live or recorded. Nonetheless, your point is quite make-able without the appeal to specific musical preferences. A system that sounds ghastly on hip is likely as ghastly on (heaven forfend) hip-hop. Cheers.
dougdeacon OP
3,338 posts
 
Hi Pani,

R2R tape provides a less elastic, less slippage-prone coupling than silk thread. The drive belt described in this thread simply goes further in that same direction... much further. Therefore, whatever you heard from R2R tape you'd hear even more of with the modded holo belt... much more.

Your experiment provided data. Let's think about what you learned and its implications. Improving your motor-platter linkage raised the noise floor. Ask yourself, where did this additional noise come from? The overwhelming likelihood is that it comes from the motor and that the improved coupling provided by the R2R tape transferred more of it into the platter (which is a good drive belt's job).

All motors are noise sources and I'm afraid yours is suspect. I've read reports over the years of PV owners who improved their motors and heard a major improvement. The unfortunate but inescapable conclusion is that PV uses silk thread because a slippy (or elastic) coupling helps isolate the platter from a noisy motor.

Your experiment certainly seems to confirm this. IMO it's likely that upgrading your motor will be necessary before you can enjoy the sonic benefits of a tighter motor-platter coupling without experiencing additional noise.

* As noted in my OP, sources for the holo tape can be found on the Teres and Galibier websites. I don't know of any others.

***
Tim,

Have you also sat next to baroque oboists? My distinction was meant only as a comparison between modern and baroque instruments. If you've only sat next to one type or the other then any observations would be in a vacuum and would neither affirm nor contradict the comparison.

For clarity, I didn't intend to suggest that a modern oboe lacks harmonics. Sorry if I was unclear. To my ears, more of its energy focuses on the fundamental COMPARED to a baroque oboe, which has a different balance between fundamental and overtones - one that favors the latter. Neither is better or worse, they were designed for different situations and respond accordingly.

We'll have to agree to disagree on the ability of different genres to reveal system characteristics, at least at the margins. I agree that a system which can reproduce very difficult acoustic music really well will do the same for (say) hip-hop, provided one is willing to tolerate any flaws and artifacts in the recording being revealed for what they are. The converse is not true. I've heard hundreds of systems that hip and hop really well but sound ghastly when asked to reproduce challenging acoustic instruments.

When the source music has been sent through dozens of electronic steps which distort the signal *by design*, a little playback distortion may go unnoticed. OTOH, when the source music has been sent through the minimally necessary electronic steps and each of those was chosen to distort the signal *as little as possible*, playback distortions are more likely to be audible... at least to my hip- and hop-less ears.

I have some LPs featuring solo counter-tenor and alto recorder performing in the hardest stone space imaginable. These records bring 99% of all systems to their knees. People literally leave the room holding their ears because it can sound like fingernails-on-slate. It's not the records' fault however, it's the inability of multiple components throughout the playback chain to cope with densely packed, high amplitude harmonics. I've heard these LPs produced "almost" right just once or twice. No recording of mixed, manipulated and amplified music is anywhere near so demanding.
redglobe
223 posts
 
Doug, Can you recommend a high quality motor/controller that is up to the task of the mylar-tape drive system?
jtimothya
612 posts
 
>>For clarity, I didn't intend to suggest that a modern oboe lacks harmonics. Sorry if I was unclear. To my ears, more of its energy focuses on the fundamental COMPARED to a baroque oboe, which has a different balance between fundamental and overtones - one that favors the latter.<<

So a guy with perfect pitch beams out of the future and walks into the Zimmerman cafe and asks the oboist: "what the heck are you playing?". Maybe that's why they started writing down the notes. (small humor)

As a physical object any individual instrument, regardless of historical period, will show differences in harmonics to some degree from other instruments. Given that, presumably both modern and baroque oboes can each be tune with one another. I had in mind that the largest determiner of the relative harmonic complexity thrown off for any given note was the performer rather than the instrument and that a modern oboe and oboist are no less capable of such than ones from some other period.

>>I have some LPs featuring solo counter-tenor and alto recorder performing in the hardest stone space imaginable. These records bring 99% of all systems to their knees.<<

Every good boy does fine and every good system loves a test. Would you kindly share a title or catalog number for a few of these? Thanks.
 
dougdeacon OP
3,338 posts
 
Tim,

I just noticed the question at the end of your last post. The LP I described above (which Paul calls my "la-dee-dah record") is this one:

‘Les Plaisirs de la Renaissance’ (Harmonia Mundi, HMU 963)

There are many such recordings on the (French) Harmonia Mundi label. Arthur Salvatore's LP lists include many such in the Early Music catagory. We get ours from ebay, including some from European ebay sites/sellers. Prices are usually low (not a big market) and vinyl condition is usually perfect or nearly so.
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