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Well temp, arm drifts from away from center of rec

I have just tried to set my vintage Well Tempered classic with square motor for the first time with a grado Sonata cartridge. If I place the tonearm in the middle of the record the arm drifts back toward the beginning of the record as it descends down toward the grooves. I have the anti-skating completely closed and I used a level to make sure that my platform was not causing this. This seems to be very odd. I hope a veteran Well tempered user can help me. Bob
128x128baranyi
bill_k
882 posts
 
This is normal for the WTA. Even when the set to minimize the AS there is still some force present in the design which will cause the drift that you're experiencing. You always have to release the arm slightly further towards the center when starting an LP to avoid your tonearm from drifting back and missing the record entirely.
chashas1
596 posts
 
I disagree, bill. I used to have a classic and then a reference, and if set up correctly, the arm would drop directly where you wanted it. However, a good technically minded friend set them up, so I'm no help there. You could try George at Stanalog, or even Wally the Wallytractor guy. Wally gave a method of using a stopwatch and timing the drop rate of the tonearm. So don't give up, the info is out there.
baranyi's avatar
baranyi OP
717 posts
 
Thank you both for the responses. At least I know that I am not alone having the tonearm having this drifting. I also seems that it can be reduced with someone who really knows the setup. My concern is that it cannot be a good situation for the best sonics. Does anyone know the trick to eliminating this? Bob
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