First turntable in nearly 30 years

[A-Fin]

Will do, thanks. To begin with it was sticking to each LP when removing it but it’s stopped that for now!

[Jaybar]

@A-Fin Here is what my former dealer and Rega expert suggested:

For the way excellent mat 2mm thick mat std 295mm dia

[A-Fin]

That’s excellent, thanks for doing that

I’ll run the existing one for a bit and see how it goes but try one of them if it becomes an issue.

[Jaybar]

@A-Fin static never goes away. For someone without an eye-hand coordination issue, the supplied mat may be ok. I could not use it, however.

[daddycool]

With practise you develop a sort of turntabelism art of picking up the lp and peeling the mat off in one sweeping move until you no longer even think about it

@Jaybar Sorry to hear about your eye-hand coordination issue, likely not fun in general and also doesn’t help here without supporting solutions like indeed a non-static mat.

[Oxfordian]

That is just so cool that set up, awesome look, congratulations.

[Oxfordian]

Never had a problem with the Rega mat sticking, unless the LP hadn’t been cleaned, then it would stick to the vinyl. Once the vinyl was cleaned no issues.

[A-Fin]

Thanks and I have to say, my older records certainly do need a proper clean and it’s something I’m going to look into as a priority. The carbon brush etc is alright for the new albums but doesn’t really cut it for the ones coming out of storage!

[Jaybar]

@daddycool I am finding that as I age, I can still easily play the LPs on my P9. The hard part is getting the records in and out of the sleeves and jackets and in and out of our record storage units. Finding the spindle and aligning with the record center hole is not always easy, but doable. This makes me gravitate to streaming and CD. In my youth LP was my primary source.

[Jaybar]

@A-Fin When I was much younger I had record cleaning machines which sucked (pun intended). One time a neighbor stopped me and said “You must be immaculate “. I said “why do you think that”? She said “you are always vacuuming”. I explained it was an RCM.

Record care became a compulsion which took me away from the music. Today I just play the LP.

[anon70766008]

I think that you have to buy Herbie’s Mats directly from Robert Herbelin (aka Herbie) at Herbie’s Audio Lab, rather than through a dealer. I have an address in Selma, Texas.

The mats come in various widths/thicknesses, so have as look at the website. The LP12 mat, for example, is called Way Excellent II, with a 2mm central spindle hole, and is 295mm wide.

I think that they’re very good (compared to the standard Linn felt mat, for example), but others

don’t seem to like them.

[A-Fin]

Seems like everything is starting to settle in. And that’s just me .

Things a record newbie has learned this weekend…

1. To light tracking force = distortion
2. Don’t have the table power supply too close to the phono stage.
3. New cartridges need a break in period and can be a little crackly while it settles down (really )
4. It really does sound better off the plinth!

Mild panic set in with No1… but was resolved after a bit of googling!

So, are there any other things to know about that seem obvious after a while but weren’t to begin with?

I have a pile of vinyl to work throw for the next few days to assist in any potential breakin period.

[DiggyGun]

Enjoy your new TT.

If you’re still having trouble with static. Try a Zerostat gun.

Using it on the mat and the record can reduce the static.

DG…

[A-Fin]

Thanks…the Gary Numan album is champion now… but I’ve played it a few times since it arrived. The others less so and there’s a bit more noise on them. I’ve used a carbon brush to help remove static so it could be they need a clean. I’ll be playing them quite a bit over the next few days as part of the running in process so we’ll see what happens