Help with Air Bearing Tonearm

[Binaural]

Hello all, I'm pretty dang close to having my new Ladegaard tonearm setup to my satisfaction but I ran in to a couple of snags that I couldn't find the answer to anywhere else.

First and foremost is grounding. I'm not sure where I'm supposed to ground this thing. The entire apparatus is wood, except for the screws holding the cartridge to the headshell. Anyone found a solution to this? I'm using an older Shure M75ED Type 2 cartridge with a solid oak tonearm.

Second, when playing back a record, the right channel is louder than the left. I figured this would mean that the tonearm is either too long or too short. I adjusted but to no avail. I was able to correct it somewhat, but could not get them even. I do not have a calibration record but was thinking about investing in one. I have been using a mono record when trying to balance output levels.

Just a quick comment about this project. It was probably one of the easiest DIY projects I've undertaken. It does work right now, i'm able to adjust the left/right levels to match them and the buzz in the background is faint when playing music, but it's still there. Even with these 2 problems, I have to say the performance of this arm is absolutely amazing. Music sounds more like a collection of real instruments instead of a synthetic copy of what it should be. For example, listening to some old Beatles records (the early ones where the song was recorded with one take without additional overdubs) I know they were all recorded in the same room and instruments would bleed into another instrument's mic, but I can really get a sense of the famous number 2 studio where it all went down. Simply amazing. I appreciate any help you can give. Thanks.

[Binaural]

Anyone? Would this be more appropriate under one of the existng air bearing threads? I'm still haveing grounding and L-R balance problems. Anyone have any idea of a possible solution for this? Thanks.

[Nanook]

you post in an existing thread. Do a search for DIY air bearing tonearm, Ladegaard, Terminator or similar..

[Geosto]

Hi Binaural,


Maybe you can use a thin metal (aluminum) plate between the cartridge and the headshell.

Second it seems to me that the needle is not making the right angle on the record.
You probable need to rotate your cartridge a bit.
If you take look in front of the cartridge the needle has to make an exact angle.
To see if your cartridge is set correct the use of a calibration record is very handy and to measure if it is right a scoop can be a useful tool to.

George

[bear]

check your cartridge in a standard tonearm to make sure it is ok.

look at the cartridge tracking the record. Is the cantilever STRAIGHT forward or bent off to one side?

If bent your arm is not working properly.

_-_-bear

[Binaural]

thanks for your help, i've made the arm in question my prototype and started on the "real deal." i'm still waiting for the tonearm cable and this should finish it. i've gotten the cartridge set up as best i can using only my sight. would a protractor used for the unipivot arms work fine with a tangential arm?

also I've somewhat fixed the grounding issue. there is still a slight buzz in the background (not so much the 60hz tone, but the harmonic buzz is audible) and this will hopefully not be a problem with the new arm.

in addition to the arm, i've started working on a turntable to accompany it. i decided to used the Shovelhead valve bearing as used in the Altmann turntable. I was lucky to have a local HD shop who had the parts in stock and preliminary tests work better than I expected. even considering the platter weighs 18lbs, it didn't seem to phase it. should be interesting.