Cartridge Alignment

Buy a Mint LP protractor and do it right.

I looked at the tonearms which Mint services and no Thorens TP 16 MK1. Besides the $110.00 is out of my reach at the moment. I have considered a universal AVID which is $60.00. Nevertheless, thanks Andrew9405, I may contact Mint concerning my tonearm. Additionally, I do have a Carson lupe and a Zeiss T-Star monocular.

He probably has the data for your tonearm. You might also check
vinylengine.com
If you're really serious about a vinyl setup, then wait until you can afford the Mint.
IMO

You can get a Geodisc on Amazon for $49.95. They work great.

I second the Geodisc recommendation!

I recommend the Mint as well.

That being said, vinyl engine has some free downloadable protractors for the Thorens on their site. I'm not sure exactly were though.

The Mint is just outside of my range due to repairing a Quad ESL. I thought initially that I could purchase a Dr. Feickert protractor but that was before I arched a speaker panel.
I've read in many places that the Geodisc just roughed in the null points but doesn't have it right on. Any thoughts about this?

I believe that your Grado mono cartridge will have a conical stylus. If my assumption is correct, cartridge alignment is a non-issue for you, as in it doesn't matter at all. This is because the perfectly round cross sectional profile of a cone will sit in the grove symmetrically at all points along the arc of contact between the stylus and the record. Put another way a conical stylus is always "aligned" in the record groove. Cartridge alignment becomes critical if the stylus is elliptical or a more complex shape. Alignment is only achieved at two points along the arc of contact and optimizing (or minimizing) the error at other points is what alignment is all about. The MintLP alignment gauge is superior to all others because it is the only one on the market at any price that addresses the problem of parallax. It is set up for the Stevenson algorithm, however, which may or may not be the one you want. I like it and strongly recommend the MintLP. But again, it is doubtful you will need it.

I received news that I'm getting a Statement Sonata 2 Mono as they are now making Series 2 cartridges but here are the specs for the series 1 stereo.

Grado Spec's,

Frequency Response: 10Hz - 60kHz
Principal: MI
Channel Separation at 1KHz: 40dB
Input Load: 47K
Output: 0.5mV
Recommended Tracking Force: 1.5Gms
Stylus Type: Elliptical
Inductance: 2mH
Resistance: 2Ω
Compliance CUs: 20
Stylus Replacement: Factory
Mounting: Standard
Weight: 6.5g
Warranty: 1 year

I found a Thoren's TP 16 MK 1 template online as a PDF and it is thorough, so I'll likely try it first. Here's a view;

https://audiomarkoni.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/thorens-red-protractor.pdf

09-22-15: Billstevenson
... The MintLP alignment gauge is superior to all others because it is the only one on the market at any price that addresses the problem of parallax. It is set up for the Stevenson algorithm, however, which may or may not be the one you want.

The WallyTracktor also corrects for parallax:
http://veteranhifi.se/WVC/tools/tractor.htm

He'll make them in any alignment you like!

I'm going to have to take my table to an expert as I'm getting a supreme amount of hum. I lined up the cartridge but the table needs attention. And my intuition tells me that a Jelco 750 D tonearm in place of the stock TP-16 MK 1 will resolve my current issues.
If I were to attempt doing all of this myself, then I'll need the Dr. Feickert Protractor but I would rather trust a professional.

Goofyfoot,

There are a number of members who really know vinyl, e.g., Lewm.

Lew ... haven't a number of members posted comments that Grados are susceptible to hum? If so, I am not sure that replacing the arm will solve the problem. The Grado may be picking up hum from the Thorens motor.

BIF

P.S. to my last post. Goofyfoot ... is your turntable grounded? Any possibility of a ground loop?? bf

First, let me add that the Grado mono I'm now using is an upgrade from the Grado ME+ mono that was on there before. My thought is that a wood cartridge body should produce less hum than a plastic cartridge body so blaming the current Grado doesn't really seem all that plausible.
And, I know Lew from our earlier chats on this forum and without a doubt, he knows a lot more about Hi Fi in general, so I never doubted him nor have I doubted anyone else on this post.
As far as the ground Bifwynne, I believe the ground wire got yanked from its connection. I did however run a copper wire from the Thorens top plate screw to the extra black speaker terminal on my ASR Emitter II Exclusive amp but the hum is exponentially louder than it has ever been. I am by the way using an ASR Mini Basis Exclusive phono amp so the two should produce a balance when coupled together?
Now a quick history about the tonearm wiring; when I first bought the TD 145, I had it serviced and I let the technician rewire the tonearm from the back. In the process, he rewired the ground as well. After the rewire, he aligned the Grado ME + and everything sounded just as one could expect.
I don't however know how secure those cable connections really are and being without a dominate side, well I goofed and I stepped on the cable while moving it, duh. I assumed however that if I grounded it from the top plate, that this would produce enough ground to eliminate any possible hum but what I didn't take into account is that it isn't grounded to the phono amp. In addition, I potentially could have yanked the tonearm cable/s though the cartridge was equally balanced while playing a record.
So yes, I'm clumsy and inept where it pertains to electronics. But I'm able to understand simple explanations and I greatly appreciate everyone's generosity where it pertains to their posting on this forum.
Thanks Again All!

09-24-15: Goofyfoot
" ... the Grado mono I'm now using is an upgrade from the Grado ME+ mono that was on there before. My thought is that a wood cartridge body should produce less hum than a plastic cartridge body so blaming the current Grado doesn't really seem all that plausible ... I did however run a copper wire from the Thorens top plate screw to the extra black speaker terminal on my ASR Emitter II Exclusive amp but the hum is exponentially louder than it has ever been.

I'm not sure why you think a wood-body cartridge should be less prone to hum that a similar plastic-body cartridge. In any event, Grados are known to be susceptible to hum on some turntables.

As for grounding your turntable, you don't want to wire it to your amplifier's neutral speaker connection! You want to use a reliable, short, low impedance path to ground, such as the ground screw of an electric outlet, or a cold water pipe.

Cleeds, I was told differently by the manufacturer of the amp and phono stage so that's why I grounded it that way. Nevertheless, having the cable and ground fixed seems like the better solution.