cheap tweak for glass platter 'tables

pre-made mats from that material have been for sale on ebay for a long time. I always wondered if they're any good.

It's refreshing to find out that at least Harbor Freight has something useful, because their tools are awful.

Michael

Home Depot has this material on rolls in several different patterns and thicknesses, so for a very few bucks you can experiment. Rite-Aid drugs also sells 5' rolls of this in a few different thicknesses and colors pretty cheap. I got started by getting a 5'x1' roll at Walgreen's for $1. That's 20 cents per mat.

They do work pretty well, and you can use them in several different ways, such as under or on top of another mat. For a long time I was using the standard Technics rubber mat upside down with one of these drawer liners on top of it. Later I went to an Oracle Groove Isolator with a shelf liner on top. Now I'm using the Groove Isolator over a felt mat, but without the shelf liner.

On my rig, I eventually found that the thinner mat emphasized leading edges, but a little too much, and the thicker one was just a little too dull. It could have been related to changes in VTA, however.

Either way, it's cheap enough that you can cut yourself a bunch in different thicknesses and have some fun experimenting. I did found that the thin one made music more compelling and danceable.

I don't know if this is true, but I heard that there is a chemical that leaches from this plastic shelving that is harmful to the LP. Be careful

Wow - Johnnyb you got a 5' roll of this stuff for a dollar! I guess I got ripped off. It's interesting that those of us who are audio freaks have the same ideas. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that others have tried this idea. And here I thought I had discovered something......
Tom