How important is Cartridge Overhang? Need help

Maybe I'm missing something. It is hard to get the picture without seeing it.

I'll assume you have followed others advice and have verified the P2S.

You say that the cart is all the way forward, it hits the arc on the outside but sits behind the arc on the inside. And that the cartridge is all the way forward in the slots.

So, if you move the Mint protractor back until the stylus is on the arc at the inside, will the cart not be too far forward on the outside now? Which is ok, because you can move the cart back in its slots.

Of course after you move the cart back, you will now need to move the protractor again to align the inside and then recheck the outside again. Keep doing this, correctly, and you should find that everything is converging on the arc. Using an arc protractor is an iterative process. I think you just need some practice.

Perhaps it will be easier to start with the cart in the middle of the slots?

That write up from John assumes the arc is in the correct position. You can't just flop down an arc on the table any where.

Again, very important, I'm assuming the arm is set to the correct P2S.

Look at John's drawing, keep in mind the cartridge is all the way forward. From the OP's description it seems that the cartridge is hitting point C. However, the cart is already too far forward.

Now move the arc back until the stylus at point C is on the line. Where did the stylus move to in relation to the arc on the outside? Does it not end up to the left of the arc?

Many of us who use the MintLp protractor on a regular basis have found an easy check of the arc position on the table. First, start with the cartridge in the middle of the slots. Then, with the arm lifted on the queue, gently swing the arm across above the arc. You should be able to see if you are in the ballpark or not. If not, move the protractor until it looks like the arm is tracing the arc. Now you should be reasonably close and you can begin adjusting the cart with the stylus down on the protractor.

Wilson667,

When you moved the protractor back to get the stylus to land to the left, could you then move the cart back in the slots toward the line? If not, I suspect that the arm is not mounted exactly at the P2S distance. However, the distance between the stylus and the line will give you an idea of how much the arm pivot is off. I remember the Pro-ject arm I had on an MMF-7 a while back, but don't remember how much play there is in the three set screws that hold VTA. Maybe it is possible to play with this and get the P2S correct? Can you measure carefully what the P2S distance is now?

Granted, a short hole-to-tip makes life a bit difficult but if things are set correctly and your arm has slots for mounting the cartridge it should work. There is no standard for the hole-to-tip distance. That is why most arms have those headshell slots.

HI Tom. That is very true, and the MintLp is not a universal-type protractor. The actual mounting distance of the arm has not been verified either. If that is off, everything is off. Sure, it will play, but not optimally. Project wouldn't be the first manufacturer to not mount their arm with any kind of precision.