Mofimadness... you da man! What a generous offer. An an in-system evaluation by someone who knows their way around a vinyl rig is more likely to improve things than all our yacking from afar. :-)
That said, try this first... clean that stylus with a Magic Eraser and brush. I can no longer count the number of "damaged" or "worn out" cartridges I've "saved" for people by this simple measure. Judging by a recent post by Michael Fremer, even he has yet to learn how to properly maintain a cartridge.
From Holly's sonic description, inadequate VTF may also be a culprit.
The TurntableBasics protractor is rather hit or miss. Even used to its best capability, it's a pretty coarse instrument. The fact that Holly's trying to direct-measure overhang with a ruler indicates that her tools and methods need improvement. Consider printing out an arc protractor from vinylengine.com to double check overhang and zenith.
P.S. if Holly sends her ZYX to Mehran, he'd probably send it to me for evaluation before undertaking the expense of sending to Japan, so you might be saving Holly and me some time. Thanks! :-)
P.P.S. If Holly can't find the instructions for changing the Teres bearing oil, I have a copy if you need it.
That said, try this first... clean that stylus with a Magic Eraser and brush. I can no longer count the number of "damaged" or "worn out" cartridges I've "saved" for people by this simple measure. Judging by a recent post by Michael Fremer, even he has yet to learn how to properly maintain a cartridge.
From Holly's sonic description, inadequate VTF may also be a culprit.
The TurntableBasics protractor is rather hit or miss. Even used to its best capability, it's a pretty coarse instrument. The fact that Holly's trying to direct-measure overhang with a ruler indicates that her tools and methods need improvement. Consider printing out an arc protractor from vinylengine.com to double check overhang and zenith.
P.S. if Holly sends her ZYX to Mehran, he'd probably send it to me for evaluation before undertaking the expense of sending to Japan, so you might be saving Holly and me some time. Thanks! :-)
P.P.S. If Holly can't find the instructions for changing the Teres bearing oil, I have a copy if you need it.