Thanks samzx12. I've searched every forum over the past 48 hrs and no one seems to have experienced this scenario. I haven't contacted Music Hall, but awaiting to hear back from the dealer, which MH referred me to when my 2.2 died. I've been through the 5 manual with a fine toothed comb and it was useless. I've just downloaded a 5.3 manual and it offers more detail, so I'm going to disassemble the tonearm counterweight and try reassembling it from scratch.
Need help with Music Hall mmf-5 setup?
Experiencing horrible vinyl withdrawal symptoms (anger, frustration, depression). Help! After 9 yrs the motor finally quit on my Music Hall mmf-2.2 turntable. I thought this would be an opportune time to upgrade tables, so I brought home a "properly setup" mmf-5. Of course the first thing I noticed was the table was not level. Then I noticed that the needle was pulling hard left to the centre of the record. So hard, in fact, that it was skipping over the first few grooves. I thought, "okay, let's level the table and set the tracking force." Guess what? With the table now level the tonearm swings clear off to the right of the platter all the way past the arm rest to the edge of the plinth. And this occurs even with the tracking force counterweight completely disengaged. What can I do, or should I go through the hassle of disconnecting the turntable and returning to the dealer?