Twisting wire on VPI for anti skate?

If it's one album and on one track, why do you assume it's an AS issue? Did you examine the record? A speck of matter lodged in the vinyl could cause the cartridge to skip, as might a scratch. Skipping is not associated with skating forces; it's a force that might cause the cantilever to bend laterally or cause odd stylus wear, and of course sonic consequences, but is not strong enough to cause skipping...

I used to own a Scout and now own a Classic and both tables sound(ed) best with no AS at all. There are a few current threads on here discussing this issue and the consensus seems to be that a majority of audiophiles prefer no AS at all. That is especially true of VPI owners.

You did not say which VPI turntable you have, but I assume it comes with no AS device. I never had any skipping issues with the Scout, which also didn't have the AS thingy. Make sure your cartridge is aligned properly and you're tracking at the correct VTF.

the twist is made with the connector. Unplug the tonearm lead wire from the junction box and rotate it 360 degrees and plug it back in. If a loop forms in the wire, straighten it back out. Hope that helps

I wasn't really sure what caused it to skip. It is a mint album but I don't recall playing it before so it may have some flaws.
I have a VPI Scoutmaster 2 with the anti skate gizmo but it is disconnected.
The wire is supposed to apply AS force but there is no mention of set up. I will not use it if I don't need it.
It sounds amazing so I would rather not mess with it.

The manual does say it very succinctly. Read it more carefully

My method consists of minimum anti-skate. First I set up the cartridge, for SRA, Azimuth and VTF, with no anti-skate. I also take a Digital Multi-Meter reading of the cross talk as a reference after setting azimuth. No twisted wire, fish wire disconnected. So now everything is set, VTF, SRA, Azimuth, and I have a reading of my cross talk with Azimuth set.
I have the VPI Classic 3, Dyna XX-2 MK II, VTF 1.988 grams. Crosstalk is -26.620db on the Left channel and -26.021 on the right. Azimuth is 0.19 degrees tilted to the right channel. SRA is 92 degrees (measure with a digital microscope).
With the SRA set (using the VTA tower), I make sure the fish wire is horizontal to the mechanical anti-skate.
Now I hook up the fist wire, ensuring the attachment point on the tonearm and to the top of the mechanical anti-skate is horizontal. I line it up, so I have one donut on the bottom, so I can put the fish line on the 4th indent from the top (first indent from the bottom). So one donut under the 4th indent from the top, the fish line on the 4th indent from the top.
Then I pull out the Hi-Fi news test record. I use the easiest bias setting test, Side one band 6, 300hz tone L+R, +12 db. When I play that with no anti-skate, left channel is perfect, the right channel will distort occasionally. I hook up the anti-skate and put one donut on the horizontal bar. I slide the donut out, until I don't get any distortion in the right channel on the +12db track. The one donut ends up close to the end of the rod. I don't even play the +14db, +16db and +18 db tracks. Those will lead you to nowhere.
So now the anti-skate is set, minimun with the +12db track. I then just double check crosstalk to ensure it is the same. I just want to be sure I am not twisting the tonearm in some way. This is probably an unnecessary step, since I have never noticed a difference in crosstalk, probably because I am careful about the horizontal setup of the fish wire.

With no anti skating, all was well except one album that skipped on the first track.

A/S is intended to balance stylus pressures against the opposing groovewalls during play, not to prevent the stylus from racing down the angled slope of most lead-in grooves.

The key to preventing skipping during cueing is to keep the tonearm under control (manually) until the stylus locks into a groove. It would be a major error to use A/S for that purpose, you'd end up with far too much for playing the music.

It's debatable that A/S is needed at all. Many people including me don't use it at all. The test is not how does the arm cue, the test is how does it play. If you can track the toughest passages on tight inner grooves without R channel breakup or fuzziness, you don't actually need A/S at all. You may want some depending on your sonic preferences, but that's a matter for individual experimentation and listening.

Thanks for the info! And I'll re-read the manual.
It sounds amazing as it is but it can't hurt to explore a bit more and I do have the Hi-Fi News album.

1. Anti-skating does not affect crosstalk. Checking crosstalk because you adjusted A/S is like checking the oil because you adjusted tire pressure. ;)

2. The HFN&RR test record makes a handy dust cover for the platter when the TT's not in use. It serves little other practical purpose. Mine hasn't been out of its jacket in years.

Its so-called anti-bias (anti-skating) tracks are incorrectly designed and their instructions poorly written. Thousands of people have mis-used them to set anti-bias higher than it needs to be, to the detriment of their music and perhaps their cartridges.

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In the end, one can't fine tune VTF with a scale, VTA/SRA with a microscope or anti-skating with a test record. One must train ears and brain to understand how these parameters affect the behavior of the stylus in the groove whilst playing real music.

Concur with 1, Azimuth affects crosstalk. I am ensuring that the fishing line is not twisting the tonearm and changing azimuth. The configuration of the mechanical anti-skate is such that it connects the fishing line to the back of the arm before the counterweight with an O ring and set screw. If the fishing line bisects the arm half way and the line is parallel, then it will not affect azimuth. I was just double checking that with the DMM.

Thanks for clarifying, Captain w. I'm not much familiar with VPI arms and wasn't aware that the A/S device *could* affect azimuth. Given that unexpected "feature", checking crosstalk seems like a prudent step.

I have posted my findings a number of times and for the very last time.....relieve the burden of anti-skate on your tonearm and get better sound. If the anti-skate mechanism is attached properly to the VPI, it will not affect azimuth...but....no need for anti-skate anyway.

I've got an original JMW-12 and don't use / need any anti-skate. The sound is better without the twisted lead wire or any other outward pressure on the arm.

BTW, it has been my experience that ANY pressure from the lead wire will also change the azimuth.