VPI Rim Drive


Amongst the bills that came today was a number 10 envelope containing a new belt for the rim drive of my Superscout. The belt is a brown color replacing the black one and feels more "tacky" and soft. I pulled out the first album my hand fell on and played the first track with the old belt. I then removed it and installed the new belt, pushed the table to the motor assembly and listened again. The new belt is better by far. The layering of instruments was much more pronounced, although the width of the stage retained its proportion as before. The highs are certainly cleaner, clearer, and the whole spectrum is faster. Instead of hearing blocks of instruments, I hear seperate instruments cooperating in the event. Loud and thickly arranged sections are effortless unraveled - you can clearly identify all the separate instruments in the cooperation of the piece. Chords can be heard as separate tones contributing to the quality of the chord. Tambourine and other percussion instruments are fast and clean..the jingles are more delicate, brassy, and separate. The lows are more effortless...not louder, just at ease going down, down, and down. I encourage all of you with the dual motor VPI rim drives to get one of these new belts. It is a pain to put on, but you only have to do it once.
stringreen

Showing 3 responses by mred

Sonofjim,

When you said that yours "sounds fine as well" and then later you said "To be honest, I don't notice a huge change in the sound" it sounds like your just lukewarm about the upgrade.Since, mostly, the consensus has been that the upgrade was quite substantial; am I reading you right? I'm curious........ on a scale of one to ten how would you rate it? Was it worth it?
Sonofjim,

Thanks for clarifing; I misread your intent. So, 1-10;how worthwhile is the Rim drive?
Sonofjim,

Thanks for the further clarification. That's a great endorsement and seems right in line with most comments I've seen.I guess I'm going to have to get a Rim Drive!
Now, the only question is do I need the double mototr w/flywheel version or will the single motor version(that I hear rumor of)do the same job?