ZYX too light for my Shroeder arm. Help

Please take Doug's comments in light of his experimentation with non-Schroeders.

You will always have a "shim" with a Shroeder (a.k.a. cartridge carrier). Give this reality, you have the opportunity to tune the mass of your arm in two ways: (1) make a thicker one up out of aluminum (2) get the brass one through your dealer.

The brass adds about 5 grams (bumping the mass from about 2.6 to 7.6 g).

Now, with brass you're changing the interface between cartridge and tonearm. When you change materials and this is always a wild card. For this reason, I'd try both a thicker piece of aluminum (try a piece 3 times your current thickness) as well as the brass.

You'll likely prefer one over the other, and remember that this is not a universal judgment but rather a preference you'll have with your ZYX.

Making up your own thicker carrier isn't rocket science. The pivot hole is a 2.5mm x .7mm tapped hole, and the two cartridge holes aren't threaded.

Your tool set consists of a hack saw, a mill file, a drill along with a bit/tap set. Assuming you have most of the above, the tap/drill bit would set you back a whole $5.00.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galiber

Hi Petng,

I don't have the time to visit forum on a daily basis these days and didn't realize that you asked the same question (about anti-skate) over here as well as in a private e-mail to me. I might as well paste my private answer to you here, where it might help someone else.

Your description above is one of (likely) really "wound up" the thread into knots. You want to return to neutral (no twists) so you can start over.

I assume you know the difference between independently raising/lowering the magnet spacing (use the Allen key in the hole to keep the set screw from rotating while spinning the knob), and adjusting anti-skate (don't use the Allen key, and merely spin the knob).

Reduce the spacing so that the magnets touch and put a bit of slack in t he thread. Then slowly rotate the anti-skate knob (probably clockwise, but try both directions).

View the thread through a magnifying glass. You're trying to verify that you've returned to a neutral position (no twists). You should be able to see the fibers to verify that you've completely untwisted the thread.

From this point, use about 1.5 counter-clockwise turns as your starting point for anti-skate.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier