follow up to cratedigger labs with shure whitelabel action

Based on the post below, this is a follow up in getting my 1200s set up for success in the sonic realm.

I got a replacement Shure Whitelabel cartridge and stylus in the mail. This package contained some instructions, which helped me set up the turntables correctly, finally.

I put the new cartridge on the right 1200 which had the quieter cartridge as judged by listening the the loud Ramsey Lewis 45 as described below.

The directions instructed me to take the tonearm off the rest, and then crank the counterweight all the way back so that they tonearm is sticking up in the air, kind of like a seesaw with a fat kid on one side. Then, I turned the counterweight so that it was "floating" just above the Material record that I had on the platter. I then set the dial on the tonearm to the zero setting. Next I moved the counterweight so there was 2 grams of force on the tonearm. I then spun the Material LP and it tracked perfectly. It's sonic output was also boosted, so my replacement is deemed a success.

I then set up the left 1200 with the counterweight set up as described above. I tracked a Tangerine Dream LP from 75 and it tracked perfectly as well.

A successful day in the lab, after a 60 mile road trip in the funkwagon in search of more vinyl.

Shure White Label Cartridge deep in cratedigger labs

I have been using Shure White Label cartridges that came with the 1200s that I bought a few months back, and I thought that they sounded pretty good. I even spent the money to get some new styli so that I wouldn't be killing my vinyl with worn needles...

I recently upgraded the mixer and over the weekend, I set out to make a mix of some of my recent finds. I hooked up my macbook to my amp, fired up garage band and started mixing.

Listening, and watching the meters in GB showed that one of my tables was much quieter than the other. At first, I chalked this up to the fact of the variety of mastering levels, mono v. stereo etc. So I finished up the mix with the 45 of Makin' Love by Ramsey Lewis. This is a pretty loud and full sounding groove on any day, but on this day it was darn near deafening.

Something was up. I took the record and put it on the right table, and it was definitely quieter. Next I switched the whitelabels from one table to the other. Now the right table was louder, and the left was the quiet one. I then switched the styli from one to the other. That did not have an effect on the Ramsey Lewis 45. The same right 1200 was louder than the left. So I don't think that the styli are the culprits.

One of my whitelabels is more quiet that the other. I verified by listening to the mix that I made, and there was only so much EQ, that I could throw into the mix after the fact.

Early this morning, I ordered another whitelabel. Once I get it, I will match the new with the better of the two cartridges that I currently have.