Distorted high freq on LPs, why?

[cabinover]

I was listening to a brass band/marches type album tonight and the right channel sounded kinda strange to me. Most of the woodwind and flute info is on the R channel and when you come to a loud passage it almost sounds "overdriven" for lack of a better term. I haven't noticed this on other albums and was wondering if this is an over-recorded record or is it that my cartridge can't keep up with the high frequencies and smears them? Maybe it has some alignment issues?

BTW, Dual 1229 w A/T440 cart.
The album is a Somerset Stereo Fidelity, heavy as all get out.

Left channel with the large brass (tuba) sounds just fine, as fine as brass bands can sound on a stereo anyway.

 

[Sansui Louie]

hmm.could be a bad pressing, particularly if you don't notice it on other similar types of recordings.

 

[Don C]

Anti-Skating mis adjusted? Stylus dirty?

 

[rulerboyz]

Definitely second Sansui's comment. You need to establish a pattern of a specific problem on more than one LP. Or use a test record and see what it tells you. I found that vertical tracking angle, is an important thing to look at too. Basically is your cartridge in the correct orientation in three dimensional space in order for the stylus to make contact with your LP grooves with the right amount of force, direction.

 

[Mopic5]

Hi Cabinover,
It might be groove wall damage from a previous owner's use with little or no anti-skate settings. Otherwise, your first instinct might also be right. Sound engineers occassionally recorded "hot". I've got one that's just the inverse of yours - must have been miked right under the bass drum - Saint Saen's "Dance Macabre". Whenever the bass drum is hit,it bleeds out-of-control bass that overlaps everything for a second or two. Because it's a soft clip, the break-up is pretty natural sounding and not unpleasant, but still over the top.
Would you say the the flutes and woodwinds are soft clipping or is it harsher, which would be more in line with damage or misalignment?

 

[soundoc03]

I have used a similar combination (1219/AT440ml). Are you using the tracking force in the upper range limit? You may wan't to experiment here as I noticed superior highs(much better tracking) with a greater TF.

 

[cabinover]

I'm pretty sure it isn't the cart alignment as this doesn't seem to bother other records. It may very well be a less than perfect pressing or damage from a previous owner. I'll save this one for a lesser cartridge/stylus.

Soundoc03, I think it's sitting around 1~1 1/4 gram at the present. Have run a couple different test albums under it with no problems so I'm guessing it's the record.

Thanks for all the replies guys!