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Well Tempered Classic - Alignment Protractor

G

glangley

New Member
Having learnt that a "standard" protactor is not ideal for this rig, and having placed an order with Stanalog and not heard back from them, does anyone or can anyone provide a high quality actual size scan of the protractor.

I'm happy to reimburse costs via PayPal.
 
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glangley said:
Having learnt that a "standard" protactor is not ideal for this rig, and having placed an order with Stanalog and not heard back from them, does anyone or can anyone provide a high quality actual size scan of the protractor.

I'm happy to reimburse costs via PayPal.
Click to expand...

Try here.

vinyl engine
 
As far as I know, as long as you know the effective length of the tonearm (which I don't), you can use pretty much any protractor, no? (Assuming that if you use a protractor specifically designed for an arm of a particular length, that length matches the arm.)

-Bob
 
You can use a "stupid" two-point protractor on any table. EDIT: okay I see in the owner's manual they claim that "no other will do the job" but I don't know why that would be unless the dimensions don't allow for any of the common alignments.. I guess the non-well-tempered-owner should now exit the conversation.
 
If I remember correctly the headshell has 2 holes instead of slots, and eff length is a matter of chance. I think the philosophy is to align at an inner null and it doesn't matter as much near the periphery cause the groove info is whizzing around much faster. Something like that anyway. Seems strange, but somehow it works. I would go back to VE and download the Chipritz straight line protractor. You can use it to get any nulls between 60 and 150mm. I'd just set it to get as close to Baerwald as possible. Any alignment with nulls between 60 and 121mm is a "good" alignment.

http://www.welltemperedlab.net/welltemperedlab/

Might be able to get more info here:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?board=175.0
 
Speaking of the WTT Amadeus/Simplex tonearm (which I assume we are), I pestered the distributor, Mike Pranka, mercilessly in an effort to get an understandable explanation of the non-adjustable cartridge alignment of the tonearm. I think I kind of got an answer at the link below. But in the end, I think it's just a matter of trusting designer Bill Firebaugh's unorthodox approach.
-Bob

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=81480.0
 
Thanks for all the help so far.

To be clear, this is not the Amadeus but the earlier Classic V model. Same principle but different arm.

I've never had to worry about this before as standard protractors have been fine and I have taken little note of the actual science behind this, until now!

If Stanalog serviced customers it would not be a problem, but they don't and I'm up the creek without a paddle, at the moment.

If anyone has one of these, I'm desperate for a copy :)
 
Sorry your thread got accidentally hijacked. I was about to suggest posting your question on the WTT section of the Audio Circle forum, but I see that you've done that. Perhaps the moderator, Mike Pranka, will be able to help over there. I believe he's the current WTT distributor.
-Bob
 
Yes, that's all you need then. Download the Chpratz Protractor from the vinylengine link above, and use the null points from that thread (58.8mm and 117.4mm) and you should be exactly matching the stock protractor. If you're into this sort of thing, I would try standard alignments using the "stupid" two-point protractors too, if you did not use a universal 2-point previously and if you have one of the well-tempered headshells that allows standard alignments. I could not figure out what the classic V headshell is like from a quick googling.
 
EEK!!! the inner null is in the lead out groove. I suggest getting one of those straight line protractors and seeing what you can do. That's ridiculous.
 
I have a Well Tempered Record Player and a genuine laminated protractor for it. It has an overhang gauge and two null points which are printed in a straight line, so you have to rotate it when shifting between the two points.

I'd be willing to get a copy of it to the OP if i can surmount the technical challenges to doing so. I'm a bit of a Luddite when it comes to such things. I have a scanner. maybe I could scan it and email it as a PDF?

PM me if you like.
 

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It's not so ridiculous. I was just messing around with it (in math, not with an actual arm), and while the inner null is never reached, it appears to provide lower distortion than any standard for about the inner 1/2 of an LP, and higher than any standard on the outer 1/2. Looks kind of promising, actually.
 
@dumptruck

So you think maybe that given the "out there" design of the arm, that these nulls might be correct for the WT?
 
I don't think it has that much to do with the unconventional arm - just a different approach to alignment that allows approx. double distortion on the outer part of the record in favor of great performance on the inner, instead of the usual best-compromise strategy. From what I have glanced over, I think the designer had some technical arguments for why the higher outer groove distortion was not a problem.
 
dumptruck said:
It's not so ridiculous. I was just messing around with it (in math, not with an actual arm), and while the inner null is never reached, it appears to provide lower distortion than any standard for about the inner 1/2 of an LP, and higher than any standard on the outer 1/2. Looks kind of promising, actually.
Click to expand...

Nonsense, literally. One of the biggest complaints about Stevenson is that the beginning of record doesn't sound good. This is a hair worse. IMO Firebaugh's theory about the beginning of the record is BS. I set up one of these tables in the '80s. I hunted for the cart with the greatest mounting screw to stylus distance. I was able to get it reasonably close to Baerwald and it sounded good. Having the inner null in the lead out makes no sense.
neo
 
Don't "nonsense" me. That was an accurate description of the alignment. It is lower distortion than Stevenson on the inner portion, and the questionable null position allows for some setup error without getting a skyrocketing distortion right at the very very inner grooves. Nonsense the theory about sacrificing the outer grooves all you like.
 
@neobop

Disagree that this is nonsense, Bill Firebaugh is controversial with this design, BUT his designs receive acclaim, so I think maybe these figures are correct :)
 
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