[jonnywolfet]

one word; Woah!

for those who are unaware of this mod, it was invented by Van Alstine in 1982 and involves gluing a weighted and dampened brass rod onto the front of your cart.

here is a pic from a pro modder

to say that i am impressed would be an understatement. the Grado blue that i had previously discarded because of the smeared highs has just re-entered my system and is now resolving more midrange detail than my Ortofon 2m Blue.
for the £2 worth of brass and the 15 mins it took to make, its probably the best tweak i have ever done to my turntable.

for further reading and instructions to do the mod go to avahifi and download the 1992 pdf file.

for tinkerers, this is an absolute must! try on your own cart (with tack first, you may not be as enamored with the results as i am).

 

[nikongod]

i did it to a red.

there are some secrets he lets out of the bag elsewhere.

Have you tried a 10k-ohm input load on your phono stage? It is AWESOME for a grado.

 

[jonnywolfet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nikongod /img/forum/go_quote.gif i did it to a red. there are some secrets he lets out of the bag elsewhere. Have you tried a 10k-ohm input load on your phono stage? It is AWESOME for a grado.

please tell me that it will bring those highs out just a little touch more....

 

[nikongod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonnywolfet /img/forum/go_quote.gif please tell me that it will bring those highs out just a little touch more....

nope, smooths em out. i thought the red had a little glare, no more.

 

[jonnywolfet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nikongod /img/forum/go_quote.gif nope, smooths em out. i thought the red had a little glare, no more.

ok, well worth a try i guess.
so just a couple of 10k resistors across the signal paths in front of the phono stage yes?

i am probably missing the brightness of the Ortofon, i will give the Grado a couple of weeks before switching back again, just to be sure. Not that i am no longer impressed with the mod, it really has improved the Grado to my ears, it more that i am used to a different presentation and want the best of both worlds (when don't i).

 

[nikongod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonnywolfet /img/forum/go_quote.gif ok, well worth a try i guess. so just a couple of 10k resistors across the signal paths in front of the phono stage yes?

its in parallel with the "standard" 47k, so something from 12 to 14k is better.

as an easy way to test, get a pair of the cheap radio-shack splitters, and solder the resistors into male rca plugs. you can go back and forth very quickly this way.

 

[jonnywolfet]

cool, i will try this. thank you for the directions.

 

[TimJo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonnywolfet /img/forum/go_quote.gif one word; Woah! for those who are unaware of this mod, it was invented by Van Alstine in 1992 and involves gluing a weighted and dampened brass rod onto the front of your cart. for further reading and instructions to do the mod go to avahifi and download the 1992 pdf file. for tinkerers, this is an absolute must! try on your own cart (with tack first, you may not be as enamored with the results as i am).

Thanks for the tip. I hadn't heard about this.

One thing though, after digging around on his site for this mod, I figured out that it is 1982, not 1992. No big deal, but I thought I'd save others from the confusion.

 

[shallbehealed]

There is an extensive thread on vinylengine.com regarding this mod, including some of the "cat out of the bag" items.

 

[jonnywolfet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TimJo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the tip. I hadn't heard about this. One thing though, after digging around on his site for this mod, I figured out that it is 1982, not 1992. No big deal, but I thought I'd save others from the confusion.

edited

Quote:

Originally Posted by shallbehealed /img/forum/go_quote.gif There is an extensive thread on vinylengine.com regarding this mod, including some of the "cat out of the bag" items.

yep, i have ordered some 1000cst silicone oil from ebay, and have dampened the back of the cart with blue-tack too.

 

[nikongod]

to add:
my ONLY gripe with the longhorn is that it interferes with almost every record clamp/weight known to man.

does anyone out there in TV land know where to get a 2.5" diameter hockey puck?

 

[jonnywolfet]

this is true. thankfully, i never invested in one, and so my longhorn can track freely all the way to the end.

how about finding one that has a lower profile? i estimate at least 5-6mm between the height of my longhorn and the vinyl.

 

[shallbehealed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonnywolfet /img/forum/go_quote.gif this is true. thankfully, i never invested in one, and so my longhorn can track freely all the way to the end. how about finding one that has a lower profile? i estimate at least 5-6mm between the height of my longhorn and the vinyl.

That would put the ja michell clamp at the top of the list.