Looking for advice for a Vanrock 101 embossing issue

[rocketmark]

Hi everyone - first post in the community

I recently purchased a Vanrock 101. I replaced the stylus that was on it with the presto saphire embossing stylus and the machine seems to be working for the most part.

My issue is that the records i'm embossing aren't playing. The emboss just isn't deep to track on any of my record players. I know that embossing is not as deep as a cut, but curious if this is just a byproduct of embossing and I need to upgrade to a diamond cutter, or if this is just a factor of dialing in the machine? There really doesn't seem to be much to adjust on it, that I can see at least.

I've tried searching the forum, but I didn't find anything that would relate.

Thanks in advance

[Fela Borbone]

Hello,
Try adding some weight to the head, a couple of metal washers on top, per example.
Hope this helps.

[soeffingodly]

Hello,
Try adding some weight to the head, a couple of metal washers on top, per example.
Hope this helps.

I agree, more weight should help. You should check out piaptk's beginners guide on the forums. It's pretty informative. Good luck, I hope you get some great sounding cuts. Those sapphires work great. I used to emboss with my old Presto 6N.

[piaptk]

Get a 100g spring scale on amazon or something. Then make sure you have 35g of weight on the head. You can add weight, OR you can pull the stylus out a little further, which will add more weight.

[rocketmark]

Thanks everyone. I just ordered a spring scale and will test that out. I really appreciate the help!

[rocketmark]

quick update: i can see that the weights are working. I'm not quite getting a clean emboss, but at this point it's about adding just a little more weight to it. Thanks for the suggestions, especially @piaptk for suggesting the spring scale.

I've got some noise in the pully system that I'll deal with once I get a record to play straight through. I've put some sewing machine oil in a few spots and that's helped a lot, but this remaining noise may need additional attention.

I'll share when I do get a clean emboss and if there's anything else I did to it. I can start a Vanrock/Atom tips thread if that doesn't already exist.

[piaptk]

When you say "Not clean", what do you mean exactly? Noise floor or distortion in the audio? Noise floor could mean TOO MUCH weight (as could distortion). Your head could have a problem (though I haven't heard of many problematic Van Rock/Atom heads) if it is distortion. Give it the solo cup test (put a thin flexi solo cup against the needle while music is playing and see how it sounds. Could also be a problem in the amp.

If it is noise floor problem and you are sure you don't have too much weight.... MAKE SURE YOU ARE USING POLYCARBONATE... ANY OTHER material, Petg, PVC, etc will have increased noise and diminished high freqs with our embossing needles. Also, try turning the needle... sometimes a fresh face makes a quiet cut.

[piaptk]

I should ask... what kind of blanks are you using and where did you get them?

[rocketmark]

Apologies for the imprecise description. I used clean to mean “complete play through.” I think the bit of audio I do get when I test playback sounds reasonably good, given my expectations. The issue is it’s still too light and so the playback needle doesn’t continue in the groove. It’s skipping, but that’s better than just floating off the record . I had to take a break from adding weight, but will likely finish dialing that part in tomorrow.

My needle and blanks are from your store. I definitely don’t think those are the issue. I am curious what the recommended lubricant is to use on them, but for now I’m sticking with turtle wax while i dial in the weight.

[rocketmark]

Success! plays through, no skips, sounds good. I was using coins to add weight (3x quaters, 1x nickel, 1x dime == 24.06grams added) I'll see if I can get it down to maybe 22grams added (replace the nickel with a dime). I think any sound improvements are going to come with eq'ing the track before it hits the vanrock. I've got a shelf for everything below 60hz, and above 20khz, but so far that's it.

Thanks again everyone for the suggestions.