New cutter problem with VR :(

[Renaud]

Hi all,

It s 6 month i do enjoy and improove with my cutter and as more day go as more i am looking how to continue learning.
Since few days, i change the cutter to a new one. I also change the weight from 20gr to 15gr and try to make test and more test but i keep having a problem : the cut part of the vinyl stick on the records.





I try to change the position of the hover and lot of think wich get in my head but still no solution.
Does anybody have a clever (or not) advice for me ?

[SueDenim]

My advice is:
1. clean your stylus to remove all that melted swarf (you may need to remove it from the head to get it completely clean)
2. make sure your suction tubes are also clean of any swarf and nothing is stuck
3. check to make sure that your suction is strong and that there are no leaks in the suction system (if so, patch them)
4. turn your stylus heat completely off before you make your next test cut
5. adjust the cutting angle of your head so that it is parallel to the blank (yours appears a long way from this judging by the photos!)
6. check to make sure that your stylus is straight in the torque tube

Hope some of this helps!

[TheCrates]

Is it a second hand machine?

[Renaud]

no the machine is new and used to work well.
I will try tomorrow your advice Sue Denime.

[Renaud]

Done all the 4th first point but still don't get result.
Can you please explain me with a bit more detail about the 2 last points ?

[SueDenim]

The 4th point was probably the most important considering the melted swarf around your diamond!
Have you read My Shank's guide?

http://www.myshank.com/en/content/6-faq

[The Shank]

Even by reading my website he takes the risk to be banned by Souri...

And by the way, my dear Souri, I'll make a thread, just for you, just for your behavior with your customers, it's time to make things clear...

I'm over with your nervous breakdown when hearing feedback from TOO MUCH people about me...

[David34]

From that picture it looks to me like your cutterhead is not vertical.

Get a 90 degree set square, and use an old record - put it against the front of the cutterhead, then check the horizontal "sides" of the cutterhead are parallel to the record too..

There is a knob on the side, be careful not to loosen it too hard and too quick, hold onto the cutterhead carefully. Adjust up or down, until the head is parallel (horizontally)

Cut a tester.

[sat159p1]

David34:

And here' smy question which has not been answered ever.. I didn't find an answer in Audio Mastering books, here and everywhere else.

So the question is why cutterhead must be pararell to the blank? I did some tests and I'm not hearing anything bad. But when I set my cutterhad pararell, my stylus has more than 20% degree angle, so I'm probably way off the maximum angle (around 8-10 percent), ruining the stylus faster than I should.

Souri recommends pararell setup with -8 to +8 percent angle, but it can't be adjusted anywhere. Cuttrhead angle is related to the stylus angle, so still don't know which way is the right way.

1) cutterhead pararell to the blank with "plow" high angled stylus
2) cutterhead not pararell to the blank and classic 90-degree stylus positioning
3) something in between, not exceeding 8% plow-angle

Can you help?

[sat159p1]

Allright, forget it.
Probably not so important as nobody knows the answer.

[Mudshark]

David34:

And here' smy question which has not been answered ever.. I didn't find an answer in Audio Mastering books, here and everywhere else.

So the question is why cutterhead must be pararell to the blank? I did some tests and I'm not hearing anything bad. But when I set my cutterhad pararell, my stylus has more than 20% degree angle, so I'm probably way off the maximum angle (around 8-10 percent), ruining the stylus faster than I should.

Souri recommends pararell setup with -8 to +8 percent angle, but it can't be adjusted anywhere. Cuttrhead angle is related to the stylus angle, so still don't know which way is the right way.

1) cutterhead pararell to the blank with "plow" high angled stylus
2) cutterhead not pararell to the blank and classic 90-degree stylus positioning
3) something in between, not exceeding 8% plow-angle

Can you help?

I would like to know the answer to this also, can anyone here help please?

[tragwag]

the one part of your questions that I know for certain is: you can adjust the angle. the black knob next to the dashpot is what adjust the head angle.
as far as the angles, I don't have any concrete information on that either.

[David34]

Sorry for not responding sooner .

I have only touched the tip of what can be done on this machine, but one thing I know for certain is that the cutterhead must be parallel with the vinyl.

A few things that I found quite useful and good by myself:

Put a spirit level on the turntable. Get it level. There are feet on Souris base plate that are adjustable (turn them!)
Make sure your platter is level too.
Adjust your cutterhead (prob best to take off cutter diamond) so it is parallel using the knob next to dash pot, put down cutterhead and use a set square against blank vinyl. Stand back and look. It should be parallel, with diamond inverted inwards.
Then adjust your weights.
Then cut a disc.

Hope this helps.. I am learning every day. It never stops, and never will. It is why we love it

[Thelurker]

Way too much stylus heat!!! That heating wire is glowing red!!!

[sat159p1]

I think "pararell-to-the-blank cuttrhead" is a myth with dynamic cutterhead. Diamond stylus gets its movement from speaker coil attachment, so the angle has nothing to do with that. This is just my theory, I am not an expert. I just don't hear anything wrong with the non-pararell setup. I think also that stylus angle is way more important that cutterhead angle. In terms of everything - good groove depth, longevity and frequency spectrum.

[The Shank]

I think "pararell-to-the-blank cuttrhead" is a myth with dynamic cutterhead. Diamond stylus gets its movement from speaker coil attachment, so the angle has nothing to do with that.

bullshit!


By standing the head parallel or with a small angle is a best for the stone... The crystal lattice of a diamond is very complex. Being parallel to the blank
avoid to stress the stone more than needed.

[sat159p1]

I think "pararell-to-the-blank cuttrhead" is a myth with dynamic cutterhead. Diamond stylus gets its movement from speaker coil attachment, so the angle has nothing to do with that.

bullshit!


By standing the head parallel or with a small angle is a best for the stone... The crystal lattice of a diamond is very complex. Being parallel to the blank
avoid to stress the stone more than needed.

Even with a huge plow angle? like almost 20% (hard to measure it)? I have cutterhead alignment now like Renaud (not pararell) and still have like 8-10 percent angle. And it was like that since the beginning. Souri tells that every stylus-to-cutterhead has its own angle - so nothing is the same on this construction... Anyway thank you for the answer, Steven!

[TheCrates]

In case you have a iphone, theres a usefull app called "AngleMeter". Very good for controlling, also doing screenshots.

Same here, if i set the recomended 8-10° the cuttinghead isnt parallel either, the front is way up. If its paralell, the diamond has around 20° and has not much clearance angle at the backside at all.

If i compare it to a real cnc lathe and their indstalled cutting platelets (90°), 20° off cant be healthy for a long lifetime of the stylus.. like Steven said too.

But all Photos of installed vr cutting heads i seen have this big angle. It would be no problem to manufacture it differently, maybe for the plowing angle, depth, groovewidth!?

Need to experient with it and let you know. Would be great if the lifetime of the stylus will extend, without any deterioration of the soundquality.

[TheCrates]

Yeah well, after digging through the net and looking a bit closer... If a long time user like Duophonic, who cutted thousands of vinyls, it should be right to focus at the angle and forget the head, even it looks strange. Thx for the video, it helped to clear out my last ambiguities.

I guess Renaud, with a new properly installed stylus, no heating, 15 gramm, flat Blank at 31-35° and Denoiser, you should get a decent result.

Good luck!



Mhhhh Feedback Cutterhead, tasty...

[The Shank]

Souri tells that every stylus-to-cutterhead has its own angle - so nothing is the same on this construction... Anyway thank you for the answer, Steven!

At least, he assumes his stylus are not perfect hahaha... That guy is still so fun.