Poloralphloren
Hi, I just set up some Technics 1210 MKII turntables with VDJ's timecoded vinyl, and I'm having some small problems... Mostly it's working well, and a lot of fun to play with, but there is some occasional bad skipping, and the wow and flutter seems a bit high...
The wow and flutter changes the BPM by 0.2 to 0.3, so for example a 125 BPM track will fluctuate from 124.7 to 125.3 at times -- seems like more than you would expect! Any way to tighten up the playback? The needles that came with the decks are definitely very old and worn, could this be causing the problem? I have new needles on the way soon, so we'll see...
The skipping is a very serious problem, but seems to be declining as I keep using the TCV's... do they need to get worn in a bit before they work perfectly? The signal quality I'm getting is fluctuating between 100% and like 40% at times, and when it starts dipping down to the lower %'s, that's when the skipping happens. Sometimes it just skips a beat, or pauses for a second, other times it moves to a completely different part of the track -- unacceptable during a live mix! Any way to fix this? Could this again be caused by the old and worn needles I'm currently using?
The wow and flutter changes the BPM by 0.2 to 0.3, so for example a 125 BPM track will fluctuate from 124.7 to 125.3 at times -- seems like more than you would expect! Any way to tighten up the playback? The needles that came with the decks are definitely very old and worn, could this be causing the problem? I have new needles on the way soon, so we'll see...
The skipping is a very serious problem, but seems to be declining as I keep using the TCV's... do they need to get worn in a bit before they work perfectly? The signal quality I'm getting is fluctuating between 100% and like 40% at times, and when it starts dipping down to the lower %'s, that's when the skipping happens. Sometimes it just skips a beat, or pauses for a second, other times it moves to a completely different part of the track -- unacceptable during a live mix! Any way to fix this? Could this again be caused by the old and worn needles I'm currently using?
Inviato Tue 27 Jun 06 @ 2:02 am
Poloralphloren
Update: I flipped over the TCV's, and the other side seems to be slightly better for pitch variation... only varies by 0.1% up and down rather than 0.3% -- wish they were shipped in a sturdier box though, the box looked visibly dented when it arrived, and the vinyls only work well on 1 side... But it's good enough for now.
Still, the skipping happens from time to time, and is a pretty serious problem (see above description). Any idea why the TCV's are causing VDJ to skip to a totally different part of the track from time to time? This really shouldn't be happening, and the needle on the record is not physically moving when this happens, it's just spontaneous skipping. It seems to be getting better though, i.e. happening less frequently, do these records somehow work better as they are "broken in"? Thanks!
Still, the skipping happens from time to time, and is a pretty serious problem (see above description). Any idea why the TCV's are causing VDJ to skip to a totally different part of the track from time to time? This really shouldn't be happening, and the needle on the record is not physically moving when this happens, it's just spontaneous skipping. It seems to be getting better though, i.e. happening less frequently, do these records somehow work better as they are "broken in"? Thanks!
Inviato Tue 27 Jun 06 @ 5:21 pm
Andrew87
Poloralphloren wrote :
Update: I flipped over the TCV's, and the other side seems to be slightly better for pitch variation... only varies by 0.1% up and down rather than 0.3% -- wish they were shipped in a sturdier box though, the box looked visibly dented when it arrived, and the vinyls only work well on 1 side... But it's good enough for now.
Mine also do this, must have been pressed from a bad master or we both just got unlucky with the handling during delivery. The 0.1% fluctuation is fine because both decks will do it; you can test it by matching two identical tracks and they will stay in sync throughout their duration. How long ago did you order your TCV? I thought this was an old problem which has now been fixed with better TCV.
Poloralphloren wrote :
Still, the skipping happens from time to time, and is a pretty serious problem (see above description). Any idea why the TCV's are causing VDJ to skip to a totally different part of the track from time to time? This really shouldn't be happening, and the needle on the record is not physically moving when this happens, it's just spontaneous skipping. It seems to be getting better though, i.e. happening less frequently, do these records somehow work better as they are "broken in"? Thanks!
There's no way that any vinyl have to be broken in as they deteriorate over time. Have you tried using the auto-configuration in the setup and enabling anti-skip? The new TCV (although it does not appear that you have these) require manual setup to get 100% signal. What card are you using for asio purposes? Increasing the buffer may work although it's also possible you're experiencing grounding problems; have a go at increasing the weight of the counterweight on your turntables and playing with the anti-skate if you're using an s-shaped tonearm.
Inviato Tue 27 Jun 06 @ 5:55 pm
Poloralphloren
Just ordered the TCV's last week, received them yesterday... I did use auto-config, and anti-skip -- what could I do manually to get 100% signal?
I'm using an M-Audio Delta 44 sound card -- how would I increase the buffer?
For grounding, I have the turntables grounded to my external mixer -- would grounding it to the computer chasis make any difference? That's what it says to do in the TCV basic instructions, but I don't see why it would matter where you ground them...
And yes, I've played around with counterweights and anti-skating, doesn't seem to help...
Thanks for the help!
I'm using an M-Audio Delta 44 sound card -- how would I increase the buffer?
For grounding, I have the turntables grounded to my external mixer -- would grounding it to the computer chasis make any difference? That's what it says to do in the TCV basic instructions, but I don't see why it would matter where you ground them...
And yes, I've played around with counterweights and anti-skating, doesn't seem to help...
Thanks for the help!
Inviato Tue 27 Jun 06 @ 6:12 pm
DJ Cyder
try to disable the riaa preamp in the config and report back.
Inviato Tue 27 Jun 06 @ 6:51 pm
Poloralphloren
Actually the "auto-config" button set the RIAA preamp both on and off at different times that I tried it -- seems to do much better with it enabled most of the time, but at one point disabling it did solve the problem briefly... but shortly afterward it started going totally crazy, so I enabled it again and it got back to its current state -- only occasional skipping.
I just received some new needles today, tried them for a few minutes, they sounded better but still some funny stuff, but they might have just been skating over the record, I need to sit down and use them for a while to really test them out -- new needles might solve the problem, but don't have time at the moment to check em out yet....
I raised the buffer to 512 -- the default setting was 256 it turns out... will increasing the buffer be likely to help? I have a very fast computer, does that mean I could get away with, say, 1024 buffer? Or will the latency still be noticeable on a fast computer?
I just received some new needles today, tried them for a few minutes, they sounded better but still some funny stuff, but they might have just been skating over the record, I need to sit down and use them for a while to really test them out -- new needles might solve the problem, but don't have time at the moment to check em out yet....
I raised the buffer to 512 -- the default setting was 256 it turns out... will increasing the buffer be likely to help? I have a very fast computer, does that mean I could get away with, say, 1024 buffer? Or will the latency still be noticeable on a fast computer?
Inviato Tue 27 Jun 06 @ 8:39 pm
Andrew87
Usually if the buffer is too low you will hear pops and clicks; if the situation was no better from moving from 256 to 512 you want to go back down to 256, the lower the better and 256 is double the responsiveness of 512.
Inviato Tue 27 Jun 06 @ 8:44 pm