Alignment tools

On my Rega P3-24 and Technics SL1210 I have been using paper alignment protractors for a few years now. These are arc protractors I got from the Vinyl Engine website and I would put them on top of an old LP, using Blu-tac to lock the platter in place. I bought a Clearaudio Alignment Gauge recently and would now recommend this.

Why do this: records are cut in a straight line from edge to centre but the standard tonearm is pivoted so the stylus (and cartridge) follow an arc. The various alignments will minimise the distortion caused by the angle of the stylus in the groove.

How 1: Paper arc protractor - see above. Assuming you use the correct arc and it is to scale, the main challenge is ensuring the protractor is correctly positioned. That means cutting the right size hole for the spindle and pointing the baseline at the pivot.

How 2: the Clearaudio alignment gauge has a ruled arm with a thin rod you position on the centre of the top of the arm pivot. It is quite easy to use after the first go (!) and now gives me quick and repeatable results on both decks with different cartridges. It is £190 but is well made and offers some alignment options I liked.

Tip: I use a Linen Tester I bought from Maplin, A82AW - £7.49. It's a 6x magnifier lens in a hinged frame. Before moving the tonearm across I put the magnifier just in front of the alignment grid cartridge, centred and focussed on the alignment point. The new Smart Tractor uses the same idea!

Jon-is the Clearaudio device calibrated in millimetres or inches for the effective arm length setting? Thanks.

Thanks Jon. I was mistakenly under the impression that the adjustable "rod" was first set to the arm's effective length. I've been considering one for sometime now but the price has put me off somewhat.
It certainly looks much easier than setting the stylus to two separate points and still ensuring the cantilever lines up with the grid too! I get quite irate with myself at times trying to align a cartridge, this might well help control the blood pressure!

It also offers a useful feature that can be emulated with multiple paper protractors: increasing the inner groove radius from the IEC standard of 60.325mm. Using 75mm halves the distortion provided your records have plenty of space between the last track on the side and the record label.