Record Clamps

[kiwizig]

I have been thinking about buying a record clamp. What are some of the benefits that can be gained by using one and what are some of the best ones on the market?

[Cooksferry]

I have been thinking about buying a record clamp. What are some of the benefits that can be gained by using one and what are some of the best ones on the market?

The main benefit from a clamp(s) is the the record is connected accross its complete surface with the platter. If you have a warped or dished record then the cartridge probably wont track correctly .
What type of clamp you use is governed to a large degree by your TT. If it is a suspended deck then you can only use a light weight clamp and Michell do a good one that should work ok.
If you have a non suspended TT then you can go to a heavy weight central clamp at the very least and if you are cursed with a few badly pressed favourites then an outter ring clamp can also be added.
My deck came with a heavy weight centre clamp and after putting up with warped records for a few years I added an outer clamp from TT Weights which I now use with every lp as it takes about 2 seconds to fit and I know there is proper contact with the platter.
There's a range of clamps here
http://www.needledoctor.com/Online-Store/Record-Clamps
and the TT Weights here
http://www.ttweights.com/480_gram_alloy_outer_ring.html
Not cheap but beautifully made and worth every penny IMO.

[kiwizig]

Thanks Cooks, I have a suspended deck so will order the Michell clamp but the outer clamp I will have to save for.

[Newbie]

Tempted by the 675gm @US$439 + US$73 post, which works out to about $600. BUT add taxes and BNZ fees as its over the GST limit and it looks like a no goer :-(

Pity they don't have any $250 seconds left, as with the current exchange rate...

Which one do you have Cooks?

[Cooksferry]

Tempted by the 675gm @US$439 + US$73 post, which works out to about $600. BUT add taxes and BNZ fees as its over the GST limit and it looks like a no goer :-(

Pity they don't have any $250 seconds left, as with the current exchange rate...

Which one do you have Cooks?

Cant remember how heavy mine is as its an older model and they've changed the designs.
I think it's around 650gm,was the middle weight one then. Plenty heavy enough as it's managed to flatten anything I've thrown at it so far. Cost a couple of years ago was some where between 400 and 500 dollars...the blessings of a wonderful memory.
Didn't get hit with any taxes.

[Michael Wong]

Using record clamps is very much a suck-it-and-see experiment with a few provisos;

Inappropriate use of heavyweight clamps may damage turntable main bearings.

Screw-down or reflex clamps are best used with hard platters or firm mats, eg. the original Well-tempered, Elite Rock, Oracle, SOTA.

Not so good with compressible felt mats as used by Linn, Rega et al.

An interesting about-turn is that while the original Well Tempered turntables used screw-down clamps and convex platters, the new models use soft mats sans clamp.