Turntable Setup Guide: Tracking Force, Anti-Skate & More

A well-calibrated turntable is the secret to experiencing your vinyl collection at its best. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned audiophile, fine-tuning your tracking force, anti-skate, and tonearm alignment can make your records sound even better and help prolong the life of your stylus and aluminum platter.

In this guide, we’ll outline key turntable setup steps and provide links to some helpful accessories from Elusive Disc that will help make the process smoother, more satisfying, and more accurate.

Why Setup Matters

You wouldn’t even expect the best turntable to sound its best straight out of the box. The stylus can eat away at your records if it’s tracking too heavily. If it’s too light, it can skip or mistrack. Improper anti-skating can lead to channel imbalance, distortion, and premature stylus wear.

Dialing in your setup ensures:

• Balanced sound across both channels
• Improved tracking accuracy
• More gentle on records and stylus
• Optimal bass, clarity, and dynamics

Step 1: Balance the Tonearm

Before you can set tracking force or anti-skate, your tonearm needs to be balanced to “float” horizontally.

How to Do It:

• It has a stylus guard - Please remove it.
• Set anti-skate to zero.
• Spin the counterweight located at the back of the tonearm until the arm floats level to the platter.
• Once floating, stop the counterweight and turn the tracking dial (if available) to "0.

This creates a neutral distance from which you can measure your tracking force.

Step 2: Adjust the Tracking Force

It is the downward pressure exerted by the stylus on the groove. If so, most cartridges have a “recommending” tracking range, maybe between 1.5 and 2.5 grams. You want to be as exact as you can.

Tools You’ll Need:

• Digital Stylus Force Gauge -It is indispensable for accurate stylus force adjustment.

How to Set It:

• Once the arm is balanced, turn the counterweight (not the tracking dial) until the arm adds the recommended weight for your cartridge.
• Check the value with a stylus force gauge.
• When in doubt, stick to the middle of the recommended range.

For instance, the recommended force for an Ortofon 2M Red is 1.8 grams, so 1.8 is what you're aiming for.

Step 3: Adjust Anti-Skate

Anti-skate is the little bit of outward force that's applied to the tonearm to counteract its natural inward pull as it plays. Without this, the stylus can bear more heavily on one groove wall than another, causing distortion or one channel to be louder than the other.

Setting Anti-Skate:

• A safe bet is to adjust the anti-skate to be equal to the tracking force. So, if your tracking force is set to 2.0 grams, set the anti-skate to 2.0.
• Refine with test samples or fine-tuning by ear.

Symptoms of Incorrect Anti-Skate:

• One channel with distortion or imbalance
• Uneven stylus wear
• Skipping near the inner grooves

Step 4: Check and Adjust VTA (Vertical Tracking Angle) and Azimuth

Trickier adjustments, including VTA and azimuth, fine-tune how the stylus sits in the groove.

• VTA: Raise or lower the tonearm so that the tip of the stylus is in the proper position within the groove.
• Azimuth: Places the stylus vertically to touch the left and right walls of the groove.

Many high-end tables (such as the VPI Prime 21) feature adjustable VTA and azimuth. You’ll need tools, like an alignment mirror or digital microscope, to get them dialed in, or speak with your dealer for setup assistance.

Step 5: Use an Alignment Protractor

An alignment protractor is used to find the correct distance from the stylus tip to the tonearm pivot. Misalignment can cause distortion, especially in the inner grooves.

Recommended Tool:

• Ortofon Alignment Protractor

Follow the instructions in your protractor closely, and don’t rush it: It can be a trial-and-error process to get the two null points exactly aligned.

Step 6: Remember the Principles

Before playing your first LP:

• Align your turntable dead flat -Ensure your turntable is perfectly flat
• After each use, use a record brush to remove surface dust
• Keep your stylus clean with something safe and residue-free like the Onzow Zerodust

These little habits will help safeguard your investment and ensure the clarity of playback.

Final Thoughts: Set It Up Right, Hear It All!

A well-tailored turntable is way more than gear it’s your gateway to the deepest, richest vinyl sound possible. Setup might feel overwhelming the first time, but if you do it all as outlined in this guide everything will be easy, rewarding, and repeatable.

Here at Elusive Disc, we do not just have a huge selection of turntables; we help you use them. Our handpicked selection of setup tools and supplies makes setting up easy and assures you have everything you need. And in case you ever need help, our analog engineers are a phone call or email away.

Check out the full turntable family to find the right one for you. It’s as good as this turntable here when you set it up.