Sub title: The redneck turntable isolation system.
I'm finally retired and it is Now or Never for finally converting all those albums to digital format. Some of those albums are 44 years old and just cannot be purchased as CD's at any price. Much of the old stuff is priced much higher than current new releases.
It's Saturday and We've Only Just Begun to compile the collection of music. It is turning out to be a Monster project. The Kentucky Rain is falling as I write this. It is staring to look like capturing all these old Memories is going to be a lot of Trouble . It is far Too Much work for One Night.
Other than never ever having recorded anything using the Windows operating system, I also encounter a major hurdle after dragging out and dusting off the turntable. This modern house in which we live in does not have bridging for the floor joists. The floor in my office is hardwood and the corner computer desk upon which the turntable is sitting is a trestle based design where all the weight rests on six little metal feet.
If you have the counter-weight and skating control properly set the better made turntables are notorious for skipping and skating when subjected to unexpected vibration. Adjusting either of those out of specs for the cartridge you are using or using the dime on the arm trick can play havoc with your albums and cartridge.I don't want to offend any audiophiles reading this so please understand that I am not claiming the turntable in the picture below is a top of the line model.
So I spent hours following Google links looking for a way to isolate the turntable from the floor vibrations as I moved about the room. There are a lot of expensive options that one might purchase and there are several good web articles on building a sandbox for your turntable. I'm not planning on keeping the turntable set up once I get all the albums in digital format so I did not want expensive options or a shelf on the wall which would leave holes to patch after I took it down.
Since I have enough scrap wood in the basement and a piece of marble in the garage I pretty much settled on the sandbox method. I would only need to buy a bag of dry sand. Then the reality of having a sandbox on my desk next to my keyboard and computer made say, let's Reconsider.
One of the articles I read mentioned an expensive foam mat. After looking that one up online it was Crying Time. But it did make me think about using upholstery foam as an insulator. So I looked up a few prices for 4 inch thick upholstery foam and planned on using that and a board or that piece of marble from the garage. Those hobby shops are quite fond of that foam but that is an option if you don't want use garbage.
Then I recalled some 6 inch thick foam inserts that were in the basement. Inserts we had picked up from some discarded furniture cushions in a decent neighborhood. We used two of those for a roofing project but one of those was still clean and in the basement. I thought it would do well as a "concept test" item.
Ladies and Gentlemen here in all of its ugliness I give you, the redneck turntable isolation system.
After reading so many "highbrow" how to articles, I tried to write this in a slightly irreverent style. The simple fact remains; It Works! Whether you choose to buy a new piece of foam or scavenge a couch cushion is your choice. And while I agree this may not be what you want in your living room, it is a highly effective method for reducing or even eliminating floor borne vibrations.
Actually after testing, if it works for you I would suggest that that a simple, suitably stained or painted wood box made from 1x stock which is as tall as your foam is thick and with a Masonite or plywood bottom would look pretty decent. You can spend as much or as little as your prefer on the wood for the box sides.
All of the word plays which are in bold italics are actually song or album titles which you may or may not recognize. I told you I was having fun with this article. Please Pardon Me.
