Replacing wool/felt mat

[fretlessVI]

Watch that stuff (shelf liner)it has been stated it will mark the vinyl if you leave it on there.

I carefully washed the mats with lots of soap and water before using them. I never had a problem with them leaving a mark...

[musicmaker]

so hello does anyone think that i should replace my rubber matt with a cork or felt or maybe a leather one ????????????????????????? Im new to this , as i said i recently bought a rega planner2 which has a rubber matt.. what do you chaps think ????????????????????????

[mr.datsun]

My only complaint with the felt was the static problem. The mat lifting away with the vinyl and then having to 'peel' away the felt from the underside of the LP. Over the weekend it seemed to be doing it for 80% of the records I played.

Rather than buy a new mat I ordered a Milty Zerostat 3 which arrived today. What a relief.

[Sandbah 92]

Fretless, could you give a better description of the placemat you are talking about?
Is it a single layer of plastic? Laminated? I've been to 3 Dollar stores and have seen nothing like you described. I also checked e-bay and could not find anything like you described re the guy selling them for $20. Thanks! Anyone else find them or something similar? If so, what and where? Thanks!

[Sandbah 92]

Fretless, I forgot to ask you about its thickness.

[Alec124c41]

Some dollar stores have the rubber mesh placemats, most have the shelf-liner.
Musicmaker: Cork, felt, and leather are easily available, and not expensive. It is worth trying them just to learn how they sound. You might prefer one or another. Listen to how each sounds, including the rubber one, in the bass, the mids, and the highs, as well as imaging.
You could make all 4 for under $20.

Cheers,
Alec

[Sandbah 92]

Thanks again, Alec. Doesn't this seem to be contradictory > rubber mesh as opposed to the density of both cork and leather?

[Alec124c41]

Just try them, and see what they sound like. But don't leave the record on the mesh. The plasticizers in the stuff will mark your records if you leave them on overnight. It might be good on the bottom of a 2 or three-layer mat.

Cheers,
Alec

[Sandbah 92]

OK - I bought a 12 inch cork planter mat with one side that has a plastic backing at Home Depot. I've been playing it for 2 days now > the bass seems to be much more up front as do the other instruments. Thus far, I'm impressed with the sound improvement. Haven't tried it yet with the plastic side up, and Home Depot sells the same mat without the plastic backing - I'll have to give that a try at some point. The cork is not very pleasing to the eye, but many other things that aren't pretty to look at still get the job done.

[Sandbah 92]

I just played the same song back to back at the same settings, and asked my wife to listen to both. The song was "Tulsa Queen" from Emmylou Harris's Luxury Liner lp. The first run through was with the homemade cork platter mat and the second was with the heavy duty felt mat from Rega that came with their glass platter. There was no doubt in her mind that the song sounded richer and fuller with the cork platter. I agreed. $6.99 well spent!

[musicmaker]

Hi . spent my time trying to sort my reaga table out , have solved the hum issue and ive also made a lether matt and will try the rubber one to see what effect they have. Would you or do you re-balance tone arm on each matt . ????

[Sandbah 92]

Good question!!! I didn't on mine but perhaps I should. I do also need to hit a leather shop to try to score a piece for a mat.

[Alec124c41]

The mat has no effect on the balance of the arm. It might change the VTA slightly.
When comparing, I just swap back and forth.

Cheers,
Alec

[philmch]

I use the XTM1 acrylic mat which is commonly available on Ebay.

I've secured it to the glass platter with 3 loops of sellotape. I only use a clamp with records which are dished upwards towards the label.

I reckon that part of the problem with soft mats is that they slip on the platter or that the record slips on the mat.

Might well try a cork one though.