Straight or S shaped tone arms?

[Matt_47]

So I recently got a pair of used Numark TT500s which have interchangable tone arms.. At the moment i'm using straight ones just because thats what they were set up with when i bought them. Is it better/easier to mix with s shaped ones or straight ones? What's the difference?

Cheers

 

[SH81]

wont make any difference for mixing, the straight arms are meant to have better skip resistance. I had a numark ttx for a while but couldn't notice any difference at all between the two arms

 

[dose.bs1]

I would say the same that if you only using for mixing it really doesnt matter to much

 

[muzzadj]

S looks cooler lol.. Thats my contribution to the thread!

 

[SLow]

Straight for scratching

S for sound quality

But the difference is so marginal it doesn't really matter.

 

[wordnz]

Straight will wear down your vinyl faster. Go for S shaped

 

[Saint]

Only been on straight arm decks once but im pretty sure its easier to rewind and move the vinyl about with s shaped. Got a bit more space over the vinyl.

 

[Matt_47]

S looks cooler lol.. Thats my contribution to the thread!

lol thats what i thought!

 

[Teddy]

Straight arms can have greater tracking force than S-shaped tonearms, which is great for scratching. S-shaped tonearms are shaped such a way for a reason. The s-shape that gives the tonearm its name is angled so that the needle will fit in the record grooves at a better angle consistently. Straight tonearms also tend to wear out your vinyl somewhat faster than s-shaped tonarms (assuming all else is equal). The straight tonearm is not necessarily inferior. It's not like the s-shaped tonearms exist solely because of their nostalgic value.

 

[Fortune^]

Straight arms can have greater tracking force than S-shaped tonearms, which is great for scratching. S-shaped tonearms are shaped such a way for a reason. The s-shape that gives the tonearm its name is angled so that the needle will fit in the record grooves at a better angle consistently. Straight tonearms also tend to wear out your vinyl somewhat faster than s-shaped tonarms (assuming all else is equal). The straight tonearm is not necessarily inferior. It's not like the s-shaped tonearms exist solely because of their nostalgic value.

all true. if you have an s-shaped tone arm and want to scratch you can just change the angle of the cart on your headshell.

 

[RUSSLA]

^^ Can't if you have Concordes

 

[dkn]

all true. if you have an s-shaped tone arm and want to scratch you can just change the angle of the cart on your headshell.

Exactly why I just bought the s-shaped tonearms for my Numarks.