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A Technics Guide?

I've ordered two MK5's and have never had a pair of turntables before (in fact never used one other than in record stores for listening to tunes). I'm looking for a site to teach me the tricks of owning the 1200s and TTs in general. Like puting a strip of wax on the bottom layer to help keep the platter spinning, or lever adjustment and weight details, like what weight causes more damage to the records, how to change cartridges, needles, how to know when, etc. etc.

I know this is probably beaten to death, but I tried searching.

if you just ordered em new then they will come with a manual thats got all the setup info you'll ever need to know. I bought my 1210s secondhand so never got the manual with them but managed to find one later on.

No, I got them used. Are there online PDFs for the manual?

Got the 11 page guide off the official site. I assume thats the same one that you said comes with it?

Re: A Technics Guide?

quote:

Originally posted by PersianMafia I've ordered two MK5's and have never had a pair of turntables before (in fact never used one other than in record stores for listening to tunes). I'm looking for a site to teach me the tricks of owning the 1200s and TTs in general. Like puting a strip of wax on the bottom layer to help keep the platter spinning, or lever adjustment and weight details, like what weight causes more damage to the records, how to change cartridges, needles, how to know when, etc. etc. I know this is probably beaten to death, but I tried searching.

http://www.stantondj.com/v2/spt_ttsetup.asp

here they explain the basics of setting up a TT.
i DO NOT recommend to set your hight @ zero like they said to do w/thier stanton line of TT's.

the idea here is set the hight, in a manner that will allow the tone arm to remain as horizontal as possible when needle is on the record.

my techs came out of the box w/the hight set just a tad less than 3mm. setting it zero in my case would have the cart sitting up high, w/the needle in the groove at an odd angle while the side of the tone arm w/the wieght sits low. = playback problems = skipping, or not sounding the way it should because of the angle of the cart/needle. if you put the record directly on the platter, w/out slipmat, or anything under the vinyl. you will notice that the arm will be more horizontal that it would w/stuff under the record w/the hight set to zero.

setting tone arm weight in plain english:
put the wieght on the arm. then turn/twist the wieght out as far as it will go. -remember to make sure you mount the weight w/the number side facing you, so you can read it while standing infront of the turntable.

mount cart. -w/needle guard in place.

you will notice that when you place the cart over the platter, the cart will move up, because the wight is too far back. now rotate the wieght toward cart (add wieght) until the tone arm stays perfectly horizontal OVER the platter. now it's perfectly balanced.

turn the number thing to align the zero to the black line running along the top of tone arm. (NOT the cross hatch ones running ACROSS the tonearm) -now you have your "zero setting"

different needles require different weights. shure recommends about 2grams of weight for the whitelabel. so now you rotate THE ENTIRE tone arm weight toward the cart until the number 2 becomes aligned w/the black line running along the tonearm. (NOT the cross hatch ones running ACROSS the tonearm) now you have add 2grams.

if you want to reduce record wear, reduce the weight as much as you can before you start having playback problems -it's a balancing act. but by reducing wieght you will increase the chance of skipping while back cueing. or having the needle float over a low spot in the record if it's warped. if you want to scratch, add weight to help keep the needle in the groove.

ANTISKATE -i left mine at zero. for scratching, you should leave this at zero. there are some records, that will play better (reduce or stop pops, or skips) if you add some anti-skate to it.

STYLUS OVERHANG - for techs the over hang should be 52mm. if you're using an intergrated cart/concord style like the groovemaster pro. no need to worry about overhang. -you can't adjust those anyways.

if you are using 500al, or some other cart mounted to a headshell. get your hands on a technics measureing tool.

here are some pics of my whitelabel on mounted on the measureing tool: http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...threadid=290795

the needle needs be aligned w/the top. if the needle it self is peeking at you over the top of the measuring tool, then you have too much over hang. if you can't see the cart at all over the tool, then you too little over hang. loosen the screws a little, and push the cart out toward the end of the headshell, away from the part that connects the tonearm.

it's pretty cinchy once you do it, and see how it all comes together.

when to change a needle/cart? every one says to change it once you notice a degredation in sound quality... it's pretty subjective. you can record a song w/the needle is new. the compare how it sounds compared to the recording. i have yet to replace a needle. i've always bought a new cart -500al's are cheap that way. removing the cart from the tonearm??? just turn the metal ring. the ring w/screw or unscrew the cart into place to make contact w/the tonearm connex.

i don't know about putting wax on the platter. spend some money on some good mats. i'm using these: http://djdeals.com/technicsRPWA1200.htm -i think i only paid 20bucks for them at guitar center.

i have thin plastic sheet under the mats -came w/the TT. i'm not sure how much it helps. the TT feels pretty much the same w/or w/out the plastic sheet.

if you like to keep your stuff clean, get a cover. if your TTs are black, the dust that settles, and piles up get noticeable quick.

also, don't clean your dustcover w/a napkin. you leave marks. always clean w/a cloth. clean hard to reach spots w/a q-tip.

i highly recommend reading this article on mixing your own cleaning solution for your records: http://djforums.com/tutorials/record_cleaning.php

it works very well for me. just as well as commercially available products. for a fraction of the price, and you'll have what seems like a lifetime supply. i spent less than 20bucks mixing a gallon of solution. compare that to the products that stanton or others sell. you can't even get 8-12oz for 20bucks. i'm not saying, i mixed myself a superior product. just a lot more cost efficient. the stuff i mixed up is certainly better than playing dirty records, and reducing the lifepsan of both the needles and records because i can't afford to keep buying solution every couple of weeks, or month. -yeah, i'm quite the clean freak when it comes to my records.

YES, guveglide makes a difference. even after cleaning records w/my solution, some records will sound even better w/gruvglide applied after. i don't notice an improvement on all my records... maybe about half of them. still wroth it in my opinion.

hope i helped...

remember the most important thing... which has probably been said a million times before..

try not to touch the platter when a tunes going off time during the mix. instead, use your pitch control as the adjuster. then you wont get thoes horrible pitch fluctuations during a mix and you get more control. its just as responsive as using your hand.

Thanks bros! That should help. And thanks a lot for the DIY cleaning solution! Was looking for something like that.

BTW, how do you take your records out of the sleeves. Do you grab them by the outer most part as possible, then grab them by the center. And only touch the center paper while spinning it?

if you pour the edge of the record onto the fingertips of an opened hand(so your only touching the very edge). with your thumb positioned so that when the record is fully out of the sleave it rests in the center sticker. put the sleeve down then place the free hand in the same position as the other. you dont touch the playing surface at all when handling vinyl then

putting vinyl away just reverse the process. finger prints gather excess dust so try not to get them on the playing surface.

this how i do it

i pull the record out by grabbing the edge, after the record is out of the sleeve, i catch the other end/edge of the vinyl w/my other hand and carry it like a tray. or i will carry a record w/my thumb over the center hole, or on the label, while my finger tips are wrapped around the edge, or vice versa. finger tips on label, and thumb wrapped around the edge. just as long as you keep yourself from putting your fingers on the grooves them selves. -keep that to a minimum. or you will find yourself cleaning your records more often.

for cueing. for rough cueing, as in you put the needle in between tracks, and you're waiting for it start, sometimes will put my hand on the label itself and speed up the record. or sometimes i reverse the record using the label when i'm a couple beats into a record. if i have time, i just put the needle back to the begining. for fine cueing, i just handle the outer edge of the record.

w/the slip mats that i link in my other post, i found that you really have to a soft touch when letting go of the record. when i had belt drives, i developed a heavy hand. now i'm getting used to just letting the record go, most of the time w/out giving soft push. other wise i will find myself a 1/4 note ahead of the pgm song.

i agree w/richg101 w/controling the pitch. i prefer not to do it manually. i just ride the pitch control, which is a lot smoother, and subtle. -requires concentration to really do it right.

actually w/the m5g, i have kinda developed the habit of using the reset and 8/16 buttons to adjust the pitch, to aviod loosing my sweetspot on the pitch slider. -if it can be done discretely. if you're playing a record @ +8, and hit the reset button 2x (once to engage, to slow down the record, then to disengage to play again @ +8) it sounds really obvious, and un-good.

another little tip:

i always lock the tonearm everytime i change a record, or any time i don't have the needle on the groove. keeps me from accidentally bumping the tonearm, and having the needle bounce across the platter, or record -you can damage the grooves this way rendering the impacted section of the vinyl unplayable.

another cueing tip:
some times, rarely i just never really got into it... i will cue a record, then hit the stop button. and leave the needle in groove right before the song starts. it goes against the tip on locking the tonearm when you're not playing the record. but i have done this a few times when i'm the safety of my own home. i wouldn't do it at a party.

quote:

Originally posted by sr126 some times, rarely i just never really got into it... i will cue a record, then hit the stop button. and leave the needle in groove right before the song starts. it goes against the tip on locking the tonearm when you're not playing the record. but i have done this a few times when i'm the safety of my own home. i wouldn't do it at a party.

Thanks alot for the tips guys!!! But this last part I dont get?

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