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Posted by P4z! on Apr-24-2002 19:32:

2:nd hand Technics 1210

Hi! I'm looking for a second hand Technics 1200/1210, I found a guy who says that his pair of Technics 1210's are 10 years old (!) and that he used them a time when e bought them, and the past years he has spinned like 2 hours each year with them. The thing that bothers me is that they are 10 years old, do u guys know if the Technics work well after 10 years? He has never spinned in a club or so, only at home. So whaddya think? The price is about 750 $ for both including 2 old Stanton 500 pickups + a scratch mixer. Is it worth the price?

Thanx for answers!

//DJ_A

Posted by Pjotr G on Apr-24-2002 19:37:

they're built like tanks they should work just fine after 10 years

if you don't trust it, can't you try them out at his place?

Posted by P4z! on Apr-24-2002 19:42:

Yeah I can, but i'm worried about if the TT's will break like after a few days/months i've bought them, just because of how old they are!

Oh yeah one more question, there was this guy in a record store, he gave me a few tips of what I should check when i buy a second hand turntable, he said that the acceleration speed and the breaking was supposed to go really fast! Like the vinyl should accelerate under a second and spin in normal speed when i press the Start button. Why is that? I mean dj's have their turntables spinning all the time during a gig, even if they don't have any vinyl on!

//DJ_A

Posted by DJ-Kuza on Apr-24-2002 19:59:

If you don't buy them, I will. That's a damn good price.

A few things to check.

1. The proper dots on the side of the platter must stop at quarts lock. If you have it in the middle of the slid bar and none of the dots are still. Then it's got a pitch problem. Also, make sure there is no other 0 pitch. So it should ONLY stop when on the middle not anywhere else.

2. The start stop speed is important because if it's slow ther eis a problem with the electronic magnet. If you stop the platter while spinning, you want those things to pick up fast to bring in your beat.

GL, but them man.

Posted by DJTJ on Apr-24-2002 20:00:

Yeah, 10 year old Technics will be fine, they are built to last.

The thing about platter start-up/stop speed - You are right to some extent, about startup not really being important. Personally, I like to stop the deck when I take off the record. I don't know why, it's just what I do. I then start it up again after I put the new one on. Spin-up time doesn't make any difference though, it's minimal on pretty much any deck for the purposes I use it for.

However, stop speed is slightly more important - there is a widely used trick that you can do, that involves mixing in track 2, then 1 beat before you want the mix to end, kill the volume of track 2, hit the stop button on track 1, and slam the volume back up on track 2. If timed well, this can sound really good, but it is dependent on a good stop time. It would be imposible to do on belt-drive decks and some lower torque direct drive decks. It works fine on Techs though, obviously!

Posted by P4z! on Apr-24-2002 20:04:

Ok but how fast should it start/stop? I don't really know what's good startup speed and what's bad, since I only tried the Technics in stores etc.

Posted by Pjotr G on Apr-24-2002 20:10:

even if you don't use the start stop button during a set it's still a good way to check the torque of the TT

Compare it with a car
If you put it in first gear and sprint away that good becuz you could load the car up with extra weight (i.e. hold the record back and platter still spins)

imagine a car that in first gear just very slowly reaches speed...and imagine what would happen if you would put extra weight in the car...it might stop altogether

put the needle on the middle of the song, I guess in about one/one and a half second it should be on the right speed

break time isn't important unless you want to use the overused turntable losing power effect again and again....

Posted by P4z! on Apr-24-2002 20:14:

Ok 1-1� seconds..i'll keep that in mind, but if it doesn't start so fast, isn't there a way to repair it? To increase the acceleration / brake of the motor?

Posted by Pjotr G on Apr-24-2002 20:28:

acceleration can't be adjusted, this has to do with the motor that runs the TT, which is why this is important

Brake time isn't important becuz it's adjustable apparently when you open up the TT (anyways brake time has nothing to do with quality of the motor)

Posted by Dj Thy on Apr-24-2002 20:33:

The braking yes, the acceleration no (well yes it is repairable, but not merely by a twist of a knob). If the platter accelerates slowly, it's the first indication something is wrong with the motor.

What else you need to check?

Especially the pitch. Start from the lowest possible pitch and slowly work your way up to the highest pitch. While doing that pay close attention at the strobe dots. The big dots should have a steady progression. At first they'll seem to move backwards (as you are on negative pitch). They should STEADILY slow down as you increase pitch. When you reach 0% th big dots must "stand still". And when you enter positive pitch, they should begin to move forward, again a steady increase while you move the slider.

So especially make sure the spead decrease/increase of the big dots is steady, and also check they ONLY stand still at 0%, and nowhere else. If they stand still somewhere else than the quartz lock, you'll have the famous double 0 problem (can be fixed, but requires you to open the deck from below).

Also check the tonearm. It should move as freely as possible, but it shouldn't be too loose at the articulations (with too loose I mean the arm shouldn't wiggle).