Hi people, i need help.

I just received my turntables (1200 MK5) which i have bought off ebay. They are in very good condition, although both covers are cracked

Anyway, after spending almost 5 hours trying to set the tracking force right, i'm extremely tired.

I've read lots of info out of lots of sites, been through all tonearm-settings threads in this and other forums and i just can't do it.

Maybe there is something wrong with my TT's?

With the turntables came two Shure Whitelabel needles, which of i don't know the condition. Allow me to explain what i've been doing for the last 5 hours:

1. removed the rubber mat and replaced it with the Technics slipmat. Set the anti-skating to zero.
2. Inserted the weight correctly (the tracking force dial was not facing me), then set the weight so that the tonearm would balance freely (as said in numerous tutorials). Rotated the tracking force dial (only the dial) to zero.
3. Set the tonearm height to 0.
4. Set the weight to 1.5, which is the minimum recommended for the whitelabel.
5. Pushed start. Dropped needle. Needle makes crackling sounds, sound is shitty.
6. Tried other settings, height to 1,2,4,5,6; weight from 0 to 3.5; anti-skating from 0 to 6. Tried these in various combinations.
7. Replaced slipmat with a hiphop themed one (lighter), replaced record various times, replaced Shure whitelabel #1 with #2 (unused until now).

Result: in the best position, height set to 1, weight set between 2 and 2.5 and anti-skating to 0, the sound is great but the sound plays for 5-10 seconds, then gets stuck in a 2-4 second loop. I can clearly see the needle jumping when it does the loop. With other settings, either the sound is very shitty or the needle jumps more or it starts slipping to the beggining of the record.

I'm desperate!! Any suggestions? Maybe it's the needles? Or is it the TT's? Or anything i've been doing wrong?

Should have something to do with the weight i guess... if the 2nd whitelabel is new & unused like you say and the turntable is configured like it should, things like that shouldn't happen.

I'd contact the person you bought them from and ask him if he had the same problems & stuff... if not, and you cant fix it, perhaps you can ask him to setup the turntables for you.

___________________
www.doehetzelver.be

The second needle was new and unused by me... as i said above, i don't know the condition of the two needles.

are these brand new records? are the records dirty? try cleaning the needles with some isopropyl alcohol and a tooth brush. use very light force and always brush from the back of the cart to the front. the tone arm height, stylus pressure and anti-skating setting would not cause the crackling sound. it's most likely the styli need replaced. if you know someone who's got turntables have them bring their needles over and try those. cheers.

___________________
www.takamine-entertainment.com

Vio's suggestion is good. If you know someone with carts that you could test with at least you could rule out deck problems. You have to be very cruel to a deck to damage a Technics.
Saying that, it does sound as if it's a stylus problem anyways.

I personally don't like white labels, but they are good.

Ignore for a moment what the manufacturers say you should set the tone arms at etc. Play around with it until you get the best result. I find that factory settings are so weak anyways that you get no real tracking.
Only thing I make sure I do is get the tonearm parralel with the record on the deck when the needle is in the groove. That's usually around 2 in height on a 1200 with Ortofons, not sure what that is with whitelabels.
I also tend to have anti skating on full (old turntablist habit). The difference between 0 and 3 is very minimal in terms of force we can feel but it does make a slight difference.

With regards to the tone arm weights, I turn them around so that the numbers face the back and not the front. Again old turntablist thing.

I used to use Shure M44-7s and followed the set up instructions only to find that it was total crap. Had to find out for myself how to best mount them.

Find what's best for you.

Also make sure that your vinyl is in good order.

Cheers
Nem

___________________
https://www.mixcloud.com/Calvin_Karass/

Hey Nem,

I thought turntablists put anti-skate on 0 ? While we're on that subject... If I wanted to do trance with a bit of scratching (just messing around), should I just put the anti skate in the middle somewhere ?

___________________

Thanks for the replies.

Yes, i have tried with new records, and i've cleaned them with a brush.

Unfortunately, i don't know anyone who can borrow me needles, and i don't even have anyone to test the needles. I've just ordered 2 styli from my local shop, however they will only arrive by wednesday, so i'll have to wait... Sure hope it isn't a TT problem...

You made sure your turntables are level, right ?

___________________

If it is doing the looping, something is definitely up with your needles

One turntable is fine. The other is undergoing service as we speak
The tonearm was stuck or some problem like that. 25 euro for the fix, not expensive! Happy again

quote:

Originally posted by `pr0digy Hey Nem, I thought turntablists put anti-skate on 0 ? While we're on that subject... If I wanted to do trance with a bit of scratching (just messing around), should I just put the anti skate in the middle somewhere ?

Hey Prodigy,

I hear what you are saying but if I have understood it correctly (and there are no guarantees for that ). The reason why I put anti skate on high is because you want to reduce sideways motion so that you get better tracking. The major factor with scratching isn't actually the anti skate but the amount of weight you have applied to the stylus in a downward fashion (the twiddly thing at the back in my language). Some turntablists also raise the tone arm slightly to get a more downward action.

Depending an the stylus you have though it may still be difficult to get anything good out of it.

Cheers
Nem

___________________
https://www.mixcloud.com/Calvin_Karass/

are you sure it's not your mixer? if you have a phone input on your home stereo, try pluggin one of the turntables directly into the phone input of the stereo and see if you still get the problem.

___________________
www.takamine-entertainment.com