I dont care what brand it is or what it looks like, I just want it to have a good tonearm with a standard head-piece fitting for trying different cartridges and stylus/styli, lol. A speed adjuster to keep it at 33 1/3 would be cool and a cover to keep dust out. Something that is sturdy, reliable and not stupidly expensive. 
Define 'not stupidly expensive'!
I my opinion, the go-to vintage turntable with speed control, interchangeable headshell and sturdiness is the Technics 1200 Mk2 which began production in 1979.
See the 'How To Buy' guide on this site: How To Buy a Second Hand Technics Turntable – Studio Scratches
I my opinion, the go-to vintage turntable with speed control, interchangeable headshell and sturdiness is the Technics 1200 Mk2 which began production in 1979.
See the 'How To Buy' guide on this site: How To Buy a Second Hand Technics Turntable – Studio Scratches
Actually Im building a Hi Fi system for my 20 y/o daughter who has grown up listening to my gear. So far I have gathered up a Sansui AU-D907F Extra amplifier and some rebuilt DCM QED-1A speakers, sounds great. I will just keep looking until I find one that I can rebuild. I just missed out on a like new Era 5505 turntable the other day at $300. The Technics are good turntables but they are overpriced for what they are, just as I would never pay a thousand dollars for a pair of Nike sneakers with flashing lights in the souls, I would never pay more for a brand name like Technics! In fact we should boycott Technics until they drop their prices. There is no way Im going to pay $1200 for something that costs $100 to make.
In fact we should boycott Technics until they drop their prices. There is no way Im going to pay $1200 for something that costs $100 to make.
Used turntable deal
I just bought a pioneer pl-7 from Goodwill.com for $36 plus shipping. All it needed was a cartridge, balancing and aligning and now it-sounds great. It took a couple of months to research tables that came up for auction, and find a turntable with good specs, in good shape, and for the right price... but I am happy with my find. Now I gotta find a way to clean the crud off all my old vinyl to keep the clicks and pops to a minimum. Happy hunting! Sixto - Mpls.
I just bought a pioneer pl-7 from Goodwill.com for $36 plus shipping. All it needed was a cartridge, balancing and aligning and now it-sounds great. It took a couple of months to research tables that came up for auction, and find a turntable with good specs, in good shape, and for the right price... but I am happy with my find. Now I gotta find a way to clean the crud off all my old vinyl to keep the clicks and pops to a minimum. Happy hunting! Sixto - Mpls.
Manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers - damn those money grabbing supply chains!There is no way Im going to pay $1200 for something that costs $100 to make.
Good find mate! You can download a protractor to align your cartridge and stylus from Vinyl Engine just make sure your print-out measures the same as the one online. I have the same problem with dirty old records but classics. I tried the Stuyversant roller brush cleaner but its garbage, Im going to try the PVC glue trick next! Apparently you can spread the glue over the tracks and when its dry you peel it off with all the dirt from out of the tracks. There are some videos on YouTube about it. I just bought a used Sherwood DEK-7U turntable in its origonal box for $80 about an hour ago, Ill see how it goes, my daughter likes the old style look though, she might like it?
Last year I picked up a Technics SP-25 which was a Radio Station piece with a manual arm on it. I have since determined I have no desire for a Manual arm as staying steady raising and lowering tone arms, those times are past me.
Naw give me a que.
After looking up tone arms to add it became apparent it would need a addition to the existing plinth which is doable but the prices of the arms would greatly exceed what I have in the turntable. But it is the way to go. This TT will outlive me and the next owner. A modern arm installed properly is the dream table. I just don't need it. radio stations are still absolving equipment. This one came from a local Religious station. Probably not a lot of hours on it. Deals can be found.
Yeah you are right. I suppose it just comes down to fate when it comes to finding Hi Fi gear without having a ton of money. lol I found my Sansui AU-11000 in a rubbish dump half buried in sand. They charged me $5 for the scrap metal value at the gate. 2 years later after a complete rebuild I had an excellent amplifier thanks to none other than ''Dr Audio'' whose much appreciated professional advice helped me through the hard bits.
That's a very affordable candidate and I see it at higher asking prices! Certainly a modern style look though!
Attachments
The high volume belt-driven hifi turntables of the 70's and 80's are likely to have the healthiest 2nd hand markets (reasonable prices and easy to find local examples). Pioneer
and Dual and Technics were all quite plentiful in the UK then, and probably half a dozen other brands I can't recall. Older TT's like this will need some attention, oil gums up, belts stretch, cables may be damaged - if this puts you off fair enough. Sometimes great cartridges come with the TT, which is a bonus, but stylus condition is likely to be unknown.
One essential is a dust cover in good condition - they are unlikely to be easily replacable, and essential, not optional(!) - if not in good condition the deck will just look crap - few people can live with that!
and Dual and Technics were all quite plentiful in the UK then, and probably half a dozen other brands I can't recall. Older TT's like this will need some attention, oil gums up, belts stretch, cables may be damaged - if this puts you off fair enough. Sometimes great cartridges come with the TT, which is a bonus, but stylus condition is likely to be unknown.
One essential is a dust cover in good condition - they are unlikely to be easily replacable, and essential, not optional(!) - if not in good condition the deck will just look crap - few people can live with that!
I do find that some people are obsessive about dust covers on vintage machines, and pass over a damn good machine for that reason.
That's their choice of course, however it's a bit on the superficial side of things.
And superficiality has become part of human DNA through the ages.
As for the cartridges on these older machines, unless you can absolutely determine it's got a new brand stylus, then it's wise to locate a replacement before subjecting your records to it.
As for needing service, you wouldn't drive a car from 1974 unless it's been fully serviced, so why trust your life to it?
So that's a natural procedure to undertake right up front on anything "vintage".
And the results are peace of mind, reliability, and of course lasting enjoyment.
And well worth the effort/cost in the long run.
I used to get an occasional customer in the shop who attempted to "downplay" the costs for restorations on vintage equipment.
"It probably ONLY needs blah blah blah..."
"I'm sure it's just something SIMPLE"...
Yeah, OK, sure.... sounds like those epray and craigs list sellers - "probably ONLY needs....."
A bunch of BS that I've heard plenty.
Apparently, these people are barter hounds trying to pay as little as possible, or are ignorant of the labor and work involved, a lot of times being tedious, and time-consuming. (if performed properly and "right")
In this day of higher costs to live, charging a decent shop rate for service is either a curse or a blessing, depending on who it involves.
If you want something fixed "cheaply" then do it yourself, take your chances on success, and rely on internet information from someone without credentials.
The bottom line is, the "golden age" of audio has produced some excellent products, in my option, better-built than a lot modern offerings, and worthy of a lousy one-time investment to bring back the fantastic performance it once had.
Spend the damn money, and don't whine about it.
It only hurts once, plus you can brag about it later.
My daughter loves it because of the USB plug to copy records to a USB stick as well as the great sound and looks. The TT came with an AT-3600 cartridge and stylus that was set as far out of tune as was possible! Once I set that right along with the track pressure and anti skate, the sound was just as good as any TT Ive heard. TTs are just like Tape Decks you can get a good high density pick-up head but if you dont set it up right it will sound like rubbish.
That budget AT3600 cartridge fights way above its weight and future stylus upgrades are possible.
For example, the ATN91R stylus has an aluminium alloy tube cantilever for improved resolution of detail and tracks well at a record friendly 2 grams.
I hope your daughter has a lot of fun with the deck.
For example, the ATN91R stylus has an aluminium alloy tube cantilever for improved resolution of detail and tracks well at a record friendly 2 grams.
I hope your daughter has a lot of fun with the deck.
Don't know what you would use wiseoldtech, but this stuff comes highly recommended: Plastic Polish DTD770A - Greygate
If it's good enough to restore clarity to Spitfire canopies, then it should be good enough to restore a scratched dust cover!
Manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers - damn those money grabbing supply chains!
You forgot the expensive advertising, PR, company cars, insurance etc etc!
Don't know what you would use wiseoldtech, but this stuff comes highly recommended: Plastic Polish DTD770A - Greygate
If it's good enough to restore clarity to Spitfire canopies, then it should be good enough to restore a scratched dust cover!
I've got plastic polish around the house for such things...
But the last few turntables I've sold didn't have covers with them.
Nevertheless, the buyers were very pleased with the machines.
No cover?
Use a pillowcase over it if you want to keep it free of dust.
Or one of those vinyl VCR dust covers.
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