Used Tech 12's

[Big Pie]

Hey techtoolers!

I am currently saving up for a pair of 1200's, but as a student there is no way i could buy anything new/expensive. I have seen pairs ranging from 500 to 1000+ (Canadian).
Are there any major problems older/used tech's have that i should look out for? i wouldn't want to have to spend much afterwords for repairs... i need that cash for timecode and an audio4/8

Thanks

[mmauve]

Honestly, they're reputed for being beastly when it comes to durability. Unless you're looking right at it and the tonearm is torn off the base, the platter looks like a warped potato chip, and the buttons are missing, I wouldn't worry too much about buying a dud 1200.

Worse comes to worse, bring a needle, mount it to the tonearm, and test a record out and see if you notice any problems.

[faeruithir]

You should ALWAYS check for any problems with the pitch control...this is a big problem you might encounter.

Also you should check the tone arm. Definitely bring along a cartridge to test it a bit.

I got both my technics 12s for 330 USD, there are bargains out there if you look for them!

I would suggest looking at this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHhJlTmcgqs

It gives you a good overview of how to buy a second hand technics

[MisterMoleyMole]

Replacing the pitch controls is not expensive at all from what i remember and getting them serviced is cheap to.

Don't worry too much about it.

[Fyoog]

Make sure the Start/ Stop button button has a decisive click motion as my friend had some where someone had obviously abused them and the motion on the button didn't feel right and almost felt like it hadn't clicked properly and randomly when you were playing the deck would just click to stop. It was a nightmare as there was no real way of telling if the button had clicked so it would happen on/ off quite a lot. :eek:

[Big Pie]

Thanks for all the help. That video was very informative .
A friend of mines father has an mk2 from the early 80's that is mint, however he's only used it to play records...He won't sell it to me tho lol.

[djhipnotikk]

no one regrets selling them. sell them. you want a midi controller don't you? sell them. they're old pieces of outdated technology. sell them. you're never going to use them as much as your controller. sell them.

am i getting through?

(sell them to me)

[bumtsch]

On top of that, test the anti-skating is working (although it is not *that* mission critical depending on who you ask) and your records aren't skipping with a rather fresh needle. Backspin, cue, skip backwards and forward fast.

[Big Pie]

Thanks dudes!
Whenever i save up enough and finally get these things ill post a vid