Some Technics 101 Questions

[Santos10]

Quick background I started off on CDJs then went to Serato, then Traktor w/ timecode and now 2 - Kontrol X1s....I want some Technics now

So Im looking to buy used either off the used guitar center site or craigslist


- Whats a decent price range?
- Whats the difference between all the technics models?
- Which ones would you recommend?
- Are repairs expensive? (can i find most part online?)
- Once I get it what are some common problems to look out for?
- How would I calibrate tone arm etc? (what are best settings)
- What are some good needles? (just mixing, no scratching)
- What are some good slipmats? (just mixing, no scratching)


Extra Information

I spin mostly House/Tech-House/Techno just incase theres different settings for turntablism/scratching and just regular mixing

[Xonetacular]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technics_SL-1200

This should be a start.

Repairs are not expensive if you do it yourself. If you are unable to do it yourself then it's obviously considerably expensive.

I would look for a deal on a pair of M3Ds then put a light kit on it and you pretty much have tables nicer looking that function the same as MK5s for cheaper. A very good price to pay for a pair of M3Ds would be $500. You may have to pay 600-700 which is still a good deal relatively. Expect to pay closer to 800 for a deal on a pair of MK5s. Forget M5gs, they are ugly and overpriced.

I have a few posts about what to look for you can search through them or I'll find them.

[Santos10]

ya i just searched up and pulled up some info about when another forum member asked you some questions that was very helpful

[smiTTTen]

What Wikipedia won't tell you is that 17% of the global inventory of used Technics 1200/1210s are located in "South Florida" - wherever that is?

[carl]

What Wikipedia won't tell you is that 17% of the global inventory of used Technics 1200/1210s are located in "South Florida" - wherever that is?

Oh, hell yea

I'm set then

[Cybertrash]

What Wikipedia won't tell you is that 17% of the global inventory of used Technics 1200/1210s are located in "South Florida" - wherever that is?

I think it's more likely that Xone has a Technics-attractor-field installed somewhere on his person.

[derschaich]

i think it's more likely that xone has a technics-attractor-field installed somewhere on his person.

gold!

[Era 7]

as for a recommeded model every model will do great. as i understand most people use MK2s or MK5Gs but due to their popularity they also sport the biggest price tags (up to 900€ a piece for a new one where i live). your best bet is to for a good used pair of either the MK2s or one of the the less popular models.

[keeb]

I have MK2s, and I'll say you're better off with the M3Ds to the point that I'd pay an extra $100 for a pair. $600 for a pair of MK2s is reasonable to good around where I am; I got mine for $500 for the pair but I did have to replace an RCA and a power cord for that. For calibrating the tonearm etc. look on youtube for videos by ellaskins and viperfrank - they have pretty good tutorials for that type of thing. For needles, especially if you're just using timecode, get some Shure M44-7 s or M44G s. They don't skip, have decent quality if you actually do play vinyl, and are fairly inexpensive as far as carts go. Slipmats... I have Dr Suzuki Mix Edition mats and some Butter Rugs. I like the Suzukis for getting the vinyl back to platter speed quickly, but they're almost a bit too sticky for my taste. The butter rugs are nice, but a bit insubstantial and the vinyl wobbles a bit with just them. I'm currently using both slipmats (a bit unorthodox) which I find is actually a pretty nice happy median. I've also heard good things about Table Cloths.

Common problems - this is a pretty comprehensive list: http://www.turntabletech.com/used.htm

Repair wise you can find pretty much any part online and it's usually pretty easy to do yourself as long as you can solder. Just watch out - the platter is about $100 to replace, the tonearm is about $50, and the FEET cost a total of $50. The small repairs can add up. That said, replacing an RCA cable could cost you about $10 to do and you could knock $50-100 off the price for it.


Oh, a little protip for you too: search craigslist for technics 1210 too; you can get a replacement power cord for $20 or so off of amazon and since not many people search for 1210s, you can sometimes get a pretty damn good deal. My 1210 was missing a counterweight and I got the guy to give it to me for $200 (from $250 originally). So at $250 after the counterweight and power cable were replaced I was pretty happy with it.