Xonetacular's guide and general tips for buying second hand Technics 1200s

[Luconia]

You sure that was from shipping or the seller just sent you a beat to crap table, thought about contacting them and making an ebay dispute asking for a refund for something not as described?

The seller has a high rating & sounds sincere. The ads mentioned that the cover was broken at one hinge, repaired with super glue.
It all looks legit & all of the shipping paperwork is from him. the turntable was as pristine in the advertisement pic, i can recognize the wear paint from the pitch fader in the pictures with the one that i'm receiving. I believe it is the same turntable.

Problem is he's using an ordinary cardboard box, no fragile sticker attached, not properly wrapped it with the foam sheet. the seller only put the foam sheet on top of the lid, but there is still room for moving parts. hence the cover breaks even further during shipping. the sharp edges from the cover leaves a deep scratch on top end of body & a dent on one side. The tone arm also have some scratches

I have contacted the seller & explain what has happened with the unit. He accept returns but that would be uneconomical. besides 1210 is getting rarer to get, and i have no guarantee i would ever come across one again with a very competitive price incl shipping worldwide.

[Luconia]

So i got a reply from the seller & he regretted to hear what has happened. I'm taking some pics of the damage & he would agree to sort it out...

Hi there. I'm really disappointed to read this. I don't use fragile stickers, I used to, but it seemed to make virtually no difference, and sometimes seemed to actively encourage courier staff to abuse the parcels. Yours was the 3rd 1210 I've sold and sent in the previous 6 months, and the other 2 arrived in perfect condition. I'm really very sorry this has happened to you. Please send me some photos of the damage, and I'll contact UPS & make a claim against them, then I can send you a partial refund for the repairs.

Sorry for your disappointment, believe me I share it just as deeply.

[DJ SB]

Thanks Xone for the guide! Was super helpful today when I picked up a pair of M3Ds.

[Xonetacular]

Thanks Xone for the guide! Was super helpful today when I picked up a pair of M3Ds.

no problem man, post some pics

[DJ SB]

I need to replace the pitch fader on one, internally ground them, and replace all the lights with LEDs and i'll be all set.





Sorry for the shitty pics, the main camera lens on my iPhone is scratched up.

[MisterMoleyMole]

Alrighty xone. I've just dug out my 1210mk2s again and had the phono cables replaced. On trying to do the old anti skate setup with a blank vinyl, I can't get the needle to stay stationary. I can get it to move to the middle slowly then stay stationary but nothing else.

Is there anything that can be done to fix this?

Cheers
MMM

Any tips?

Cheers

[Xonetacular]

Any tips?

Cheers

what exactly are you asking? Not sure I follow what you're saying.

[djlotus]

Was your tonearm ever taken apart?

[MisterMoleyMole]

Ahh ok. When I look at videos on how to set up turntables they show a procedure where using anti skate settings your supposed to get the tone arm to have no pull either inwards or outwards. So when you place the needle down on a blank vinyl it just stays still no matter where you put it. Mine always drags to the middle of the playable area (like djlotus's signature image) and stays still. Is something broken?

@djlotus - not that I'm aware of

[djlotus]

If you set your anti-skate to 0 it drags towards the middle and if you set it to 3 it drags towards the middle? If so, you may need to recalibrate your tonearm, specifically the gimbals screws pivot section. The anti skate spring inside the tonearm could also be set up wrong, but this only be the case if your tonearm was broken down at some point.

Just FYI, a balanced anti-skate is only essential for using your turntable as a hi-fi record player. If you scratch or back cue a lot, having a little pull towards the inside of the record area should not hurt.