Tone arm is toast for sure. Anti skate is gone. I might rewire the tone arm so I can replace the antiskate mechanism at the same time.
Pitch controls are still good, just need some recalibration. 6 more days til my MCAT, then I’m wastin all my time on the tables.
New tone arms are about 40 bucks I think? Might be worth getting a fresh set.
Without question. Get a fresh pair.
Anti skate is just an small spring…it rarely gets messed up. If you replace tone arm correctly you will be ok. You have to pay attn to spring placement bc when installing tone arm anti skate will only work right if spring is behind tone arm bar. I’m about to fix one this weekend I will send you pics
WHere are you guys finding complete assemblies for 40 bucks? I can only find tone arms for 45 bucks on eBay.
You don’t need a new assembly… You can rebuild the current one you have…
Tone arm = $50
Tone arm fix plate = $30
Lube = $10
Rcas= $60
As with many things… Lube really is key. Clean the piss out of the height adj threads and apply a film coat. Don’t, under any circumstances, use Astro Glide.
Yea, I was planning on just rebuilding it myself, but all of you guys just started saying buying a new tone arm for 40 bucks.
If I can buy one for 40 bucks I’d rather just do that.
Otherwise, I’m just gonna rewire the tonearm and get a new base plate.
It’s not that easy…reason we say to replace tone arm is bc it saves you a shit ton of time. If for any reason pivot screws are not set right the anti-skate will not work. They have to be set perfectly and not too tight or too loose.
How does replacing just the tonearm fix the anti-skate? The anti-skate mechanism is in the assembly base, isn’t it?
I’m sure ATL meant the entire Tone Arm Assembly - not just the tonearm.
Usually when I say Tonearm, I mean the entire assembly (Tonearm, tone arm base, RCA’s, lifting/height mechanism, etc…)
I posted pics in THIS thread…
Yea I saw that.
It’s pretty much impossible to get a good condition tone arm assembly for <100 dollars though.
Yup. You’re looking at about £85 here in the UK too.
Yes the whole assembly. Not the base. Not the fix plate… Just the tone arm. As long as you install it correctly your anti skate will be fine… Like I said before anti-skate is controlled by that one L shaped spring that rarely gets messed up.
This is hard to explain to someone that doesn’t have the experience in fixing 1200s. I have learned after many years of refurbishing 1200s… Still a pain in the ass
Understatement. 
Yup…the slightest error can make your tonearm all kinds of funky…and I’m not talking about the good funky 
hmy:
Just tested the table again and spent an hour balancing it all. Antiskate works!
Victory is yours!
Yup!
This weekend I’m ripping open the table to replace the LEDs and other maintenance issues. Next week replace the RCA cable. Maybe even repaint!
Awesome…i painted mine with blue rustoleum enamel…and days and weeks waiting for paint to cure… took longer then shop but better appreciation bc i didit myself… looks like blue glass now
Beware of the imfamous DUST or insects that sneek up out if nowhere