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>Buying a Used Technics SL-1200
Matsushita Electric has been making
Technics 1200's for 30 years. However the MK2 model, which began
production
in 1979 and still continues to this day, ushered in the era of the
Technics
as the Professional Industry Worldwide Standard for Direct Drive DJ
Turntables.
The Technics 1200 /
1210 Family includes the following models:
MK2, MK3, MK3D, LTD, MK4, MK5, MK5G, MK5GLD View them Here
Matsushita in its
ultimate wisdom decided to only release certain models
to certain regions of the world, and the only official versions
released
in North America were:
- SL-1200MK2
(Silver Chassis)
- SL-1200MK2B
(Black Chassis)
- SL-1200LTD
(Gloss Black w/ Gold Plated Hardware)
- SL-1200M3D
(Silver Chassis)
- SL-1200M3DB
(Black Chassis)
- SL-1200MK5
(Black Chassis / Silver Chassis, +/- 8% pitch
control)
- SL-1200MK5G
(Speckeled Black Chassis, +/- 16% pitch control)
- SL-1200MK5GLD
(Gloss Black w/ Gold Plated Hardware)
There are a good
deal of imported European versions designated SL-1210MK2
(Black Chassis) that somehow made it into this region through a "Grey
Market",
or through direct importation by some owners.
So, now that we
have the targets in our sights.......
Let the Hunt Begin!
From our
experience, it mattars little if the Technics is 20yrs old, or 2
yrs old. These machines were built right from the beginning; and they
were
built like Tanks.
Technics invented the Direct Drive Motor as well as Drive Control
and Pitch Control IC (Integrated Circuitry) technology and
spent 10 years perfecting it before releasing the 1200 / 1210 MK2
models,
and the ones built today are 95% the same as the ones built in 1979!
Here's the catch,
Technics 1200's have an uncanny way of holding their value.
A
well maintained 20 yr old machine will have nearly the same resale
value
as a well maintained 2 yr old machine...simply amazing,
On the other hand
an abused machine will still have a great deal of resale
value, mostly because of the fact that the retail price of a new
SL-1200MK2
has not changed substantially in 20yrs.
Today the best deals we have
seen on new 1200's start at about $399 and go up to $499.
Prices for
pre-owned, or used stock original Technics run the gammut from
$50 - $350 and there are literally hundreds of thousands of Technics
1200s
in North America.
Where should you go
to find a used Technics 1200 Turntable?
Here are a few
places you may find a good used 1200 / 1210:
- Newspaper Classifieds
- NiteClubs / Discos (
many are switching to CD formats)
Now that you know
where to go, it's important to know what to look, or lookout for!
Here is a list
of some things to check on a used turntable:.
- Grasp the Record Spindle
and make sure there is no side to side movement
- Rotate the platter and
note that it spins in both directions without dragging
- Power the unit, Press
START , see that the Platter engages quickly and freely
- Switch between 33 Rpm and
45 Rpm platter speeds several times
- Leave the unit running
for 15min or so..there should be no hot, or burning smell!
- Press the STOP button and
the platter should come to a rest fairly quickly
- Press START again..Pitch
control should be at ZERO,
and the second row of Pitch Dots near the On/Off knob which are
illuminated
Red, should be still....completely motionless...if they are
moving
slightly clockwise, or counterclockwise and the green LED is on at the
Pitch
Control, then the Quartz Lock is broken...if the Pitch Control is at
Zero
and the green LED is NOT on, then you either have a 1200M3D Model, an
MK2
with the Quartz Lock Removed / Disabled, or an MK2 with a burned out
Pitch
LED.
- Now move the Pitch
Control slider slightly toward negative 2 (-2),
just enough so that the green LED is no longer illuminated, and you can
definitely
tell that it is NO longer at zero.....look again at the Pitch Dots near
the
black On/Off knob....these should begin to move Counterclockwise
in
direction..if they begin moving Clockwise then it is an issue with
the "Zero Point" being out of calibration...not a big deal, but this
situation
will have to be fixed, and can be used to reduce asking price.
- Next,
Move the Pitch silghtly toward positive 2 (+2), pitch dots should
begin rotating clockwise..If they begin rotating Counterclockwise, once
again, this may be simply an issue of the "Zero Point" being
incorrectly calibrated, but you might want a ask for a rebate of about
$20 off the asking price
- Now, move the
Pitch Control slider up to about positive 3.3 (+3.3)...you will have to
eyeball it...look over at the third row of Pitch Dots and they should
be still....they probably won't be..and this isn't a deal breaker, but
indicates that the Turntable has fallen out of calibration
- Now, move the Pitch
control slider up to positive 6 (+6)....look over at the fourth, or
bottom row of Pitch Dots...these
should be still and unwavering...once again they probably won't
be...once
again this indicates that the turntable is in need of Pitch
Recalibration
and may help you reduce the price ($20 less) as this may mean that you
have a limited ( <8%) control of Platter Pitch.
- Next examine the RCA
& Ground wires. Look for
breaks in the insulation and exposed wires. Does the ground wire have a
spade
terminal, or is it frayed and bare oxidized wire?
- You will want to check
for feedback, hum, and ground
loops. You will need to actually plug the turntable into an amplifier
with
a "Phono" input, or a mixer and use headphones to listen for buzzing,
or
humming.
- Now, hopefully you
brought a cartridge to actually mount to the tonearm to check for
proper channel output.
- First check the contacts
on the inside of the Tonearm
itself. These are spring loaded and prone to corrosion and becoming
stuck.
Take a sharp pencil and use it to physically push each of the four (4)
terminals a bit to see if it still has spring recoil.
- Now mount the cartridge
to the tonearm and secure
the locking ring. Hope you brought a test record to check
playback....but
if you read this, then you did!
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