The Technics SL-1200 GAE/G/GR general questions thread

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Halloween_Jack, Aug 1, 2018.

  1. JoeSmo

    JoeSmo SL1200 lover....

    Location:
    Maidstone
    Sorry I should explain, my Cartridge tracks between 1.5 to 2.0g. 1.7g was perfect for my tastes.
     
    H8SLKC likes this.
  2. JoeSmo

    JoeSmo SL1200 lover....

    Location:
    Maidstone
    Correct. I get carried away when I’m foruming about Technics!.....lol
     
    H8SLKC likes this.
  3. tzh21y

    tzh21y Forum Resident

    Location:
    Buffalo
    can you imagine how much the 1200G would cost if it was made by VPI, Clearaudio, Basis, Etc. A lot.
     
    poorbaku, WvL, Tony T and 8 others like this.
  4. Monsieur Gadbois

    Monsieur Gadbois Senior Member

    Location:
    Hotel California
     
  5. displayname

    displayname Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dallas
    This is almost exactly what my dealer said when we first discussed the GR, and said that goes even more so for the G. No one would be able to match that level of direct drive at those price points.
     
  6. JoeSmo

    JoeSmo SL1200 lover....

    Location:
    Maidstone
    .....and that’s what I love about the 1200’s. Astonishing pieces of engineering for the money.
     
    H8SLKC and displayname like this.
  7. keiron99

    keiron99 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Stockport, UK
    My 1200G is finally being delivered to me later this week. I've been on a waiting list for a couple of months.

    One thing I hate is installing and aligning cartridges. It's not something I'm doing every day - in fact, only every 5 years or so - so I always feel intimidated when I have to do so. I have an AT 15oMLX.

    I have a crappy 'mirror' style protractor (which when I look into it, I cannot work out what on earth is going on...) and a HiFi News test record.

    Can someone please advise what protractor I should use (perhaps one I can print off at home?) and are there any simple instructions for balancing the arm / setting VTA available?
     
    JoeSmo, H8SLKC and displayname like this.
  8. punkmusick

    punkmusick Amateur drummer

    Location:
    Brazil
    Follow the manual settings, easy and efficient.
     
    wgb113, snorker, JoeSmo and 2 others like this.
  9. BayouTiger

    BayouTiger Forum Resident

    Do the new 1200’s have exactly the same geometry as the originals? Can you still use the original alignment tool. This simple little jig always got alignment very easy to get very close, then maybe a very minor tweak or two .
     
    H8SLKC likes this.
  10. keiron99

    keiron99 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Stockport, UK
    Aaah... I never thought of the manual. I just downloaded it - set up does seem straightforward. I like the little "overhang" gadget that's supplied. Very neat!

    Less worried now ...starting to get excited :)
     
  11. Agitater

    Agitater Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    The SL1200GR/G/GAE are supplied with a small plastic jig. With the jig, it takes less than a minute to align a cartridge.

    Sit down at a table in good light. Make sure the stylus guard is fitted in the cartridge. Then use blunt tweezers to attach the headshell clips to the correct terminals on the cartridge. Keep the stylus guard in place. Be careful not to yank on the attached headshell leads as you loosely attach the cartridge to the headshell using the correct length machine screws (for a threaded cartridge body) or nut and bolt (for a non-threaded body).

    Then place the cartridge in the little alignment jig. With the jig at eye level, slide the cartridge in the headshell so that the tiny stylus is aligned with the notch in the tip of the jig, and also make sure the front of the cartridge body looks parallel to front edge of the jig. Make the cartridge screws snug to lock the position. Snug, not tight - it’s just a tiny thing that win’t budge even a fraction of a mm after snugging each screw or bolt evenly.

    That’s the basic alignment procedure. With a full size protractor such as the Dr. Feickert Alignment Tool you can later fine-tune the alignment if needed. For example, some cantilevers protrude out of the cartridge body at a slight angle to one side or the other. In such cases, the cartridge has to be angled slightly so that the cantilever is aligned with the center line of the Technics jig or to match the alignment lines on an alignment protractor. Such fine tuning can improve sound in that case.

    Most cantilevers are pretty good, and for the most part very tiny misalignments aren’t usually audible.
     
    Dahuky, Dignan2000, DoF and 3 others like this.
  12. displayname

    displayname Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dallas
    Could your dealer do it for a small fee when the table arrives? They might even offer if you got the table through them. I normally would say it's really not all that hard, but if you don't ever change out carts, then yeah, just have the dealer do it.
     
  13. BayouTiger

    BayouTiger Forum Resident

    aargh! I am going to start selling my turntables this weekend! I gotta have one of these!
     
    WvL, JoeSmo, nosliw and 2 others like this.
  14. Drewan77

    Drewan77 Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK/USA
    I normally use a Dr Feickerst protractor & Baerwald alignment.

    However, I have a couple of cartridges where I used the plastic jig that came with the 1200G (while I was in the USA so I could check them on someone else's turntable). These sound very good using 'Technics' alignment & I haven't felt the need to re-align them with the protractor.

    Taking care to align accurately is important, regardless of the tools you use. The Technics jig is simple to use & easy to get right.
     
    Dignan2000, wgb113, snorker and 3 others like this.
  15. avanti1960

    avanti1960 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago metro, USA
    The supplied gauge works "OK" and is easy to use but very difficult to line up the cantilever properly. The alignment will sound good, especially at the end of the side of the LP.
    Long term the Mint "Best Tractor" (mintlp.com) alignment sounds the best over the full side of the record and you can order one that is designed for the standard Technics SL 1200.

    Very easy to use- just set it on your mat, swing the tonearm in - then out - move the arc of the protractor so that the arc is equal distance from the stylus on the inner point and outer point. At this point you do not want the stylus to touch the arc, just the same distance away at each point. Now you can move the cartridge slightly so that it does touch the arc at each position, and then align the cantilever parallel to the "runway" lines. Takes some patience but the effort is well rewarded.
     
    msinderson likes this.
  16. BayouTiger

    BayouTiger Forum Resident

    Basically, if you have issues aligning a 1200, you REALLY should be doing digital. There is no other table that gives such easy access to proper alignment. One of the reasons I always recommend a used 1200 as the best option under $500. Newbies can learn all the critical stuff on the 1200 and it translates to (nearly) any other deck. Not as simply but you can certainly learn the advantages/disadvantages of things like VTA and antiskate with simple adjustments before translating them to other decks that are a lot more complicated to align.
     
    smokeverbs, andybeau, wgb113 and 2 others like this.
  17. recstar24

    recstar24 Senior Member

    Location:
    Glen Ellyn, IL
    Agreed - the GR was my first real TT that required its own setup and I was pleasantly surprised how quick and easy it was for me to setup and align the cart using the supplied white plastic gauge, maybe 15 minutes total if that. I’d also add I’m such a newb when it comes to vinyl that if I can set it up that easily, I’m confident anyone can :)
     
    wgb113, JoeSmo, ranch 22b and 2 others like this.
  18. JoeSmo

    JoeSmo SL1200 lover....

    Location:
    Maidstone
    The little alignment tool is great. Use your eyesight to make sure your cartridge is parallel to the head-shell, then just make sure needle is aligned exactly with the dint on the tool and tighten evenly on both sides, regularly checking alignment and that the cartridge is parallel.
    Once done, install onto tonearm and make sure anti-skating is set to zero. Attach weight and very carefully, turn the back of the weight till the tonearm balances in mid air, make sure you use very delicate movements as you don’t want your tonearm crashing down on the deck and ruining your cartridge cantilever, fingers ready to catch headshell handle!
    When you are at the floating balance point place the tonearm back on the rest and lock it. Rotate the front of the counterweight to read exactly Zero. Then using the back of the counterweight dial in the minimum force reccomended weight for your cartridge. Then dial in exactly the same anti-skating. Now, put a record on the turntable, don’t start it up, just let the tonearm down onto it. Now got to side view and check the entire tube of the arm is parallel to the record. If not the next procedure is to use the arm collar ring adjuster to get this right. It is really important you lock your tonearm back on its rest as you go back and forth getting this right! You can do it by eye, really accurately but it takes patience...
    All good? Now play a really familiar track and if it’s not sounding quite right then dial in another half notch on both the weight and the antiskating and listen to same track again. Keep going till you are happy with the sound but NEVER exceeding maximum force either.
    I hope you love your table!
     
  19. keiron99

    keiron99 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Stockport, UK
    OK so I got my 1200G today and I've set it up.

    However I have hit a problem that's rendering it unlistenable. I have horrendous hum out of the right speaker.

    My amp is a Rotel integrated with built in phono. With my old 1210, and the same cart, there was no hum at all. Dead silent.

    But now, it's intrusively loud just out of the right speaker. It's only on the phono input. And the odd thing is, I don't need to have the turntable powered on for it to happen.

    The grounding wire is connected properly. There are no wires touching. I've kept the wires apart as much as possible.

    When I change over the L and R inputs on the back of the amp, the hum then comes out of the other channel.

    Does anyone have any suggestions? It's rather ruined my first experience of my turntable!
     
  20. Gabe Walters

    Gabe Walters Forum Resident

    Check the pin connections on the cartridge.

    Then, make sure the back of the head shell is making good contact with the arm while you lock it in place.
     
    displayname, recstar24 and Agitater like this.
  21. Gabe Walters

    Gabe Walters Forum Resident

    Also check the RCA cables under the table. They're at an odd angle, and accessing them takes some doing. They might not be as snugly connected as they should be.
     
    Agitater likes this.
  22. keiron99

    keiron99 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Stockport, UK
    Thanks. I've checked, double checked, and just checked all those things again.

    The only odd thing is that the pins on the headshell are reversed for a couple of the wires, so the wires have to cross. But there are no bare wires touching.
     
  23. Erocka2000

    Erocka2000 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY, USA
    Do you have a spare headshell with a different cartridge that you can just stick on the 1200G arm to see if that makes a difference?
     
  24. keiron99

    keiron99 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Stockport, UK
    I have a headshell from my old Jelco arm, I'd have to refit the cartridge back on to that...a job for the weekend.

    This is not going well :shake:
     
  25. Erocka2000

    Erocka2000 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY, USA
    If you touch the ground wire at one of the spade ends, does that eliminate any of the buzz?
     

Share This Page

molar-endocrine