The greatest tweak for a turntable........

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WaynerN

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We all know what a bell curve is right? It can explain variables in design, application or even life. Here is an example of one:

bell curve.png
This also represents the correctness of the adjustment of tonearm pivots, especially the ones the make the tonearm go up and down (AKA, the horizontal pivots). Adhering to the bell curve theory, only a small percentage of tonearm pivots are adjusted correctly.

Today, I found that out, as I fooled around with my 2007 model Technics SL1200MK2 turntable. Yes, I have turned it into a completely different table, capable of awesome stereo dynamics and soundstage, all because those nasty pivots were too tight!

You do need a couple of tools to do this with most tables, a spanner type screw driver and a smaller slot type screw driver and some "feel".

The process is simple. loosen the outer set screw collar, then (in small increments), loosen the pivot until the the tonearm seems to have some movement with in the framework of the pivots. Then turn the pivots back in (again in small increments) until the first sigh of "slop" is gone. Lock the outer collar.

The rewards will be like getting a new high end cartridge or even better, a completely new turntable.

Wayner
 
Make your own tool, or in a pinch, use a cuticle scissors.

BTW, I might have been incorrect all these years, but isn't the 'horizontal pivot' responsible for lateral travel across the record?
 
Make your own tool, or in a pinch, use a cuticle scissors.

BTW, I might have been incorrect all these years, but isn't the 'horizontal pivot' responsible for lateral travel across the record?

I'm referring to the actual, physical position of the pivots. They are the ones that allow the tonearm to pivot up and down.

Because the record groove walls are 45/45°, the stylus just doesn't go back and forth horizontally, it moves all about in many directions, therefore, the arm needs to be a free as possible to allow this to happen. This is were the micro details come from.
 
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I'm referring to the actual, physical position of the pivots. They are the ones that allow the tonearm to pivot up and down.
Clearly you were but they're still called the vertical bearings after the function, not their position. I was under the impression the mfgr adjusts them at factory to micro-gram precision using suitable torque gauges. Was Technics oblivious through four decades to a seemingly simple tweak that would immensely improve their flag ship consumer grade turntable?
 
Was Technics oblivious through four decades to a seemingly simple tweak that would immensely improve their flag ship consumer grade turntable?
Another "They're the experts so you're obviously wrong" comments. Wayner's bearings were too tight. They were factory-adjusted that way for rugged use and heavy beats by Disco DJs. It excelled at that, not audiophile finesse. Wayner achieved better sound, for his use, by relaxing it a bit.
Clearly you were [referring to the actual, physical position of the pivots] but they're still called the vertical bearings after the function, not their position
It's odd — every tonearm review I've seen called them "horizontal bearings" because of their clearly visible horizontal alignment; of course it can cause confusion because it seems opposite to its up-down function — it's a semantic choice, and many reviewers pause parenthetically to explain the paradox.

And the other bearings are called "vertical" despite their lateral motion. Again, a semantic choice: name it by its form, or its function? Someone will be confused no matter how you address the conundrum. Wayner used the correct word.
 
^^^ I had a similar set. It has oddball bits you've even seen before, much less used — until you run into an oddball screw-head. But the spanner-bits in my set were too thick to fit into the narrow slots on my various tonearm bearings. but 10 seconds with a Dremel grinding wheel cured it.
 
I recall reading that the primary difference between the Rega RB300 and the more expensive Rega arms was the adjustment of the bearings.
Of course, that could be BS, but I do wonder how the people assembling the arms determine what 'better' is, anyway.

Seems hard to believe they just do it by feel, but stranger things have happened.
 
You can take a 70mg piece of tape (use your digital scale) and put it on your balanced arm, it should make it drop if the bearings are good.
 
Origin Live's arms were highly regarded. They took the opposite approach. Their bearings were intentionally loose, lots of "play". It took friction almost down to Zero. The usual criticism of this approach was a) it let the armtube "wander" side to side, instead of retaining its correct angle, and b) "bearing chatter". They solved (a) by spacing the bearings widely apart, and solved (b) by mounting the bearings in a thick metal housing that absorbed the very small level of noise creating by tiny ball-bearings "chattering" among themselves before it ever reached the armtube, much less the cartridge/stylus.

Did this approach, contrary to all commonly accepted wisdom, work? I only heard an OL arm twice, with a ZYX MC and a Shelter MC, both on Michell Orbe TTs — they sounded great. Two auditions is hardly proof... but there's a lot of commonly-accepted-wisdom in audio that's just wrong.
 
Where are these screws on the 1200? Does it require a lot of dismantling?
They're on either side of the bearing assembly, which is just in front of the counterweight. No disassembly at all, except for loosening the outer-rings (lock-nuts? not sure of the name) so you can turn the small screw in the middle.

But ask Wayner, he just adjusted his. I've never done a 1200, but countless other arms use the same basic design and I've adjusted a few of those. It's easy, once you know what the steps are, and get over the nerves... There's probably a youtube video, there is for everything else.
 
Yes, these are the ones......

IMG_1569.JPG

Here is my home-made spanner, made from a standard straight bladed screw driver....

IMG_1570.JPG
 
I might suggest that there needs to be some care backing out the pivot, so that it doesn't fall out . Some tonearms do have tiny bearings in the pivot assembly and if these get away, your screwed. That is why I suggested to take small steps when backing the pivot screw out.
 
Another "They're the experts so you're obviously wrong" comments.
Yup, Technics are the experts on SL-12XX turntables. I'm not saying the OP is obviously wrong, in fact, I'm pretty sure he thinks he's not, but why are you so confident he's right? Every single tonearm bearings specs I'd ever seen from a main stream mfgr states friction parameters in micro-grams. That's in millionths of a gram figures. Do you suppose one can reach this level of precision by "feel"? Perhaps - but there's room enough for skepticism in a critical thinking turntable forum. The "getting a new high end cartridge" award promised by the OP doesn't seem like incentive enough for me to go futz around with any of my SL-12XX bearing factory adjustments. I've done it before with varying degree of success on many different gimbals based tonearms and in my experience it is very difficult to get right. It's also absolutely none repeatable without the right tools. Besides, if you want a high end cart - buy one. I don't know a turntable way around that.
They were factory-adjusted that way for rugged use and heavy beats by Disco DJs.
and you know this... because?
It's odd — every tonearm review I've seen called them "horizontal bearings" because of their clearly visible horizontal alignment
Yes very odd but doesn't rule out the possibility that every review you've ever read is wrong. In fact, I'd like to see one of those. Popular Science (Dec 1956 - Page 179) got it right. Art Dudly, for once, uses the correct terminology here. The analog department seems to get it right as well and includes imagery to explain it. It's vertical bearings for vertical motion in the vertical plain of the tonearm by anyone in the industry.
 
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