The Official *Technics SL-1200* Owners Club

After doing some tests, I concluded that the anti-skate spring was probably bad. Since they are no longer available, I sadly returned the unit to the seller. The bearings were not the issue. Googling this, there was a lot of hits with the antiskate on the 1200 having problems.
Jon, I’m so sorry to hear about your 1200. That sucks. I’ve fortunately never had any issues with the anti-skate on my M3D.
Are you still Looking for a 1200?
Also, the KAB site has a ton, if not all info available for 1200’s.
Kevin, the owner, is also very helpful and an all around great guy that’ll probably answer any questions you might not find an answer for here, which is also unlikely. 1200 owners usually really know everything about them in and out. They’re very easy to work on too. Great all around turntable.
 
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Yes... I contacted Kevin and he said it was either the bearings or the AS mechanism. After playing around, I concluded the AS spring was bad. When configured, the tonearm would swing out to about an inch from the outer edge and stop. If I set the arm down at the outer edge, the tonearm would swing in an inch and stop. If i increased the AS setting, the arm would swing violently outward against the arm rest. This was very disappointing... The player was in excellent condition.

I have checked several MK 5's and people are really trying to rip you off. A few were in really sad shape, others were missing all kinds of parts or were damaged with bad bearings. Almost all had AS issues. They all want $600+, even with no dust cover, rubber platter mat. Almost all were selling with no headshell/cartridge. The best ones were the sellers who insisted the deck was never used for DJing but the speed slider was all shot or sloppy or they were decked out with slip mats.
 
Yes... I contacted Kevin and he said it was either the bearings or the AS mechanism. After playing around, I concluded the AS spring was bad. When configured, the tonearm would swing out to about an inch from the outer edge and stop. If I set the arm down at the outer edge, the tonearm would swing in an inch and stop. If i increased the AS setting, the arm would swing violently outward against the arm rest. This was very disappointing... The player was in excellent condition.

I have checked several MK 5's and people are really trying to rip you off. A few were in really sad shape, others were missing all kinds of parts or were damaged with bad bearings. Almost all had AS issues. They all want $600+, even with no dust cover, rubber platter mat. Almost all were selling with no headshell/cartridge. The best ones were the sellers who insisted the deck was never used for DJing but the speed slider was all shot or sloppy or they were decked out with slip mats.
Hey, Jon. Man, I can’t believe the luck you’re having! Wtf, huh? Why can’t people be honest sellers? Unfortunately, most 1200’s have been DJ’d within an inch of their lives. At least you’ve got the AK family. Everyone seems to be a good egg here. You could also put up a listing in the wanted section of BT for a new tonearm or even a MK5. I’m sure you know you’ve gotta be a subscriber to get into BT though. It’s well worth it. I’ve bought and sold so much stuff there, and people have reasonable prices too. Occasionally a 1200 will pop up for sale there too.

At least you spoke to Kevin and got to the bottom of things. Did you ask him about how to replace the AS spring? I’m sure there’s gotta be a replacement part for what the issue is, and at least it doesn’t seem to be the bearings.

Are you dead set on a MK5, cuz if a MKll would work for you, I may be able to find one for you. A friend of mine, who’s also a great electronics and turntable tech had 2 MKll’s from the late 80’s (I think) a bit ago for $400 each. One of my old buddies, who now lives in ME, took one of them, but I can check if the other one is still available if you’d like. They had only been used in a studio setting. They both had dust covers and headshells with some kinda cart with em, but they weren’t Technics headshells, if that’s what you’re looking for. You can of course still always buy a new mat and a headshell. Those aren’t a big deal. I’m sure you probably have a certain cartridge in mind anyway.
Now, the possibly shitty part. I saw that you’re in Hawaii, and I’m not sure he’d be willing to ship it, which would obviously not be cheap in the first place, but I’m getting ahead of myself here. First let me know if you’d be interested.

- Nick
 
Yes... I contacted Kevin and he said it was either the bearings or the AS mechanism. After playing around, I concluded the AS spring was bad. When configured, the tonearm would swing out to about an inch from the outer edge and stop. If I set the arm down at the outer edge, the tonearm would swing in an inch and stop. If i increased the AS setting, the arm would swing violently outward against the arm rest. This was very disappointing... The player was in excellent condition.

I have checked several MK 5's and people are really trying to rip you off. A few were in really sad shape, others were missing all kinds of parts or were damaged with bad bearings. Almost all had AS issues. They all want $600+, even with no dust cover, rubber platter mat. Almost all were selling with no headshell/cartridge. The best ones were the sellers who insisted the deck was never used for DJing but the speed slider was all shot or sloppy or they were decked out with slip mats.
Jon, I forgot to mention this. Check out this place. They’re a bit pricey and don’t come with dustcovers, mats, headshells, but they’re really nice MK5’s and MK3D’s, etc. http://www.stokyoworld.com/category_s/53.htm
 
Shipping to Hawaii is ridiculous... I had to send my Oppo Blu-Ray player for repair in Modesto, CA. It was $300 via UPS (UPS forced me to send the player via second day air). I try not to use USPS... I bought a Sony PS-8750 turntable via eBay. The seller was in FL and the turntable was destroyed in-transit. It was crushed and the arm was broken off.

The problem is my budget was $500-$700 max. I already spend a couple of hundred on a new JICO stylus for my Shure V-15 Type IV. I thank you for your info though. When the new Technics SL1200 MK 7 coimes out, I might consider buying it and sell my Pioneer. There is no one selling DJ turntables here, Best Buy doesn't sell any (I originally ordered through them but they cancelled my order a couple of days later stating they discontinued the DJ line except for the AT LP120) and all of the local stores went out of business... Pioneer's site lised several stores carrying their products and all of the have shut down or discontinued their line. I was forced to buy from Amazon. The turntable should be arriving today... Thanks for your effort.
 
Got the PLX-1000 today... I got lucky... The platter is flat, there is no play on the arm bearings and there is no motor noise... Yeah! The sound with my old Shure V15 Type 4 is a lot better than my Sony PS-X7... The bass is tight, the image is rock solid... I did notice that the Sony has silkier highs though.
 
Got the PLX-1000 today... I got lucky... The platter is flat, there is no play on the arm bearings and there is no motor noise... Yeah! The sound with my old Shure V15 Type 4 is a lot better than my Sony PS-X7... The bass is tight, the image is rock solid... I did notice that the Sony has silkier highs though.
Hell yeah, Jon! It’s about time your luck changed and you got a great TT. Actually, it sounds like you’ve got 2 of em! Nothing wrong with that! A lot of people run 2 decks. I’m not too familiar with the PLX-1000, but I do know they’re great quality DD turntables that are similar to 1200’s. Have you tried any different carts on the PLX that might give you a little smoother high end? I’m certainly not trying to make a sale here, but I’ve got a lot of extra carts that I might be willing to part with if you’re interested. I may actualky throw a few up on BT. I just don’t use em any more. I’ve settled in with a Goldring 1012, and I love it. Best sounding cart Ive ever owned. The V15 type IV, especially with a JICO stylus on it must sound phenomenal, I’m sure. Which stylus did you buy? It sounds like you probably went with the SAS if you spent a couple hounded $ on it. I own a few Shure carts, and they all sound wonderful. Ive also got a Stanton 681EEE with a VividLine stylus on it, that sounds amazing. It was either that or a JICO.

Even with the f’d up AS on your MK5, I’m sure you could find a buyer. People seem to buy em in any condition and fix em up. I actually bought a new 1200 tonearm luckily right before they no longer made them, and put KAB/Cardas Litz wire in it. Now they’re going for ridiculous amounts of money. It’s amazing the degree in which good tonearm wire makes such a huge difference in sound. I’ve still got the other tonearm which works fine just in case. Ya never know what can happen.

Dude, the shipping price for your Oppo was just plain ridiculous! $300?! That’s a stick up in my book.
 
Well, looks like I can officially post in this thread now. Picked up a 1200 MK2 from a fellow member this weekend. It was a DJ's bitch so it's definitely not mint. I have already procured the correct mat (it was missing) and now I need to do something for a headshell. It has a Stanton branded headshell and that won't do. lol.

Guess my first question here is, any of you guys run the generic $10 Technics style head shells that sell on eBay? Are they worth even bothering with?

And yes, I do plan to take it all apart and service it. It's eventually going off to college with my youngest kid. :)
 
If you don't know already, kabusa.com has about everything you need. I've used the imitation head shells and they are fine for me. But I would get something nicer if I were going to use a ~$500 cartridge.
Actually, my Stanton head shell is my favorite. I use it with a Pickering cart. It has a flat top that allows me to use a tiny bubble level to dial in VTA abd azimuth .
It looks just like this one, but it says Stanton :
https://www.lpgear.com/product/LPGHDSHL.html
 
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Can I join please? I've got an original 1200, the armless 120 with SME3009 and the SP12 (wich is the Jap-only motor unit derived from the 1200)
 
Thank you very much and... allways look on the bright side of life!

its a small part of my Technics DD collection but they are the beginning of the begin in terms of the famous 1200 series.
 
My 3 puppy's together :)

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Ooo! Look at those beauties! I dig the SME arm on the middle one. What’s the arm on the back one?
Is that a linear tracker peaking out the bottom left corner?

Yup, that's an SL10 linear tracking. The top one is an SL1200 with the original arm on it, I think it is called an EPA 120

There are more, got about 8 Technics decks but those are my 1200's and variants :p
 
Yup, that's an SL10 linear tracking. The top one is an SL1200 with the original arm on it, I think it is called an EPA 120

There are more, got about 8 Technics decks but those are my 1200's and variants :p
Oh, yeah! I see the arm now. They’re 1st gen 1200’s. Very cool.
“About 8 of em” Haha! Nice. What is the first one without the arm board?
 
That's the SP12, Japan-only model, it's a motorunit like an SP10 for building in to a plinth and you an put whatever arm on it, so it's the 3rd incarnation of the original 1200 but not well known because it was only sold in Japan. It was the cheapest one then and now the most expensive one due to it rareity.


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That's the SP12, Japan-only model, it's a motorunit like an SP10 for building in to a plinth and you an put whatever arm on it, so it's the 3rd incarnation of the original 1200 but not well known because it was only sold in Japan. It was the cheapest one then and now the most expensive one due to it rareity.
That’s awesome, man! I’ve never seen one, and I love 1200’s. I’ve only got one, but it’s been highly upgraded and modded to be the best it can. Definitely my forever turntable.
 
That's the SP12, Japan-only model, it's a motorunit like an SP10 for building in to a plinth and you an put whatever arm on it, so it's the 3rd incarnation of the original 1200 but not well known because it was only sold in Japan. It was the cheapest one then and now the most expensive one due to it rareity.


L
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IMG-20190404-094735.jpg
D
 
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