Can I replace P-Mount Headshell with Standard Head Shell?
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Decibel_116
AK Subscriber
I'm not familiar with that particular model number. If it is similar in design to most Technics P-mount belt drives, the headshell is permanently attached to the tonearm. So no, a standard headshell will not fit. Sorry.
Decibel_116 is correct about the headshell, but all is not lost. There's an arm lifter [ie, "cue"] control on the front of the TT, so you never really have to use the missing finger lift, unless the cue control is broken. The table is semi-automatic, which means it will stop and return the arm by itself, but to begin play, you have to move the arm over to the record yourself. Cue the arm up, then poke it over the record with your finger or one of those rubber-tipped touchscreen styluses, then cue it gently down. Safer that way, anyhow.
Now, you might want to ask the seller how that finger lift got broken. If something whacked the arm hard enough to do that, the arm's bearings may have taken a hit, or the arm tube may be slightly bent.
Now, you might want to ask the seller how that finger lift got broken. If something whacked the arm hard enough to do that, the arm's bearings may have taken a hit, or the arm tube may be slightly bent.
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KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus!
T4p mount is the only option here. Can't do 1/2" mount.
SA-708
Appalachian-American
I'm not following you here. What does this have to do with fitting a 1/2 inch cartridge onto a p-mount arm?
The only P-mount adapters out there are for fitting P-mount cartridges into 1/2" mount headshells. Nothing was ever made to do the reverse, unfortunately. You'd have to install an entirely different tonearm in order to use 1/2" mount cartridges with that turntable, and I doubt that it'd be worth the effort compared to tracking down a different turntable whose tonearm has a headshell equipped to take 1/2" mount cartridges.
-Adam
Give an example please.
KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus!
Which are for installing these cartridges into 1/2" mount tonearms, yours is T4p ONLY. Accepts nothing but. If you want 1/2" mount capability, look for another similar Technics like a SL-D1, SL-D2 or SL-D3, or SL-Q2 or SL-Q3 in that class.
Djcoolray
Addicted Member
Check google...
So you can't, right?
Here is an example I found on Google:
As I noted above, it is intended to adapt a P-mount (T4P) cartridge to fit the headshell of a 1/2" mount tonearm. The cartridge mounts in the adapter's socket via the locking screw, and the 'ears' on the top are used to mount the adapter in the screw slots of the headshell. Again, there are no examples of the opposite (i.e. 1/2" mount cartridge to P-mount tonearm) available, unfortunately. The P-mount standard was intended to be an easy-to-set-up alternative to the protractors and weight gauges involved with setting up a 1/2" mount cartridge in a standard headshell.
-Adam
HTHMAN
Super Member
I would look for a different turntable. No matter how you repair it, the tracking force will likely be off. A little too much ot too little weight that far out on the tonearm will have a noticeable effect on tracking force. I would look for a TT with mounting for a standard cartridge as it gives you many more options in cartridge choice.
I disagree. It shouldn't be difficult to hone in the correct tracking force (1.25 g) via the use of blu tack or clay or tape.
As for the finger lift, couldn't you find a longer screw (of the same width) of the one that's used to screw the cartridge into the tonearm? Or use it with no finger lift; this is why cueing levers exist.
No, this isn't what the OP is asking for. This is the exact opposite. Why are you posting this?
KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus!
I did see someone on Vinyl Engine who had a Technics SL-QD-33 and it had a tonearm issue and he installed a Rega RB series tonearm on it. That might well be doable with some skill in modification. This chap's Rega installation was very neat and well done.
What the OP is asking for doesn't exist, as I have mentioned in my other posts in this thread. A P-mount adapter was mentioned, and I posted a picture of one. It is the only form of P-mount adapter out there. Short of removing the existing tonearm and grafting a 1/2" mount-capable arm in its place (which would be a waste of time, IMO), there is no way to use a 1/2" mount cartridge with a Technics SL-B250 turntable.
-Adam