Yamaha GT-2000 Turntable Social Group

[808_state]

There use to be a group known in the Japanese audiophile community as "YGT Project" (or simply YGT). It was run as a passion project by retired, old-school industrial machinists, the site functioned as a direct-to-order landing page where users could request custom production runs for the 18kg replica YGT-1 platters, pure brass sub-weights, and specialized bearing-support mods. Unfortunately it retired about a year ago. Their quality and replication were stellar but I am pretty sure they labeled their product to avoid being considered an attempt to deceive anyone that it was an original. They were also expensive. Interestingly they would only sell to the local Japan market and were even leery of the brokers. Before I found and bought a YGT-1 original on Yahoo Japan I was considering one of theirs which someone I knew local was going to buy and ship to me.

I notice a difference in the ring(s) on the underside. I wonder if those are the ones these guys sold.

 

[craggd]

So I got frustrated not being able to find the YGT Project info on any legacy tools. Well I discovered the primary reason, I had the name wrong! It was the Y31 Project run by an individual affectionally known by Y31-san!

Here is some additional info on their gunmetal platter and other products they offered:

The full-weight 18 kg (approx. 40 lbs) heavy gunmetal platter engineered by the Y31 Project was named the Y31ST-1 (often affectionately chronicled in Japanese build logs as the "Y31 Full-Gunmetal Platter" or "Y31 砲金ターンテーブル"). [1, 2]

The Y31 Project divided their platter line into two distinct variations so buyers could choose how much weight they wanted to put on the Yamaha motor spindle: [1]

• Y31ST-1 (The Full Platter): The 18 kg monster designed to completely swap out Yamaha's original aluminum platter down to the motor shaft, serving as a direct structural alternative to Yamaha's original YGT-1.
• Y31ST1-GM1 (The Top Sheet): The thinner, 3 kg (6.6 lbs) companion mat meant to rest on top of an existing platter setup. [1, 2, 3]

Legacy Documentation

In the rare photos where the 18 kg replica was captured, it is highly distinct from the factory Yamaha version. While Yamaha's original YGT-1 has a slightly darker, weathered alloy look, Y31-san's bespoke custom run was famous for its brilliant, bright-gold precision tool machining. [1, 2, 3]

Unlike the Y31ST1-GM sheet or the massive Y31AB-1 base (which had multiple production batches for Japanese forum members), machining a true 18 kg, solid gunmetal monolithic platter replica was an extraordinarily high-cost, high-risk endeavor for a private workshop. The full 18 kg drop-in replacement platter variants were typically treated as individual one-off bespoke commissions or experimental prototypes.

The Design Differences to Map Against the YGT-1

Even without a side-by-side photo, Japanese builders documented the precise aesthetic and mechanical deviations between your factory YGT-1 and the Y31ST-1 replica:

• The Finish: Your factory Yamaha YGT-1 features a dark, muted, almost weathered dark-bronze/copper alloy coloration with a slightly matte patina. The Y31ST-1 replica was famous for its intense, highly polished "bright-gold" sheen. It featured deep, concentric micro-grooves left intentionally by the lathe tooling to showcase that it was carved out of a solid block of raw metal. [1]
• The Rim Profile: The YGT-1 has a very distinct, subtly raised outer lip perimeter designed by Yamaha to frame the edge of a vinyl record. The Y31 Project discarded this approach for the Y31ST-1, opting for a dead-flat, unbroken horizontal line straight across the face to seamlessly couple with their record weights. [1]
• The Underside Spindle Housing: While the YGT-1 was cast and precision-finished to drop cleanly over the stock center motor spindle assembly, the Y31ST-1 replica featured extra-wide brass center bushing inserts designed to perfectly distribute its 18 kg weight without scratching or catching on the GT-2000's primary steel shaft spindle block. [1]

Y31project＜ＴＴシート生産現場 Page1＞

Y31project＜アナログオーディオ用「こだわり製品」の開発＞

Y31project＜アナログオーディオ用「こだわり製品」の開発＞

Y31 project Y31RS-1 GT-2000用 砲金+銅カシメ... - Yahoo!オークション

https://buyee.jp/item/jdirectitems/auction/o1241420612?lang=en&rc=yaucc_mod

http://yosigaki.s214.xrea.com/y31.html

Y31AB-1 Photo

http://yosigaki.s214.xrea.com/mikuyuu.html

https://www.hifido.co.jp/sold/13-72259-74903-00.html?LNG=E

オーディオみじんこ/レコードスタビライザー・ターンテーブルシート

 

[mbphotox]

Post a pic or pics of the tonearm showing settings. Do you use a scale to check tracking force?

This actually sounds exactly like the same problem that my tonearm has.

I haven't had a stereo setup in nearly two years since we moved, so haven't had any motivation to even begin to fix it... I love our apartment, but I really want to move again to have my own listening room again..

Anyways:
We discussed my issue at length here before, nearly three years ago. https://audiokarma.org/forums/threads/yamaha-gt-2000-turntable-social-group.1007919/post-16752256
In my case, the tonearm doesn't care what tracking force you set, it will simply drag outwards, scratching over the record surface.

I have, back then, concluded that the culprit was the plastic sliding pad of the cue lever.. but that shouldn't be it, since the tonearm still drifts outward even after the cue lever has fully been lowered..
It's just like a door hinge that's misaligned and causes the door to always swing open on its own..
Hence, why I'm back at blaming the "pillar" upon which the tonearm rests (and where you make the vertical adjustment)

That "hinge" there must be the issue, because the tonearm, platter, table, record.. everything is perfectly level, and the tonearm just drifts outwards..

 

[808_state]

This actually sounds exactly like the same problem that my tonearm has.

I haven't had a stereo setup in nearly two years since we moved, so haven't had any motivation to even begin to fix it... I love our apartment, but I really want to move again to have my own listening room again..

Anyways:
We discussed my issue at length here before, nearly three years ago. https://audiokarma.org/forums/threads/yamaha-gt-2000-turntable-social-group.1007919/post-16752256
In my case, the tonearm doesn't care what tracking force you set, it will simply drag outwards, scratching over the record surface.

I have, back then, concluded that the culprit was the plastic sliding pad of the cue lever.. but that shouldn't be it, since the tonearm still drifts outward even after the cue lever has fully been lowered..
It's just like a door hinge that's misaligned and causes the door to always swing open on its own..
Hence, why I'm back at blaming the "pillar" upon which the tonearm rests (and where you make the vertical adjustment)

That "hinge" there must be the issue, because the tonearm, platter, table, record.. everything is perfectly level, and the tonearm just drifts outwards..

Lifting the table up on one side would settle that question. Beyond that you might consider looking more closely at the tonearm wires. One of the YSA-1's I have would stick about 1/4 to half way across a record and at first I couldn't figure out why. Upon closer inspection I noticed that the thin wires were extremely stiff and pushing against the back of the tonearm, restricting free movement across the record. Aside from replacing the wires I think you can carefully treat the outer jacketing with a chemical to soften it up (don't know off hand what that is).

 

[mbphotox]

I just played around with mine.. the cables are not the issue. Neither is the plastic sliding pad of the cue lever.
The tonearm "drifts" no matter what. (I set it high above the record, so that it doesn't touch it when lowered fully.. and it will drift outwards no matter whether it is all the way above the runout grove, or at the outer edge.. when I set it ON the record, then the drifting doesn't happen unless the record spins.. but I can see the outward force bending the needle in..)

Removing the antiskate made it much less pronounced, though..

However, if I play around with the vertical adjustment, again, with the tonearm "floating" above the record, I could eliminate the drifting.


Loosen the thumb screw and the tonearm fixture wiggles quite a bit (nothing precision about that, imo..)
It wiggles so much, that I can support it with one hand and adjust its ANGLE in a way that will cause the tonearm to NOT drift outward anymore.(By pushing the side opposite the thumbscrew "down" slightly)
As soon as I fasten the thumb screw, the opposite side gets LIFTED and the tonearm drifts outwards again.

my playing around revealed that I can get the tonearm to roughly stay in place no matter where above the record it was floating.. or even cause it to drift inward.. (without the antiskate pulling)

Maybe the tonearm base is not actually level and the fastened thumbscrew would actually fix it in a perfectly vertical position?
I'll need a tiny bubble scale to check the tonearm base..

It also doesn't matter where on the vertical axis I fasten the thumb screw, it always causes the "tilt" of the tonearm gimbal.. so it doesn't seem to be an indentation in the pillar underneath...

Maybe that's Brad's issue, too?

 

[Mark B]

@mbphotox, there may be multiple causes that result in the problems you've had with the tonearm. It might make sense to replace the tonearm.

I've been very pleased with the performance & lack of issues with both of my YSA-1's.

 

[808_state]

I just played around with mine.. the cables are not the issue. Neither is the plastic sliding pad of the cue lever.
The tonearm "drifts" no matter what. (I set it high above the record, so that it doesn't touch it when lowered fully.. and it will drift outwards no matter whether it is all the way above the runout grove, or at the outer edge.. when I set it ON the record, then the drifting doesn't happen unless the record spins.. but I can see the outward force bending the needle in..)

Removing the antiskate made it much less pronounced, though..

However, if I play around with the vertical adjustment, again, with the tonearm "floating" above the record, I could eliminate the drifting.
View attachment 3823528

Loosen the thumb screw and the tonearm fixture wiggles quite a bit (nothing precision about that, imo..)
It wiggles so much, that I can support it with one hand and adjust its ANGLE in a way that will cause the tonearm to NOT drift outward anymore.(By pushing the side opposite the thumbscrew "down" slightly)
As soon as I fasten the thumb screw, the opposite side gets LIFTED and the tonearm drifts outwards again.

my playing around revealed that I can get the tonearm to roughly stay in place no matter where above the record it was floating.. or even cause it to drift inward.. (without the antiskate pulling)

Maybe the tonearm base is not actually level and the fastened thumbscrew would actually fix it in a perfectly vertical position?
I'll need a tiny bubble scale to check the tonearm base..

It also doesn't matter where on the vertical axis I fasten the thumb screw, it always causes the "tilt" of the tonearm gimbal.. so it doesn't seem to be an indentation in the pillar underneath...

Maybe that's Brad's issue, too?

You could try thin plastic shims to place inside the tonearm ring when it is placed on the pillar. That might push it in the right direction when you tighten the screw. As I mentioned up thread, I had to file down one of the bases to get the arm ring to move smoothly up and down the pillar. Sometimes the arms get switched to a different base that was made in a different run and they don't match up perfectly.

 

[808_state]

@mbphotox, there may be multiple causes that result in the problems you've had with the tonearm. It might make sense to replace the tonearm.

I've been very pleased with the performance & lack of issues with both of my YSA-1's.

The YSA-1 on my 2000X works without issue. I'd attribute these issues to part swapping by a previous owner or age and the need for maintenance.

 

[brad6285]

Hi everyone does anyone have an extra set of the shipping screws they’d be willing to sell or let me borrow. I have to ship my gt2000l for service. My tonearm keeps floating back to the tonearm rest no matter where you put the tonearm on the record. I have no idea what the problem is. I’ve been in contact with mbphotox he has the same problem. I hate shipping this I just imagine bad things happening. Thank you Brad

 

[brad6285]

How do you guys find the gt2000 on hifido. If they can’t fix mine I’ll be looking for one. Thanx brad

 

[mbphotox]

@mbphotox, there may be multiple causes that result in the problems you've had with the tonearm. It might make sense to replace the tonearm.

I've been very pleased with the performance & lack of issues with both of my YSA-1's.

the YSA-1 costs more than I paid for my entire turntable..

 

[mbphotox]

I guess I could buy a GT-750 since they use the same tonearm as the GT-2000
Cheaper than buying a frigging YA-39 tonearm on its own...

 

[marvelus10]

The tonearms for the 750 and 2000 are not the same. There are differences it was discussed years ago should still be within this topics many pages.

 

[808_state]

Hi everyone does anyone have an extra set of the shipping screws they’d be willing to sell or let me borrow. I have to ship my gt2000l for service. My tonearm keeps floating back to the tonearm rest no matter where you put the tonearm on the record. I have no idea what the problem is. I’ve been in contact with mbphotox he has the same problem. I hate shipping this I just imagine bad things happening. Thank you Brad

There are no shipping screws to my knowledge. But since the problem is entirely with the tonearm, you can just remove it and ship that. No need to send the entire table.

 

[mbphotox]

The tonearms for the 750 and 2000 are not the same. There are differences it was discussed years ago should still be within this topics many pages.

aah.. I've just seen a ton of them for sale specifying the YA-39 tonearm.. but I suppose those were all upgraded, then?

Either way, I was happy with the YA-39 tonearm. Not a fan of the straight YSA versions, especially since I do not fancy AT ALL having to buy new headshells for the YSA-1 (the YSA-2 has a straight headshell, but cots 4 grand or thereabouts.. )

I feel like mine really only needs that weird pillar fixed to not tilt the tonearm gimbal when fastened.. not a reason to spend 1000s on a new tonearm..

Also, if I can get this fixed, I'll ask my local metal working shop if they would be able to make a copy of my platter..
brass (gunmetal, lol) is much cheaper than Copper.. Would've loved to use Monel (for the colour), but the Nickel would probably cause issues with the cartridge magnets?
(I take it, that's why nobody uses a stainless Steel platter with the same density as the gunmetal one? )

 

[craggd]

aah.. I've just seen a ton of them for sale specifying the YA-39 tonearm.. but I suppose those were all upgraded, then?

Either way, I was happy with the YA-39 tonearm. Not a fan of the straight YSA versions, especially since I do not fancy AT ALL having to buy new headshells for the YSA-1 (the YSA-2 has a straight headshell, but cots 4 grand or thereabouts.. )

I feel like mine really only needs that weird pillar fixed to not tilt the tonearm gimbal when fastened.. not a reason to spend 1000s on a new tonearm..

Also, if I can get this fixed, I'll ask my local metal working shop if they would be able to make a copy of my platter..
brass (gunmetal, lol) is much cheaper than Copper.. Would've loved to use Monel (for the colour), but the Nickel would probably cause issues with the cartridge magnets?
(I take it, that's why nobody uses a stainless Steel platter with the same density as the gunmetal one? )

Actually there are stainless steel platters (AI is your friend ):

A stainless steel platter for the vintage Yamaha GT-2000 is an ultra-heavy, custom-machined aftermarket upgrade (often weighing around 36 to 38 lbs compared to the stock 13 lbs aluminum platter). Because Yamaha never manufactured an official stainless steel option—relying instead on the factory YGT-1 gunmetal platter—these metal variants are custom-commissioned or boutique builds. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Key Aspects of Custom Stainless Steel Platters

• • Weight & Inertia: Weighs roughly 36–38 lbs, vastly increasing rotational inertia over the stock 5.8 kg (12.8 lbs) aluminum version. [1, 2, 3]
  • Material Spec: High-grade stainless steel (such as non-magnetic AISI 316 or SUS304) precision-cut on a CNC lathe to match tight spindle and bearing tolerances. [1, 2]
  • Sonic Impact: Delivers deeper black backgrounds, improved speed stability, and enhanced bass authority, though startup times to reach 33.3 RPM will increase due to the massive load on the direct-drive motor.
  • Availability: Rare; high-end specialty audio fabricators like Artisan Fidelity have historically done custom runs, or owners commission local CNC machine shops using exact factory dimensions. [1, 2, 3]

 

[mbphotox]

funny how AI links to this site, and this site only.. and only one person has ever had a stainless platter made..
really glad AI came up with a "sound" explanation for the impact of that platter on sound and all..

I still wonder whether the cartridge would be affected by the magnetic field of the iron/nickel, whatever in that stainless mix..

 

[craggd]

funny how AI links to this site, and this site only.. and only one person has ever had a stainless platter made..
really glad AI came up with a "sound" explanation for the impact of that platter on sound and all..

I still wonder whether the cartridge would be affected by the magnetic field of the iron/nickel, whatever in that stainless mix..

If you are really interested spend some time with AI and you can learn a lot more. They use non-magnetic SUS304 stainless steel. There are other sources in Japan and South Korea at least. If you look earlier in this group (pg 36 and 57) you can see a member here who has a stainless steel and a cooper version.

 

[brad6285]

I’m sorry they’re not shipping screws they’re screws to pull the platter I don’t have them. I’m sending the whole tt, even though I don’t want to, I’m having it serviced and recapped.

 

[Mark B]

Hi everyone does anyone have an extra set of the shipping screws they’d be willing to sell or let me borrow. I have to ship my gt2000l for service. My tonearm keeps floating back to the tonearm rest no matter where you put the tonearm on the record. I have no idea what the problem is. I’ve been in contact with mbphotox he has the same problem. I hate shipping this I just imagine bad things happening. Thank you Brad

The bolts for lifting the GT-2000 platter are M10 1.5 pitch collared (or shoulder) lifting eye bolts. Google it and you'll find many sources.