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Yamaha YP-B4 for my first turn table (Help Thread).

BUZZARD437

BUZZARD437

New Member
Greetings, I am 100% new to the TT world. I currently have a AT-LP60 that is about as basic as it gets. Well recently I found a used Yamaha YP-B4 for 25$ that was advertised as not working, but had power. So I thought, what the hell, what better way to get into it than fixing one. Anyway enough rambling. I bought it. The belt was melted to the underside of the platter so I scrapped it off and ordered a new one. The motor spins and is quite so I am optimistic that replacing the belt is all I need. However, the tone arm was dangling with the guard off and I am positive I need to replace the stylus. Well, as a newb, my question is - when replacing the stylus, do I need to replace the cartridge too? If so, what are some recommendations. I really like the look of the cartridge so if I can keep it, that would be stylistically and financially cool. Also, in general is there only one stylus that fits the specific cartridge? (aka proprietary stylus) For reference I believe the cartridge is a AT15Sa. Cartridge appears to be in good shape but there is no way I am slammin that needle down on one my records lol.

TLDR - I bought a YP-B4 for my first TT and I need to replace the stylus at the very minimum, maybe the entire cartridge. What are my options?

PS: pictures are from the seller, I can post more later when I get home.
 

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That's an awesome table to start with. Depending on how long it set new belt should get it going. May need to deox the pitch control. That's great dust cover even looks decent. That should be a shibata cartridge and sound wonderful. Few years ago I had a yamaha px2 and a px3, linear tracking. I've always had a soft spot for yamahas.. good luck
 
bigtuna said:
That's an awesome table to start with. Depending on how long it set new belt should get it going. May need to deox the pitch control. That's great dust cover even looks decent. That should be a shibata cartridge and sound wonderful. Few years ago I had a yamaha px2 and a px3, linear tracking. I've always had a soft spot for yamahas.. good luck
Click to expand...

Forgive me, but what do you mean deox the pitch control xD? The cartridge is gold metal with a AudioTechnica logo on it. After digging around I am 90% sure its a AT15Sa. Are you suggesting I replace it with a Shibata? Sorry again, total newb!
 
Thats a nice cartridge. You can find an aftermarket stylus for that cart or you can look for NOS that are harder to come by. I got a NOS stylus for the AT15XE recently at auction.
 
Most older turntables are going to have speed controls that need to be cleaned with contact cleaner to function correctly. I would start with the 33 and 45 buttons on the left side of the table. Go into the table underneath to find them and work them while spraying them.
 
I've rehabbed about a dozen YP-B4 turntables. I don't recall any pitch or speed controls on these, but it's been a few months since I've worked on one. They are pretty solid workers once you get them up and running. It was manufactured by CEC (the same company that manufactured the Marantz 6100, 6200, 6300 as well as several Realistic tables).

I use lpgear.com or turntableneedles.com as starting points to ID potential replacement styli. You can also scour boards like AK, hifiengine, etc...for recommendations.

Once I've ID'd a potential replacement, I'll shop around until I find the best (legitimate) deal (lpgear, ebay, turntableneedles, amazon, etc...).
 
Deox , is basically a little electrical contact cleaner, you may not need it , but once you get started down the rabbit hole you will eventually need some. I use this one . And basically electrical contacts over the years may become oxidized. And it's a spray cleaner which gets rid of the oxidation. I use this one avail at home depot about $8. Some will say don't use this one use that one. What ever . This one has served me well and plastic safe. .. 20220428_133503.jpg
 
mikiekimi said:
I've rehabbed about a dozen YP-B4 turntables. I don't recall any pitch or speed controls on these, but it's been a few months since I've worked on one. They are pretty solid workers once you get them up and running. It was manufactured by CEC (the same company that manufactured the Marantz 6100, 6200, 6300 as well as several Realistic tables).

I use lpgear.com or turntableneedles.com as starting points to ID potential replacement styli. You can also scour boards like AK, hifiengine, etc...for recommendations.

Once I've ID'd a potential replacement, I'll shop around until I find the best (legitimate) deal (lpgear, ebay, turntableneedles, amazon, etc...).
Click to expand...
Thank you so much! I dont think it has pitch control either. Ill have a look at those websites and report back!
 
Splatter Pak said:
I once bought a used YP-B4, so take my word on this: check the rubber motor mounts.
Click to expand...
Ha! I did see a few posts/videos about this. I looked at them and they seem okay but I dont really have a good baseline to know what they should be or how high the motor should sit. I guess I will know when its speed is way off, right?
 
bigtuna said:
Deox , is basically a little electrical contact cleaner, you may not need it , but once you get started down the rabbit hole you will eventually need some. I use this one . And basically electrical contacts over the years may become oxidized. And it's a spray cleaner which gets rid of the oxidation. I use this one avail at home depot about $8. Some will say don't use this one use that one. What ever . This one has served me well and plastic safe. .. View attachment 2551649
Click to expand...
Ah, gotcha! Yea I have a red bottle of CRC contract cleaner I use in the garage for misc wires and some video game console repair. I think it should do the trick!
 
kermit z said:
Most older turntables are going to have speed controls that need to be cleaned with contact cleaner to function correctly. I would start with the 33 and 45 buttons on the left side of the table. Go into the table underneath to find them and work them while spraying them.
Click to expand...
Will definitely take a look. This one just seems to have a linkage that raises and lowers the belt up or down the motor shaft to change speeds. Not sure if thats fairly common or not.
 
Trux said:
Thats a nice cartridge. You can find an aftermarket stylus for that cart or you can look for NOS that are harder to come by. I got a NOS stylus for the AT15XE recently at auction.
Click to expand...
is NOS a brand of cart or a acronym for something haha?
 
If no one has said this yet: the YP-B4 is a good daily driver if you prefer belt drive. I liked mine...but then I went to linear-tracking.
 
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It’s a nice table, congrats!

  1. as others have said, there is no pitch control on this table, the motor synchronizes with the frequency of the electricity
  2. Speed can be off for two primary reasons
    1. The belt is worn or ill-fitting due to rubber residue on the platter
    2. The rubber motor suspension donuts can deflate which will prevent the belt from having the correct tension — my YP-B4 has one bad donut, it is running about 2% slow from what I can tell. I will use some rubber washers to help compensate until I can figure out a replacement
  3. From the photos it looks like the counterweight is waaaay too far back, I suggest getting a scale that will help you set the correct tracking weight
  4. Yep, as others have said, you can get a replacement stylus. That original headshell can be removed to make it easier — there’s an arrow on the side to help line up the tip of the stylus.
 
photos of my counterweight and the original headshell
The tone arm is currently balanced for an ortofon headshell and cartridge
2E038D16-EE4F-4590-A55B-51A5F84F4E18.jpeg E80E8C87-922F-434B-9191-043AF15E7F6A.jpeg
 
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