Should I Upgrade My Decks? What Turntables do you use? And Do You Recommend Them?

[Shaboo]

I love my turntables 'Mine we're manufactured around 1990-1992 'Vestax PDT-5000' 'not mine in pic but exactly same with different needles/cartridge',And to be honest mine need a bloody good service, Should i buy a brand new set of decks?
Mmmmm decisions decisions..
What decks do you have and do you recommend them.

 

[JACKG]

I personally don’t think u can go wrong with a pair of of techics.

I have 1210s mk 2 and had em over 25 years and will still get back what I paid which is why I’d recommend.

If you get a nice 2nd hand pair you probably won’t lose any money, others tend to depreciate more.

Also if u ever play out somewhere most likely will be technics.

There are other quality ones and possibly better but that’s always gonna be a little subjective.

 

[Doddy]

If you love yours bud why not get them serviced ? What are the issues your encountering ?

If you fancy a change then the technics are the industry standard. The majority seem to have this opinion , I'm talking about the mk2s etc not the newer models .

If we are talking about newer models then I've heard the reloops 7000 mk2s are very good and are considerably cheaper than technics .

Some people don't like the digital pitch that all newer models use , reloops and the technics mk7 etc but like jack says alot is subjective and personal preference

 

[Shaboo]

If you love yours bud why not get them serviced ? What are the issues your encountering ?

If you fancy a change then the technics are the industry standard. The majority seem to have this opinion , I'm talking about the mk2s etc not the newer models .

If we are talking about newer models then I've heard the reloops 7000 mk2s are very good and are considerably cheaper than technics .

Some people don't like the digital pitch that all newer models use , reloops and the technics mk7 etc but like jack says alot is subjective and personal preference

Digital pitch Doddy?, Never heard of that something interesting to learn about 'everyday's a school day, Yes you and Jack have made my mind up, I'm keeping these old turntables because i really do like them and if i do change in the future i'll buy the 'Technics 1200/1210's.
Anyways your getting close to being able to service turntables all the bits you've been doing with yours so i'll just pay you to service mine.

 

[Shaboo]

I personally don’t think u can go wrong with a pair of of techics.

I have 1210s mk 2 and had em over 25 years and will still get back what I paid which is why I’d recommend.

If you get a nice 2nd hand pair you probably won’t lose any money, others tend to depreciate more.

Also if u ever play out somewhere most likely will be technics.

There are other quality ones and possibly better but that’s always gonna be a little subjective.

Nice1 Pal, Very interesting, Cheers for the information, All the best

 

[Doddy]

Digital pitch Doddy?, Never heard of that something interesting to learn about 'everyday's a school day, Yes you and Jack have made my mind up, I'm keeping these old turntables because i really do like them and if i do change in the future i'll buy the 'Technics 1200/1210's.
Anyways your getting close to being able to service turntables all the bits you've been doing with yours so i'll just pay you to service mine.

Haha I wouldn't want to mess yours up pal and you be left with broken decks

It seems like you really like the ones you have and your in a comfort zone with them which in my opinion should help your mixing .

I don't know if the technics would improve your skills or not tbh bud but they are the best for a reason I guess .

Yeah I think digital pitch faders move in 'steps' which make it harder to find that sweet spot when beat matching .

 

[Phil B]

When you say your decks need a good service, what makes you think that? Is there anything wrong with them?
I managed to get hold of a service manual for the 1210s years ago (not sure if I still have it) but it doesn’t involve a great deal.
It’s usually resetting the zero to match the platter strobe/dots, lubricating the bearings on the motor, changing the pitch sliders, and possibly changing the leads…there was some circuit testing if I remember right, but not 100% sure.
If your pitch sliders don’t have much play/wear on them, you can get some electrical contact cleaner to spray in which can help, a little oil on the bearings and it’s job done.
Like jack, I’ve had my 1210s a long time, got them new in 95, and they still work great. I have done some work on them, but I absolutely hammered them.
If they work and you like them, why change?

 

[Shaboo]

When you say your decks need a good service, what makes you think that? Is there anything wrong with them?
I managed to get hold of a service manual for the 1210s years ago (not sure if I still have it) but it doesn’t involve a great deal.
It’s usually resetting the zero to match the platter strobe/dots, lubricating the bearings on the motor, changing the pitch sliders, and possibly changing the leads…there was some circuit testing if I remember right, but not 100% sure.
If your pitch sliders don’t have much play/wear on them, you can get some electrical contact cleaner to spray in which can help, a little oil on the bearings and it’s job done.
Like jack, I’ve had my 1210s a long time, got them new in 95, and they still work great. I have done some work on them, but I absolutely hammered them.
If they work and you like them, why change?

I understood a bit of what you said Phil 'ha ha' no not changing now i really like them and they are pretty hard to get hold of..Mine have different platters so ones been changed at some point, one runs faster than the other and the other grunts and groans a bit when i cue the record up but having learnt on these i probably wouldnt be able to use any others if they both ran at same speed.
I would like to try 1210's at some point though just to see if they are amazing as everybody says ! But not enough to spend the money to buy them.
Have a gud un pal and cheers for the knowledge.

 

[JACKG]

Maybe just invest in 1 technics and be a 3 deck wizard!

Iv sent plenty of top djs n turntablists use different decks and have more than one type in the set up - obviously space is usually the constraint.

like I said if u are patient u could get a technics deck at a fair price, have it for a while n make your mind up, and sell if for what u paid if it’s not for u?

 

[stetheboro]

I've got 4 x 1200 MKIIs and wouldn't go anything else.

My mate though does have the Reloop 8000 MKIIs and they are very nice, great build quality.

 

[Shaboo]

I've got 4 x 1200 MKIIs and wouldn't go anything else.

My mate though does have the Reloop 8000 MKIIs and they are very nice, great build quality.

nice pal..them reloop sound interesting though.i'll do a bit of research on them..cheers stetheboro

 

[Spektral]

My advice, don't get new decks if they are the digital pitch controls. They are virtually all the same now, with 90% or so of the parts made by the same manufacturer, just styled and badged differently. Each one boasts torque and accuracy etc but its mostly a sham I'm afraid. There's no point comparing a Pioneer to a later model of Technics or whatever, as they all are now based on the same stock parts and same digital pitch controls.

Why does it matter about the pitch controls?

It matters because they are not as accurate as the analogue controls. Everyone expects digital and modern technology to be an improvement, but it is not the case here. The digital control works in graduations or tiny steps. Therefore, you can always be "slightly off" with another turntable of the same variety and it can take much more fannying around if you want to pull off a longer mix duration with two records and not sledge it all over the place.

Many might be able to master it and "make do" with it with little problem, but I think if you're paying ridiculous money for decks (which they are these days in my opinion) then being "make do" and "put up with" shouldn't be coming into the equation.

I went through all this study before I got mine (oldskool technics pre Mk5 I think are still analogue), cos I mix progressive house. Okay, I'm no longer the best mixer in the world, but I've seen experienced DJ's fighting with new types of deck to keep things in time and I didn't want to go down that road.