Any DJ's here?

[massappeal85]

The LE went for ~$1300 on ebay when it came out. Check www.djdeals.com and www.agiprodj.com for good prices and service. Considering you were about to spend who knows on the KAB mods for 2 turntables, I don't think its that much.

I think the ttm56 is overkill for a begginer. An Allen and Heath Xone: 02 is almost half the price and will do just as well for sound quality and scratchability. I have one and its awesome. Or save yourself some more and get an Ecler Nuo 2 or 3, which has longer line faders for mixing and good crossfaders.

Rega vs stock 1200 arm: I agree the rega arm is more solid then the stock arm. The stock arm has a removable headshell however that I find useful. You could switch from DJ carts to any audiophile carts wiht only having to zero the tonearm and adjust VTA, whereas with the rega arm your stuck with 1 cartridge without having to remove, install and align a new cart. I've been told the stock rb250 is only a minor improvement, so I would definitely get mods done to the rega.

My advice again is to save your money and buy records! Get stock 1200s, play around with different carts and then see if money towards modded rega arms is really worth it.

[memepool]

Origin Live is in England so the prices are UKP not USD (roughly double)
The Silver is therefore 1000USD+, the OL1 in stock form (basically an OEM Rega RB250) is around 200USD. The armboard for technics is about 70USD.
The "structural modification" entails removing the stock plastic counterweight stub and standard weight then fitting a new metal stub with a counterweight which is attached via hex bolt.

This mod improves the rigidity of the arm and removes resonances caused by the basic counterweight assembly lifting the performance of the arm into "superarm" territory. In other words this is widely regarded as the best tonearm you can buy for under 2000USD.

The problem with the standard Technics arm is that it dates from a time when a lot of rubber was used to damp the numerous unecessary joints ( like the removable headshell) in it's construction which in turn introduce a lot of unwanted resonances which suck all the detail out of the music leaving it sounding muddy and indistinct.

If you can, listen to a Rega Planar 3 turntable (costs about 1000USD) this is the standard entry level Hi-Fi turntable and sounds an awful lot better than a stock SL1200. Fitting the Rega arm to the Technics gives you the metronome accuracy of the direct drive motorboard with the detail retrieval of the modern tonearm. A formidable combo which you won't really improve over in Hi-Fi terms without spending at least 2000-3000USD.

You will need a basic speaker set up if you want to learn how to mix. The JBL monitors I mentioned should be possible for around 200USD per pair although at a push you can use an old 2nd hand receiver and a regular Hi-Fi speakers if you have any. The JBL's are much better to mix with however as they are designed as monitors which wont flatter the music rather allow you to hear accurately which is important obviously when you are trying to mix.

The Stanton 681EEE is around 150USD but you can put a more basic stylus on it for DJ work. there is a set which comes in a little miniature flightcase with two carts and four stylii which seems very good value.

[skyskraper]

a few things i reccomend to my customers and friends about decks:

1) if you're just starting out, you can get all the advice you want but you won't know what you really want/need until you have a bit of experience behind the decks. each dj is different and will have different nuances that are impossible to predict, you have to experience them.

2) a lot of dj gear is (relatively) low fidelity. particularly mixers. if sound quality is a concern then the best place to spend your money is on the mixer. hell even high end rane mixers still use TL07X op amps and 30c instrument amps. so instead of spending hundreds modifying a turntable for better sound from straight tone arms etc the money would be better spent on a better mixer.

3) get your decks calibrated and setup properly. i take the time to calibrate my decks and the decks of my customers repeatedly over each service period. most people can't calibrate the internals but a good service should be cheap. also what YOU can do and the most common thing that people ignore are the cartridge and tone arm setup combined with a perfectly level playback surface. the technics will come with a stylus alignment guage and the manual will have a guide for balancing and setting up the headshell and tone arm.

4) clean your records! argh it sh1ts me, it's the most oft forgotten things that affects the sound. use a good record cleaning cloth and fluid.

i like the kab fluid damper but it doesnt really suit all dj's styles. i found similar performance gains were gained by using freefloat cushions which are 1/10th of the cost per deck. i personally just levelled out my surface and used two layers of a thick rubber matt, i don't really have a need for the fluid damper or cushions in my setup. if i wasnt about to sell my last pair of 1200's then i'd finish my PSU modification experiments as i suspect that it would make a huge difference for a relatively low price. straight tone arms ala origina and rega i simply cannot justify spending on right now, i dj mainly with cd's and my records get played and recorded at home off a rega p3 so i can dj with cd recordings.

[SECT]

I been djing on a pair of 1200 MK2s for over 5 years now, and I got them 3rd hand. These are built like tanks and the only things I've ever done to them include replacing the pitch sliders in each (due to dust and what have you gathering up over the years) and remove the little ball bearing which sits at 0 (on the pitch) which hence removes the 'click' one encounters when mixing on 0.

I'd suggest get a pair of 1210s MK3+, just cause they look cool in black and you can replace all the leds with another color should you want to. Replacing the RCAs would be beneficial obviously, though I don't see the point really (considering all the music was probably mixed and mastered on standard RCAs). Thats money you could spend on vinyl

The 1210s don't have the annoying click at 0 pitch aswell, and the MK3s and up have the pitch reset.

[skyskraper]

ive owned black 1200 mk2's, also all the 1210's ive owned and serviced have had the zero "click"

even new out of the box the 1200's need a service and calibration, any tech worth their salt will remove the zero "click" and rebuild the pitch fader for you as part of that service.

[massappeal85]

I own a black 1200 mk2, and a black 1210 mk2. I didn't know they made black 1200s, so I thought it was neat. Both have zero click.

[Mecc]

This sucks. I can't figure out what I should get. I'm trying to be as open-minded about this as possible. I want an audiophile DJ set.

I like the sound of Stanton carts, but the ones I've tried seem to have pretty bloomy bass. Sounds nice, but not particularly appropriate for classical and acoustic music. I'd recommend something with an advanced stylus shape like Microline, as they track *so* much better.

It seems that ortofons is the cartridge to get when it comes to sound quality, but I think they're for mixing. Shure has the white label, M44-7 and M44G for scratching. Stanton 500 for sratching, Stanton 680 for mixing.

The LE went for ~$1300 on ebay when it came out. Check www.djdeals.com and www.agiprodj.com for good prices and service.

djdeals.com has them for $1350 free ship. djdeals is also an authorized UREI dealer so you get the warranty through UREI unlike buying from ebay. I'm willing to drop that much for a mixer since I am concerned about sound quality. I think the rane ttm 57sl will cost about the same. It's just the whole mixing vs scratching part. I think I would love mixing, but scratching is probably where I'd have more fun. So that's why I'm leaning towards getting a rane ttm56

I think the ttm56 is overkill for a begginer. An Allen and Heath Xone: 02 is almost half the price and will do just as well for sound quality and scratchability.

The Xone 02 is US $369.99 on ebay, free ship, from a power seller. I will take your advice on the xone 02. I'm about to buy it right now cause I'm worried it'll be gone. There's only 3 left. The thing that's stoping me is that so many people on the future's producers forum recommends the ttm 56 as the mixer to get.

I don't mean to post an ebay auciton. Is this allowed? I just need help with something.
FP thread

the xone 02 is dope if you make sure you end up with one that has the P&G faders in it. in early production they ran off ones with old school pcv faders, not the best, as a matter of fact they would bleed within a few hours of skratching. but as for the rest of the mixer, it's top notch. nice eq's and some cool features.

Can you tell if this one has the P&G faders?

Well, it looks like a good buy for a starter. After I mess around for a couple of months, I'll know a whole lot more and spring for an UREI or TTM57.

I think the best thing for me is to go as cheap as I can, but still get decent stuff. Then figure out what's good to upgrade.

I'm thinking about getting 2 mk2s off ebay now cause that could potentially save me $200 on buying both. It looks like used tables go for about $300. The differences between the mk2 and later models is pretty much the pitch click. Then the m5g and GLD have improved tonearm wiring.

Buying two used mk2 and modding them with OL is the plan now.

The Silver is therefore 1000USD+, the OL1 in stock form (basically an OEM Rega RB250) is around 200USD. The armboard for technics is about 70USD.

Silver seems to be out of the question now. I think I'll get the OL1 with the upgrades you were talking about.

The "structural modification" entails removing the stock plastic counterweight stub and standard weight then fitting a new metal stub with a counterweight which is attached via hex bolt.

Understood.

Go for the OL1 tonearm with modded counterweight and external rewiring.

So this would be Tonearm Structural modification + External Rewire for DJ's
105.53 + 63.83 + 59.57 x2 = 456.8 + 75 for the adapter thing = 531 x2 for two TT = $1,063.

1) if you're just starting out, you can get all the advice you want but you won't know what you really want/need until you have a bit of experience behind the decks. each dj is different and will have different nuances that are impossible to predict, you have to experience them.

That's me. I don't know WTF I want, so I'm starting basic.

I a bit stuck on

If you were going to buy new, I would get M3Ds or later models over the Mk2s. If you were going to buy used, Mk2s can be had for cheaper but I've seen few used 1200s with tonearms not abused.

There is a m3d without an arm on ebay and it looks like it'll go for cheap. Like $200 shipped. I'm contemplating the idea getting that and modding it with an OL arm...

So here's the current plan

2 used mk2 = $600
1 Xone 02 = $370 (if this is a good buy)
HD25 = $200
JBL = $200... I only need 1 pair, right?
M44G = $130 for 2

$1,500 for now. $500 on records.

UREI 1620 or TTM57 depending on whether I want to mix or scratch. I think that's the major difference. Well, the 57 is some sort of 56 / SSL hybrid. I don't know enough. I'll decide when the 57 comes out.

Then OL arms other carts will come after the new mixer. How's this road plan look? Oh, I forgot. I know there's other stuff I should get like cleaning solutions.

[lini]

Mecc: I hope you're aware that your average mixing/scratching cartridges are hardly good enough to justify a Rega arm upgrade. So I'd assume you can plan to leave at least one one the two tables as is, as long you need a record player for mixing/scratching purposes. Oh, and just btw, Shure and Stanton wouldn't be the only good cartridges to consider for the SL12x0Mkwhatever - you might also want to look into Ortofon's Concorde series.

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini

[skyskraper]

in all honesty the 1620 is not what id reccomend for a new dj either. id go as far as to say AVOID unless you really know it's what you want.

get something that is easy to use and flexible, my bargain pick of mixers is the Vestax VMC-002. It's cheap enough that isn't a huge investment (~$170) initially for your learning period. It's got all the functions you could want for mixing house and beginning to spin hip hop. its got the nice vestax layout and tactility of controls for both house and hip hop. it's got the awesome vestax sound (that can't be beat unless you spend a _LOT_ more), and finally you can upgrade the xfader to vestax's PCV fader from the 005 007's if you want (albeit for ~$70).

you simply can't beat the vestax VMC range for low end mixers. nothing comes near them in terms of sound, build and features.

second hand 1200's are the way to go. doesnt matter if theyre m3d's mk2's mk3's etc whatever. just get a pair thats in good condition aesthetically and mechanically. that means don't buy a pair that is missing a tone arm or is in anyway damaged. then spend however much it costs in your area (it varies greatly depending on geographical area) to get a service with calibration etc (removing that god damn quartz lock)

for cartridges, the shure m44's both sound good and hold well theyre a good choice for a first cartridge regardless of whether you're playing house or hip hop. the 680's sound great but are not as durable as the others so should only be considered once you've settled in to a house groove. the stanton 500's are junk which i would avoid at all costs unless you want your records to sound like fuzz in a short period of time. ortofon's are great, i personally use ortofon scratch's (yes for non hiphop/scratch mixing) due to their longevity and high output (we usually fly through needles once every 6 weeks otherwise). i've grown fond of the ortofon electro sound of late, theyre not as durable as the scratch's but i dont mix as much vinyl these days. _WARNING_ do NOT NOT NOT get concorde's ever, they are overpriced and wear out in short periods of times (where the metal collar bonds on to the cartridge body). i've had them fall apart on me within 9 months. with ortofon's get the OM series, using the stylus alignment guage it'll be perfectly setup on a standard headshell and are a lot cheaper. my OM cartridge bodies are four years old and showing absolutely NO signs of age at all.

cans, get something indestructable or with easily replaceable parts and good warranty. for me this means HD25's or K181's. i use hfi 500dj1's, but i'm not sure i'd reccomend them a new dj. theyre a finely tuned instrument that a lot of people have difficulty using, but once u get used to them, you can't use anything else

[lini]

Originally Posted by skyskraper

_WARNING_ do NOT NOT NOT get concorde's ever, they are overpriced and wear out in short periods of times (where the metal collar bonds on to the cartridge body). i've had them fall apart on me within 9 months.

Oh, that's bad news (new for me, at least...) - I don't remember the Concordes to break that easily in former days...

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini