Customized/Refurbed Technics - Worth it?
Customized/Refurbed Technics - Worth it? Posted on: 15.01.2012 by Len Lukawski As many of you know, I am one in a long line of many who foolishly sold their beloved 1210s at a time when mixing seemed like something they would never dabble in again (oh the humanity!). And like many, I would like to reunite myself with a pair (I did hit up the guy I sold mine to and the b&stard said, "No thanks, I don't want to sell them back to you, I am very happy with them" - can you believe the cheek?). The pricing on straight up used/second hand units seems to range from $200/deck to some a$$hole wanting $600 for a single deck with hair dryer cables for wiring. Unfortunately I have yet to come by a set at the $200/each range (shut up Xone - I know). There are few places out there doing refurbed/ custom decks with powder coats, new leds, fully serviced etc ranging from $750-$insane a pair. Some of them offer payment plans etc which is attractive but I wanted to get some input from people THAT HAVE ACTUALLY BOUGHT OR SOLD THEM. IF you have bought a set or do this kind of work yourself - let me know what you believe. I realize that those selling will be inclined to promote the service but I am hoping that honesty will prevail. Hit me with your wisdom | |
| Osvaldo Newhall 17.01.2012 | Finished in midevening
blue metallic. I like this color very much. Here are some pics before: I did my usual refurbishment on this deck. -Repainted the base frame with automotive polyurethane thinner based paint -repainted and overhauled the tonearm assembly -replaced LEDs. Strobe and Pop-up LEDs to blue, 33/45rmp to bright white. -replaced new pitch control -replaced tonearm clip -replaced aluminum pitch decal -refaced the platter -eliminated the ground wires Result: |
| Osvaldo Newhall 17.01.2012 | Here's another pair I did 3 years ago. Looks like these decks have been submerged in the ocean for months. They look like oysters have lived on them. Scraped the paint to metal. Primer painted. Base paint. New parts Replaced the power LEDs to blue, 33/45 rpm LEDs to white and Pop-Up lamp to bright white LEDs. New aluminum pitch decals. Wet sanding after top clear coat. Getting ready for buffing. Compound, swirl remover, polish and wax. Scraped platter Newly refaced, painted and refaced again Replaced parts were: Pitch control (removed the bearings and springs) Aluminum pitch decals Tonearm rest/clips Power switch LEDs (pop-up lamps, 33/45rpm buttons, power switch strobe) Turntable legs. 1 deck was missing 2 legs. RCA cables and connectors. Eliminated the ground wires. The base frame is finished in glossy white and all other parts are in flat white and flat black. White and black tonearm section |
| Osvaldo Newhall 17.01.2012 | A sample of my work. Here's a pair of SL1200LTD Limited series. These babies are limited in production numbers. The picture below is the condition of the decks before I took them apart. Scraped the paint to aluminum diecast Disassembled the power switch assembly... After cleaning the tone arm section... Re-built and calibrated the tone arm assembly... SL-1200 Limited plate before repaint and reface... ...then Finished project. Replaced all lights to super bright white. Strobe, 33/45 and pop up lamps |
| Osvaldo Newhall 17.01.2012 |
Originally Posted by Bassline Brine
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| Osvaldo Newhall 17.01.2012 |
Originally Posted by mostapha
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| Audrey Pinda 17.01.2012 | Nicadraus, where exactly are you located? I want to get mine topped off a bit, but don't feel comfortable doing the work myself. |
| Chasidy Heckenbach 17.01.2012 | damn... knew i shouldn't have checked out this sub-community ... really regret selling my 1200 mk2's a few years back... |
| Dorie Scelzo 17.01.2012 | So |
| Osvaldo Newhall 17.01.2012 |
Originally Posted by bumtsch
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| Delila Vandommelen 17.01.2012 | Make sure they stop at Toshi Station for some power converters. I'm not sure they use the same plugs over there. |
| Osvaldo Newhall 17.01.2012 |
Originally Posted by smittten
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| Albertina Fay 17.01.2012 |
Originally Posted by smittten
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| Len Lukawski 17.01.2012 | it's a pity you are based in Tatooine |
| Osvaldo Newhall 17.01.2012 |
Originally Posted by Xonetacular
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| Romelia Stankard 17.01.2012 |
Originally Posted by Nicadraus
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| Osvaldo Newhall 17.01.2012 |
Originally Posted by mostapha
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| Dorie Scelzo 18.01.2012 |
Originally Posted by Nicadraus
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| Erich Vallabhaneni 17.01.2012 | I was completely sold on getting a set of Numark TTX's when my good friend said he was gonna switch up setups and was getting rid of a pair of 1210's for 400 bucks, so i snatched them up so fast it was ridiculous. They did come needle-less and no vinyl but for my first set of TT's they arent bad (alittle scuffed and beaten, but Craze played a set with them in NOLA at the Big Krit/Yelawolf show!) Ill post pics in my setup thread soon. |
| Osvaldo Newhall 16.01.2012 | I agree with xonetacular. I personally specialize on 1200s/1210s. I do buy, refurbish and sell as well. Buying refurbished decks at the right price would depend on how the turntables were done, what cables and connectors were used and how intricate the craftsmanship was made to it. A full refurbished deck by me would cost around $300. Same range for a fully restored 2nd hand unit. You can check out my work here: Works1200 |
| Len Lukawski 16.01.2012 |
Originally Posted by Xonetacular
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| Karolis Petrauskas 16.01.2012 | Maybe you should try find a set that works well but is a bit banged up on the exterior. You can always get deck plates to make them look nice. 12inchskinz.com has some nice looking plates for cheap. You can also do the led mods for about 40$ for the pair. Ebay has some easy to install kits that work well. Add some pitch decals to give it a crisp finish. I went the powder coating route but it was tough getting all the parts back in without screwing something up. I actually chipped one of the decks and f-ed it up. |
| Romelia Stankard 16.01.2012 |
Originally Posted by DJ SB
As far as refurbished technics- it really depends on where you live and who did the refurb. Sometimes I would not want a refurb from some that go on ebay and if they are painted you don't know the quality unless they have a good reputation. Same with ones with replaced RCA cables, they might be using big thick cables which can't fit through the RCA clamp and will put stress on the tone arm board and could get damaged. If you get "refurb" make sure there are lots of pictures and you can see all the details especially to see where the RCAs go into the housing and if they ditched the clamp to get them to fit. Personally if I were buying decks for myself I would just want to get the nicest looking 1200s I could find and then do the mods myself. LED kits are cheap- I just ordered a bunch and did a partial group buy thing and it costs $18 for a pair of blue LED kits that take an hour to install with no soldering. Same with replacing cables- you can do that yourself for $20 or so. While I can seem to find great deals, if I were looking to just get a pair for myself I would probably be looking for something different. I would not be looking for MK2s but instead M3Ds or MK5s. M3Ds are usually the best deal if you can find them since they are cheaper than MK5s but once you throw an LED kit on it is the same as a MK5. For all intents and purposes I consider the only difference between M3D and MK5 to be the incandesent pop up which gets replaced with LED anyway. If I were you I would look for a pair of M3Ds or MK5s for around $750-$800 in great shape and then throw the LED kits I use on there and you have a set of great decks. |
| Lisa Lochotzki 15.01.2012 | I service Technics here, and I get load of custom one. Really, it depend of the quality of the guy behind. Some are really nicely done, quality paint & paint job, wiring done the right way... but some "looks" fine, but the quality of the paint and job inside is really bad. No "real" big deal, you can still change the top cover or even redo the paint job... but it's no longer a $ deal. What you see is not always what you get. I'm not sure if I would buy a pair of custom one myself. |
| Halley Wurzer 15.01.2012 |
Originally Posted by smittten
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