Technics SL1400 Turntable Scratches Records

There is a reason I don't own an automatic turntable.... And this is it.

[@justinhavu]

I have a Dual 1264 that was serviced just before I bought it 4 years ago. Only thing they didn't do was change out the belt, which I did, as it was having issues going from 33 to 45. New belt took care of that. Also put a fresh stylus on it a couple years ago. Turntable works perfectly, and I'll be keeping it for as long as it functions!

[@kirsten1992]

Hi, I'm from Hungary and I watched a couple of videos of you fixing VCR's , and i have one too, a Fisher (Pal Secam) from 1994. Took it form my parents house, found it on the attic along with 37 tapes, and i became kind of nostalgic because i remember some of the tapes, the cartoons I used to watch a lot on the late 90's. I cleaned it, cleaned the drum like I saw you do. Its still working, but after a just a few second it shreds the tape on the top side :( And you can also hear it, and the image becomes jumpy. Is that something I could fix easily ?

[@12voltvids]

Sounds like tape it riding up and being damaged. Check pinch roller for wear.

[@kirsten1992]

One of the tape guides was missing a piece from top, it was inside the chassis. The tape was going over it then back down again , but I fixed it. Also cleaned the mode switch with 99% alcohol, never been cleaned I think, because it was so dirty, used up 3 cotton buds. Thanks to your videos my VHS is working perfectly, and I was very happy that I was able to fix it. Thank you!

[@alexispieltin9379]

I also share your conclusions about this turntable. But I also doubt you will easily find some donor in good shape or more directly some good quality replacement part. But I know most of your customers are lucky and north American and Canadian markets for parts are much more interesting than European ones. Technics SL 1400 series turntables have an arm mechanism with a common design shared with many SL series. However, most of these mechanisms are imperfectly identical (from one model to another, and from one generation mk to another...), so you generally need some special luck to find some identical arm mechanism. And when you have located the ideal donor , it's generally the same parts that are failing or just about to fail! I've had the same issues with a Sony PSX55... Most lifting parts are highly stressed with aging grease used for lubrication and silicon grease used as breaking agent to limit dropping arm speed. Others can also suffer from long inactive periods and bad storage conditions. I've also seen multiple problems due to transport conditions, principally when people don't separate the heavy platter from the basis and pack it separately, resulting in broken covers, destroyed bearings, shattered arms and cells... The aging fine nylon parts are still problematic to replace with cheap domestic 3D printing, as the results are generally missing the hardness and precision (for gears!). Professional 3D printing and copying process are eventually available, but excessively expensive for limited series...

[@garretts91]

They are beautiful turntables but I've always stayed away from the auto Mk2 models because of the Auto-tonearm issues. I have a great "stop-gap" model sl-1301 that I will never part with. Most of the tried and true guts as the Mk1 decks but with quartz lock and the beautiful smooth platter!

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

It's a good turntable I would simply neutralize the auto crap. Excellent video thanks Dave never seen the inside of this model type interesting re-deigns and cutting corners / pairing down ect - the tiny control board surprised me.

[@mrnmrn1]

It's OK to disable the "auto crap", but even the manual tonearm lift is not functional, which is a bummer.

[@Drinkyoghurt]

Funny, I just got one of these with the same issue. I decided not to fix it since I don't mind cuing manually, but great to have a recent video on this issue. Btw, there are 2 versions of the plastic piece. One is for the knurled shaft and the other is for the smooth shaft. The only way to figure out which one you have is by opening it up.

[@12voltvids]

Yes if it was mine i wouldn't bother either. But then again i have an SLM1 which is basically what this is now!

[@Drinkyoghurt]

@@12voltvids The SL-M1 is a great table for sure! I initially wanted to get a 3d printed part to fix this issue, but I'm thinking about actually gutting/disabling the auto mechanism completely since accidentally pressing the "Stop" button will initiate the auto return. I'm guessing it's not possible to modify this into an SL1500 mk2 behavior wise? So that the stop button actually instantly stops the platter instead of going through the automatic function? I can live without a tonearm lift.

[@12voltvids]

@@Drinkyoghurt it wouldn't be hard to stop the return where pressing the stop would just stop it and once i talk to the owner this might be the end result. Just have to remove the control arm that pushes the arm back.

[@tacofortgens3471]

What made you change your mind about 3D-printed parts?

[@12voltvids]

I haven't changed my mind. If someone wants to try one I will install. Last time I did i put in 5 and they all broke and they guy was pissed but at least he supplied them and i billed him to change them only to have them break. I have a sample gear for a betamax front loader I will evaluate when i get one in that is broken but I am not holding my breath considering the Samsung bunch roller lever was such a disappointment.

[@geirendre]

Given that the upper and lower bearings on the tonearm often fails on these decks, it might be best just to replace the whole assembly with something newer and better rather than fix it, just for the bearings to crap out 2 months later.

[@BoomerProud]

Ebay to the rescue, Has several plastic parts as a group. Around $15 US.

[@12voltvids]

Will have to get owner to buy then as I am banned from eBay.

[@b.powell3480]

Hi Dave, can you make it into a manual turntable?, maybe your client will go for that, great video!

[@12voltvids]

Yes it works fine as manual as long as the stop button isn't pressed. There is a switch at the back to turn off the auto lift and reject.

[@b.powell3480]

@@12voltvids that's good, looks like a nice turntable, dust cover in real good shape, not cracked, and the tone arm and cartridge look to be top notch, with cue lever, and counterweight and anti-skate adjustments! Hopefully you can find a replacement shutoff lever for the unit

[@12voltvids]

@@b.powell3480 cueing arm doesn't work either. Uses same broken part.

[@b.powell3480]

@@12voltvids rats !!

[@tacofortgens3471]

​@@12voltvids damn that sucks

[@lachlanlau]

3D printing??

[@12voltvids]

Good luck.

[@sdjgfashjasbfasd]

Another plastic part bites the dust.

[@12voltvids]

I hate plastic

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

@@12voltvids you too? 😎

[@tacofortgens3471]

I'll use it as an manual turntable

[@agostinodibella9939]

It looks like a weak design that will eventually break again, like some of the parts used in cars today.🤔

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

It's a upper low range Quartz DD for sure.. it's actually much better than many higher priced turntables (aside from the auto crap) and yeah it looks very cobbled together - using one isn't bad feels good plays records well .. but yeah not the strongest design especially using brittle plastic nylon gear parts.

[@Poppinwheeeeellllllieeeeez]

What a cop out and a miserable effort to make a repair video. Lame.

[@12voltvids]

Not a cop out. Customer is 88 years old. Had a 30.00 limit. Would you fix this for 30 all in? Didn't think so.

[@velixzeen]

He identified the problem and needed to consult the owner about how to proceed. The turntable can be used as is if you manually cue at the end. I'd want to be called if it was my unit. Look for the part, etc.