Technics SL-D35 - For $19.95!?!

[@vwestlife]

The record size sensors are not actually optical. They use little plastic flags that stick up through the holes in the platter mat. If both of them are blocked by the record, then it knows you're playing a 12" record. If the outer sensors are not blocked and are allowed to stick up through the hole, then it knows you're playing a 7" record. And if both sensors are allowed to stick up, then it knows you don't have any record on the platter and will refuse to start playing.

[@Recordology]

That’s what I thought at first too but there is actually nothing protruding. This model uses the light shining into a refractor or prism at each sensor location.

[@vwestlife]

@@Recordology Look again -- the "click-click" you hear are the flags popping up and down.

[@jackallen6261]

I ha@@vwestlife I have an SL - D30 and it has the same set up with the holes in the platter mat and no light tower thing (whatever that is) The only difference I see besides that is my D30 has a repeat button so it will play forever, lol. I also have an SL- 1900 and it does not have the size sensors, it has a dial with 7 inch 10 inch and 12 inch, I do have 1 10 inch record by Ricky Nelson that is 10" and if I remember correctly it is an extended play 45 (its been a while since I looked at it so I could be speaking out of turn) I actually prefer that method. Also, the 1900 has separate speed controls for pitch for 45 and 33.

[@donmundt3573]

I agree. Some of these turntables use the switches but apparently not this one. An easy test would be to block the light from the tower and see what it does. Some of the auto Technics from this period wont allow the turntable to work without at least one of the sensors or switches being covered. @@Recordology

[@johnclementi4224]

When I started this hobby about a year and a half ago, I picked up a Technics SLQ 200 for $40 at an antique shop. It works great but that Christmas, my wife got me a Fluance Rt 82. I have since upgraded it to an 85. The Technics is my second turntable now but I love it.

[@TorontoJon]

LIKE 100. That Technics SL-D35 direct-drive turntable for $19.95 was an excellent find, Record-ology! As luck would have it, about a decade ago (or more), my dad and I drove past a very similar Technics direct-drive semi-automatic turntable (with a pitch control, but no record size sensors) sitting out on the curb presumably as an unsold garage sale item that someone wanted to give away for free to a good home. I immediately recognized it as a turntable and started stomping imaginary air brakes in the car to get my dad to stop the car. I scooped up the turntable, took it home, gave it a gentle clean, but it was in great condition with an intact lid (no cracks), a headshell, cartridge, and stylus as well as its power cord and even its original plastic Technics-branded 45 adapter. All I had to add were some RCA cables and a Technics-compatible ground wire which I purchased for $12 on eBay at that time. Other than that, it has worked very well and has been very reliable.

[@life5161]

Definitely about to start hitting up the thrift store. I want a good old school tape deck. I'll probably need to do some belt replacement but so be it. If you wanna get rid of some scratches on the dust covers some rubbing compound will do the trick. Did mine and it looks 10× better. Just a little trick I learned

[@vman8126]

Great find!!! A few years back I actually found a circa 1981 SL-D303 at my local Goodwill for I think it was $15, and same as you, saw it sitting on the shelf and immediately knew what it was, I grabbed it without a second thought. It had the dust cover also, however both plastic hinge inserts were broken so I just sit it on top when not using. It looks very similar to the D35 and fully automatic, however the D303 has an s-shaped tone arm and removable head-shell, the speed selectors are digital push buttons and it has a repeat button also. Upon buying, the TT itself had a nice layer of stuck on dust which looked like it sat in a garage shop or attic for decades. Some degreaser and a little elbow grease and I brought it back to like new condition. Functionally it was perfect, needed no repairs internally and I replaced the cartridge that was on it, which was definitely in unusable condition, with an Ortofon Red, and for a 40yr old turntable it sounds fantastic. My main listening TT now is a Technics SL1200 ML7-50th Anniversary edition, but when I'm feeling "vintage" the D303 definitely gets to shine. Congrats on the find!!

[@stevenj2380]

Technics and Kenwood made great performing, very satisfying components, at a good price.

[@TrueStereo-]

The specs of this outperform entry level turntables of today.

[@xaenon]

One of the specs of the P-mount system is that the cartridges have to be of a specific weight so you don't need to re-balance your tone arm if/when you swap cartridges. The 'fixed' adjustment points you are provided with are to tweak things if you feel a need.

[@ralphreinhardt6020]

Rad score Record-ology dude, congratulations !! Technics makes great stuff ! 😎👍

[@timallen2336]

The turntable that I am currently using is the Technic's SL-D20. The only difference between the two is that yours has the optical auto size adjustment and mine does not. Otherwise, they are identical. This is a good turnable, but I am eventually going to move back to another vintage TT that I have that uses regular mounting carts and not a P-Mount. That is it's only downfall IMO. Great table! Take care... BTW, my TT rejects too soon on 45 if the arm is in the air, but will stll play until the end as long as the needle is on the record. So my guess is that yours is fine...

[@luckytech7186]

This is the same turntable I bought with my first real hi-fi set back in the early 80's. I think it was somewhere around $200.00 . I got a Kenwwod receiver and a pair of EPI magnus speakers also. The first record I played was of course Pink Floyd's dark side of the moon. Congratulations on a great find, and thanks for the memories.

[@crystalheck4077]

I got a whole technics sound system this week for free !!!! Soooo excited. Mines a sl-235

[@danteedee8204]

I have a technics SL-d1 similar vintage no auto funtctions. Although i am sure your turn table will maintain a stable speed if you can find one quartz lock speed control, it is an excellent feature on other technics models from the time period. I often think the new turn tables without auto return, pitch control, and strobes are somehow inferior.

[@dexta32084]

I wanna know where you guys live that you get any thrift store scores at all. Best I ever did was be a Beocord 000 tape deck that needed a bunch of repairs and parts from Denmark.

[@TuneStunnaMusic]

I think with Technics, when you move the tone arm towards the middle to check the auto return, you have to do it very slowly. If you do it too fast it triggers the auto stop thinking the stylus is sliding across the record, and picks it up right away. Its not actually out of adjustment. I learned that the hard way... Also, somewhere under the holes of the platter is the fine pitch adjustment for each speed, that way you can match 45 to 33 for the pitch knob.

[@retlaw7448]

Happy Spinning from IOWA!!!

[@ArthurJS123]

Had a similar buying scenario when I scooped up my beautiful SL-23. And when I grabbed it, couldn’t pay for it fast enough. Has since become a daily driver.

[@arnoldtolker3505]

Da hast Du ja wirklich Glück gehabt, für knapp 40 US$ einen so guten Direktantriebs-Automatik-Plattennspieler zu bekommen! Übrigens; Auch bei meinem 1977er WEGA P550 muss ich beim Drehzahlwechsel jedesmal mit Pitch korrigieren!

[@kevinlr2481]

Nice TT!! I'm 90% sure that back light is just a light. That clicking u hear is the 7" and 12" levers that go up and down to determine what size.

[@Rebel9668]

Hey, nice find! I went to our local Goodwill yesterday to see what they had (After watching one of your other videos, lol.). Except for a pair of Sony bookshelf speakers for $5.00 there wasn't much of anything. I got the speakers to put on the receiver in my garage this spring. There aren't really any "thrift stores" near me, just antique stores where the stuff they carry they seem to think is worth its weight in gold. Guess they spend too much time basing their prices on the overly inflated stuff they see on ebay. I very occasionally find a deal on ebay, like 2 days ago I got a 1950's children's record player for $18.76 including shipping as no one else bid on it. A Vanity Fair model 600 that plays 78's. It's electric but has the big tonearm/reproducer and uses steel needles.

[@SkiBumMSP]

The Technics SL-QL15 that I have? I got it for the low, low price of absolutely FREE! I had a friend that had it and he did not want it anymore, so he gave it to me. I asked how much I owe for it, and he just told me to take it. I did have to replace the stylus on it, but that was the only thing I had to do to get it to work perfectly. That was a good 10 years ago or so, before the whole vinyl renaissance. Now, a quick look on the internet for these things is turning out they are pretty rare, and I've only seen a couple of fully working models going for a good $500 plus! BTW, that plug that is on the other end of the grounding wire is a "banana plug", and yes grounding wire on my SL-QL15 is also hooked up the same way. I would imagine that it is common on most of the Technics turntables, at least the higher end ones that have the removable wires/cables. Don't know about other brands, though. My guess is that the "waffle" ridges on the underside of the platter mat is to compensate for the cutouts for the record size sensors to keep the weight balanced, as you should notice that those ridges are directly opposite of the size sensor cutouts.

[@marisoldiaz8425]

I love Japanese made turntables these are well made and lasts a long time. Unlike Chinese junk they make today with wall warts

[@LumpyOatmeal]

I saw an sl-qd22 at goodwill a few days after Christmas for $25 and was just thinking “the victrola I got for Christmas is more than enough….now a few months later, and a lot of research later, I’m realizing my mistake in not buying it

[@83Roboto]

Well worth what you paid for it. As you mentioned the one drawback to this TT is that it requires a P Mount cart.. Which limits your options.

[@christopheralexander8920]

The light tower in the back is to help you read the record label in a dim room while the disc is playing.

[@Jammerk40]

Very nice find! Did you have to adjust the lead out on the 45 rpm because you said it was lifting off to soon?

[@Recordology]

I need to still

[@rachelrodgers9171]

I used to have that Finley's Heroes record. I sold it back in the middle 1980's.

[@TorontoJon]

Record size sensors are a great feature and the only two downsides are if one is playing a small EP record which is supposed to play at 33.3 rpm, but the sensor assumes the 7-inch record is automatically meant to be played at 45 rpm, but one can switch to the correct speed. Another more alarming situation is when one is playing a 10-inch record because it could cover both the 45 rpm sensor and the 33 rpm sensor, so the microprocessor thinks it is a standard 12-inch LP which would result in the tone arm dropping the stylus onto the record mat or platter and not onto the edge of the 10-inch record, so keep an eye out for that.

[@ronaldweed6103]

Good find,AWESOME is truly an excellent find, especially the guy before was looking at it

[@machavez00]

I had one with quartz lock, and a Technics integrated amp with Bose 301’s.

[@mileshigh1321]

I found a high end English turntable at a yard sale in 1995 for $10! Adjusted for inflation and over taxation, your $19.99 turntable is a better price! 🤣

[@xtrmmjl1]

I'm interested to know if your opinion of the LP-3 changed due to the lack of pitch control? I remember that being one of your better reviewed tables.

[@hellomeatrobots]

Direct drive, P-mount and $20? Yes please!

[@mtkseattle]

So the turntable platter should lift up and off, lubricant should be applied (1-2 drops of sewing machine oil is what I used). You'll want to do that every year or two. You might look for repair vids that show how you free a stuck platter. I just started using my sld20 that I bought new in 82 ish time frame and it works like a charm. Enjoy!

[@jhonwask]

Great find and sounds really nice, but I never cared for P-mount cartridges. I don't think I've ever seen your Techincs stacker.

[@Recordology]

Search my channel for SL-B5.... its a glorious thing.

[@MuzikJunky]

The SL-QD33 was from circa 1987, and this is of similar vintage, no? I don’t think that P-mount cartridges weren’t around until the mid-1980s. Peace.

[@dennman6]

Stereo Review magazine started running ads for the Technics P-Mount turntables in 1982. So there's a reference point that I use.

[@honeyjewel5359]

thoughts on SL L25? thinking of grabbing on for $50

[@michaelfinney2160]

Nice ! Japan made products always had a much better reputation than China made ! 😊Have a Blessed Day

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

That black slide is electrically conductive, that Tonearm is electronically controlled.

[@douglasallen9428]

Nice turntable, especially for the price!

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

Ortofon Cartridges work well also.

[@kabanchan5768]

yaa ! new record vid also Technics SL-D35 what a steal !

[@stephenpritti2280]

Have a Stanton cartridge on it sounds good great video

[@garretts91]

Stop using the dustcover until you buy/3D print a new plastic hinge!!! The clear plastic tab on the right of the dustcover is still intact!! The clear plastic tab is what breaks 99% of the time. If you keep using it as is, you're bound to break left tab off.

[@gdwatts7407]

That’s a pmount tonearm that you plug in a pmount cartridge into the turntable

[@0386rm]

I used to have a Technics SL-DD33 but sadly I got rid of it some 20 years or so ago. That was the WORST move of my life. I miss that thing dearly. I swapped that for a crappy Gemini turntable that is the absolute WORST at keeping proper speed. I'm grabbing a Pioneer DJ turntable for my birthday present to myself, and I don't know what will become of the Gemini(it'll most likely go to goodwill, but I just want to throw it away, or something).

[@rachelrodgers9171]

The other customer probably decided against snatching it because of the missing tonearm cartridge and broken lid hinge. His loss, your gain.

[@CounterRhythms]

That is an amazing find for $20! I'm convinced this will outperform any modern turntable in the mid-range. Yeah, there's not a lot of choice when it comes to P-mount carts but I don't care. I just used my Technics Q200 today and I love it. I wouldn't trade it for a U-turn or a Fluance or an AT or a Pro-ject or whatever. Technics DD kills all! 😄

[@Ryan-vw6et]

What a find.

[@GeneSavage]

Very nice!!

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

The turntable is Microprocessor Controlled.

[@stephenpritti2280]

Have 3 of those sets

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

T4P