Turntable set up

So, after I bought my MPC 5000, a tech 1200 seemed like the next logical step! I got a good price, but as is common, there was no headshell, cart, needle. Which is fine.

I was looking for advice regarding this subject, I would be doing 3 things with this deck, in order of importance: 1. play records to sample into the mpc 5000 2. Scratching (also into 5K) 3. Recreational listening.

I know some people opt for 2 needles, one better for scratching, one for sampling. Is the difference that noticeable. I know part of a scratch needle design is to help it stay in groove, which isnt much of a problem so far. Do you sacrifice sound quality for this? I saw Qbert has a scratch needle...any good?

And should I use 2 headshells as well or just swap needles/cart? If not is the standard Tech one good? I see tons of options and know this would be a good place for input. I am happy with general advice or specific recommendations thanks!

the Qbert Ortofon OM needle is really good for scratching, also sounds pretty nice.
a 2 needle setup would give you some advanteges, you won´t have to re mount the cartridge over and over again, plus a Hi Fi needle will provide a much cleaner and precise sound. I can recommend the Ortofon 2m series for sampling, or just listening to vinyl. I got a RED model for sale, it has never been used so I guess it´s brand new, pm me if you are interested.
Generally speaking, the Technics 1200 or 1210 is a piece of music history, and it also sounds pretty good. I suggest you replace the standard cable and cinch connectors tho, the sound will benefit from it

Thanks for the reply!

I assume by cables you mean the RCAs? I was a little surprised these are hardwired rather than the standard jacks, so harder to replace, I don't know what a cinch cable is.

I might be confused by your response. I assumed I WOULD be swapping out the needles and cartridge, do they make models where both sit in the headshell and u can "switch" between them?

Send me a link and price of what you have for sale.

I use Ortofon Nightclubs (black/fluorescent yellow) for DJing and an Audio-Technica AT-440MLA cartridge/needle on the thick ass rubber Technics slipmat for sampling. It truly makes a big difference in sound quality.

The slip mat makes a difference in sound quality, I was not aware of this is it noticeable? I have a fuzzy cloth matt, so wondering if its worth finding a rubber one (got it used)

here´s a link of the needle I was talking about
http://www.ortofon.com/products/cartrid ... ies/2m-red

what I tried to say about the 2 needle setup is, you have 2 different cartridges mounted on 2 different headshells. You know, changing only the headshells with needles already mounted will save a lot of time, hope you get what I mean


not sure if the Technics slipmat will make everything sound better. It is just very very importand to adjust the counterweight properly, before that you will need to balance out the tonearm. Also the tonearm should be parallel to the record when you place the needle on it. Anti skating is very important aswell. To much pressure and a wrong adjustment with antiskating will wear or maybe even damage the groove of your record.

here´s a video for your reference

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIBtZR941Yw

what about this sucker

wtf does this thing

shure m44-7's are good for scratching and the m44-g's are good for playback (sampling). the reason i mention it is because the same cartridge will take both needles, so you could try both easily.

still, it would be easier to store if you had two separate headshells with the cartridge and needle already intact. more expensive, but worth the convenience.

at this point i would just get one needle and use it for both. upgrade when you feel you need to.

I'm just gonna recommend the Shure SC35C cartridge. Its a scratch version of the M97XE with just a slight difference. Its great for scratching and listening. Sound is very excellent like CD clearness.

I think Shure also sells the Techincs headshells. Check their site. I know they were kind of hard to find when I was looking for them because I bought them from an electronic store in Manhattan online.