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  • Cool tut Bro, I`ve had decks for the last 20 years and never knew half of this stuff.

    I am just starting to sample tracks now for hits, etc, so want the best poss quality.

    Thank You for a well thought out and easy to follow tut. =)

  • Nice one man excellent explanation and thank you. Would or could this be the reason why im generally getting less signal on one channel as opposed to the other? I just bought a pair of 1210s and they're both putting out less on the left and my anti-skates don't work properly yet to test this

  • APHRODITE__FUGEES! bigup!

    (i've got the hype "ready or not" one-sided promo....i'll use that....)

  • That was a great help ViperFrank...thanks a lot. I used to turn the counterweight backwards on my 1210's to make it skip less when scratching. I tried this with a 1 sided record & it works a treat. To everyone who uses Shure M44-7's with Technics 1200/1210's. There's no need to turn your counterweight backwards. I find putting counterweight on normally & setting to it 2.5 & setting Anti -skate to 2, I can scratch great now & get no skipping. Try it people...it works well. Peace!

  • Fantastic tutorial. Thank you!

  • @wolfywho No problem, thank you for your comment and your feed back.

    Nice One ; )

  • Great job explaning that,thanks!

  • @ndupree No problem, thank you for your feed back and your comment.

    Nice One ; )

  • wow thank you sir, very good video big help.

  • @DjToddP916 No problem, I'm glad you like the video, thank you for your comment and kind words.

    Nice One ; )

  • Very good Sir. I only wish I had a piece of blank vinyl.

  • Very clear, informative, no-nonsense video. Straight up info the way it should be delivered. Thanks man. Subbed

  • @darkYT Thank you, I'm glad you like the video. hopefully more videos on the way soon.

    Thanks for your support.

    Nice One ; )

  • cheers

  • @geoffhummerstone No problem, thanks for your comment.

    Nice One ; )

  • I'm not a DJ or anything but I'm a starting record collector and your video's are extremely informative for keeping them in good condition! Thank you very much!

  • @nverwijk No problem, thank you for your comment and feed back.

    Nice One ; )

  • Lots of typo error But i know you understand what i mean. Thanks

  • Hi mate, i just wanna ask about my vinyl. It's sounds kinda wavy and sometimes it skips line, is there any problem with my player? Be bacause all of my records has wavy sounds. Ii really don't know cos all my vinyls are new and my player too. Can you help me how can i fix this problem? Cs i'm now starting to collect vinyl but it seems there's a problem with my needle/stylus, vinyl or the player itself, i don't know.

  • @kimitography Hi there, is there any chance you could film a quick video of what is happening, and email it to me, even on your mobile phone or something just so I can get a visual idea of what's going on. in the mean time, try bending down and looking across the platter with no record or slip-mat and with the platter running to see if the platter is straight. and keep an eye on the dots on the side of the platter to see if they jitter.

    let me know if they do.

    Nice One ; )

  • good stuff very clear, subbed

  • @paulspydar Thank you very much, I'm glad you like the video.

    Thanks for your comment and feed back.

    Nice One ; )

  • now to hunt through record shops for a one sided record..

  • thanks a lot!

    now i understand that shit!

  • hello viperfrank,i have a technics 1210 mk2 and the ant-skate doesn't work.when i turn the dial doesnt change anything.do you know the cause of that problem?is it easy to fix it?i ask u beacause i see that u have a very good knowledge about the technics 1210 and your videos very useful.u have helped with your videos fix the electronic brake and calibrate my pitch on my technics.

  • GRACIAS 

  • THNX

  • thanks, thanks, thanks man!!!

  • Is that a slamming vinyl slipmatt? Much respect if it is bro

  • James,

    I have great respect for you for how you can break things down and translate thoughts to others. I have been a producer in LA for 20 years and you have truly added to my knowledge. Thank you!

  • Hi James, Where do we get one of those LP record without any groves?

    Thanks,

    Ravi

  • Great video...Excellent demonstration.

  • Nice earwax rolling at 0:20

  • i've been djing for 10 years and i just kept it at 2.3 lol thanks for the detail!!!!!

  • thanks !!!

    

  • got my self a technics sl-200-xg. anti skating adjust not needed works fine even at 0 i am not home dj or bed room dj i record old vynal for peapol from analog to cd

  • The best explanation and demonstration. Thanks

  • I think my tables are messed up, can you guys help me out? watch?v=t1Cgwc2dces

  • Very useful vid. Now I understand why I couldn't rip my vinyls properly. Signal from left channel was weaker than the right one. Thanks a lot. Need more people like you to make things go forward. Peace!!!

  • brilliant stuff mate. Nice One!!

  • nice one james - excellent video. now i'm off to sort out my decks

  • what poppycock

  • Good information! I disagree however about the difference between the needle choices and their effects on vinyl....I'm not very educated on this topic but know folks are and it seems that the latest information is that the Ortofon type cartridges actually damage the vinyl a lot more than a typical Sure M44-7 type of needle. What do you think since this video is kind of old now?

  • Hi James, thank you so much for making these videos. They are a great help! Just have one question, what if the anti-skating doesn't work? I play at a few places where they don't take the best care of their 1200's and the anti skate doesn't work properly. How can one correctly calibrate the anti-skate when this is the case?

  • Many thanks for this tutorial - clear and well-explained. Just going to set up my new (well, second-hand) Technics 1210 now

  • Great video. Setting anti-skate like this is not quite right, groove modulation effects the inward drag of the stylus. That said, groove modulation can differ between every record, so there is no perfect anti-skate value to use.

    This is a great overall video though and setting anti-skate on a grooveless disc is better than nothing.

  • Ha ha Ive had Technics since 1990 and never really understood what the anti-skate did before I saw this! Clearly explained without sounding patronising like some other tutorial vids on here. Thanks!

  • Thanks! 

  • Dude I love all your "Technics" videos!!! You are one smart cookie brother!!! Dudes like you will keep the Technics 1200/1210 legacy alive! Long live Technics!!! Long live viperfrank!!! :)

  • awesome this helped me so much.Your videos are all fantastic.My turntable is sounding a million times better.keep up the top effort.cheers james from downunder in new Zealand

  • Wicked video mate. Keep up the good work. Much appreciated

  • Thank you so much for the video. It was very informative!

  • Good vid, but an Elliptical needle is oval in shape like your drawing of a Spherical needle. A Spherical needle is shaped like a sphere or a perfect half circle. There are no modern needles I know of shaped like a sharp point as in your drawing of the Elliptical. 1 more quick note; if you don't have a groove-less record like you've shown, then adjust the anti-skating knob to the same setting as your counterweight. If ur counterweight is set @ 2.5 grams, set ur anti-skate to 2.5.

  • nice video, but i beg to differ concerning the s and e needles: spherical are waaay better for scratching and club djing because the needle won't skip. furthermore you destroy both your record and your needle if you scratch a lot with e needles. if you just want to listen to records use e needles, because of the better sound!

  • The original owners manual for the 1200 simply recommends setting the anti-skate to the exact same value as the counterweight, for general use this is pretty much perfect.

    FWIW, a blank record does not properly simulate the lateral forces of an actual groove, but for most people it's close enough.

  • Excellent video tutorial! I've always known the very basics behind the Anti-Skate control, but your vid still taught me some valuable info to get the tuning just right. Keep it up!!

  • Really helpful, thank you!

  • @Tel1977 No problem, thank you for your comment and feedback.

    nice one!!!

  • Thanks for the education! I'm not a DJ but I am new to 'proper' turntables...this helped out!

  • @RingsideViolence Thank you, I'm glad the video was useful. thanks for your comment and feedback.

    nice one!!!

  • @viperfrank where can I get this Vinyl without grooves? I live in Germany and I don't have a record store here.

    Thank you for the description :)

  • Just bought myself a 1210mk2, and your videos of pure pedagogical expertise really is going to help me out alot.. i only play at home, and has got quite a lot of expensive old vinyls, so I'm hanging my needle for the more "kinder" one..

    5 outta 5.. cheers!

  • Perfect video on how and why,no one has ever done it this way.They always show you how but they never explain why.You my frIEnd did it PERFECTLY!!!!I GIVE YOU 5 OUT OF 5 STARS.

  • THIS IS AWESOME. You are great for making this video. I learned a lot.

  • Comment removed

  • Very helpful!

  • Thank you so much for this video

  • thank you for this great video

  • i use the big movie laser disc from the 90s era, it's easier to find

  • Thanks dude. Great video!

  • Just want to say thanks for posting all these vids (anti skating/weight/height)...it really helped me out to set my 1200. now my records sound sicker than ever.

    Cheers bro,

    Roy

  • I own a SL BD2??(exact model unknown) Technics from 1990. Perfect condition, but when I set the antiskate as you did did on this video, it wouldn't play any size records! The arm kept forcing itself backward once I put on an actual record.

    OTOH - at the specification displayed near the counterweight, it says "Factory Set to 1.25grams. At that setting the arm swung across the blank faster than the human eye could follow it - but it plays records just dandy. Strange!

  • To anyone trying to do this who doesn't have a one sided or blank vinyl!! most vinyl have a section just before the sticker with no music on it, on traktor control vinyl A sides they have this, as well as a lot of actual records as well! this can be used just the same, you just don't have as much space.

  • So, just went to my local record store and got a one sided vinyl for 49 cents!!

    and the other side is even a average oldschool house tune! :D

  • Great video, very helpful! Your are a great teacher sir :))

  • Comment removed

  • could you put a laserdisk on it?

  • can you do a video about the tonearm arc?

  • Was That a F1 Shirt James?

  • nice video. if you need a record with blank surface i suggest to pick "big world" by joe jackson. a really great album, in my opinion obviously. usually you can buy it at good prices. side 4 is blank.

  • I still don't get physics wise why a tone arm resting on a slick surface tends to move inwards? imagine an ice skater on a spinning surface..... why would it move inwards? why not outwards? Outwards if anything seems reasonable because of centrifugal force.... like the spinning thing on a playground that throws kids off. Any explanations?

  • Thanks for this!:D

  • I've just tried to set the antiskate right. I've tried the antiskate out on a clear piece of vinyl, but the arm keeps moving to the center, even if I put my antiskate on 4, the maximum for my recordplayer..

  • @nightgoat91 Same Here

  • Hi James,

    Mike here from Malaysia.Well got to say Thank You for your SL1200 vids..helped me to disamble mine SL1200s and repaint in to white:) adjusting the brake even calibrate the pitch.

    However got a question regarding anti-skating:

    1 of my 1200 anti skating mechanism kinda getting problem now.which normally during free-floating, when dial 0, instead of it should be swivelling towards spindle, it is just swivel little about 10 degrees. When dial 3, it works no problem. Can you help? TQ

  • Hi James,

    Mike here from Malaysia.Well got to say Thank You for your SL1200 vids..helped me to disamble mine SL1200s and repaint in to white:) adjusting the brake even calibrate the pitch.

    However got a question regarding anti-skating:

    1 of my 1200 anti skating mechanism kinda getting problem now.which normally during free-floating, when dial 0, instead of it should be swivelling towards spindle, it is just swivel little about 10 degrees. When dial 3, it works no problem. Can you help? TQ

  • Thanks mate

  • @viperfrank you are some kind of fucking genius! Cheers for explaining that properly.

  • Thank you, Sir! I am trying to bring my old Dual CS 522 back to life after years of neglect. This was a very succinct, to-the-point tutorial. You could not have made it any more clear than this! This explains thoroughly why my left channel was always so weak. Thank you for posting. ~Jon

  • Really useful video. Thanks!

  • WOW!!!! I adjusted the antiskating and the sound of my vinyls improved dramatically!!! Thank you my friend!!!

  • worth to watch.

  • Ure the shit viper! Thanks, I think mine are ready for recalibration.

  • Thanks a lot man! Hug

  • Wow your so chill bro.

  • The only bummer is these videos come 10 years too late for me...

  • dude, could we use an old CD to calibrate the anti-skating?

  • Thanks! This was a very good explanation.

  • kudos

  • Forgot to mention scratching. The reason it's recommended to set anti-skate to 0 when scratching is that when the record is turned anti-clockwise the friction with the stylus is in the opposite direction and the anti-skating mechanism adds to that friction. That increases the risk of the stylus jumping out of the groove.

  • Anti-skating cannot be correctly set with a groove-less record. The setting is for counteracting the the inward force induced by the friction of the stylus to the groove when playing a normal record. That friction acts to pull the stylus in direction to the spindle.

    Normally the anti-skating control is set to the same value as the tracking force, not precise, but often close enough. The absolute correct way of doing this, is with a test LP and an oscilloscope. Happy listening!

  • Thanks a lot for this video. Really helped. I had an understanding of what anti-skate did, but never put much value on it. Now I'm set up proper! (And finally see some value in those damn 1-sided plates!)

  • Excellent Excellent and thankyou for de help

    :D

  • This was the best video explanation of all of the ones I viewed. Great job!  Thanks!

  • Many many thanxxxxxx !!!!!!

  • The antiskating on a grooveless record is only an approximation of the real deal.You should adjust it with the help of a oscilloscope to get the right adjustment.

    Furthermore: The spherical and elliptical stylus shapes are cross sections as seen from the bottom of the stylus and defiantely not a front view.

    An informative video for the novice but needs editing

    Keep the black discs alive!

  • Thanks man!!!! I sub to your channel;)

    Just bough a thecnics sl-1700 for 50$ what do you think

    of that model? it's my first good quality turntable... i'm not a DJ it's just to listen to my vinyls;)

  • Thanks for this video. I feel like such a fool for having decks for a long time and never getting around to setting them up properly.

  • really helpful video, thanks :)

  • Hey there mate.. . Any videos on fixing this ??? Cuz I got a deck in which this is not working properly

    thanx!

  • Hey there mate.. . Any videos on fixing this ??? Cuz I got a deck in which this is not working properly

    thanx!

  • Each video I've seen erroneously pictures an elliptical stylus as a V in the groove. I can't show you here, but it is a horizontal ellipse with the narrow edges contacting the groove walls. So it is much "sharper" than a spherical stylus and will not only wear itself out and your records faster but be a lot more expensive in the long run.

    BTW, they are ripping us off. DJ cartridges are the cheapest to produce. The Shure M44-7 used to cost $17.95. Believe it! They are the clunkiest damn things!

  • Good tutorial. Well done. Thanks, homie.

  • my dad played his records on a gramophone when i was very young and here i am learning all these skills on how to use a turntable in my late forties, all the tutorials i watch here teach me tricks i would never have known about and remind me that young people like vinyl too. thank you.

  • Good tutorial, thanks!!

  • All these technics videos are so helpful. I've had one of those blank sided records for ages, no idea I could use it to calibrate the anti-skate. Cheers mate!

  • @djtwintip thank you for your kind words and your feedback. I'm glad you like the videos, I am hopefully going to be putting some more videos up soon.

    thanks again.

    nice one!!!

  • @viperfrank

    Thanks so much for a useful video! :D

    How we tuned this: Use an unrecorded CD, lay it upside down (the surface is completely smooth and does not hurt the needle). First the needle kept "falling" away from the centre at zero antiskating, but then we set less counterweight, and the needle started moving inwards at zero antiskating (as it should). Then we found the midpoint as you described.

  • @viperfrank any different settings for scratching?

  • thanks for the post sir! much appreciated. and thanks for helping out :)

  • @iR800lbGORILLA I'm glad you like the video, thank you for your feed back and your kind words.

    thanks a lot.

    nice one!!!

  • We No Speak Americano, the single has a blank flip, I got it on Chemical Records for around £6.

  • great advise answered the question i put on your other vid. cheers bud keep up the good vids

  • Thanks that definitely helped. I have been using my tables for a while now thinking that it was properly set up. There is a definite change in quality after doing this.

  • @dropbeetsnotbombs thank you, I'm glad the video was a help, it makes me feel good when I here my video has helped someone.

    thank you for your feed back and your kind words.

    nice one!!!

  • "Alright, crazy-doodle time." Haha! James, you're awesome!

  • Great Video. However, i got a brand new mk5 and when i place the needle at the outer side of the blank vinyl, the tonearm moves to the center and stops at the center. When i place the needle at the inner side of the blank vinyl, the tonearm moves to the center and stops there. Is this normal? I had already adjusted the height and the weight properly.

  • If you have a banana type stylus you can also just put the needle protector on it flip the slipmat upside down and do that instead of looking for a blank vinyl. Its not the best but it seems to work well when calibrating the anti skating.

    good vid.

  • Great video, at last I know how to get it right. I knew what anti skating was, but I never got a good way to get it right.

  • Thanks a lot! That was the kind of tutorial I was looking for :)

  • hey ,great videos , but cant seem to find one that deals with the anti -skating seems mines is not working , as every time I try to adjust the tone arm ,the skating does'nt work ... any ideas

  • what's your turntable?

  •  Great info man. very well said.

  • Thanks for the tip man, you should do a video on reparing or replaceing the stylus light. Mine doesn't work. LOL!

  • WOw I Never Knew What That Anti Skip Was For. THANK YOU Very Much For The Info...

    Joey!

  • good stuff bro! cant u have tone arm hoover over platter and adjust it the same way if u dont have a blank record?

  • Thanks for posting this! This helped me set up my old Pioneer PL 530.

  • Awesome video and explanations...thanks!!!

  • thanx! that was useful for me :)

  • i love you teacher , help greatly, before this tutorial was thinking .... panasonic crew made a mistake on this button, poor fools, but the fool was me , THANKS APPRECIATE

    regards from mexico

  • Very nice video! Tks a lot!

    Just one question...

    Once you have ajusted your Anti-Skating, u might never touch it again? How often, or what would make this settings change?

    Tks!

  • Thanks...I never really knew what the anti skate was for..so thanks for the explaination. I did what you suggested and even tho I've never really had a problem with skipping or anything but I didn't have it set quite right so I'm glad I watched this.

  • THIS was the video where I first learned what antiskate is, what it does, and how to set it. Awesome.

    If you don't have a blank sided record do you think a smooth CD centered on the platter would do?

  • Is there a proper way of setting up anti-skate without owning a one-sided record? Nice tutorial, cheers

  • Great tutorial mate. Very well explained. Thanks to you I'm now re-discovering my whole vinyl collection. I've had a Project Debut turntable for about 5 years and never bothered with the anti skating counterweight. Ignorance is bliss as they say. Always used to wonder what the fuss was about over this turntable. I just accepted the sound as it was at got on with my life. After fitting the anti skating weight properly, the difference is nothing short of amazing. Thanks mate I owe you a drink.

  • Fantastic!

  • Thanks mate, proper instruction!

  • can the anti-skate be repaired? i think mine is faulty/weak. on both 0 and 3 the arm goes towards the resting position. on 0 it moves with less speed but it definately isn't floating still, it's pretty noticable  speed towards the resting position.

    seems like some calibration issue of the whole anti-skate function because I can still set it so that it stays on one place when playing a blank vinyl like in your video.

    have you seen tutorials on trimming the anti-skate?

  • AT LAST! A Proper Tutorial Video That Shows You Exactly How Anti-Skate Works, Plain And Simple With Total Idiot Proof Diagrams. I LOVE IT!

  • most people just say leave it on zero so that it doesn't skate when the tonearm weight is at 0, hanging in the air. i did that years ago when i bought the 1210. tonight I noticed on my dirtstyle battle record, after the last track, it didn't have any grooves in the vinyl, it was just blank dont know why..

    however, i noticed that with the antiskate a 0 it moved towards center (exactly like you explain here). i set it at around 1.8 and it stayed pretty much perfectly balanced.

    thanks!

  • the spherical needles are the most common right? which is to say that most tables most likely come equipped with one? i figured that the other kind is special made for DJ's,but i do have a DJ table so now i'm not sure! i have always just loved listening,and while i love what DJ's do,i couldn't bear to put my own records through that kind of an ordeal!

  • Hey man! I love your videos (though this is the first I've seen)!

  • You can also leave the protective plastic cover that comes with the needle & do the same thing on the actual vinyl....

  • thanks

  • Shit, I got high and threw the anti skate on max. And I wondered why my Bob Marley record sounded like shit. Eh, no loss, bought from hot topic after all.

  • Hey I have a problem and I hope you can help me.

    When I want to adjust the anti-skating, I start at 0.

    I see that its close to its right position,

    but I'd have to go in the negative range.

    My turntable is standing completly right, so how can I

    solve the problem? You got an idea ? =(

  • Hey there I have the same tables and needles, my weight was set to 3grams and my tonearm height is zero to be parrallel with the table, I had to set my antiskating all the way to 3, and I wanted to know if that is bad or not, cause if its lower it seems to slowy move towrds the middle, and mine do not go outwards toward the end of the record when set high, Please let me know.

  • Nice technique. Thanks much!

  • Cheers Fella :D

  • safe as fuck

  • This video is very informative. Thanks for sharing the knowledge!

  • So, we have similar tables I think ( I have the Audio Technica AT LP120-USB) I use mine strictly for listening and not for scratching or DJ'ing. Should I follow what the set up guide says for counterweight/anti-skate/stylu­s pressure? Or should I go with what youre telling me?

  • @jefferoo88 hey i also have two of these Audio Technicas and they can and are being used as dj turntables. Just follow the settings that were on that disc shapped peice of paper that came with the table

  • Thanks for the tip. Its easy to understand. Nice work. 

  • Really useful tutorial, thanks!

  • At least with a hifi system, you can set the anti-skate by ear. There will be a slight left/right channel imbalance if the anti-Skate is not correct. One channel is slightly louder. When the anti-skate is set as closely as possible, the channels will be balance.

    I've got a Pioneer HiFi turntable (PL-A35) with the counterweight anti-skate, & you can clearly hear the difference in the setting. But you need to be lone with no distraction or background noise to hear the difference. It is subtle

  • Excellent & helpful Video. Just a couple of things. If you want max fidelity, you go with an elliptical stylus. If you are a DJ, you go with a conical needle because they are better for scratching and sampling. Conical is in the groove the same regardless of the angle of the tone arm. DJ tables tend to have short tonearms causing a sharper angle near the center. Also, DJ's don't really want maximum fidelity; they want loud with lots of bass.

    I've another comment, I'll leave that separte.

  • that video was very helpful , thanks :)

  • the cueing has always worked for me for adjusting the anti skate.

  • nice video!... I guess tangential turntables doens't need the antiskating stuff.

  • Genius!

  • Very well done, I learned much. I recently got a nice Dual (80s), and an old Garard (late 50s), both have tone arm issues. The A.S. knob on the dual seems way off. I think the Garard uses a spring under the tone arm, but not sure. They both pull away from center and that causes skipping. I need a stylus gauge, the arm is way off. The arm on the Garard also is a bit stiff, may need cleaning and lube. The anti-skate on my Marantz works very well (a counterweight type). Great vid, thanks! ;)

  • Hello there! For antiscate adjustment, I was using a CD, and it worked perfectly! No blank vinyl needed!

  • there actually is a way to do it without a blank record...

    just put the needlecap on the needle... and let it spinn...

  • excellent job

    DJ GrandMaster KC

  • great tutorial man, thanks!

  • Wow, I've had my deck's since 2003, and I never knew how to set this right. Thank you for the video.

  • Wow, I've had my deck's since 2003, and I never new how to set this right. Thank you for the video.

  • Man this was a great video. Super informative and you're a nice guy. I'll definitely be looking at your other videos!