how to adjust the height on a turntables tone-arm

[A1ZUDD1N]

Awesome videos james... thanks to you i managed to replace both my tonearms and now my 15year old 1200s sounds much much better and SHINY!!! :) but one problem... they still somewhat skip every now and den when i do simple scratching, i calibrated both the tonearms with new headshell+carts&stylus and also levelled it as in this video.... hope you could advice on some other problems that might be happening :) thanks again james!!! nice record collection btw :)

[DJAnthologic]

Great tutorials,,, saved me the trouble of having to explain much of it to some of my mates. Cheers

[phantasm1004]

Viper.....VERY NICELY DONE! Very thorough! Excellent video for a neophyte. Clear and concise. WELL DONE! FAR, FAR BETTER EXPLAINED than the instruction manual that comes with the table! Nothing better than an actual demonstration on how it all works. Nice job!

On an unrelated note.....you are very handsome!!!

[stuarttacey]

The Technics instructions are cr*p! I used the method shown in the video with a ruler at each end of the tonearm to do mine. According to the instructions i should have the arm height set to 3mm due to the height of my cartridge. Doing this, the counter balance weight end is too high and the cartridge end too low!

[nubedjmusic]

hi.....my 1210 is adjusted right with a new ortofon concorde pro on it....but needle sometimes jump back. what should i do 4 this issue!?

[viperfrank]

@nubedjmusic If you have adjusted the weight as well than you must have a problem with the anti-skate, try setting it to 0 and see if the problem stops, if so set it so 0 and keep it there, I will hopefully soon be doing a video on how to fix the anti-skate.

other than that, your Gimble (the pivot point at the back of the tone arm) could be sticking, try a little drop of sewing machine oil on the barrings.

hope this helped and thanks for your comment.

Nice One ; )

[billybob7814]

You just saved me a lot of money, I thought my tonearm was completely screwed and it turns out this was the problem, I had no idea height affects tracking so much. Thanks so much for doing these videos man.

[viperfrank]

@billybob7814 Thank you, I'm glad that the v video was of some use and that you managed to sort your issue. hopefully more videos on the way soon.

Thanks again.

Nice One ; )

[newburyg]

Thanks for your videos. I bought a pair of second hand 1210s a few months ago and they were stinking. The last owner never looked after them. Thanks to your videos I've now serviced then and adjusted the height, weight and anti skate to the correct settings. Thanks

[viperfrank]

@newburyg No problem, thank you for your feed back and kind words, I'm glad you like the videos, I will try to do some more soon.

Thanks again for your comment.

Nice One ; )

[ellollio]

really good teachings ma man, thankyou

[viperfrank]

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

Nice One ; )

[TheDerekmooney]

Cheers man!

[glmusikwelt]

i have a 1200 and a 1210, and on the 1210, i have to crank the volume on my headphones to hear the cue, but that doesn't happen with the 1200... is that due to a bad rca cable on the 1210?

[TheUzimis]

you're a turntable genius, dude ;)

[viperfrank]

@TheUzimis Thank you!!!, I never really taught of my self as much of a genius, but I'm glad you like the videos.

I will try to get my stuff sorted and get some more videos up soon.

Thanks again for your comment and kind words.

nice one!!!

[planey2k]

very helpful and articulate - thanks

[viperfrank]

@planey2k No problem, thank you for your feedback, I'm glad you like the video.

I never thought of my self as much of a teacher but now I actually quite enjoy it.

thanks again for your comment.

nice one!!!

[kazywaz]

James you are so informative. I can't thank you enough for all the information and knowledge you've given me about my turntable, stuff that I had no idea about, that I for years never checked while playing my records. With all the crappy and cheap CD's they've been making over the years, squandering such a technological advancement and letting it go to pot, there's now a wonderful re emergence of records. Records that I still have tons of . Thanx again.You are spot on - and I love your accent.

[viperfrank]

@kazywaz Thank you very much for all your kind words. I am so glad you like the videos. I haven't done any videos for a long time, I will hopefully be doing some more videos soon.

thank you again for all your kind words.

nice one!!!

[viperfrank]

@kazywaz Thank you very much for all your kind words. I am so glad you like the videos. I haven't done any videos for a long time, I will hopefully be doing some more videos soon.

thank you again for all your kind words.

nice one!!!

[robbies1]

Another great video there.  Is it best to setup the height first or adjust the weight on the tonearm first?

[viperfrank]

@robbies1 Hi there, thank you for your comment, its probably going to be best to set the weight first, as the weight will effect the height a little bit, as the needle pushes in slightly.

I hope this helped and thanks again for your comment.

nice one!!!

[plagueblack]

I learned all these techniques from A-trak & Infamous back in the 90s but never knew the why behind it all. Thanks James!!

[viperfrank]

@plagueblack thank you, I'm glad you like the videos, I never thought I could be much of a teacher but I actually like it.

thanks again

nice one!!!

[tjsmith51]

I have a Technics SL 1500 and it doesn't adjust like yours. I notice when the arm lever is up the tone arm is level and when it is down on the record it is at a slight angle. I am looking through the manual and it doesn't say how to adjust. Can you please help?

[cactusbrandy]

Is this the same thing as arm elevation? My turntable has an arm elevation and it looks more like a lever.

[MRIvanP]

Thanx bro that helps alot and was well explained!!!! keep up the good work!

[MrTrundleon]

I do professional electronics repair, I just started fiddling w/these 1200's, this was most informative, thanx

[BunkerMonkeyUK]

9yrs I owned some 1210's and never adjusted the arm height.. I know feel like a total plum! Great Vid and easy to understand!

[labota51]

Thanks for the vid. Very informative. I have one turntable but the height adjustment wont budge. I unlock it and try to adjust up or down but its stuck. Do I need to replace the whole tonearms or what would you recommend? Thanks.

[jimmyfuture73]

So helpful and easy to follow. I'd played about with this before but not really known what I was doing - also your anti-skating video was very useful as I'm about to come into an old 1200 which I'm sure will need a bit of reset. Plus; some of the decks I've played on in clubs have been all over the place and thanks to your video - I now have some idea of why. Cheers!

[DjFab361]

At section 23, check the anti skating on it, set it with a blank vinyl, put the needle on the blank vinyl, if the needle slides toward te inside of the record move the anti skating clockwise or counterclockwise till it stays in the middle, then adjust the weight. Viper showed me how to do that as well, much love homie!!!!

[DjFab361]

Hey, I have my height set but my Height adjust has stopped and I still need to adjust it slightly, how can I do this?

[pitoloco]

THANKS FOR THE TUTORIAL. I HAVE A MICRO SEIKI DD40 TURNTABLE. ARM HEIGHT IS PISTON TYPE.

YOUR COUNCIL WAS VERY USEFUL.

REGARDS FROM MEXICO

[TheGoatlicker]

thx man, I have my 1200's for 7 years and really didn't had a clue!!

[rnasap]

You are my source for technics 1200 info. Picked one up at a Pawn Shop for $20.00-"Twenty"  and have been giving it a good cleaning and tuning. Your instructions

are simple and effective. Thank you.

[caltree]

cheers for the tips james, i recently bought a second hand SL-1200 and needed to reset everything but i'm now fully set up thanks to your videos. question for you though, on this kind of turntable is the tonearm supposed to return to its cradle at the end of a record?

[gricka31]

Is the needle at 90 degrees to the cartridge (perpendicular) on most cartridges? thanks

[section23promotions]

One of my Technics is great and will not skip or jump while cueing but the other is very light and bounces all over the place - any ideas why this is? the weight on both are at the same position

[OliverUnderTheMoon]

fantastic help, cheers bud

[deckypex]

hi there, nice vid

my dial that adjust the height is super stiff and I can't move it. I've tried a bit of oil but it still won't move.

what could you suggest?

please help

[FerreNL]

Thank you so much. Great video, good and relaxed tutorial. Not like 'You destruct your records when you don't do this!!!' but just 'Just do this steps and it's okay, have fun' :)

[viperfrank]

@FerreNL thank you, I'm glad you like the video, I always like to keep things relaxed when I do my videos, I like people to enjoy watching my videos not feel like they are on a forum and there are too many rules.

thanks for your comment and your kind words.

nice one!!!

[eky49]

Great vid mate !!!

Cheers from Tasmania

[electrokinesis]

I love the drawing. :-)

[audioh0lic]

great vid!

I have a tip for the different vinyl thickness problem. set it up with your slimmest vinyl why? because its better to have your tonearm too low than too high. if its too high the needle will totally hack away your precious vinyl.

if you set it up with the slim vinyl, when you use a thicker one, it'll have the same effect as a lower tonerarm. which is your best bet.

[raychelh]

@viperfrank, cheers mate your vids r excellent. i have followed the tone arm and counterweight vids and still have really distorted sound.when i apply more pressure it sorts it. first i swapped the weight round, then moved it after seeing you say it was wrong. i put the tone arms at zero gravity, but then the weight only moves to 2 on dial. not enough tone arm space to move towards the needle end.. technics 1200. 1 ortofon & 1 technics head. ortofon more than technics but both still not perfect

[supercalifregilestic]

It is gonna sound silly but, I don't know where to adjust the height. I have an old Akai AP-103 model with a broken needle. I've ordered the needle, it's on its way... But I can't find the place where you adjust the height on that model...

[christwagon1980]

fantastic! Just got my Stanton ST150's today. So glad I watched your video today too!

Thanks, you've got talent for teaching.

[o9i8u7y6t5]

Hi, My Shure 447's don't allow for the height to be level, even on zero. Are u sure it applies to a headshell style cartridges? it''s as though there needs to be a -2 setting on the height adjust to make this levelling method possible.

I look forward to your reply. thanks.

[TheReIntegration]

Awesome video indeed. Very informative and helped greatly with understanding the significance of the Technics 1200's tonearm height adjustment & my vinyls.

[viperfrank]

@TheReIntegration no problem, thank you for your feed back and your kind works.

I'm glad you like the video, thank you for your comment.

nice one!!!

[bobbyboko]

thnx bro- m from delhi(india) n i m into sale purchase of bollywood vinyls-l iike ur tutorials.

[9423011943]

hello there, i have a technics turntable(1610 mk2) but there is a slight problem with it. the stylus has worn out and i am looking for a replacement...can u please suggest me a stylus brand that suits the technics cartridge that i have? (cartridge- technics 2070)....pls help i'll be very grateful.

[2632jibaro]

Jason J Cruz

I brought me a Plug N Spin Kit comes with head shell Needle styles model ATN3600 It say's tracking force 1-2 Grams how do i adjust anti skating i set mine 1 My Record player is a Sony Model PS-2350

[thencamespeedster]

I want to buy a turntable and noticed that the cheaper ones have tonearms that don't allow you to adjust the height. Could you point out what the disadvantages are if you can't adjust the height?

[jaws8475]

Wow excellent tutorial, definite sub. Thanks so much :)

[tru3z0rr0]

Hi! my old turntable vaven't the height adjust, how can i adjust the height?

[sixtyhz]

Top man Very usefull. Just got serrato and saw that the signals were very different.

Had my decks for 12 years and never bothered setting them up properly.

Thanks to your video help they are set up perfectly.

[AFXSLOTCARS]

You are representing the Culture very well....keep spinning...keep teaching.

DJ GrandMaster KC

NJ USA 2010

[SirFoggy2Doped]

I have some heavy gauge audiophile records and some standard flexi-thin ones...

Will I need to adjust the tonearm height depending on what I'm playing?

[viperfrank]

@SirFoggy2Doped hi there, not really, you wont really notice the difference its only mainly for setting up for new cartridges, its not really worth going though all the bother of setting the hight every time you play a record.

hope this helped and thanks for your comment.

nice one!!!

[mushroomleg]

i don't understand why the height is adjustable if the only way to set it up is straight and level? just don't make no sense to dis nigga...

[viperfrank]

@mushroomleg yeah i can see your point it does seem a bit strange, but the reason is because all needles and cartages are different shapes and sizes, you could have an ortofon blue and set it level but if i than put a stanton 500 on there it will be a bit lower so ill have to re adjust it.

hope this helped and thats for your comment.

nice one!!!

[mushroomleg]

@viperfrank as soon as i read this response i thought: oh yeah... duh. pardon my lack of common sense. this video was very helpful by the way. my tone-arm is as straight as george clooney!

[viperfrank]

@mushroomleg no worries sometimes we forget the simplest things, and "as straight as george clooney!" HA HA love it!

nice one!!!

[MsOliver02]

太棒ㄌ!! 真是有用 I'm from TAIWAN!! Ya ~~~~~ XD

[viperfrank]

@MsOliver02 thank you very much i'm happy you like the video.

nice one!!!!

[raizesdablenfa]

Thanks a lot broh !!! Very Helpfull !!!!!!!!!

[culthebull]

nice one, wink. lol great vid never new what too do there very clear explanation well done.

[MegaAmitsrivastava]

amazing video, im going to buy my dream turntable ie. Technics sl 1200mk2, plz tell me how i can match my turntable with amplifier and speakers so that i can get best sound i mean matching integrated amp & speaker

[djrobnecega]

James, Great videos! I am working in a night club and the 1200's in the booth are not set to the correct height. I have tried to adjust them but they seem to be stuck. I did unlock them but they still will not turn. any suggestions?

[knottycoolz]

I'm having a problem with my tonearm. It keeps floating what should I do or what can I do to fix this problem. Everything else works anti-skate, height adjustment, and lock. It's like the weight just doesn't work.

[viperfrank]

wow thats strange,hers a couple of things you can try.

is the weight screwed on far enough , maybe something is abstracting the weight from screwing on far enough.

what cartridge are you using, if is a headshell style cartridge if so it may need the little weighted mettle plate put on-it.

move the tone arm around and see if it fells sticky or strange in any other way you could have a problem with the tone arm.

try these if still no joy comment me and ill help find another solution.

nice one!!!

[MaxxBigg]

Great explanation. Very helpful. Thanks!!

[Greenjah81]

My finger is the what? 8)) 2:35 ROFL Nice tutorial bruv!

[musicdreamer75]

very appreciated for the valuable information, thank you!!!

[shahirmaged]

Very helpful and clear. Job well done. Thanks for the valubale information

[viperfrank]

thank you very much for your comment and kind words.

im glad the video was a help. hopefully more videos to come soon...

nice one!!!

[ARLW10]

i have a pair of technics and the height adjustment knot will not move on both of them,if i add a little bit of WD-40,will it damage the turntable?

[viperfrank]

hi there, no you should be fine to put WD40 on it as long as you don't use too much and wipe off and over spill.

if you spray some into like a small pot like a yogurt pot or something like that, than get a small peace of tinfoil and bend it into a u-shape and use that to scoop some oil up and drip it into the hight adjustment ring. it will be less messy that way and you can get it more accurately.

pope this helped and thanks for your comment.

nice one!!!

[hmmmisthatright]

I am a expert in turntables and analog systems. Although I appreciate his efforts here its not completely acurate and helpful. Setting the tonearm height should be set based on cartridge requirements and personal preference. Its ok for some raking higher or lower within a few degrees. This is called Vertical tracking angle. More importantly is not to look at the tonearm but the body and stylus of the cartridge. It is ok to do this to within a few degrees without any damage to your vinyl.

[ShitFromShinolla]

No you're wrong. I build turntables so I know better than you do. He is right about this. Most high quality cartridges have a weight recommendation and at the recommended weight the needle is to sit in the groove perfectly plum and the only way a needle can be plum is if the tone arm is level. So although he speaks in non technical terms he is spot on in his description.

[razors686]

Great video, I just got a new pair of SL1200s and had no idea, I think you answered my qustion... thanks!

[meminesis]

On my Gemini XL-100 manual it's written: "Tone Arm bearings are factory set and sealed. Any attempt at

adjustment will void the warranty."

So now what about the tone-arm adjustment?

[MrHERCULAS]

thanks!!!!!

[Gwaarn]

Exactly what I needed, thanks!

[Bboykidcombo]

The arm adjustment is zero'd out but it still looks to high, can't get it lower so it's level. Do u know what could be wrong???

[mrscriff]

Regrettably, I purchased my turntables on eBay and they arrived in rather poor shape. I've watched all 3 videos about the weight, height, and anti-skating settings and I must say they were fantastic.

However, when I try and level my tonearm, I can't lower the base of the tonearm enough to do so. Basically, the tonearm is permanently slanted downward. Any ideas?

[fendercyclone454]

You're the man.

[sambam007]

great video but is this information intended for dj decks only? i have a regular record player I cannot find height adjustments

[salcidob]

Continuation...

When measureing one is always lower and the tone arm sits on the record kind of slanted to the inside sometimes causin my cartridge to scrape the record. Is the any way of adjusting the pitch or roll on my tonearm. Sorry for using aviation terms but its the only was to get my point across with out taking photos.

[salcidob]

Great video, very helpful. My question is can you adjust the pitch of the tonearm? What I mean is that when I bought my 1210 M5G's I noticed that one of the tonearms kind of was tilted inwards, like if a person was pigeon toed.

[Mortimix]

Hi there,

Really useful video, well explained, everything's clear: you know how and why to do "this" or "that", and that's not the case of other guys I've seen in other videos: they should check yours !

I also give you 5 stars !

Cheers !

[Sloberi]

I have Ortofon Concorde Electro and the Tracking angle is 20°, how would you measure this? Thanks.

[TheTarrMan]

were can i buy the cartridges?

[HENTY00]

Hi James

This video was very very useful for me, iv been having touble with the stylus skipping on spinbacks etc etc

You've just made my day :)

Regards

Matt

[ladduro]

great video. 5 stars

waiting for weight tonearm adjustment video. thanks