serato.com

i run mine at 3 and 0 .. it depends on your slip mats and how thick they are normal hight is 3.5 try and get the arm as flat as you can

Tone arm height = Lowest, you want tone arm parallel with record. Then LOCK IT.

AntiSkate = 0 or it will skip on pull backs /scratching.

Weight = 3g in the studio, 3.5mm in the club.

I also dont put the extra weight on cart/headshell so this also means you dont need the extra weight on back of tonearm/weight area.

I run set my cart straight on headshell and needle is where it should be using them white needles-setter-upper-thingybobs ;)

Also if you are using an SL/Rane unit that allows setting of phono sensitivity set that to 9 or 9.5mV within SL setup.

Enjoy the finest skip proof settings and also needles wont wear down, nor wear your records too quick.

this is me:

height at lowest

antiskate at 0

max weight

(by the way I use butterugs)


It's interesting to see different people's preferences

2.5 grams for 45s. 3 grams fir everthing else. Calibrated. Tone arm flat

Nailed it.

so this is the best way for all kinds of mixing and scratching?

I do a ton of scratching/ juggling and lots of mixing and this has never let me down.

this guy told me (skip to 4.16)

Watchwww.youtube.com

Great when I get home I will set my 1200s like this lol so u said bring the arm all the way down correct? I use them DR. Susuki slipmatts so there hella thin.

Bring it down till tone arm is parallel with record.....on mine its almost parallel, cant go any lower tho...its close enuf ;)

btw do yall know how to set the ZERO the weight before adding your 3gm weight?

Its done by spinning weight until needle and weight are balanced (like 2 equal weight folks on a see saw )

Then turn number dial on weight till zero line up with line. Check both sides are still equally balanced then with the back of weight turn till 3g is lined up with line.

So what number is your height adj? Currently mine is at 3. Using Suzuki mats and weight is at 3.5. In abl mode I do get a little skipping if there are vibrations from the dance floor. But now use rel and I'm good.

tonearm flat

adjust height till tone arm parallel with record..or as close as you can get....3 seems like it would be too high.

First adjust the weight.... Watchwww.youtube.com

Then adjust height like so.... Watchwww.youtube.com

Finally adjust the anti skate.... Watchwww.youtube.com

Just curious, I used a ruler, keep one in my gig bag and eye ball from there

those videos are great! even though he's not talking specifically about control vinyl it's still really good for reference

ay
Has anyone had a hard time trying to unlock the height on some? My program director bought some new out the box Technics and I could not unlock them at all. Am I the only one or is there a club for that?
yep

thanks for that. i was adjusting the weight incorrectly by zeroing the counterweight first.

Good watch. After all these years I was doing it so wrong

I was doing it wrong for way too many years. I came upon these videos when I had the problem with unlocking the height adjutment on one of my turntables that had been in storage:



This is what I found on that issue:
Watchwww.youtube.com
www.youtube.com

And then I started watching videos, reading up on all types of stuff like replacing tonearm, pitch control calibartion, zero click removal, painting, pop up replacement, internal grounding, etc. Next thing you know I had refurbished my decks and repaired a pair that my brother had with some issues. Now I have bought another pair for super cheap with some minor damage. Going to strip em down and build them back up with new parts where needed, fresh paint, etc.

I set mine at:

Height: 2 (then locked from preventing tone arm base moving)

Anti-Skate: 0

Weight: 3.5

Never had issues with my (2) M44-7 and (2) M44-7 w/N44C (Blue) carts.

because because both control vinyl and m44-7 styli are cheap and replacable. It would be a different story if I were using expensive ass ortofons and real vinyl which i wanted to preserve

if you guys use butte rugs do you also use the transparent sheet under that as well?

my main question is do you need the transparent sheet if you are using butter rugs?

I use mine it works a little more but lots of static

static with or without the transparent sheet?

With it on it

will it have an negative effect if i dont use one?

i use without butter rugs, q-bert himself has said you don't NEED the sheet underneath, but i know a lot of people still do it anyway if they want it to be more slippy. I guess it's personal preference, if you want it to be more slippy then go for it, but if you're happy without it then no need to change. No it won't have a negative effect if you don't use one. Try with and without and see what feels right for you

correction: i use butter rugs without the sheet underneath

okay, have you replaced them yet? just curious

nope, i'm not sure if slipmats have a lifespan lol

lol ok

my setup is height at a lil over 3. weight 2.2. antiskate 2.2. I use 1200 mk5's with flying carpets and dr.suziki mix edition slipmats. Used sickmats with flying carpets before those. Slipmats do hold up for a long time. The flying carpets are the secret. I do use a headshell weight that came with my technics i think they are a gram. Frosted plates have the butterrugs and flying carpets together. Preety good product if u have trouble fing the flying carpets by themselves. Im also fairly certain you want your antiskate to be the same number as your weight.

My tonearm is set between krunk and crushit. Also is anyone else using the combination of butter rugs and the rubber pad that came with the turntable.

Those rubber pads that came with my technics suck. So did the technic slipmat.

Yep mine were real tough to unlock too when I first gotem. Had to use a small flathaed screwdriver.

yeah the the height adjustment gets stuck sometimes real bad.

i recently went back to m447s after using ortofons for awhile (pinks and nightclubs).

the biggest difference for me this time was really making sure the tonearm was parallel to the record and this has led to some excellent anti skip performance.

also, i had been thinking about moving to cdjs for a while because when people would jump around and get crazy, it would shake the tables real bad and cause skips, but the m447s have been really good at absorbing those vibrations. ya gotta set them up properly though!

my biggest annoyance with the m447s was that the stylus would get bent very easily, either by accident, using stickers, needle on slipmat or just being too rough with them. i remember once i wasnt paying attention and i bent back the stylus by putting that plastic guard in place!

now im just make sure to be really careful with them. the stylus is definitely not as durable as the ortofons, but the skip resistance is really good. now i can hold off on getting cdj2000s for a while.

Honestly after 10+ years using turntables for mobiles, nothing beats the cdjs when you've got a issue with vibration.

So yah I made a mistake on the ride height. I def have mine at 1.25 not 3. I think 3 is where I usually put my orts. Anyone angliling their 44-7's?

I tried it saw no advantage so I went back to normal

Yeah I did not see any advantage angling the 44-7 either. I do not recommend the strait tonearm mod for the sl-1200. That tonearm's headshell has no angling to it and is not good for your records, ie wear them out quickly, and I have a hard time believing it is any more skip resistant than the s shaped tone arm. There is no need for an angled headshell on the s shaped tone arm because the s shape causes the angling.

Here are some specs that should help out setting up this cart. The technics tone arm is set up for carts between 17-23mm (very tall carts). Since a dj slipmat adds very little height to the platter and I doubt the 44-7 is over 17mm tall your ride height should be around zero if not zero.

The reason that the sl-1200 is set up for really tall carts is because the sl-1200 was originally intended as an affordable hifi table and the 4mm rubber mat that comes with it for hifi use takes 4mm away from the 17-23mm figure I quoted above, knocking it down to 13-19mm which is more in line with most other TT's out there. A dj slipmat adds little to no height to the platter though. Meaning almost all if not all dj carts should have a ride height of zero. Only if the cart is over 17mm tall should you add height.

You should also buy the counterweight subweight if you don't have one. It dampens of the hollow end of the tone arm and allows you to get the counter weight closer to the pivot point which tightens up the bass.

As far as the counter weight goes the numbers and lines do not mean that much. Twist back the counterweight until the arm floats and then twist forward to 2-2.5 grams. You can accurately measure this with a stylus pressure gauge or use headphones to tune on the fly.

The technics headshell hanger is another accessory that I highly recommend. It will make the cart very easy to align. The headshell hanger and counterweight subweight can be purchase from kabusa.com for $5-10.

The Shure booklet recommends the angle to prevent skipping. It's heads and shoulder better to me, esp with beat juggling and back spins.

The sure booklet throws it out there. It does not totally recommend it. If it works for you then awesome. I have seen the same thing on an ortofon headshell and cart. The thing I like about the ortofon setup is that it is lined up for the user on the headshell.

Really simple when using sure 44s tonearm hight at 3.5 run the all the way forward anti at 0 done …

*run the weight

If yer using real records at all, learn to calibrate the tonearm weight.

not sense 06 and seeing in how this is a serato forum .. well

ok, don't

Your height is way to high. At most the 44-7 is a 17mm cart and since the technics is meant for 17-23mm carts your ride height needs to be zero or at most 1. Also you need to get the counterweight accurate tcv or reg. vinyl. The subweight should get you most of the way there and is fairly cheap.

If you run your carts at that height with too much weight, while you may not notice much of a sound wise tcv vs. real deal you will be putting unnecessary wear n tear on your stylus and even dj stylus are decently pricey, for sure much more than the subweight.

I keep my height as low as techys go, anti skate at 0, and no angle to cart..

Worked a treat for years!

oh and weight between 2g-3g

He misspelled, he was referring to stylus wheight not height. Although 3.5g is on the heavy side imo. I usually run between 2.5-3.0g, 0 antiskate, "flat height", and angled mount on headshell. Like described in the Shure 447 instructions. I still find the 447 wear less on the vinyl (and more skip resistant) than ortofon concorde. (Black/blue/qbert/s120)

I've heard of angled 447's on straight arms...not so much on Technic style arms. How far back or front you place the cart on the headshell can have an effect as well. Just speaking from personal experience...don't know if it's a universal thing.

I set mine (with no angle) as per the distance on the technics needle setter upper thing ;)

I use the technics overhang gauge as well. Very cheap if you do not own one and makes setup a breeze. I found angling to make a minor improvement on tracking the outside of the record but terrible tracking on the inner half.

Angling and aligning are give and take affair. I would def. worry about height and weight first.

I may be wrong but I thought going higher and angling the cart in a downward manner meant the needle would be eating the vinyl more as well as make it easier to damage the needle if you get wreckless?

Yes having a height of much more than zero will cause the stylus to dig into the record while it is playing. Angling and aligning is more personal preference. There are many different ways to align carts on a sl-1200. Check out vinyl engine. The technics gauge is just easy to me and works pretty good.

Q-Bert sets his height to 3.5: Watchwww.youtube.com
Emma from Studio Scratches sets hers to 3 and weight 2.5: Watchwww.youtube.com

Both use Technics, butter rugs, and M44-7.

yeah mine currently at 3.5. No complaints. Good balance IMO

Anybody know what the perfect tonearm settings for PLX-1000's using M44-7 cartridges to mixx & scratch?

The setting comes down to how heavy or light handed the dj is with the record, especially when in comes scratching. Start at 3.5 then work your way up or down the setting.

Thank you for the advice, that does make sense. I currently have my height at 0, antiskate at 0 and my weight at 2.5g + 1g from the cartridge weight and my subweight attached to the back. It feels stable and works well for scratching & mixing, but was wondering if I have too much weight and would it wear down my vinyl? I was just curious to know what other PLX-1000 owners have there settings at cuz the tonearm feels lighter and cheaper than the Technics 1200.

Just to be clear you know how to calibrate the tonearm weight for your carts right?
It should be about 3 grams I do a little less.

Yes, I know how to calibrate the tonearm, thanks. So the total weight I have on my setup is 3.5g. I was thinking cuz I have the subweight on the back off the tonearm, it will put less weight and pressure when the needle is on the record. I hope that makes sense. I will probably try 3.2 or 3.3g cuz when I have it set on 3g, it skips sometimes when I scratch. I believe I'm probably heavy handed haha

That's not how you do it. The the weights on your tonearm are not what you go by. If you look at the specs on your cart., you'll see a tracking force range of 1.5 to 3g. Its the amount of weight/pressure on the needle, and that's where you need to take your measurement. You do it with a stylus tracking force gauge. Shure sells them, and I believe they go for about $25. Drop your needle onto it and go by that number, not the weights on your arm.

To follow this up, you can get one like this, www.amazon.com , Mojaxx reviewed similar on Djcity that does the same thing. Though it is pretty generic, it gets the job done.

thats a cool gizmo.
you can do it without that though.
look it up on youtube or something.
you back the weight off to make the tonearm "float", then turn the ring on the end of the weight to zero.
then turn the whole weight to 3.0

This is how I do it

Thank you for your help, I'm going to look into that. I really want the weight/tracking force to be accurate.

Thank you for recommending, I think I'm gonna get this one cuz it had good reviews on it and it's priced well.

That looks pretty bitchin. I think I'll get it just because. Rane 12's or not, it can hang out with the techs @home.

That one should be fine. For DJing, you don't need anything ultra accurate because the carts are designed for hard use. A tenth of a gram or so, is no big deal.

I would say that's the best way to do it if you don't have a gauge. But depending on your tone arm, you can't always do it that way and be accurate. If the weights are fixed and move on some type of worm gear (screw), then OK. You'll probably be close. If you have to move the weights by hand, without any type of guide, then you need a gauge. Also, keep in mind that depending what your SRA is set at, the pressure/weight ratio will be off if its not set to spec. And its perfectly OK to set SRA off spec if you need to, that's why I would recommend the use of a gauge.

Yes, I'm a bit picky when it comes to this type of thing. I don't mean to ramble on, but I won't be able to sleep tonight if I don't get all the details out.

In case you missed it you don't need one of those at all. :)

We don't need shoes, ice cream, a member named Aptidda or even Serato. But we all want them, and that's what counts.

Out of those I'm going with shoes.

You still need to balance the tonearm but this is just to verify the weight even after you set it.

See Mojaxx's video here.

Watchwww.youtube.com

this is how its done, you may want to add a little weight in loud/bass heavy situations

If you set the weight and then double check with the scale how close is it?

If done properly it's not off by much. It can be pretty negligible all things considered. I think I can get like 3.05 - 3.10g most times. So weighing ot adjust back to exact 3g is just me being anal and to satisfy my minor OCD.

Thanks,
That's what's up.
I'm definitely not hating! The more dialed the better or at least having the tools and knowledge always helps. If yer audiophile friend asks about dialing their tonearm you'll have them covered.

WORD..I learned alot about tonearm settings from all of your discussions, thank you guys!