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Question about second hand bought decks (help!)
Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2009 7:28 pm
by tobo
I've got the opportunity to buya pair of Gemini SA-600 II Direct-Drive Turntables for £100.
They're second hand, but in good condition.
Should I go for it? Is the price fair? From what I've read they're good turntables, but I'm a bit ignorant on the whole subject.
thanks,
tobo
Re: Question about buying decks
Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2009 7:41 pm
by Shae
It depends how serious you are about djing?
I personally, chose to save up and I eventually bought some second hand Technics 1210's for £300, which was reasonable as they're in good condition, no faults, and they have cartridges with them. They'll last me a long time. I've used other turntables and just built up frustration as I'd gone from using industry standard decks to some cheap ones, and the difference is scary...
So yeah, save up I'd say...
Re: Question about buying decks
Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2009 7:49 pm
by notez_
Shae wrote:It depends how serious you are about djing?
I personally, chose to save up and I eventually bought some second hand Technics 1210's for £300, which was reasonable as they're in good condition, no faults, and they have cartridges with them. They'll last me a long time. I've used other turntables and just built up frustration as I'd gone from using industry standard decks to some cheap ones, and the difference is scary...
So yeah, save up I'd say...
completely true..didnt want to buy anything but technics when i first thought about buying decks...theyre very good

but try them out first, for example, the oitch in one of my decks is 1/2 pitch to slow but couldnt be bothered to go all the way london to try them out so only found out when it was to late.. still no problems apart from that.
Re: Question about buying decks
Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2009 7:51 pm
by tobo
Shae wrote:It depends how serious you are about djing?
I'm serious about learning to dj off vinyl. I use my laptop for djing and have been doing it for a year or so, but i want to learn on decks.
Re: Question about buying decks
Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2009 7:54 pm
by notez_
tobo wrote:Shae wrote:It depends how serious you are about djing?
I'm serious about learning to dj off vinyl. I use my laptop for djing and have been doing it for a year or so, but i want to learn on decks.
Technics
Re: Question about buying decks
Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2009 8:09 pm
by rbnc
we should do a sticky about buying decks.
Re: Question about buying decks
Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2009 8:12 pm
by fractal
i read somewhere that they weren't making turntables or vinyls any more
on a serious note, id agree with the peoples advising you to save for a decent deck
Re: Question about buying decks
Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2009 8:30 pm
by spiderman
trust me i was gonna buy some other decks aswell, and im glad i waited and got some 1210's.
there great to use and are pretty indestructable lol.
Re: Question about buying decks
Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 12:11 pm
by tobo
cheers for the advice.
Looked for a little bit and have arranged to buy two 1200s for £150

Re: Question about buying decks
Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 2:52 pm
by Wolverine
tobo wrote:cheers for the advice.
Looked for a little bit and have arranged to buy two 1200s for £150

FUCKING BARGAIN THERE MAN!!!
Re: Question about buying decks
Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 2:59 pm
by millski
tobo wrote:cheers for the advice.
Looked for a little bit and have arranged to buy two 1200s for £150

don't mean to shit on your bonfire mate, but be very careful there, unless ur on good terms with the previous owner make sure u check them out properly before exchanging cash,
i learnt this the hard way in the past (with decks double that price aswell), just a word of warning....
Re: Question about buying decks
Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 3:58 pm
by rbnc
tobo wrote:cheers for the advice.
Looked for a little bit and have arranged to buy two 1200s for £150

Great price. Give them a whirl to make sure they're ok first though.
Re: Question about buying decks
Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 4:39 pm
by tobo
millski wrote:tobo wrote:cheers for the advice.
Looked for a little bit and have arranged to buy two 1200s for £150

don't mean to shit on your bonfire mate, but be very careful there, unless ur on good terms with the previous owner make sure u check them out properly before exchanging cash,
i learnt this the hard way in the past (with decks double that price aswell), just a word of warning....
Yeah, obviously i'm going to give them a test before handing over the money.
I'll be picking them up from the buyer's house and there will be time to check them over. Do you have any hints as to what i should be checking in particular?
Re: Question about buying decks
Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 5:57 pm
by rbnc
when buying a second hand turntable the main Quartz direct drive can be checked by putting the turntable / deck in 33rpm mode and setting the pitch control to zero. When looking at the light coming from the on / off switch ,the big main row of dots on the spinning platter should remain still (i.e. you should easily see one of the larger dots stay firmly where it is). If they drift forwards or back you know the Quartz is "knackered" and needs replacing.
Also tell someone where you're going if you're going to a random's house off gumtree..In case you get raped.
Re: Question about buying decks
Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 6:04 pm
by millski
rbnc wrote:Also tell someone where you're going if you're going to a random's house off gumtree..In case you get raped.
sound advice ^^^
on the whole quartz thing... dont only check the big dots, but the top row of dots shud be stationary at +6 pitch. ive just checked mine and they dont stay still until about +7, but i figure if theyre out but both out by the same amount it doesnt make a hell of a lot of difference for mixing!
^ it will however indicate how old they really are/ how much force theyve been used under in the past.
Re: Question about buying decks
Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 6:22 pm
by tobo
rbnc wrote:when buying a second hand turntable the main Quartz direct drive can be checked by putting the turntable / deck in 33rpm mode and setting the pitch control to zero. When looking at the light coming from the on / off switch ,the big main row of dots on the spinning platter should remain still (i.e. you should easily see one of the larger dots stay firmly where it is). If they drift forwards or back you know the Quartz is "knackered" and needs replacing.
Also tell someone where you're going if you're going to a random's house off gumtree..In case you get raped.
My mates coming with me, also the seller is female, i've spoken to her on the phone.
Thanks for this tip, will definitely test it.
Re: Question about buying decks
Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 6:45 am
by eshscramble
^^ maybe you'll be lucky and get raped?
Re: Question about buying decks
Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 1:17 pm
by hassanova
eshscramble wrote:^^ maybe you'll be lucky and get raped?
lol
also, where did you find that? gumtree or somethinn?
id kill for a £150 pair of technics
Re: Question about buying decks
Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 1:57 pm
by tobo
november wrote:eshscramble wrote:^^ maybe you'll be lucky and get raped?
lol
also, where did you find that? gumtree or somethinn?
id kill for a £150 pair of technics
Yeah, Gumtree in Sheffield, the ad had been there since august.
I'll be going to pick it up today, will post how it goes.
Re: Question about buying decks
Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 2:01 pm
by subindex
get any decks but technics m8\
there so shit that they have been discontinued
aldo w3hat the fuck fun can you have with a +8 pitch range
there full ghay