Turntable/Old records

O

onlydude

New member
Recently I have been getting a bit more into sampling from a few old cds that have been laying around the house. The other day I found a few old cases of old records that belong to my parents from about 25-30 years ago. There is a LOT of them and all they are doing now is collectiong dust. I thought it would be cool to start going through them and looking for some new samples, but the problem is I do not have a turntable and I wouldn't know how to hook it up to my mixer correctly. Right now I have my mixer running to the Line In of my soundcard and I think I would be able to hook up a turntable to my mixer. Currently I am using the mixer found here http://www.soundcraft.com/product_sheet.asp?product_id=1 . Would this be an ok mixer to use or would it be a good idea to invest in something different?

Also I need a recommendation on a turntable to buy. Prety much the only thing I would be doing with it is listening/sampling old records so I dont need top of the line equiptment. And finally these records are very old and are there any precautions I should take ensure that they do not get damaged?

Thanks a lot for your help, as allways it is much appreciated!
 
The NUMARK, in that price range seems reasonable plus it has reverse. Your Spirit Folio mixer has a phono/turntable pre built-in; but I'll be damned if I can find a ground.
 
thane1200 said:
The NUMARK, in that price range seems reasonable plus it has reverse. Your Spirit Folio mixer has a phono/turntable pre built-in; but I'll be damned if I can find a ground.
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A ground??
 
Turntables need to be grounded to the device they are hooked up to. The ground is usually nothing more than a piece of bare wire that gets simply screwed down to the mixer or whatever.

Link
What do I do with the ground wire on my turntable?

Most (but far from all) turntables have a ground wire connected internally to the chassis or frame and the tonearm tube (assuming the tube is metal) to provide shielding and hum reduction. Failure to connect the ground wire to an appropriate ground on your stereo or computer will result in 60 cycle hum (often sufficient in level to obscure the music). On some turntables (particularly Technics) this wire may be removeable via a screw-type terminal or plug-in connector; be sure to examine the rear of your table before assuming it does not require a ground wire (there ARE some turntables which utilise the RCA cable's shield to provide the chassis ground connection, so if no ground wire is present, none may in fact be needed; but always look to make sure no one's amputated it!). On older amps and receivers having a built-in preamp, the ground point to which the turntable ground wire attaches is provided and marked as such (usually right near the phono jacks). Minisystems and home theatre units often have an antenna terminal assembly including an AM ground screw or terminal; this can sometimes be used for the turntable ground wire. All of our preamps EXCEPT THE TC-400D AND SP-2 have a ground wire terminal; this is by far the best place to connect the ground wire, especially if using with a computer sound card (the metal rear panel of the computer being the alternative). The TC-400D and SP-2 preamps (like the products sold by most of our competitors) have no dedicated ground terminal; connect the wire to the preamp's metal back plate using any means available. A better solution is to strip the end of the ground wire (1.5-2 inches will do) and create a "lasso" which you then loop tightly around either the preamp's left or right input jack BEFORE you plug the turntable's RCA cable in. Pushing the RCA plug in should then securely hold and connect the ground wire to the input jack's outer sheath. Its been our experience that this arrangement provides a hum-free connection regardless of what the preamp is connected to.
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Wow, 30 year old records? Dang! That's 1975! Over a lifetime ago!

Was music even invented in 1975? Those records must be like some ancient artifact! Where's Dr. Leeky? We need an anthropologist onsite, right away!


:rolleyes: :eek: ;)
 
You may find reasonably priced turntables at Circuit City and Best Buy,...

from Audio Technica and Sony, to name a few. These modern turntables often have built-in phono preamps, (a must), that will interface with modern receivers and mixers, being basically plug & play!

There was an "ancient ritual" about playing a record, that involved handling it very carefully, and cleaning it with a moistened fibre brush, otherwise known as a record cleaner,... brand named "Discwasher" comes to mind immediately. You'd typically want to clean the surface & grooves before applying the stylus to the vinyl.

The brand new turntables I've seen at Circuit City were Audio Technica and Sony, and retailed for about $99, including built-in phono preamps. If you go that way, it's easy. If you go the Ebay way, the field of turntables available would be nearly limitless.

I have an old Technics SL-6, straight-line-tracking turntable, that's like a "close-&-play" format tt. It's been on faithful duty since about 1984, but that's another history lesson for another day!;)

PS: the run of the mill turntables I've mentioned don't lend themselves to "scratching" or "dj" applications too well, so if you're inclined that way, you may want to stick with Numark or a Technics SL-1200, "dj" type turntables.

That's all I know,... or all I'll admit to knowing!;)
 
A Reel Person said:
from Audio Technica and Sony, to name a few. These modern turntables often have built-in phono preamps, (a must), that will interface with modern receivers and mixers, being basically plug & play!

There was an "ancient ritual" about playing a record, that involved handling it very carefully, and cleaning it with a moistened fibre brush, otherwise known as a record cleaner,... brand named "Discwasher" comes to mind immediately. You'd typically want to clean the surface & grooves before applying the stylus to the vinyl.

The brand new turntables I've seen at Circuit City were Audio Technica and Sony, and retailed for about $99, including built-in phono preamps. If you go that way, it's easy. If you go the Ebay way, the field of turntables available would be nearly limitless.

I have an old Technics SL-6, straight-line-tracking turntable, that's like a "close-&-play" format tt. It's been on faithful duty since about 1984, but that's another history lesson for another day!;)

PS: the run of the mill turntables I've mentioned don't lend themselves to "scratching" or "dj" applications too well, so if you're inclined that way, you may want to stick with Numark or a Technics SL-1200, "dj" type turntables.

That's all I know,... or all I'll admit to knowing!;)
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Thanks a lot for the help, I appreciate it :D . Guess I'm prety young :p and dont know much about turntables yet, but I'll learn quickly.
 
They're cool, man.

Records had their heyday. It was a long time ago. They were a little more susceptible to scratching, and they had their own sound, but records were cool in my book. I still have my 400+ album collection sitting around, and a functional turntable, but I've duplicated much of my original album collection on cd by now. Still, there are many titles that were issued on vinyl back in the day, that can't be found on cd today. "Gary Myrick and the Figures" is one glaring example, but there are others, I'm sure.:mad:
blahblahblah... ;)
 
i went to a pawn shop and found technic 1200's for the price of those numarks and they are fucking incredible. i also found this mixer at guitar center on sale for $80. its just all about looking everywhere and waiting around for a good bargain. ive wanted turntables for years but everybody always told me - dont buy junk, if you want good results, get good equipment.

i wish i had a record collection like that to mess with!
 
pcp said:
i went to a pawn shop and found technic 1200's for the price of those numarks and they are fucking incredible. i also found this mixer at guitar center on sale for $80. its just all about looking everywhere and waiting around for a good bargain. ive wanted turntables for years but everybody always told me - dont buy junk, if you want good results, get good equipment.

i wish i had a record collection like that to mess with!
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]

Yeah after looking around and looking at reviews of what I was going to get, I think I am going to save up for some techs (Christmas around the corner and all). That way I wont have to upgrade anytime!
 
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