1200mk2 Tonearm Replacememnt - Successful

[Record Player]

As you are aware my 2nd Twelve Hundred MK2 was in need of a tonearm replacement. The current tonearm was damaged during transit and there were two dents and thus required a replacement. A friend of mine hand carried a new OEM Technics 1210 tonearm from the UK. I feel the 1210 tonearm will look good on the 1200.

Replacing the tonearm assembly is not a very complicated procedure however one needs to be patient and careful, but arnt all technics not so complicated to work with One important pointer is always take photos before you start as you can always refer to them if in need. The tonearm wires are tiny and soldering them can be a pain. Initially to get to the tonearm assembly you need to open a zillion screws, so keep them organized and don't loose any . While you are at this job, its a good time for cleaning the internals, lubing TT etc. I had thoughts of maybe dampening the tonearm but hey, I am happy with its stock performance so I don't see a need for mods . I am yet to install the unit on the TT and hopefully will be completed tonight. Right after I will share an update on how it goes.

Some Photos:

Photos of the old Tonerarm. The dents where quite intense and a replacement had to happen.

A post installation update will be shared.

Cheers and keep spinnin....

 

[hildebrand]

wonderful. Congratulations!

 

[reubensm]

slick job, congrats!!

what do you plan to do with the old arm bar?

 

[Record Player]

slick job, congrats!!

what do you plan to do with the old arm bar?

An overhaul maybe? With the additional arm it gives me room to try me hands on some mods. This arm just needs the tube replacement so when I do that, Ill change the tonearm wires and also dampen the tonearm and then someday just give that a shot see how it performs. What say?

 

[Record Player]

New Tonearm installed on the TT last night. Took me about 15 mins. Calibrated all tonearm settings and staged it for play and it played just fine. As usual, the 1200 sounds awesome . The 1210 tonearm looks quite alright on the 1200 I reckon. You actually cant make out the difference.

 

[Saket]

Nice job there. Congrats for finally settling the long time issue with the 1200. From the videos on youtube what I have noticed is that changing the tone arm assembly in the 1200s is not very tough, but you always have to be very careful while undertaking any turntable service due to high precision engineering that goes into them.

What is the difference between the 1200 & 1210 arms except for the colour? Apart from the colour of the two turntables (silver & black), is there any other difference? I see that the new tone arm pivot is now black in colour which would have been silver previously; right?

Congrats again for the successful completion of the task!

Regards,
Saket

 

[Record Player]

Nice job there. Congrats for finally settling the long time issue with the 1200. From the videos on youtube what I have noticed is that changing the tone arm assembly in the 1200s is not very tough, but you always have to be very careful while undertaking any turntable service due to high precision engineering that goes into them.

What is the difference between the 1200 & 1210 arms except for the colour? Apart from the colour of the two turntables (silver & black), is there any other difference? I see that the new tone arm pivot is now black in colour which would have been silver previously; right?

Congrats again for the successful completion of the task!

Regards,
Saket

That's Saket. You are absolutely right, the only difference is in the color and no other quantitative difference. Now the tonearm also locks just fine with the queuing lever lowered as well . An yes, working with the 1200 is not difficult as there is soo much reading and reference material available, but one has to be careful to ensure you don't mess with any of the critical elements. I can confidently say today that I can work on all areas of the 1200.

Cheers...