The Technics SL-1200 series is an awesome series of turntables and we have looked at them many times as well as other offerings from Technics too. These are very, very popular and this is evident when you take a gander at eBay and look at all the SL – 1200 stuff that is on there. They have turntables going for over 800 bucks, parts for a few hundred! The reason for this that they do not make this model anymore so the stuff on the market carries a real premium price.
The thing is as awesome as this turntable is, like all other turntables, it can have a few problems and today we are taking a look at tonearm wobble. We have many articles about tonearm problems here on the site that you may also want to check out.
What Is Tonearm Wobble?
Ok, so this may sound like a dumb question and you may think that I am being a smartass, but tonearm wobble is exactly what it sounds like. It is when your tonearm wobbles or just does not act the way that it should. Sometimes it is easily visible to the eye. Others you will be rocking out to some Metallica without at care in the world and then BAM! Something sounds weird and takes you out of it.
Is Tonearm Wobble Dangerous?
Well, it is not going to be offering you drugs or challenging you to drag races or something like that. However, it can be dangerous for your vinyl. There are many articles on the site about getting the anti-skate right and the counterweight of your tonearm right and that is the same kind of “dangers” that we are looking at here. Anytime the tonearm is not connected to the vinyl the way it should, you run the risk of damaging your vinyl A few years back I had was playing around with a Sony turntable from the 80s that I got from a thrift store, I thought it was ok and the tonearm had “issues” and scratched the hell out of my original Blaze of Glory album!
How Can If Fix Tonearm Wobble?
There are a few things that could be causing you trouble here. The first suggestion that I have for you guys is making sure that the anti-skate setting is right. You can find out what your anti-skate setting should be either in the manual or online. Set it to that and see if it is ok, if not, try moving the anti-skate in small increments to see if it makes a difference.
Another thing to look at is the counterweight. Playing around with the counterweight to make sure the tonearm is not bouncing all over the place can fix the wobbling issues that your turntable may be having. Sometimes giving the turntable, the stylus, and the whole thing, in general, a good clean and then playing around with your anti-skate and counterweight settings can get your turntable sounding great!
