My SL-1200 Refurb results [Archive] - The Art of Sound Forum

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Escher

01-09-2013, 12:43

Hi folks,

As I posted in my welcome message - My newest deck is an SL-1200 MKII that I got last week in poor shape, but functional.

So here is the result. I repainted the deck in a stone texture, sanded off and applied a 600 grit brushed aluminum finish to some parts on the tonearm gimbal.

I also sanded the "dots" and applied the same brushed finish at 600 grit. General cleaning as well.

I also added some electrical tape to the tonearm to both deaden the resonance I have read about and to cover some of the nicks and scrapes on it. I used to play snare drum in HS Marching band, and we would wrap our drumsticks this way so they wouldnt splinter. Not sure if I'll leave it or not - if I do a cardas re-wire I'll likley try shrink tube.

I think I'm going to add a black pitch fader decal, It should match a bit better...

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7311/9642390429_c0a0defa78_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/escher2/9642390429/)
SL-1200MKII-3 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/escher2/9642390429/) by Christopher Purdy (http://www.flickr.com/people/escher2/), on Flickr

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5441/9642390629_a8f7019211_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/escher2/9642390629/)
SL-1200MKII-2 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/escher2/9642390629/) by Christopher Purdy (http://www.flickr.com/people/escher2/), on Flickr

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2814/9645627714_b3970a27a3_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/escher2/9645627714/)
SL-1200MKII-1 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/escher2/9645627714/) by Christopher Purdy (http://www.flickr.com/people/escher2/), on Flickr

Clive197

01-09-2013, 14:32

Like it! Good idea to use shrinkwrap on the arm. My only criticism is why sand the spots off the platter, think it spoils it IMO.

JazzBones

01-09-2013, 14:36

Thats a beaut looking turntable you've ended up with Christopher, amazing what can be done. Re tape around drum sticks, yup done that when I played marching drums at my old school and later as a jazz drummer... use to bust so many sticks with rim shots and Ludwig sticks didn't come cheap either! Notice you're using the deck's original feet, worth looking into upgrading these?

Cheers mate
Ron

Escher

01-09-2013, 14:44

Ohh... I didn't *remove* the spots, I just cleaned them as they were dirty and corroded... they are just like new - they are blurred in the pics because a record was playing and I used a long exposure. :)

Clive197

01-09-2013, 15:34

Escher

01-09-2013, 18:45

Notice you're using the deck's original feet, worth looking into upgrading these?

Not sure... Although anything is a possibility. I'm planning on building a dedicated isolated shelf for my two decks to live on... so taht will likely come well before I get to upgrading the feet.

Stubies

01-09-2013, 19:04

wow - looks great, i love the sand texture - really nice :)

Rare Bird

01-09-2013, 19:18

I once made a bloke a 'TD150' surround, he wanted it finishing in that plasti-kote fleck stone finish.. You have to apply the clear acrylic satin top coat or it wont be moisture proof..

Andrei

01-09-2013, 21:02

Escher

02-09-2013, 00:13

I once made a bloke a 'TD150' surround, he wanted it finishing in that plasti-kote fleck stone finish.. You have to apply the clear acrylic satin top coat or it wont be moisture proof..

Thanks - Yeah, it dries kindof tacky.. its been about 48 hours and its dry, but no where near "hard"... I'm going to give it 4-5 days and then hit it with some matte clear to protect it.

Escher

02-09-2013, 00:14

Christopher
I am very interested in the electrical tape. Do you have a before-and-after impression. I am getting a 1210 soon and will keep the arm on it for a while. I am thinking of putting some sorbothane tubing on it by way of damping. So I would be facinated to know if the tape had any effect.

I *wish* i had an ear for this type of thing... to be honest, I'm no audiophile. I just do the mods that are recommended... That being said - my original model SL-1200 has the stock tonearm, so I can try and do a side by side down the road...

Escher

02-09-2013, 00:25

wow - looks great, i love the sand texture - really nice :)
Thanks! I was a little worried, but I think it worked out well..

Andrei

02-09-2013, 01:26

I *wish* i had an ear for this type of thing... to be honest, I'm no audiophile. I just do the mods that are recommended... That being said - my original model SL-1200 has the stock tonearm, so I can try and do a side by side down the road...

That is pretty much my experience as well. Sometimes I can hear an improvement, sometimes not.

6L6

02-09-2013, 19:44

That is pretty much my experience as well. Sometimes I can hear an improvement, sometimes not.

Which means you have a very discerning ear, and you are not overwhelmed by expectation bias.

Sometimes things do sound completely the same.