My 1210 is in hospital again . . .

[Barry]

If the speeds are quartz locked to either 33 1/3 rpm or to 45 rpm, why did Technics fit a pitch slider in the first place? Just asking.

[CageyH]

So DJs could alter the pitch. When you bypass the pitch fader, you then put it into "lock" mode.

[Macca]

Not sure I'd call unplugging the pitch fader breaking anything, I'm just unplugging it so the deck is locked to either 33 or 45 and won't go away from that. If I want it back, I just remove the platter and plug it back in again

It locks in the detent anyway. Yeah I know it's not like smashing it with a hammer, you can always reverse it easy enough.

[Barry]

So DJs could alter the pitch. When you bypass the pitch fader, you then put it into "lock" mode.

Why would DJs want to alter the pitch? Would it to be change the BPM?

[Tim]

Exactamundo Martin . . . I'm not planning to do anything that prevents me from turning it back into a stock original 1988 1210 MK2 and selling it as such, should I ever need to

[Tim]

Why would DJs want to alter the pitch? Would it to be change the BPM?

I DuckDuckGo'd it for you Barry . . .

Tempo/Beat Matching for DJs
One of the main uses of variable pitch controls is for DJs. These let mixers adjust the speed of two records to run at the same BPM. This lets them create seamless mixes of songs at different tempos. For example, if you try mixing a song at 100 BPM (beats per minute) into a song at 110 BPM, you just alter the speed until the tempo is the same for both.

https://vinyliq.com/turntable-pitch-control/

[Wakefield Turntables]

Never used the pitch control but I don't see the point of disabling it or the strobe. Just seems like deliberately breaking bits of the deck.

It's just something I did back in the day. I honestly have no idea if removing strobe/cue light and pitch control made things better, certainly didn't make things worse. My deck's at least 16 years old and still going, so no harm done!!

[Macca]

It's just something I did back in the day. I honestly have no idea if removing strobe/cue light and pitch control made things better, certainly didn't make things worse. My deck's at least 16 years old and still going, so no harm done!!

I think the idea was it all adds noise but I never saw that shown anywhere.

I think the concept of stripping kit down dates back to the 1970s when the Jap decks couldn't be any good because of all the 'trinkets' and what you wanted was a British deck built for sound quality alone. Whereas the reality was the British deck was a bit of plywood or MDF with a rubber belt and a cheap motor made in a shed for five bob. It's simplicity was just a side effect of a lack of engineering skills and investment in equipment.

The Sondek was originally going to be a direct drive until Linn realised it would be too hard for them to do that.

[Barry]

I thought the Linn was a design they had nicked from Ariston, itself a copy of the Thorens TD150, which in turn was based on Acoustic Research's belt drive design.

[Tim]

It's just something I did back in the day. I honestly have no idea if removing strobe/cue light and pitch control made things better, certainly didn't make things worse.

Yup, I got the idea from all the Techie aficionados who used to frequent these parts - I may well do a Pepsi challenge to see if they make a difference, I know David Brook from MCRU swore blind they made a difference - I'm just taking the pitch out of circuit, as I don't need it and won't ever need to worry about knocking it and cocking up the speed. That's the main reason . . . if it's not connected I can't f*** anything up!