(NOTE!!! I’ve opened this post up to non Scratchy 100 members so everyone can see the kind of content that is covered in the members area.)
This post features a video of Short-E showing you how to adjust your tone arm settings for a skip free scratching experience!
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In the video I say needles but I really mean tone arm and the settings associated with it to stop your needles skipping. I wil do a video that covers setting up your needles with cartidges too!
Here is the video:
Instructions For setting up Technics 1200 / 1210 using Shure M447 Cartridges
- Set the tone arm height to “3”
- Set the anti-skate to 0
- Balance the weight so that the tonearm floats just above the record
- Hold the weight still and set the black numbers ring to “0”
- Turn the weight so the numbers are set to around 2.5 or 3
Enjoy skip free scratching!
The Beat I used is #8548 from the 85BPM Beats for Scratch Practice Album:
Happy Scratching! 😀
– Short-E
Hi do you know how setting Stanton str150?same like technics or not ?
Hey Lukasz – I haven’t used those decks but it should be a similar setting and set up process!
Awesome Vid mate. 🙂
Thanks LBM!
What weight should you use if you are not scratching but just recording some vinyls to digital format? I would think maybe 1.0 would be good, less resistance and wear on the vinyl. Agree?
tehk – yeh i would agree, try out the lightest weight you can get away with!
Awesome video yo! Mad useful info.
Hey Rob thanks! glad you found it useful!
I learned it like his
1. level the arm with the platter(horizontal) the cart should be parrallel with the platter(not touching it)
2. set the weight, its different for alot of carts so find out whats correct for yours
3. adjust the anti-skating(0 for scratching ofcourse)
4. set the height of the arm
the way you showed isnt the best imo, if you set the height first you cant level the cart properly and it will already be at an angle hacking into the vinyl like a lumberjack
Hey, Great Video!!
BTW, may I ask when it’s time to change the needle?
Rima – fair enough, maybe post a video and show us. Thats the way I was taught but very open to see if something else is better for sure! Thanks for contributing!
Michael! – When you can see or hear that the quality isn’t as great anymore. Worn needles burn the records more.
Rima – forgot to say that I think 2.5 – 3 height is about parallel for shure needles which is what the guide was written for. Hope that clarifies too!
Cheers!
made a little mistake in my hurry to post it
when you balance the arm it should be parallel with the platter(step 1) and when setting the height the cart should be parallel with the platter(step 4)
dont have a videocam so not able to make something, still think this is the way to set the arm properly
if I can find the tutorial and have permission of its author I will try to translate it and share it with you
forgive me my mistakes, typed this on my phone and that autocorrection sucks
***UPDATE*** Tried out Rimas method, my decks height adjustment is very stiff and I could only get the height to go down to “1” and this still wasn’t low enough according to Rima’s method to be parallel. So I can’t give a true assessment.
The method I have outlined initially in my video above works great for me. I think I initially found this method via DJ Qbert. Rima’s method is worth trying too.
Different people definitely prefer different setups. Some people for example angle their needles. I have not found this necessary.
See what works best for you. At the end of the day the goal is skipless scratching!
If anyone else has thoughts around this, please post them up.
Happy Scratching!
I have a question related to tone arm height. If I do both mixing and scratching at a club, is it the same set up or? most of my scratching is for mixing and transitioning between songs not a battle kind of scratching.
Thanks a lot your site kicks ass!!!!
@El Condor – Welcome thanks for checking the site. You can use the same set up. You could i suppose put the height a bit lower or take the weight a bit lighter, depends how many people you got bumping into the decks and stuff! Hope that helps. If you have different needles or carts, check the recommended height in the info that comes with them. Should be a little leaflet.
Thanks a lot Short-e I will give it a try. Once again I’m glad I found your
Youtube channel and website =)
@El Condor you got it no worries!
Nooooo! Don’t set the tracking weight too low, you’ll ruin your records! Without enough weight, the needle rattles against the walls of the groove, causing permanent damage! Never go under the manufacturers recommended minimum vertical tracking force, which for the m44-7 is 1.5 grams. Going under is the quickest way to ruin your records with inner groove distortion, especially in the high frequencies.
@Cole. Never had a problem, with this setup, just sharing what works for me and what other pro DJs have shared over the years. As always though everyone is free to experiment as I have.
Wow my height won’t move at all, stuck at max. Been a fair few years since I touched it…
Hei,
Thanks for the tutorial, found it very helpful.
I only encountered 1 problem: When i try to balance the weight i have to take it so fare back that it loosens from the tone arm, meaning that it isn’t in the tracks (not sure how to describe it). Is this normal, and if not how can i fix it?
It does so that it is almost impossible to get the trackforce how much you want it.
Thanks for the help.
Nico
PS: By the way i really enjoy your site
Hey Nico – are you using technics?
Thanks for reading / watching, really glad that you enjoy the site!
– Short-E
Hey,
Yea, i am using sl-1210 mk2 and got shure m44-7
Hey Nico, I am not sure in that case sorry. Can anyone else help?
do you understand what i mean by the weight loosening? (dont wont to sound nagging or anything, but when i read how i describe it, its sounds weird) I can still use the weight, but when it is balanced it is so fare back that if i touch it will fall off.
I think you mean it is so far back on the tonearm that it will become unscrewed. I don’t know why this is, I can only describe how I set mine up as shown in the video and as explained to me. Once you have the arm balanced you have to then set the black ring to 0 to calibrate it then wind it forwards again to 2.5 or 3 to add weight back onto the tone arm.
Exactly, that is what happens.
The problem is that when i calibrate, since it is unscrewed, i dont have any way on knowing how much weight i add. seeing that when i turn on the weight after setting it to 0, it only moved inwards when i push it (not going any further in when i screw it.
Well well i will try to figure it out somehow, thanks for the help.
NIco – try putting the weight all the way forward as far as it will go, then winding it back and see if you can balance it that way. I am not sure whats going on! Puzzling!
Mad Love an Respect’s To Shot-E, Like tha way ur tutorial is short an simple, an u get to the point. Now thw way u have this setup cause i have the same combo. Can this setup be used for just only basic scratchs or its good set up for battle?
Thanks – it’s good for all scratching and battles!
Hi
so, I was wondering about how you ideally should set your Anti skating. Basically all the tutorials (well, yours and DJ Angelo’s) recommend setting it to 0 without really explaining why.
So maybe you should check out this guy’s video (he seems like Professor 1200 to me, based on the rest of his videos) on Anti skating which is going into pretty nice detail on how this works in combination with the type of needles you use:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIBtZR941Yw&feature=plcp&context=C4c44278VDvjVQa1PpcFO1Q-mDDH3GehFkra79xPAnQMEOJu_lTrA=
So I was wondering if you guys actually have a good reason why you put your AS to 0 or if that’s just the way the information has been passed from one Scratch DJ to another without anyone ever asking questions about it?
It seems like you could reduce skipping and record wear at the same time by setting AS correctly.
Hi Chris, thanks for the question.
Every scratch DJ I know has the anti skate set to 0 and it is for a good reason, it’s not just something that has been handed down without any question. If you try using an anti skating setting of higher than 0 for your next scratch practice, you will quickly discover that it does not work and the needle will skip way more than if you have it set to 0.
Here are a couple quotes that I found that can explain the science behind it better than me:
http://www.pssl.com/Articles/Setup-Tips-for-Scratching-and-Mixing :
“Anti-skate helps keep the needle centered in the groove during forward playback. As the needle pushes up against the groove of the record, anti-skate pushes the styli back into the center of the groove. However, while back spinning or scratching, this force will cause the needle to jump out of groove and skip.”
From http://www.ortofon-dj.com/en/faq :
“Anti-skating is an adjustment designed to counteract the force generated as the stylus is drawn towards the spindle. For DJ use, anti-skating should be set to ‘0’, due to the necessity of backcueing. Setting anti-skating at ‘0’ allows the stylus to follow the groove adequately, regardless of what direction the record is moving.”
Thanks again for your question, I’m sure other readers out there are interested in the why!
Happy Scratching!
Hi
thanks for the exlanation!
The physics behind the art of pushing discoidal objects of Polyvinyl chloride forward and backward truly are amazing 😉
Hee hee!
No worries, anytime! Stay fr fr fresh!
I have a Technics 1210 Turntable, using Ortofon Concorde Elektro S stylus. How do I balance that. Same as you showed in the video or you have another method. Some records skips and don’t move away from that particular skipping point, tried using anti-skating. It doesn’t work. Help!!..
Regard.
Siegfried
Hey Siegfried, sorry I really don’t know as I haven’t used that setup. I would try using the same method, or maybe contacting ortofon to ask. I am not sure if that needle is specifically for scratching, that can affect things.
I did find this though:
http://www.ortofon-dj.com/images/stories/FAQ/How%20to%20set%20up%20turntable.pdf
Maybe it helps!
Hi, I’ve been using stanton trackmaster concorde needles with technics 1210’s for years which have been great when scratching but I decided recently to try the shure m44-7’s to see if they would perform better. Unfortunately I’ve been having lots of problems with the the shure needles skipping badly which led me to your video – I’ve let them sit over night to ‘break them in’ and calibrated the tone arm, tried adding/reducing weight etc.. but they still skip badly. Funnily enough when I followed the video with the stanton’s on it improved the scratching performance even more which makes me sure it’s down to a problem with the new shure cartridges? Any suggestions would be much appreciated! Thanks
Hey Brian. I am sorry I am unsure what’s going on! Have you tried playing a record all the way through with the needle a couple of times? I have always used this setup with numerous shure needles and it always works. If anyone else can shed any light that would be appreciated.
I take it this would be the same weight for numark cs-1 needles, but apart from that thanks for the tip cause so far its working
Hey yes balance it around the same weight!
Hello! It should be the same!
their was a slight difference as when new you set them between 3-5 and once worn in minimum 3 so once again cheers you helped a lot
Glad it’s working!