The before-and-after on my dad's old turntable after replacing the belt was wild

I finally got around to swapping the belt on my dad's 1978 Technics SL-1200 from his basement. I didn't realize how much speed wobble was there until I put on a sealed copy of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours from my local shop in Portland. The bass and vocals just locked in after the change, the difference over 2 weeks of letting it settle in was massive. Has anyone else noticed how much a fresh belt changes the whole listening experience compared to just cleaning the stylus?

2 comments

2 Comments

patricia_chen6713d ago

Have you ever had one of those moments where you change something small and it totally transforms everything? I remember when I finally swapped out the old belt on my mom's 1970s Dual turntable she left me. The thing was so slow and wobbly it sounded like it was playing through mud. After I put in a fresh belt, putting on Carole King's "Tapestry" was like hearing it for the FIRST time. The piano just rang out clear and the bass had this actual punch to it that was never there before. Made me wonder why I wasted so much time just cleaning records and ignoring the actual motor.

white.elizabeth12d ago

Swap that belt out on an old Dual and the difference is night and day, same thing happened with my dad's old Technics. The rubber gets hard and loses grip over time, it's the first thing to check before you start messing with stylus alignment or anything else. @patricia_chen67, if you haven't already, look into replacing the little rubber wheel too, that dried out old idler makes the speed drift on those 70s decks.