Turntable Basics

The turntables that DJs use are considerably different from the Sears Air Suspension System All-In-One Combo Hi-Fi your Dad had in the late '70s. First of all, there's no eight-track cartridge (bummer, huh?). And you can't stack the discs either. However, there are several distinct advantages.

The new legend: The Technics SL-1200 M3D ($699.95) is the update to the industry standard SL-1200 MkII.

On home stereo turntables, the platter generally starts spinning as you begin to carry the tone arm and stylus toward the outer rim of the record. There's usually an automatic return function, so the tone arm lifts off the record after play-through and returns to its station. DJ turntables are different animals: They have much higher torque, a start/stop button, and it's up to you to place the stylus on and off the LP. It's a bit like the difference between an automatic transmission and a stick; the automatic is easier and does more of the work for you, but the stick gives you far more control and torque, and looks cooler. For even more control, DJ turntables have speed controls, so you can slow down or speed up the record, varying the pitch in the process. While all turntable pitch controls have markers for the pitch change (for example, -6% or +7.5%) several newer turntables feature LCD displays, so you can see exactly how much you're altering the speed; many newer tables also play in reverse.

Ortofon is one popular maker of needle cartridges. Here: the Concorde Night Club E.

To accommodate heavy scratching, higher output gain, fat low-end, and reverse play, DJ cartridges are tougher beasts than their home-stereo cousins. The stylus may be shaped differently -- elliptical needles, for instance, are built for sound quality, and are generally less likely to damage the record because they sit lighter in the groove. Circular or squarish cartridges are heavier, and less likely to skip, but are more likely to harm the record. Stanton, Shure, Ortofon and others offer a variety of models. Some are traditional mountable cartridges that attach to the tone-arm assembly with screws or pins. Others -- the Stanton Groovemaster and Trackmaster series, for instance -- plug directly into the tone arm assembly. This saves some degree of hassle -- it can be a nightmare getting the four independent cartridge wires to connect -- and ensures that the cartridge is solidly mounted, which can be a plus when you're doing a lot of scratching or pitch-shifting. And for optimum performance, it's vital that you balance the tone arm, and set the tone arm's weight and height, according to the manufacturer's guidelines.