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Thread: Technics 1210 mk7 ..quick review!

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    Technics 1210 mk7 ..quick review!

    Hi guys, OK as some of you know I bit the bullet & purchased a full setup which consisted of 1210 mk7 TT's & also the Traktor Z2 DVS mixer.

    First a little background about myself..

    I began DJ'n early 90's when I was around 15 years old with a set of what we used to call "copies" mine were the Sound lab belt driven decks (I forget the model) but they were a cracking set & they done me proud for a couple of years when I finally got my 1st set of 1210 mk2s. Over the years I've DJ'd at clubs/private parties & small events etc up & down the country. It was around 2002 due to unforeseen circumstances I hung up my headphones & sold all my gear but kept my vinyl. During that time I DJ'd at 1 or 2 private parties for friends etc (they provided the gear!) but other than that, nothing really. Then a few weeks ago I decided to pick up a cheap USB deck to rip all my vinyl to MP3.. Long story short.. It was this that got me hooked again! ..and here I am with a full setup once again

    So with that out the way onto my review, I will get straight to the point & will update this post with more info once I get more use out of them..

    The decks themselves look stunning, I'm a big fan of the stealthy look being all black with a matt kind of finish, also the option to switch the LEDs from red to blue with a simple flick of a dip switch under the platter is also a nice touch. I'm guessing most of you have already read some in depth reviews of these decks so will be aware of the few problems some people have had such as Pitch / Platter dots not straight etc.

    So I will point out the bad things first...

    Platter Dots.. yup those little dots are not straight and as the platter spins they look wavy if that makes sense, its no biggy as it doesn't effect the workings and to be honest when I'm mixing I completely forget it, but I know it's there & this should not be considering the price of these decks! Also, if I remember the spindle/platter on the mk2s was solid, the mk7s with the platter in place if I press down enough on one side of the platter you can see the platter dip very slightly, again though this only happens if you press down hard enough... this does not affect my mixing at all so again it's no biggy for me.

    Secondly ...and this IS an issue.. I have fallen victim of the pitch fault ..basically when I move the pitch above +7 it has zero effect of the platter speed, none whatsoever! So moving the pitch anywhere between +7 to +8 does, well... NOTHING! ..but it also the same for -7 to -8! This I am not happy with, one of the perks having mk7s over mk2s for my self was that little bit extra pitch, I know it's not a lot (1%) but when we pay £800 for a deck we expect it do what it says on the tin!

    Now onto the plus points..

    Timing.. Another thing I had read about was timing not holding & pitch slider being dodgy, I have to say for me it's been spot on, timing holds great & slider feels very nice & smooth.

    Tracking light, again some people don't like this & prefer the mk2 design which was a small push button to pop it up. Personally I quite like this design but it doesn't feel as solid as the old mk2 light, but for myself its nothing to really complain about.

    On/Off switch .. I actually do like the design on this also with the actual on/off disc being counter sunk. This prevents accidentally switching the deck off middle of mixing! (happened to me a few times over the years! Haha!) ..so I actually like this touch.

    Removable leads, again nice touch that the leads are no longer perma attached to the deck.

    Actual build quality.. Again this is my own personal view but I think the mk2s were definitely sturdier, don't get me wrong, the mk7s are pretty chunky but the first thing I noticed is on the mk2s they had a thick rubber bottom half of the casing, the mk7s this has been dropped, why? No idea..keep cost/weight down maybe? Who knows.. But for myself its not really an issue, If I was going to be moving them around a lot then I would simply be using a flight case. but in my room they are proudly sitting in full naked display

    Vibrations.. My monitors (Rokit 5s) are sat on same desk at mo as my decks about a meter away, I've had them fairly loud with much base & I have to say I have had zero issues with vibrations, needle sticks to vinyl like glue (I will say that i setup the correct counter balance weight to my concordes via spec sheet) ..but yup, all good in that department.

    So for myself personally, other than the pitch fault which is a big issue to be honest, I'm happy with them, so I'm hoping the store will replace them with ones with fully working pitch! but will see, will keep you guys posted anyway on how it goes

    Like I say this is just a short term review (couple of weeks I've had them now)

    Would also like to thank those that answered my 1001 questions on this forum when deciding what setup to buy as I had no idea as a lot had changed since I was last in the mix! ..so cheers again folks (you know who you are!) you was a big help

    Cheers!
    Last edited by tizdaz; 01-26-2020 at 12:32 AM.

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    Re pitch, posted the same in another thread:
    Seems that all the new Technics models: GAE, G, GR, MK7 and the previous M5G behave like that, not just yours. There's probably some design reason for that. The 8 is at 7 and 7 is at 6,5. Basically between 6 and 7 the scale is narrower. The full range up to 8 is there. I believe it's not an oversight by Technics.

    Unless some units that don't have this behavior for sure show up, I wouldn't bother replacing them cause the new ones will be most probably the same.
    Last edited by stomp; 01-26-2020 at 07:56 PM.

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    ahhh OK, if that's the reason then i'm happy with that, I just didn't want to be left with a faulty set of decks!

    If this is the case, then I don't have any real complaints to be honest.. If I want to be picky, its just the dots on platter being a little out of line!

    Cheers for the heads up!

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    You can check that with your dvs pitch readout.

    You have your warranty, so you can activate it later if it turns out this is a real fault only with some units. However, reports show different. Follow the situation.

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    Thx for the quick review

    It sounds like the pitch sliders are nice and smooth on your units and the one I tried in the store was just an anomaly. The pitch dots would bug me tho. Not so much because they're not straight, but because I'd be wondering if QC missed this little detail what other details did they overlook?

    I also second what Stomp suggested - check the pitch range using your DVS. It's even got me curious about my old MK2's pitch and I think I'll do the same.

    Overall it sounds like you're happy with them and that's all that matters.
    Ya gotta love corn, it's one of the only foods that says good-bye.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark_Spit View Post
    Thx for the quick review

    It sounds like the pitch sliders are nice and smooth on your units and the one I tried in the store was just an anomaly. The pitch dots would bug me tho. Not so much because they're not straight, but because I'd be wondering if QC missed this little detail what other details did they overlook?

    I also second what Stomp suggested - check the pitch range using your DVS. It's even got me curious about my old MK2's pitch and I think I'll do the same.

    Overall it sounds like you're happy with them and that's all that matters.
    hey

    yeah pitch sliders are spot on, im going to give the shop a ring over weekend to query the dot issue, I havent actually tried the DVS yet as my laptop is playing up! ..so might just rig my setup up to my pc to give it a test & get confirmation of the actual pitch (great idea that btw Stomp ) , will let you guys know when ive tested it! ..in middle of building my deck table, almost done

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    hi guys

    ok i hooked up my decks to my PC & ran the DVS...

    the pitch works on the decks to +8 and -8 ..however it hits +8 when the pitch slider is at around 7.5 so the last movement on pitch slider from 7.5 to 8.0 has no effect, so good news is I am getting the full range of pitch slider, but bad news is that the pitch slider seems to be poorly calibrated, was exactly same on both decks?

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    What do you mean by poorly calibrated?

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    Quote Originally Posted by stomp View Post
    What do you mean by poorly calibrated?
    not sure how to explain but will try

    the pitch slider its self isnt aligned/zero'd correctly to the actual printed values on the deck which is why when I move pitch slider to 7.5% the actual readout on DVS reads 8% so there is no change in platter speed going above 7.5% on the pitch slider as the DVS confirms.

    There could be a genuine reason for the "deadspace" after 7.5% who knows?. But in my opinion its as if the pitch slider is too long in length! its roughly 5mm in distance from 7.5% to 8% on the slider.

    I may shoot them an email & see what they say?

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    Ok, so you get 8 at 7.5. Where do you get 7, 6, 5 etc? Is 0 at 0? What about the strobe dots readout as explained here:
    https://www.manualslib.com/manual/16...page=20#manual
    Values 6.4, +3.3 and -3.3?
    Last edited by stomp; 02-02-2020 at 11:43 PM.

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