TURNTABLES EXPLAINED

Below, you'll find a list of all of the key features found on turntables. This guide will go through what they do for you and why you may or may not want them.

	Slipmat This allows the record to slip on the platter, and means the platter won't stop when you put your hand on it. If you find that some records keep stopping when you put your hand on them, it's because the hole in the middle is too small, and it's pinching the spindle. Stick a pen in the hole, and give it a wiggle - it will open up the hole a little and stop this happening. If the hole is too big, put a sticky label on the record, and push a pen through it - the label will narrow the hole a little.
	Platter The platter sits on the spindle (and drives it directly on a direct drive deck, or with a belt on a belt drive deck) and is the bit that spins round. More expensive decks have stronger motors, and so the torque (motor drive strength) is higher, and they will work harder to keep spinning.
	Reverse Hit the reverse switch and the platter spins backwards - whilst it's hardly essential, it is useful for a range of scratch tricks and effects.
	Start/Stop This switch starts and stops the platter from spinning. Several decks have 2 sets of switches - making it easier to use the deck in the battle position. The battle position means you get the deck up vertically, with the arm at the top (out of the way) - this also allows you to put the decks closer together. Decks like the TTX1 have adjustable start/break times, so you can control how long it takes to stop when you push the button - some people prefer an instant stop, some prefer a long slow-down.
	Motor This drives the platter, and the general rule of thumb is the more expensive the deck, the stronger the motor. Expect a torque of aprox 1.0 kg/cm on a budget deck, 1-2 on a mid range deck, and 2 kg/cm and above for a top end deck.
	Spindle Right in the centre of the deck, and the shaft of the motor on a direct drive turntable, the spindle pokes through the platter to give you something to hold your record in place.
	Target Light Most decks have target lights, which are used to light the record in the dark so that you can see where you're putting the stylus. Pop-up target lights, such as the ones found on the Technics are difficult to change, but most modern decks now have plug-in ones, which are easy to change.
	Speed Selection All decks have 33 and 45 RPM speed settings - many decks also offer 78 RPM (usually when you push both buttons together) Also located here, you can find the pitch on/off or quartz lock button (which turns off the pitch control and sets the rotation to the exact speed) On digital decks, you'll also find the key control here, which uses memory to re-sample the track that's playing, and time stretch it to the correct speed - by using this feature, you prevent the pitch changing with the speed, and prevent vocals sounding like "mickey mouse"
	Display Some decks have displays to indicate the speed, pitch and direction of the record, and can even show the BPM.
	Pitch Control This varies the playing speed of the record, allowing you to speed up and slow down the track to keep your beats in time. Apart from the Technics, which offers a 8% pitch range, most decks offer 10% ranges, some manage 20%, and a few upto 100%
	Power Switch The power switch turns the deck on and offer, and can also be used to create a wind down effect.
	Height Adjust The base of the tonearm rotates raising and lowering the height of the arm, which should be perfectly horizontal when the needles on the record, but some people prefer to raise the height of the base to force the stylus into the groove for improved tracking.
	Headshell The headshell is the unit that plus into the end of the tone arm, and what the cartridge is mounted onto. If you're having problems with the left or right channel dropping out, try removing and refitting the headshell, as a small bit of dust can result in connection issues that are easy to solve.
	Tone Arm Most decks are still fitted with a traditional tone arm, but the straight arm is becoming more popular, as many DJ's claim improves tracking when scratching. The purists claim that this results in a poorer sound quality, but there is little evidence to support either statement. Numark get round this problem by including both arms with their TT200 and TTX1 turntables, so you can fit the one you'd prefer.
	Anti-skate Control Anti-skate stops the arm from skating back across the record by adjusting the pressure as the arm tracks towards the centre of the record.
	Counterweight Use this to adjust the weight and stylus pressure for the cart. Rotate the weight so that the arm sits just touching the record, and then holding the weight, rotate the plastic scale to zero. Once you've done this, let go of the weight, and rotate to the desired weight setting for the cartridge. Add more weight if you find it skips.
	Digital output Many top end decks come with digital outputs, which are useful for connecting a deck to a digital recorder (say CD or MD) or directly to a PC for mastering. These decks also feature line outputs, which means you don't need a phono connection (or earth) to connect to.