How To Be A DJ? The Turntable

In this post I’m going to walk you through the functionality of a turntable. This is the Technics 1200 Turntable which was the standard in the industry for many years. Many of the night clubs have replaced these with CD Turntable players.

Power On/Off – This switch applies power to the turntable.

Motor Start/Stop – This switch makes the Turntable platter spin or stop.

33/45 RPM – These buttons select the speed of the platter.

45 RPM Adaptor – This adaptor is placed in the center and helps keeps the 7 inch records centered while playing.

Pitch Control – This slider can be adjusted to change the playback speed and is used for beat matching. I will get into beat matching later.

Tone Arm, Cartridge, and Needle – This should be self explanatory, but I will comment anyway. The tone arm with cartridge and needle is placed at the beginning of the record for the audio to play back.

Not pictured is the 120V cable that plugs into the wall outlet. There is also Red and White RCA output cable that plug into the Mixer input. Most turntables also have a ground cable that should be connected to the mixer chassis.

This my friends is the basic functionality of a turntable. Most turntables have similar features. However, these Technics 1200 turntables are built like tanks and can last well over twenty years without being serviced provided they are well taken care.