When is it worth restoring an old vinyl turntable?

Entering the patio of his parents’ house, Felipe Mednik found what he didn’t know he was looking for. In the trunk of a disused car, parked there for over a decade, like a treasure waiting to be discovered, was an old Sansui FR-D35 vinyl turntable.

“It’s my father’s,” says Mednik, a renewable energy technician. “He bought it a long time ago and it came with a big sound system.

Upon closer inspection, Felipe could see that the turntable was missing basic parts, such as the capsule and the needle. Others, such as the counterweight – an essential element for its operation – were found loose inside the car’s suitcase.

Despite the dust, years of forgetting and lost objects, he was able to verify that the turntable lights up when plugged into the mains. Additionally, the turntable spins when you press the button that starts playback. These were enough clues for the impulse to restore it to grow within him. However, an essential question quickly emerged from his enthusiasm: what are the steps to follow to repair an old record player?

Restoring a vinyl turntable is a task that, at first glance, does not seem easy: it is not recommended to do it yourself, especially if you do not have knowledge of mechanics, electronics and logistics turntables. Some of them are real timepieces, so putting your hands in them is like putting your paws in them.

Nor is it that specialized technical services are abundant in the country. Even the almost infallible Google fails when it comes to searching for names of companies or technicians dedicated to them.

The truth is that specialized technicians remain indifferent to digital storefronts. Instead, many wait in old galleries, inside establishments whose signs provide ambiguous and generic signals. “Loudspeakers”, we read in that of Interprovidencias, on the avenue and municipality of the same name, between Ricardo Lyon and Guardia Vieja streets.

There, for 35 years, Agustín Díaz has been dedicated to the repair of analog musical equipment, such as turntables, speakers and also turntables. “I should change the name to Tornamesas,” the 70-year-old says, half jokingly, half seriously.

Half seriously, because, as he says, the vast majority of his jobs involve repairing turntables. But he has no problem, because he does not lack advertising, he assures, nor customers. “I have them from everywhere; Some came in the arms of their parents and now they arrive alone,” he says. Word of mouth recommendation continues to be the strong point of ADF Electrónica y Vinilos, the name of the company that allows it to be found on the Web.

Díaz learned the trade as a child. His father had a shop where he repaired radios and televisions. “There, he played and he sent me his little condors,” he says, laughing. He is now responsible for repairing other people’s condors. He recently repaired an IRT Stereovox, made in Chile, in the sixties, when the dictatorship had not yet wiped the national factory off the map. “The owner left the record player within reach of the dog and it ate his arm; “It had to be replaced,” he explains about the work.

Díaz identifies as “a weirdo” in the digital technology world. But he knows he’s not the only one. Fabián Morales is another. In the vinyl world, he is known for the company he started 20 years ago, called “The sounds of yesterday” .

“I started when vinyl was in decline. I had colleagues who left the field because there was no work. Then, since 2009, vinyl has come back in force. There, I saw an opportunity because there weren’t many people dedicated to repairing turntables,” he says.

Once he got his hands on a DeWalt record player, dating back to 47. This is a brand from the United States that decades ago changed turntables for the manufacture of industrial tools. “It wasn’t that complex work, but I was very rusty. It had to be restored,” Morales remembers.

Knowing all this, it is worth thinking: is it really worth saving an old turntable when there are many new models and classics in updated versions on the market?

According to specialized sites like Motor Vinyl And Reverberation , the Sansui FR-D35 found by Felipe Mednik is a Japanese direct-drive turntable, manufactured in 1980. It is currently no longer produced, which is why it has reached the mysterious “rarity” status. In the forums, its users give it four stars out of five and in the comments, descriptions such as “impeccable sound” and “easy to use” are repeated.

That’s not what Felipe focused on when he decided to make the effort to restore it. “There were good reasons to revive the turntable and listen to a vinyl record which was initially just a decoration in the house,” he apologizes, without wanting to reveal much more.

Experts say one of the main reasons for restoring antique turntables is the sentimentality the item arouses. “Many young adults approach this topic because of a family heritage. Many seek to recover the platinum to give new life to this sentimental connection and do not pay much attention to the question of whether it is technically worth it,” explains Morales.

There are other compelling reasons as well. “A lot of new turntables are disposable, like the suitcase-shaped ones, which I don’t recommend at all. An old vinyl turntable in good condition will have the same value as a turntable worth 500,000 pesos, and it will last for many more years if it is well maintained,” explains the owner of “Sonidos del Yesterday”.

Agustín Díaz thinks the same thing. He maintains that if a vintage turntable has worked for decades, it can continue to do so for many more years, if properly restored and maintained.

“Every vinyl turntable can be repaired,” explains Fabián Morales. Of course, some are more complex to repair than others. This will depend on the mechanics they use and how many parts they involve. High-end models generally present greater challenges and some older brands, like Denon, Garrard or Dual, are closer to lost causes. “Not all spare parts are easy to find and the most specific ones cost as much as a new vinyl turntable,” he explains.

What are the steps to follow when you want to restore a vinyl turntable?

• Take note of the make and model of the record player and Google it. : You can most likely find information about its characteristics and reviews about its quality on the Internet. This will give you an idea of ​​whether it is a good product worth restoring.
• Check that no parts are missing : more than anything, an external opinion. To compare, you can rely on the images you find of the model on the internet. While finding replacement parts is one of the biggest challenges in equipment restoration, technical departments usually have them or find alternatives. “Solutions can be invented,” says Díaz. That’s the beauty of analog mechanisms.
• If the counterweight is missing, it’s a bad sign. : This part is essential for the operation of the turntables. Each model has a specific counterweight, with its own configurations, which are linked to the weight and shape of the original arm, capsule and needle of the turntable. “A turntable without a counterweight is practically unusable. It would destroy an album,” Morales says. And getting a replacement that emulates the original is quite complex.
• Check that the device turns on when you connect it to power: also, that the platter rotates when playback is activated. Does the speed change when you go from 33 ⅓ revs to 45 or 78? According to Díaz, the latter is one of the main reasons why customers come to his premises to request repairs. “Speeds deteriorate over time, they tend to slow down. Even if some models can go faster,” he explains. Either way, it’s a problem that can be fixed.
• Are your cables missing or broken? Don’t worry, because they can be replaced.
• In all cases, inspection and maintenance of your vintage vinyl turntable is essential: In addition to checking its operation, the service includes cleaning the equipment, particularly internal equipment. “I even found dead mice,” Morales says.

It is common for turntables that have been forgotten for many years to appear without these elements. Or the ones you originally supplied are so worn and eaten away that they need to be replaced. Isa Mardones, content editor of the specialty store Needle advises in this regard:

• If you want to keep the needle model, check that spare parts are still available : “Not all are universal,” he says. You can check the compatibility of capsules and needles at Needle or other friendly technical service.
• Check if the turntable has a cartridge holder: This allows the capsule to be dismantled with a precision screwdriver. “Some models come with capsules stuck in the arm, making it more difficult to install a replacement,” he notes.
• Check the condition of the cables coming out of the arm : This is essential if you want to ensure that the new capsule you purchase will not have later playback problems. “If you notice that the cables are damaged, we recommend that you first carry out maintenance on the turntable before considering integrating a new capsule.”

Once your turntable has been restored, you will be able to enjoy its benefits, provided you have a preamplifier to connect it to beforehand as an intermediary between your turntable and your audio equipment. But you already knew that, didn’t you?