Technics SL-1200 headshell swapping question
 

I didn't want to bump the old 1200GAE thread so I figured I'd start this one. I currently use a Dual 1019 for 78 and beater 45 duty, I'm thinking of going to a new 1200GR and I'm wondering how swapping out headshells w/different carts works. Do you need to rebalance the tonearm each time? Ideally I'd like to have one shell w/my 78 cart that I can swap a microgroove stylus into for 45s and another with a much nicer mono cart for LPs. Am I overthinking this?

The simple solution if you are using the same headshell for all of the cartridges and have an accurate VTF scale is to get the weight of the of the heaviest combination and then use little bits of Blu Tack to adjust the weights of the lighter ones. Not elegant but effective as then you can swap them without adjusting the VTF.

I believe I was overthinking this, the best route would probably be have the arm balanced for a quality mono cart and then not worry quite as much about the shell/cart I swap in for 78s as they track much heavier anyhow.

I've put all my carts in headshells that provide a total weight within 0.8gm. Swapping carts is no more that 1/2 turn on the counter-weight. Makes going from one cart to another a very simple process.

Thanks, that makes sense, I did notice aftermarket headshells with different weights. After buying a VPI 40th I need to rebuild the fun money funds until I look more seriously into the 1200. I'm not sure how flexible dealers are on pricing, I guess worst case I've found a dealer who wouldn't charge sales tax, so that's like 10% savings from local.

Mockingbird is the Yamamoto distributor and lists their weights on his website:
http://mockingbirddistribution.com/y...to-headshells/
I've not really found any difference in sound from the headshells I own and purchased them simply to match the total weight of the cart & headshell. I also did a little swapping of screws/bolts/nuts/washers (aluminum, brass, stainless, etc.) to match totals as much as possible.

Those are pretty reasonable in price, I started researching mono carts recently and quickly saw the price of this "cheap" mono use table rising. I also starting thinking about a G over a GR.

Quite pleased with the AT-MONO/LP I have. It is the less expensive version and does a good job. The better one is not that much more. Believe the primary difference is the one I have is a single coil and the better one has dual coils. With only a couple of dozen mono LPs I'm likely set for life.

I did see the AT carts come up as excellent performers for a great price. I'll have to take stock of my mono LPs, I certainly have some "modern" ones that'd work best with a .7 mil, I just need to see how many vintage ones I have that'd be best with a 1 mil. I started reading about Miyajima carts and saw the price of this project going up. I'll have to put some thought into this, I'd rather go all in for a little more than go cheap and wonder if I'm getting the best out of my setup. On the other hand, for a mono setup that'd mostly be used for 78s, would I REALLY get better sound out of a 1200G vs a GR? Probably not.

Well I decided to get on a waiting list for a 1210GAE, the dealer said they just kind of show up when they show up since Technics Japan doesn't talk to Technics US. If I get lucky I'll start a new thread about it.