James Williamson Well, knowing a piece of equipment and how it works is very crucial before even owning it.
And the same goes with record players.
If you bought a record player and don’t know about the different parts of a record player, what their role is, and how they work together to output the sound quality everyone falls in love with, then get ready to face the most common and annoying problems like a record skipping, no sound from speakers, distorted sound, and a lot more.
Well, these are small problems that can be fixed easily with our guides, but when I entered the vinyl world, I faced a small motor issue that got converted into a major one when I started experimenting. I still remember how I messed up my record player circuits when I tried to repair it myself the first time, back in 2010.
As a student, I attempted to save money by repairing it myself, but the damage I caused to the circuit resulted in me paying more than twice the repair cost to a professional. All this happened because I hadn’t taken the first step seriously, i.e., learning about your equipment before even using it.
But as a famous quote goes, “Learn from Mistakes,” I learned a new skill, i.e., record player repair skill, after that incident, which benefited me throughout my music career and helped me understand the functioning and components of these record players better. Now, I have around 13-14 years of experience in repairing record players, and in these years, I have fixed circuit boards, bad wiring, internal grounding, bent or worn-out styluses, worn-out belts, motor issues, cartridge problems, and much more. And, in this article, I have shared my experience with you guys.
Previously, we have shared parts of the turntable, and today, I will be sharing every single part of the record player one by one, along with their roles and how they work together to bring out the warmth and true sound of vinyl.
So let’s start.
Parts Of Record Players:
We have used the Crosley Cruiser suitcase record player as an example to help you understand the parts of a modern record player. If you want to know about any part of the vintage record player, then you can comment below, and I will help you out in the comments.
Turntable Platter
A turntable platter is a spinning platform where you place your vinyl or shellac records. It is detachable and underneath the platter, you will find the motor’s belt and drive shaft. This platter can be made up of plastic, glass, acrylic, metal, aluminum, etc.
Spindle
A spindle is a small metal rod placed in the middle of the platter that holds your record when it spins. In belt drive record players, the spindle is attached to the record player’s body, but in direct drive record players, the spindle is the end of the motor’s drive shaft.
Plinth
A plinth is the base of the record player to which all other components are attached. It can be made up of plastic, wood, and metal. Under the record player’s plinth, you will find the hidden wiring, circuit boards, speakers, and other important components required for smooth running.
Belt
The belt is responsible for spinning the platter. In most record players, it is connected to the platter and the motor’s drive shaft underneath the platter, but in some record players, the belt is rolled from the platter’s end to the motor’s drive shaft, making it visible on the plinth. (For example: Orbit turntables). I recommend you check out this guide on changing record player belts to learn more about belts and their position on shafts.
Motor’s Drive Shaft
The motor’s drive shaft is the place where the record player’s belt is attached to the motor. In modern-day record players, the motor itself is responsible for the platter’s speed, but in some vintage record players, the thickness of the drive shaft is responsible for the platter’s speed.
Tonearm
The tonearm is one of the most crucial parts of the record player. It holds a phono cartridge at one end, and at the other end, it is connected to the record player’s plinth and transfers the signals generated by the phono cartridge to the preamp and then speakers. It is also responsible for the cartridge’s tracking force on the record.
Tonearm Lever
The tonearm lever or cuing lever helps in engaging or disengaging the tonearm rest that raises or lowers the tonearm over the record, which reduces the risk of damaging the stylus when done manually.
Tonearm Rest
The tonearm rest is the resting place of the tonearm, which engages and disengages when you play with the tonearm lift lever. It raises and lowers the tonearm.
Phono/Bluetooth Switch
So, there are three modes here:
Phono mode (I):
You can listen to your vinyl through the unit’s internal speakers. To activate phono mode, press the switch to the right side.
Phono/Bluetooth mode (O):
Your unit will be ready to get paired with external Bluetooth speakers, and after successful pairing, you can listen to your vinyl records on external Bluetooth speakers. To activate phono/Bluetooth mode, the switch should be in the middle.
Bluetooth mode (II):
Your unit will act as a Bluetooth speaker for external devices. In this mode, you can’t listen to your vinyl record; instead, you can connect your mobile phone or any other output device to your unit and listen to music through the record player’s internal speakers. To activate Bluetooth mode, press the switch on the left side.
Auto-stop Switch
The auto-stop switch is a life-saving feature for vinyl enthusiasts like me who forget to turn off their record player when the record plays to the end. When turned on, it stops the platter from spinning when the record is finished, which helps in avoiding major damage to the stylus and records. In case it’s turned off, then the platter will keep spinning even when the record is played to the end, which can result in stylus damage.
Speed Switch
Through the speed switch, you can easily play 33(1/3) vinyl, 45 RPM vinyl, and even 78 RPM shellac records.
Learn more about the difference between these speeds from this article: 33 vs 45 vs 78 RPM vinyl record speed comparison.
Pitch Control
The pitch control helps in increasing or reducing the record player’s speed by approximately 10%. To increase the speed, you need to rotate the pitch control clockwise, and similarly, to reduce the speed, you need to rotate the pitch control counterclockwise. If you want to adjust the record player speed and the pitch control dial is not there, then you need to tweak the motor manually. You can learn about record player speed adjustment from this article.
Hold Down Clip
The tonearm hold-down clip is a safety feature that holds the tonearm in one place. It helps us to stop the tonearm from bouncing on other components when we are carrying our record player to different places.
On/Off-Volume Knob
Almost all suitcase record players don’t have a specific turn-on/off button. You will get a volume knob through which you can turn on/off your record players and adjust the speaker’s volume too.
Headphone Jack
You can connect your headphones and listen to your vinyl privately.
3.5mm Aux In Jack
Through an aux-in jack, you can connect an external device to this record player and listen to the music through the speakers of this unit.
RCA Jacks
The RCA jack helps you to output the vinyl sound to external speakers. As we have discussed many times, the internal speakers of these record players are of bad quality, so this RCA feature helps us to listen to our vinyl in better sound quality.
It outputs line-level signals so you can connect the other end of the RCA cable to the line-level input of passive or active speakers.
Learn more about signals from this article: the difference between phono level and line level signals.
Power Jack
A jack where you can connect the power adaptor and supply electricity to the record player.
45 RPM Adapter
Well, a 45RPM record has a bigger hole in the center as compared to 33(1/3)RPM vinyl or 78RPM shellac records. So, to play the 45 RPM record, you need to use this adapter along with the record.
Speakers
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q1- What is the record player arm called?
The record player arm is known as the tonearm.
Q2- What is the stick on a record player called?
The stick on a record player is known as the tonearm.
Q3- What is the most common part of a turntable that will need to be replaced?
The stylus is the most common part of a record player that will need replacement after some time.
We have shared and explained all the parts of a record player that you should know about. If you have any questions about any part then please comment below. We will get back to you as soon as possible.
