Can anyone recommend a decent inexpensive turntable?

[Oliver]

Hi,

Just wondering, are you likely to be playing these recordings from vinyl in future, or just using your digital copies? If you won't be playing the vynil, after making the copies, you could consider just hiring a DJ turntable for a week or two.

If you do this, make sure the tone arms are in good condition, and buy your own good quality cartridge.

You can get some advice about turntable setup, and cartridge characteristics from their suppliers. You won't need to have a lot of anti-skip, etc, as you probably won't be doing any scratching.

Another option would be to spend a bit more on the turntable, with a view to selling it once you have finished.

Peronally, I love the sound of vinyl, as it really has a very warm character, to my ear.

P.S. They're not old 78's are they?

[Oliver]

Something else to note, is that setting up a turntable can be tricky the first time, even if you know what you want. If you're buying new, get someone to do that bit for you, to your requirements.

Buying a good model second hand (like an SL-1200 MkII) is likely to give you a really good drive, and very stable platter, but you will need to be careful of worn out tone arm, etc, and it will likely be set up for DJ mixing.

There are many non-DJ turntables which also sound good, but are less robust. Old pre 1200 MkII Technics generally sound pretty decent, and can be found for good prices, but you have to be more careful with things like needle drop, and vibration.