Entertainment For Lively Minds
Dansette - good or bad idea?
Posted by lordlichfield on 21 June 2011 - 4:08pm.
Having dusted off my old vinyl a few weeks ago, I've been wondering what to play it on. I was hankering after an old Dansette but they seem to be going for silly money on ebay and I wonder if it's not a very practical or sensible option.
Please can anyone give me some advice/direction?
Ideally I'd like a small, standalone record player.
Is there a better modern thing I should be looking at instead?
All help very gratefully received.
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Is this what you're after?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/1960s-1970s-Retro-Nostalgic-Centre/dp/B002KLB6ZA...
Plays mp3s too, with a USB thingy. Mott The Hoople singles shouldn't really be played on anything else.
I wouldn't actually -play- anything on a Dansette these days
The reason so many of my old 7" singles sound so bad when I play them is because they were played so much on my old Dansette.
Guaranteed vinyl-wrecker with a tracking weight of about half a pound.
Play them -loud- on a good deck on a good stereo and they'll sound better than they ever did on a Dansette.
If you -must- recreate a sixties Dansette listening experience, switch the amp to mono, turn the balance all the way to one side or the other, cut the treble by 25% and turn down the bass by about the same. You'll probably wish you hadn't quite quickly.
I just got this...
http://www.djkit.com/ion-audio/ion-ipt-portable-usb-turntable-vinyl-arch...
... it's bloody marvellous. I use it in various rooms and even plug it into an amp for superior sound. It is surprisingly good sound and the portability is great fun.
I thought this looked familiar
It seems to be a clone of the Numark PT01 which now comes with USB connection too, although mine just has the built-in amp and speaker and line out.
It's a great deck, whatever the label, and the suitcase style lid and portability makes it ideal for the keen record collector to 'try before they buy' via the headphone jack.
The Dansette is a non-starter as pointed out for the ultra-heavyweight tone arm unless you're a wiz at transplanting something a little lighter onto the deck, but by the time you've done this other options are more affordable, and, if you treasure your vinyl, preferable.
Well, I bought one
Actual Dansettes are really overpriced as you have noticed. A couple of years ago I bought a Hacker Gondolier on Ebay for about £30 or so. Better than a real Dansette and sounds authentically period. You can get replacement styluses for a couple of quid, and it's great fun racking up half a dozen old singles on the auto changer.
Mind you, I've got a proper turntable too. And I wouldn't play anything precious on it.
Hackers
I agree with Fat Bob. I got a Hacker years ago after going through several Dansettes - note though that I've always used that as a generic term for 'old record player - and it's superb.
It plays 45s and 78's (one at a time not six on a spindle as with the 45s)superbly.
Eddy
Thank you all so much.
Thank you all so much. That's just the help and advice I was hoping for.
I think I'll go for the portable one. Looks just the job.
Looking forward to hearing that birthday present Hank Williams 78 for the first time!
stepletone
I bought the stepletone with the radio and usb port recently. They'd be better off spending money on a tone/bass/treble set. It's not brilliant, but if you want it for old stuff that suits basic production sound it's ideal, having said that I played graceland on it last night and it sounded like 1973 and brilliant for it