I just purchased Thorens TD-124 and it needs a little help.
I have two questions for this superlative group:

1. What would be the most I should spend to get this beast up and
running? In other words at what dollar amount should I just buy a new
one instead of fixing this one. It is cosmeticlly great and seems to
be all original and intact with, I think, an Ortofon ESL Tonearm. The
light goes on but the platter won't turn.

2. Does anybody know a good service technician for the TD-124 in the
Los Angeles area? This is perhaps the more important question of the
two!

Many Thanks!
-Shrimp

Have you checked to see if the drive belt is intact? If the motor
turns, even with a bit of a twist to get it started, it is servicable.
Basically the best that you can hope for is performance near that of a
Rega P2 table, which sells for $495, so that is your "way too much $"
point as the Rega is not only great sounding and nearly bullet-proof,
but will have a 3 year warranty. I don't know who in your area is best
suited to help, but someone here will know.
-Bill
www.uptownaudio.com
Roanoke VA
(540) 343-1250

"Shrimp" wrote in message
...
I just purchased Thorens TD-124 and it needs a little help.
I have two questions for this superlative group:

1. What would be the most I should spend to get this beast up and
running? In other words at what dollar amount should I just buy a
new
one instead of fixing this one. It is cosmeticlly great and seems to
be all original and intact with, I think, an Ortofon ESL Tonearm.
The
light goes on but the platter won't turn.

2. Does anybody know a good service technician for the TD-124 in the
Los Angeles area? This is perhaps the more important question of the
two!

Many Thanks!
-Shrimp

"Shrimp" wrote in message
...
I just purchased Thorens TD-124 and it needs a little help.
I have two questions for this superlative group:

1. What would be the most I should spend to get this beast up and
running? In other words at what dollar amount should I just buy a new
one instead of fixing this one. It is cosmeticlly great and seems to
be all original and intact with, I think, an Ortofon ESL Tonearm. The
light goes on but the platter won't turn.

Depends. How much did you pay for it? These things are pretty simple and
easy to work on yourself if you can find the appropriate parts, but you may
not even need any parts. When I bought mine it was in the same condition
and a good cleaning and lubrication fixed it right up. There are several
good sites on the web that can tell you how. Check the belt. Disconnect
the belt and see if the motor turns without a load on it. Check the rubber
wheel for out-of-round. You do know about the sub-platter, right? some
people think the platter's not turning just because they haven't lowered the
top platter.

Feel free to e-mail me with any questions. I've been through mine pretty
extensively.

Bill Balmer

i kept turning it on and staring at it waiting for something to
happen. about 3 minutes after i started moving things by hand the
motor slowly started turning on its own.
i think i might put a little cash into this as it seems to work and is
only in need of a tune up.
thanks very much for the response!!!
-shrimp

Uptown Audio wrote in message ...
Have you checked to see if the drive belt is intact? If the motor
turns, even with a bit of a twist to get it started, it is servicable.
Basically the best that you can hope for is performance near that of a
Rega P2 table, which sells for $495, so that is your "way too much $"
point as the Rega is not only great sounding and nearly bullet-proof,
but will have a 3 year warranty. I don't know who in your area is best
suited to help, but someone here will know.
-Bill
www.uptownaudio.com
Roanoke VA
(540) 343-1250

"Shrimp" wrote in message
...
I just purchased Thorens TD-124 and it needs a little help.
I have two questions for this superlative group:

1. What would be the most I should spend to get this beast up and
running? In other words at what dollar amount should I just buy a
new
one instead of fixing this one. It is cosmeticlly great and seems to
be all original and intact with, I think, an Ortofon ESL Tonearm.
The
light goes on but the platter won't turn.

2. Does anybody know a good service technician for the TD-124 in the
Los Angeles area? This is perhaps the more important question of the
two!

Many Thanks!
-Shrimp

"Cosworth" wrote in message ...
"Shrimp" wrote in message
...
I just purchased Thorens TD-124 and it needs a little help.
I have two questions for this superlative group:

1. What would be the most I should spend to get this beast up and
running? In other words at what dollar amount should I just buy a new
one instead of fixing this one. It is cosmeticlly great and seems to
be all original and intact with, I think, an Ortofon ESL Tonearm. The
light goes on but the platter won't turn.

Depends. How much did you pay for it? These things are pretty simple and
easy to work on yourself if you can find the appropriate parts, but you may
not even need any parts. When I bought mine it was in the same condition
and a good cleaning and lubrication fixed it right up. There are several
good sites on the web that can tell you how. Check the belt. Disconnect
the belt and see if the motor turns without a load on it. Check the rubber
wheel for out-of-round. You do know about the sub-platter, right? some
people think the platter's not turning just because they haven't lowered the
top platter.

Feel free to e-mail me with any questions. I've been through mine pretty
extensively.

Bill Balmer


thanks bill!
i paid 50 bucks so i have a little room to put more into it.
what are the websites you speak of?
i think i might try to clean it up myself unless i get some
recommendations for a good service tech here in los angeles.
i'll email you with more questions!
thanks again,
-shrimp

'...performance near a Rega P2...' You're kidding, right? The Ortofon arm
may be a limitation in this case, but a working TD124 is a much better
sounding deck than a cheap Rega. The P7 or 9 might be a different story. I
own a '124 and a Roksan Xerxes too. Although the Thorens is still in the
rather poor plinth it came with, the Xerxes certainly doesn't get it all
it's own way. I had a friend's Rega Planar 3 over to fit a new cartridge
recently and played that alongside the '124 as a matter of fact. No contest
all. Admittedly the latest 'P' series decks do have better bass- I always
thought that letting the motor waggle about on the Planars was a mistake-
but they don't sound that much better overall. You weren't thinking of a
TD110 or '115 were you? Those weren't that great...
John.
"Uptown Audio" wrote in message
...
Have you checked to see if the drive belt is intact? If the motor
turns, even with a bit of a twist to get it started, it is servicable.
Basically the best that you can hope for is performance near that of a
Rega P2 table, which sells for $495, so that is your "way too much $"
point as the Rega is not only great sounding and nearly bullet-proof,
but will have a 3 year warranty. I don't know who in your area is best
suited to help, but someone here will know.
-Bill
www.uptownaudio.com
Roanoke VA
(540) 343-1250

"Shrimp" wrote in message
...
I just purchased Thorens TD-124 and it needs a little help.
I have two questions for this superlative group:

1. What would be the most I should spend to get this beast up and
running? In other words at what dollar amount should I just buy a
new
one instead of fixing this one. It is cosmeticlly great and seems to
be all original and intact with, I think, an Ortofon ESL Tonearm.
The
light goes on but the platter won't turn.

2. Does anybody know a good service technician for the TD-124 in the
Los Angeles area? This is perhaps the more important question of the
two!

Many Thanks!
-Shrimp