Many people, including myself, enjoy servicing audio equipment as a hobby. Technics turntables, while not renowned for their audiophile qualities (unless you count the 1200 series), have quite a following among many vinyl enthusiasts – they’re solid, reliable, sound great and can be had for next to nothing.
Of course, Technics are known for their quartz direct drive system, as well as their direct-drive motor – with the platter, and the large magnet affixed to it, an integral part of the motor itself. These large magnets are pretty strong – and it can at times be hard to remove the platters on these decks. They don’t simply lift off like those found on many other designs – pull too hard, and you risk damaging the motor board.
However, these platters are actually very easy to remove. Simply grasp the platter, either at the edge or using one of the convenient holes found in most, if not all platters. Pull upwards until the platter moves – and, whilst pulling up, tap on the centre spindle with the handle of a screwdriver or other tool. Don’t be afraid to tap hard – ‘don’t tap it, whack it’ as the saying goes.
Follow these steps, and you should feel the platter lifting – it will eventually lift straight off. This works on almost all Technics turntables that use this motor design – including most of their SL-Q series, and most (if not all) of their direct drive linear tracking decks.
Let me know in the comments if this worked for you – happy platter-removing! (does that work? no? ok…)
