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My dumb Debut Carbon re-paint project


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So to not flood the new purchase thread with updates on this, I started its own thread for updates on this endeavor.

 

For those not in the loop, I got a bunch of points for a work anniversary and basically had free money to spend.  We had an open box Debut Carbon Espirit SB model which I was able to pick up for pretty cheap, so it came out basically for free with the the points used.  Actually, it was missing the anti-skate weight (the reason why it was returned) so I did have to buy one of those for about $15 shipped in order to make it functional.  

 

The only problem is it's a Beatles edition turntable that's ugly as hell, so I'm going to end up giving it a new face.  I honestly haven't decided what it will ultimately look like although I am thinking either going with a wood veneer or possibly having one of my buddies who is an artist paint something custom  on it.

 

Naturally being a $15 overall investment, I won't be too upset if I completely botch this thing so I guess we'll just have to see how it goes!

 

Here is the before:

32764367271_332b5d1da8_c.jpg

 

 

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Day one was generally disassmeby, which went pretty smooth.  All phillips head screws for the most part, and two electric connecters that link the power supply to the "speed box" which in turn  connects to the motor.  Also needed a set of alan wrenches and a pair of precision needle nose plyers as well.

 

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Everything came out very smooth and seems to be pretty straightforward to put back together as well.

 

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Here is one of the connectors going into the board that the power supply plugs into.

 

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Same type of connector is used coming out of the motor

 

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The speedbox that controls power and switching between 33 and 45 rpm (indicated by the blue LED lights)

 

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Here everything is off except the tonearm, which understandably proved to be a bit more challenging than anticipated (but still not too bad)

Edited by yanquiuxo
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Day two was tackling the tonearm.  The issue I ran into is it would appear that the wires running out of the bottom are soldered after the tonearm is installed on the plinth, which means there is no way to pull them back through without unsoldering them.

 

Exhibit A

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Without unsoldering them, you would have to pull that entire box through the plinth due to the RCA connectors not being able to pull out of the box itself due to size.  Also, the screws that affix the tonearm to the plinth are the two on either side of the tonearm in this picture, and they were kind of a pain.  This is where you need the precision plyers to get them unscrewed (or a really tiny socket wrench, which I don't own)

 

So, it was time to get soldering!

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It's only necessary to solder 4 out of the six wires because the negative leads are soldering to small rings which will fit through the plinth.

 

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Tonearm is off!

 

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So this is where I am at right now.  Everything has been removed and it is safe to start sanding the finish off.

 

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Tomorrow I am meeting up with a buddy who actually has a woodshop who is going to be my consultant on the sanding / re-finishing portion of this project.  I will keep updating this thread as it goes along for the couple of people who are potentially interested in it.

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From an engineering standpoint, I would assume it would be ideal to have the plinth be as dense as possible.  For that reason, wouldn't MDF beat out a slab of wood in terms of sound reproduction?   Honestly don't care about "ruining" the Beatles plinth or the potential to flip it down the road

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18 minutes ago, stl_ben said:

As a Beatles fan DOH!

I would have gladly traded you my yellow bodied pro-ject for the Beatles one!

I didn't think there was a turntable design I could  have desired any less than this Beatles one, and then you said yellow. 

 

Ew. 

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12 hours ago, yanquiuxo said:

From an engineering standpoint, I would assume it would be ideal to have the plinth be as dense as possible.  For that reason, wouldn't MDF beat out a slab of wood in terms of sound reproduction?   Honestly don't care about "ruining" the Beatles plinth or the potential to flip it down the road

It's not a box and I doubt the Project plinth really lends anything major to the original sound so in this instance you can go for aesthetics, something solid and thick should do it but yes the harder and therefore denser the wood the better.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Here's one I made from an old and ugly AR deck using ply, ebony veneer and yacht varnish. It was time consuming but came out quite well. Pictures at the end of the thread 

https://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=90580

Edited by RSand
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27 minutes ago, RSand said:

Here's one I made from an old and ugly AR deck using ply, ebony veneer and yacht varnish. It was time consuming but came out quite well. Pictures at the end of the thread 

https://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=90580

 

 

Wow fantastic job.

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18 hours ago, RSand said:

Here's one I made from an old and ugly AR deck using ply, ebony veneer and yacht varnish. It was time consuming but came out quite well. Pictures at the end of the thread 

https://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=90580

That's really nice work. The two biggest flaws in the UK EB101 over the US one were the piss poor plinth and the stamped steel sub chassis, the stamped sub chassis isn't such a big deal but you really fixed the plinth, top job.

 

I still think you need to explore the bouncy side of the turntable question a bit more but if that sounds half as good as it looks then you're on to a winner.

 

Now do you fancy making another plinth? I've got a very scruffy looking AR XB here that could benefit from that sort of work.

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Thank you both.

I added some damping to the stamped steel sub chassis, not sure if it had any real effect? However, the TT does sound better than it did, not sure if that's because of the more rigid plinth, damping,  that it got a good service, all of this or its all in my head?

 

"I still think you need to explore the bouncy side of the turntable question a bit more"

Can you expand on this?

 

"Now do you fancy making another plinth?"

I would but it took the best part of 2 months and cost £100 just in parts, that varnish alone was £30!

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