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1200 pitch control & bpm/chromatic pitch

DjWilldernessDjWillderness 66 Posts
edited September 2010 in Strut Central
Hello Strut Djs,

I would like to know how the 16 intervals on the pitch control of a technics 1200 turntable alter the beats per minute of a record. In other words, what tempo shift occurs if I move the pitch control to +1? +8?. I would also like to know what chromatic transpositions are possible to achieve with the pitch control. In other words, what intervals on the pitch control correspond to a chromatic transposition of a half step, a whole step, or other pitch intervals.

My observation is that playing a 33rpm record on 45rpm results in a bpm shift of +22. Can any dj here confirm or refute that observation? Does anyone know what pitch interval occurs as a result?

Finally, does the pitch control alter the the tempo differently at 45 than at 33?

If I receive no reply I can answer these questions experimentally but perhaps someone can save me the trouble.

Thank you,

DJ Willderness

  Comments

  • dj_cityboydj_cityboy 1,481 Posts
    ^^ sorry for hijaking yer thread, but i have a question somewhat along the same lines..mine is in regards to the 33.1/3 ...

    sumthin i have always wondered about is why albums that are to be played @ 33.1/3 actually play much faster then the original recording, when you play them at that speed assuming that "0" is 33 and the record being played sounds fine...why the 1/3 part of it...

    i took a cd played it at its normal speed, played a record at 33 (or zero in this case) and it played the same (going with the flange dealy) side by side...but put said record on 33 1/3 and it plays much faster then the cd...what gives on that..
  • BowlsBowls 28 Posts
    I might be wrong, but isn't the +/- 8 referring to a *percentage* of the increase/decrease?

    Like if I pitched up a 95 BPM record to +8 then the new BPM would be 102.6

    I'm probably wrong, but that was my working assumption. I've never BPM'ed records or used Serato so I haven't truly experimented with that theory.
  • billbradleybillbradley You want BBQ sauce? Get the fuck out of my house. 2,914 Posts
    DjWillderness said:
    Hello Strut Djs,

    I would like to know how the 16 intervals on the pitch control of a technics 1200 turntable alter the beats per minute of a record. In other words, what tempo shift occurs if I move the pitch control to +1? +8?.

    It is a percentage. + or - up to 8%

    DjWillderness said:

    Finally, does the pitch control alter the the tempo differently at 45 than at 33?

    No.
  • DelayDelay 4,530 Posts
    its not percentage. its whole steps in pitch. unfortunately those pitch controls are pretty inconsistent in pitch accuracy. you can tune the pitch though, but its a pan in the ass.
  • billbradleybillbradley You want BBQ sauce? Get the fuck out of my house. 2,914 Posts
    The Technics manual says the numbers represent approximate percentages.
  • DjWilldernessDjWillderness 66 Posts
    Googling around, I read that 6% corresponds to one semitone in pitch. so the dots on the side can be the cue.

    citation:
    http://www.djforums.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-216629.html

    I haven't tested this yet.
  • facesdfacesd 236 Posts
    Sorry, don't mean to thread-jack but does anyone know or is aware of the Technics SL-1200MK5 (the ones with the stupid 'reset' button) having issues with the pitch control...i.e., there is some lag or intermittent 'jumps' with the pitch control on that model...I swear I'm not crazy but I know something is wrong with the pitch control on that model. Anyone else experience anything like this?
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