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Portable TT - which one ?

covmartcovmart 6 Posts
edited April 2009 in Strut Central
I'm tired of using the old Sesame Street Bird Bird player in the field. Mine needs to be perfectly level to play worth a shit. 45's is my thing.I'm looking at the Vestax Handy Trax. I'm not a fan of Numark.Whaddya using?
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  • ZEN2ZEN2 1,540 Posts
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
  • SoulhawkSoulhawk 3,197 Posts
    if yr digging for 45s, a sound burger is the last player you want!
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    Word? It's not good for 45s?
  • jaysusjaysus 787 Posts
    The numark can play nearly vertical. Internal speaker is a little weak but it has both size headphone jacks and rca outs, pitch control and decent battery life. Plus it fits in a 12" case unlike the vestax.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    I was just noticing another player in that ad above - yo - who's got a Sound Crocodile?
  • SoulhawkSoulhawk 3,197 Posts
    Word? It's not good for 45s?

    having to open & close the player is annoying if you are trying to listen to a bunch of records - the Sound Burger also isn't that good for playing dusty / dirty records - it's more of a precision machine for playing the occasional M- Italian library record at a Euro record show lol - I have a Mister Disc( the Audio Technica US version of the 'burger) & never use it - the Columbia GP3 is the best overall player for down & dirty digging

    BTW: have you seen what Sound Burgers & Mister Discs go for these days?? 400 bucks in 'new in the box' condition - 175 'used' with no needle!?!?

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    When I first bought mine on eBay - this would have been about 10+ years ago - they were going for $200-250 pretty consistently so actually, the prices seem vaguely stable.

    But you don't have to close to the player to use it, especially if you're going through a stack of records. The one thing that does seem a bit annoying is that the tonearm is so light, you can't play anything that's not perfectly flat.

    I agree that the GP3 is pretty awesome for heavy duty use. My only beef with it is that 1) it's bulky (though not as bad as the Vestax) and 2) mono headphone jack that you can convert with an adapter but that's still kind of pain. That said, if I'm "in the field" - I'd either want a GP3 or Soundburger.
  • SoulhawkSoulhawk 3,197 Posts
    having all those D batteries makes the GP3 pretty heavy - the battery lid is seemingly broken & taped shut on everyones GP3 too

    I accidentally dropped my GP3 from shoulder height once & it sort of shattered - I pieced it back together with superglue & it plays good as new! I'd like to see someone do that with one of these flimsy Numark or Vestax players
  • cpeetzcpeetz 2,112 Posts
    My GP3 has been going strong for 10+ years, it's been superglued and taped to death but it's still rockin'.
    I really don't use it too often anymore, my daughter uses it way more than me. Funny thing
    is clumsy dad has done more damage to it than a 4 year old playing her Mickey Mouse records has.
    What is this I hear about a headphone jack to make it stereo?
    The mono jack is my only complaint.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    My GP3 has been going strong for 10+ years, it's been superglued and taped to death but it's still rockin'.
    What is this I hear about a headphone jack to make it stereo?
    The mono jack is my only complaint.

    It's a simple mono-->stereo adapter jack. Radio Shack sells 'em for a few bucks. What I did was velcro tape wrap them and then put Velcro on the inside of the GP3 lid so I always know where to find it.
  • cpeetzcpeetz 2,112 Posts

    It's a simple mono-->stereo adapter jack. Radio Shack sells 'em for a few bucks. What I did was velcro tape wrap them and then put Velcro on the inside of the GP3 lid so I always know where to find it.

    Good tip, I am so copying that,
  • doomdoom 305 Posts
    i have a soundburger layin around that im willing to get rid of
  • The_Hook_UpThe_Hook_Up 8,182 Posts
    I use one of these, I just take a generator with me
  • Controller_7Controller_7 4,052 Posts
    My GP3 has been going strong for 10+ years, it's been superglued and taped to death but it's still rockin'.
    What is this I hear about a headphone jack to make it stereo?
    The mono jack is my only complaint.

    It's a simple mono-->stereo adapter jack. Radio Shack sells 'em for a few bucks. What I did was velcro tape wrap them and then put Velcro on the inside of the GP3 lid so I always know where to find it.

    but turning mono into stereo is only doubling the mono, right? I haven't used my GP3 in a long time, but I remember it being mono and that it was bad in certain situations because the drums or whatever could be panned hard left and you might not hear them. If you use an adaptor then it's just going to make it double the mono isn't it? Maybe I'm missing a piece of the science, but you can't make a mono source turn stereo with an adaptor can you? Stereo as in, both sides of the headphones, but not stereo as in the full spectrum of the recording.

    correct me if I am wrong.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    Stereo as in both sides of the headphones which is still better than "left ear".
  • The_Hook_UpThe_Hook_Up 8,182 Posts
    My GP3 has been going strong for 10+ years, it's been superglued and taped to death but it's still rockin'.
    What is this I hear about a headphone jack to make it stereo?
    The mono jack is my only complaint.

    It's a simple mono-->stereo adapter jack. Radio Shack sells 'em for a few bucks. What I did was velcro tape wrap them and then put Velcro on the inside of the GP3 lid so I always know where to find it.

    but turning mono into stereo is only doubling the mono, right? I haven't used my GP3 in a long time, but I remember it being mono and that it was bad in certain situations because the drums or whatever could be panned hard left and you might not hear them. If you use an adaptor then it's just going to make it double the mono isn't it? Maybe I'm missing a piece of the science, but you can't make a mono source turn stereo with an adaptor can you? Stereo as in, both sides of the headphones, but not stereo as in the full spectrum of the recording.

    correct me if I am wrong.

    the mono signal just combines the left and right signals into one...the mono needle inthe GP3 just doesnt read one channel...it reads both channels and it combines them into one mono signal. When you put stereo headphones into the GP3, yes you just hear it coming out of the left channel on the headphones, but the signal you are hearing out of the left side of the headphones is the left and right channel from the record combined into one signal...the "bands" on the stereo headphone jack are for reading 2 channels, but since the headphone jack is mono, the combined signal only gets routed to the left channel of the stereo headphones. You arent missing anything, you are hearing all the sound...a mono headphone adapter just allows the signal to come out of both sides of the headphoes
  • Controller_7Controller_7 4,052 Posts
    hook up, I can remember listening to some records and not hearing certain parts of the recording because they were in the other channel. That would mean it's not routing both channels into one, wouldn't it.

    I'll have to go back and test.
  • jaysusjaysus 787 Posts
    What's the stylus on the gp3, Is it a mono stylus?
  • the_dLthe_dL 1,531 Posts
    i have the gp3, the vestax, the numark, the big bird and about 7-8 other random portables, and i find that i mainly use the numark for doing the markets, thrift/junk stores, but avoid using it at larger record shows where i find it isnt loud enough (even though i only ever use it with bose headphones) so i use the vestax which i have personally found to be a little louder. i think the gp3 is probably a better all rounder, but i only have a ltd clear gp3 and seeing as how much the others get beaten up i dont like to take it out.
  • tripledoubletripledouble 7,636 Posts
    i got a soundburger, gp3, and about twelve other old models...and fisher price was always my favorite.
  • bull_oxbull_ox 5,056 Posts
    The gp3 is long gone... can't even find one on ebay. Its been unavailable (in the US at least) for years.
  • HairyBelafonteHairyBelafonte 1,202 Posts
    The gp3 is long gone... can't even find one on ebay. Its been unavailable (in the US at least) for years.

    good riddance, those things are pieces of crap.
  • kicks79kicks79 1,334 Posts
    I was trying to find a G3 when i was in Japan. No dice. I use the vestax. Its all good aside from the shape. If i bought a new one i'd lean more towards the numark.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    The gp3 is long gone... can't even find one on ebay. Its been unavailable (in the US at least) for years.

    good riddance, those things are pieces of crap.

    FAIL.
  • rkwparkrkwpark 915 Posts
    theres a couple of gp-3's on ebay now but they dont look right for some reason.

    i probably should have scooped up on one when dustygroove was carrying them a few years back.

    my vestax is cool but the speakers blew out a year ago and ive had that thing for only 3 years.

    if anybody has a solid connect for an original gp3 holler on the pm's.
  • GnarliamentGnarliament 375 Posts
    the numark is solid. a good investment. Its a little big, comparatively, but what it lacks in smallness it makes up for in durability and features.
  • covmartcovmart 6 Posts

    Top input, thanks. Sounds like the GP-3 is the way to go.

    I found a German seller, but with shipping north of $40 I'm gonna hunt around some more.

    http://www.ongaku.de/shop_geraet_detail.php?gpage=4&gid=387&cur=usd&lang=en
  • secondlinersecondliner 63 Posts
    the Columbia GP3 is the best overall player for down & dirty 45[/b] digging
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    I should add - the Fisher Price TTs - not the Big Bird, but the plain ones - can be equipped with a headphone jack by any competent electronics guy for $20-30. That, to me, is as good as anything else out there for size, portability and reliability, not to mention price.
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