Fixing wow and flutter on Numark direct-drive turntabes?

August 6, 2009 6:21 PM

Can I fix wow and flutter on Numark direct-drive turntables? The pitch varies while playing records and I'd like to fix this myself if at all possible.

I have a pair of Numark direct-drive turntables I received as a gift. They do not keep the pitch constant. Often I'll hear a song slow down then speed-up as it loses and regains pitch. I would like to use them with Traktor 3, using the control vinyls supplied but this obviously a little difficult if the pitch starts to vary.

Any ideas on some things I can try myself to fix this, if any? Is it necessarily the turntable that's bad? The needle's might be old and could likely use replacement. I haven't heard of that causing pitch variations, but who knows.

Thanks in advance!

posted by multiphrenic to technology (4 comments total)

there's really nothing you can do to fix a direct drive that isn't keeping a steady pitch. get a quartz-locked direct drive table like a Technics.
posted by TrialByMedia at 6:36 PM on August 6

It's possible that the problem isn't with your turntables, but with the AC power going into your house. Many turntable motors are AC synchronous motors, meaning that their rate of rotation is directly tied to the frequency of your AC power. If it varies at all, it will cause wow and flutter whenever the frequency changes. If this is your problem, there are basically two solutions: a power supply upgrade or an AC power regenerator. Both of these solutions involve "reclocking" the AC signal going into the motor on your turntable. A PSU upgrade does it at whatever voltage your AC motor runs at, while an AC power regenerator does it at household mains voltage. PSU upgrades are cheaper, but not commonly made for most turntables. AC regenerators are insanely expensive; it would be cheaper to buy new quartz-locked turntables like @TrialByMedia suggested.

Another possibility is that the control records you have are not centered properly. This may be the case if the wow and flutter is cyclical and happens exactly in time with each rotation of the turntable.
posted by strangecargo at 1:40 AM on August 7

Warped records can also caused wow and flutter, and sometimes it's not immediately obvious that a record is warped, so it's worth just double checking your decks on some totally flat vinyl before you think about upgrading to Technics (which as mentioned have totally stable pitch). In the long run though Technics are the industry standard and pretty much last forever, so they're never a bad investment.
posted by iivix at 12:03 PM on August 7

Oh, and regarding the AC power, I've seen even Technics wow and flutter with a bad power supply. It's pretty rare though.
posted by iivix at 12:05 PM on August 7