Portable TT - which one ?

[the_dL]

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.

 

[tripledouble]

i got a soundburger, gp3, and about twelve other old models...and fisher price was always my favorite.

 

[bull_ox]

The gp3 is long gone... can't even find one on ebay. Its been unavailable (in the US at least) for years.

 

[HairyBelafonte]

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.

 

[kicks79]

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.

 

[mannybolone]

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.

 

[rkwpark]

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.

 

[Gnarliament]

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.

 

[covmart]

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

 

[secondliner]

the Columbia GP3 is the best overall player for down & dirty 45 digging

 

[mannybolone]

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.

 

[Frank]

I've said it before in numerous old portable threads, there's no better turntable than the various old Philips models from the 70s. Super sturdy, loud, easiest and fastest set-up with speaker in the lid. I had various models with me in Africa and before leaving deposited them at several hotels in Benin and Ghana so I can fly over anytime without even having to bring one. You can also still buy replacement needles online. Only downside is that there's no headphone jack but I never needed one anyway since I don't dig at record shows.


http://cgi.ebay.de/Tragbarer-Philps-Plat...A1%7C240%3A1318
http://cgi.ebay.de/70er-Jahre-tragbarer-...A1%7C240%3A1318

 

[mannybolone]

Just to add something to Frank's post: those old Phillips models are also straight up triumphs of design for their era. Really striking and beautiful and much more interesting than the GP-3, Vestax, Numark, etc.

And any record player with a speaker can be fitted with a basic headphone jack very easily.

 

[spelunk]

Yeah, I've been quite happy with the industria brasileira Phillips I picked up here in Rio, pretty much the same design as what Frank posted.

Best portable turntable I've seen was with a certain celebrity diggeur...really slim white and red design with a custom headphone jack...might have even been a Fisher Price, just one I hadn't seen before.

Someone really needs to do some clever engineering and design a really small/slim portable tt that's more rugged than the soundburger.

I always felt like the tracking force of the GP3 was a little excessive.

 

[mannybolone]

If it was red and white, that sounds like a Fisher Price. I've had a few of those and like I said, cheap to stick a headphone jack in it.

 

[jammy]

i CAN say for a fact that the silver finish on the numark looks ass after a long while. gets weird old looking grime stains on it that don't come off.

 

[indiana45s]

Sony PS-F5

 

[james]

I have a related question: Which portable is the best for home listening? I occasionally have need for being able to listen to records in a relatively static fashion while in the kitchen, on the back pworch, on the lanai (RIP, Bea), or wherever, so I'm not looking for some warhorse portable that can withstand the rock 'em sock 'em trials and tribulations of "digging" "in the field"--I really just need something that 1) will play my records with decent, representative sound, 2) won't fucking bulldoze them, and 3) isn't some gargantuan Philco type shit that I'll have to put a doily over when not in use. Is Vestax the move?

 

[BigSpliff]

I have a related question: Which portable is the best for home listening? I occasionally have need for being able to listen to records in a relatively static fashion while in the kitchen, on the back pworch, on the lanai (RIP, Bea), or wherever, so I'm not looking for some warhorse portable that can withstand the rock 'em sock 'em trials and tribulations of "digging" "in the field"--I really just need something that 1) will play my records with decent, representative sound, 2) won't fucking bulldoze them, and 3) isn't some gargantuan Philco type shit that I'll have to put a doily over when not in use. Is Vestax the move?

You are better off buying one of those cheesy new vinyl to mp3 decks like the Numark or Audio technica. They have a built in phono pre amp and you can hook it up to laptop speakers, or get some cheapie monitors. Either way, much better sound than the portables, and you can decide on a needle that won't scrape your records into Dynaflex.