Hey, as this series will have no sponsors I would truly appreciate if you could subscribe to the channel to assist me in funding this. I think its going to be a good time showing many of the great options out there on the used market. Thanks!
I have had a 960 for many years and it worked flawlessly until about 8-9 yrs ago when the mechanism gummed up. At that time I did not feel I had the expertise to fix it so rather than disassemble and clean as you did, I just removed all the internal moving parts and made my 960 into an all manual turntable. Hey, it works just like the real expensive all manual turntables. I don't mind having to get up and pickup the tonearm after a play. With a VG cartridge it will match just about any turntable out there.
Thanks for watching, its always nice bringing something back to a like new condition, these turntables still perform very well. Yes, Dino my cat really tried to steal the show at the end there ha.
Great video! I have been a fan of the BIC turntables since I purchased a new 920 as a poor teenaged budding audiophile. Since them, I had a 60z whose adjustable pulley broke and was sadly junked. More recently I purchased used a used 940 and then the 980 that is my current platter of choice. Also had a DUAL and a few Garrard turntables. Not ultra high end, but these are very nice units, they run silently with low wow and flutter and track well with a medium to high compliance cartridge like my Sure M -97XE audiophile series. Just be sure to go through them as you should any vintage units, and they will match or exceed most modern turntables in their operation.
Thank you for this! Picked up a 940 for $25 that plays records just fine (phew! No frozen platter to deal with) but it's not putting the tone arm down in the right place and no auto-return. Time for some cleaning, and this really helps a lot.
Great video! I really like your presentation. I also buy gear I don’t need to refurbish, and have thought of doing something like this, but I don’t have the patience to document the process. (It’s nice to have a video of what you’ve done when it’s time for reassembly!).
Hey Timothy, the documenting definitely slows down the restoration process a bit, I do enjoy it it though. Yes haha always nice to have video to back track to “just where did that part go” during the reassembly. Thanks for watching, I appreciate it!
Once you get one of these going, you will realize this turntable is better than you thought. I owned a 960, and I have a 981. (A 960 with speed control.)
@@MattCoykendall1 I found a broken wire on the headshell. I'm going to try solder it. This one has the Empire OP 120 cartridge and the needle is like falling out loose. If you have a headshell, cartridge and needle...let me know. Thanks
@@bikeroly So my parts table is a 940, the headshell is different, more of an integrated design. I have cartridges as well but all my spares need needles, have a few 70's carts shure and empire. If you need the lead wires these are a cheap fix amzn.to/3WnkvaY , if its that small ground instead I have had to solder one of those before as well. As for your OP 120, you can still get good needles, a good option would be this: www.lpgear.com/product/EMPSOP120.html there are some budget ones on amazon as well but not sure on the quality.
What lubes and oils do you recommend using to replace the old one with? I found the manual and it lists off a few different ones, but I'm having trouble finding them
You meant mineral spirits, not mineral oil, right? I wonder if you could retrobrite the bottom to reverse the yellowing. Great video. I just got a 960 for free but not as good condition.
Yes, good catch on the mineral spirits! Not sure on the retrobrite, I have never looked into that before, I will check it out. You will find the 960 is really quite simple to work on, its honestly a nice unit once you have them cleaned up.
nice video. I have a 960 that I want to do the same but thinking it was much more labor intensive than what you show. Thought about taking it somewhere but seems like I can knock it out on my own.THX
This is totally do able, the design is simple and well thought out on these, the only mistake they made was with the “lifetime” grease that turns to a hard wax. These tables are quiet and run really well after a tune up.
I just picked up a pair of JBL 4311 studio monitors. They're from 1974 as well! It needs a bit of TLC. I picked up a Krell KAV 400xi amp to drive it and the combination sounds fantastic. Frankly I'm a bit astonished as to how well it holds up to today's modern gear. My main monitors are a pair of Hedd Type 20s, which obviously sounds a whole lot better technically, but the JBLs are really musical and fun to listen to.
Yes I agree, if you go into some of this vintage gear with the right mindset the results are very enjoyable. I just looked up the Hedd monitors you have as well, those look really interesting.
Hey Matt, I just got one of these turntables from an estate sale but I have a problem where the record plays just a tad slower than it should. Aside from replacing the best any advice you can provide that might fix this problem?
With the belt detached see if it spins freely, if it doesn't it may need some cleaning and lubrication. If it seems to spin freely it may just be the belt was the wrong size, you can get a replacement on amazon or ebay.
I am still looking into this one, they started to market this line of turntables in 1973 and it appears that they started selling in 74 but I'm having a hard time finding when the end date was. I will do a bit more reading and update if I can find an answer.
I owned one of these turntables and I really liked it. I sold it to a friend and it may still be working. I sold most of my vinyl in 1985 when I got my first CD player. Turntables are awesome, but vinyl sucks. LOL
Hey, as this series will have no sponsors I would truly appreciate if you could subscribe to the channel to assist me in funding this. I think its going to be a good time showing many of the great options out there on the used market. Thanks!
Done!
These are real sleepers. Very quiet and gentle.
Best second hand turntable video on the internet!
Hey, glad you enjoyed it!
I have had a 960 for many years and it worked flawlessly until about 8-9 yrs ago when the mechanism gummed up. At that time I did not feel I had the expertise to fix it so rather than disassemble and clean as you did, I just removed all the internal moving parts and made my 960 into an all manual turntable. Hey, it works just like the real expensive all manual turntables. I don't mind having to get up and pickup the tonearm after a play. With a VG cartridge it will match just about any turntable out there.
enjoyed..both you AND your kitty!! It looks so new again!!!
Thanks for watching, its always nice bringing something back to a like new condition, these turntables still perform very well. Yes, Dino my cat really tried to steal the show at the end there ha.
I recently finished the BIC 960 and I am starting on the 980! Thanks for this video, very helpful and informative.
Really glad to hear that, enjoy it!
Great video. This brings me back to college days when I used to rock and roll.
Keep on rocking Andy!
Great video! I have been a fan of the BIC turntables since I purchased a new 920 as a poor teenaged budding audiophile. Since them, I had a 60z whose adjustable pulley broke and was sadly junked. More recently I purchased used a used 940 and then the 980 that is my current platter of choice. Also had a DUAL and a few Garrard turntables. Not ultra high end, but these are very nice units, they run silently with low wow and flutter and track well with a medium to high compliance cartridge like my Sure M -97XE audiophile series. Just be sure to go through them as you should any vintage units, and they will match or exceed most modern turntables in their operation.
I love the direction you’re going in!
Thanks John, still will push out new reviews but I want marketplace HiFi to be a key part going forward as well!
Thanks !! Just got model 1000 going to de assemble tomorrow .
Lucky, I would still like to get my hands on a 1000 series.
Thank you for this! Picked up a 940 for $25 that plays records just fine (phew! No frozen platter to deal with) but it's not putting the tone arm down in the right place and no auto-return. Time for some cleaning, and this really helps a lot.
Great to hear, that issue will for sure resolve with the clean up.
Can’t get the platter off… removed the C-clip, and it raises a little, but won’t come off. Any suggestions?
Never mind. Finally came loose. Thanks again for this video. Helped me out a lot!
Great video! I really like your presentation. I also buy gear I don’t need to refurbish, and have thought of doing something like this, but I don’t have the patience to document the process. (It’s nice to have a video of what you’ve done when it’s time for reassembly!).
Hey Timothy, the documenting definitely slows down the restoration process a bit, I do enjoy it it though. Yes haha always nice to have video to back track to “just where did that part go” during the reassembly. Thanks for watching, I appreciate it!
Once you get one of these going, you will realize this turntable is better than you thought. I owned a 960, and I have a 981. (A 960 with speed control.)
The 960 is great, I actually have a couple of them. The 981 is new to me, I will check it out!
Great video Matt. I'm working on a BIC 960 right now.
Thanks for watching, let me know if you need any spare parts, I have a parts table here.
@@MattCoykendall1 I found a broken wire on the headshell. I'm going to try solder it. This one has the Empire OP 120 cartridge and the needle is like falling out loose. If you have a headshell, cartridge and needle...let me know. Thanks
@@bikeroly So my parts table is a 940, the headshell is different, more of an integrated design. I have cartridges as well but all my spares need needles, have a few 70's carts shure and empire. If you need the lead wires these are a cheap fix amzn.to/3WnkvaY , if its that small ground instead I have had to solder one of those before as well. As for your OP 120, you can still get good needles, a good option would be this: www.lpgear.com/product/EMPSOP120.html there are some budget ones on amazon as well but not sure on the quality.
Thanks much Matt!
What lubes and oils do you recommend using to replace the old one with? I found the manual and it lists off a few different ones, but I'm having trouble finding them
You meant mineral spirits, not mineral oil, right? I wonder if you could retrobrite the bottom to reverse the yellowing. Great video. I just got a 960 for free but not as good condition.
Yes, good catch on the mineral spirits! Not sure on the retrobrite, I have never looked into that before, I will check it out. You will find the 960 is really quite simple to work on, its honestly a nice unit once you have them cleaned up.
nice video. I have a 960 that I want to do the same but thinking it was much more labor intensive than what you show. Thought about taking it somewhere but seems like I can knock it out on my own.THX
This is totally do able, the design is simple and well thought out on these, the only mistake they made was with the “lifetime” grease that turns to a hard wax. These tables are quiet and run really well after a tune up.
I just picked up a pair of JBL 4311 studio monitors. They're from 1974 as well! It needs a bit of TLC. I picked up a Krell KAV 400xi amp to drive it and the combination sounds fantastic. Frankly I'm a bit astonished as to how well it holds up to today's modern gear. My main monitors are a pair of Hedd Type 20s, which obviously sounds a whole lot better technically, but the JBLs are really musical and fun to listen to.
Yes I agree, if you go into some of this vintage gear with the right mindset the results are very enjoyable. I just looked up the Hedd monitors you have as well, those look really interesting.
Hey Matt, I just got one of these turntables from an estate sale but I have a problem where the record plays just a tad slower than it should. Aside from replacing the best any advice you can provide that might fix this problem?
With the belt detached see if it spins freely, if it doesn't it may need some cleaning and lubrication. If it seems to spin freely it may just be the belt was the wrong size, you can get a replacement on amazon or ebay.
oh..forgot to ask...what years was the 960 manufactured? I seem to remember it....
I am still looking into this one, they started to market this line of turntables in 1973 and it appears that they started selling in 74 but I'm having a hard time finding when the end date was. I will do a bit more reading and update if I can find an answer.
I have a 960 coming in. It needs a cart and stylus. Is there a low budget combo you’d recommend??
Looking for a classic cartridge that matches the 960 years or something modern?
@@MattCoykendall1 I ended up getting Stanton 750. For 30 bucks brand new. The 960 is complete. Looking for another one to go through
I owned one of these turntables and I really liked it. I sold it to a friend and it may still be working. I sold most of my vinyl in 1985 when I got my first CD player. Turntables are awesome, but vinyl sucks. LOL
haha I think these 960's will run until the end of time as long as you give them a little maintenance.
If it passes Dino's "cat scan", you're good to go!
He did approve, but he made me work for it!