Pioneer PL-50 turntable

[William]

I know this is not a changer but I would like to throw this out there to see if anyone has any ideas as to why this Pioneer Pl-50 is doing what it is doing. With the help of Vinylengine I found this link:

https://www.vinylengine.com/library/pioneer/pl-50.shtml

Also for those of you that are on AK:

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php ... le.661124/

My problem is not the norm that is talked about or what I have watched on Youtube. Mine, or the one I am working on, relates to the OFF/ON/DOWN control. It actually reads:

Cut/Off, Up/On, Down/Play. What this one won't do is stay put when you move from Cut/Off to Up/On to Down/Play. Moving the control knob from Cut/Off to Up/On works, but as soon as you let go of the control knob it slides back to Cut/Off. Same thing happens when you move from Up/On to Down/Play. Having said that, if you hold the control knob in the position you want eventually it will stay there and everything will work as it should. When I was handed the Pioneer I was told it needed a belt, which was true. After installing the belt I also discovered that the elevator lift that lowers the tone arm was frozen in the up position, and it would not reject at the end of the record, and the control knob issue. I now have everything fixed except the control knob issue and I just do not see the problem. I did clean all of the old grease off and applied new lube. Still the same issue. Any ideas or suggestion would by much appreciated.

Thank you,
Bill

[William]

Finally, I now have the Pioneer PL-50 turntable sorted. From everything I have read it is a well respected unit, but is definitely a weird unit. It is semi automatic, in that you need to hover the tonearm over the record and then hit the down button and then the tonearm will gently lower to the start grove on the record. At the end of the record it will trip like any auto changer would, the tonearm will rise and then move over the the tonearm post. With auto changer that is all driven by the motor. With this thing it is all mechanically done with springs. Very clumsy and noisy. I finally ordered and receive the correct lube so the elevator part of the unit works correctly. By me removing part of the mechanical parts the thrust bearing at the bottom of the turntable disintegrated so I had to order one of those. After everything was clean, lubed and reinstalled I then had to set thing back to factory specs which was also a pain. Give me a VM changer anytime. The might not be as smooth as this Pioneer, but the VM's are much easier to work on and far less fussy. I will run it for a few days to make sure everything is ok and then take it back to the owner. Here's an ad for on on eBay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/405628546399?c ... item&gQT=2

Bill

[electra225]

Great job, Bill! When you "tough out" the difficult jobs, the success seems more sweet.....

That is a nice changer. Probably high end in its day......

What kind of cartridge is it running? You may have said, sorry I missed it if you did....

[William]

From everything that I have read the Pioneer PL-50 came with a cartridge. I am not sure if Pioneer built it or someone else did but in the owners manual it is referred to as a PC-35.


Bill

[electra225]

How does it sound?

[William]

Like crap, maybe a needle or maybe the cartridge is junk. Nut sure, but will be a decision the owner can make and the replace. The needle and or the cartridge would be easy to replace.

Bill

[danrclem]

I really like the looks of that turntable Bill, and it also has some heft to it. I'd say, there's a good chance that it is the needle, cartridge or both making it sound bad.

[William]

Thanks, Danny, I am thinking the same thing. It is a nice looking table and it runs very smooth but the reject part is very clunky and it is very fussy with its adjustments.

Bill