Direct Drive Turntable

There are two main types of turntables available one is the belt-drive turntable and other which we will study is the direct-drive turntable. These turntables the belt-drive as well as the direct-drive is named after the drive motor used to operate them. Both types of turntables are used for playing 12” and 7” vinyl disc records. Technically, in a direct drive turntable the motor is located directly under the center of the platter and is connected to the platter directly. The first commercially available direct-drive turntable, the model SP-10, was introduced by the Technics division of Matsushita in 1969. Since then a lot of variations took place as the technology advanced and new and improved models replaced the older ones but the technology remained the same.

In recent years, shock-absorbing (less dense) material is placed between the motor and platter to cut back on vibrations which was a slight disadvantage with direct-drive turntables. Since the motor is directly connected to the platter, the torque is usually much higher than in the belt drive models. Some direct-drive turntable further reduces the separation of motor and platter by using the platter itself as the rotor in the turntable's induction motor. DJs and Turntablists find the direct-drive turntables more convenient as its functions assist them in musical performances.