When I saw DIY custom made turntables I thought you meant DIY custom made turntables. Like this. https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367
But what you mean is simply buying table and arm separately. Which is no big deal. In terms of difficulty, what you have to learn, its not very hard at all. (Says the guy who built his from scratch...)
There are a lot of great tables, and a lot of great arms, but they don't always come together that way. With a little research you can put together a great front end without too much trouble.
This can even be done as your first table. My first was a Basis/Graham/Glider. A lot of reading went into that choice but as a result of all the research when it came it went together and was up and running easy as could be.
Some tables will be drilled for certain arms. Others use an arm board. There's a lot of variety. The best advice is to just start looking at a lot of them, read reviews and comments, pay attention to setup, and what things cost.
The most important decision you will face is how to allocate funds. You can buy a really killer table and a starter arm, for example, if you want a killer rig but can't afford everything all at once. Or you could get a more balanced table/arm/cart.
So step #1 is have some sort of budget. Which needs to include cartridge, phono stage, interconnect, and power cords. Even if you aren't buying this all at once it needs to be kept in mind as it makes a huge difference. Look at my system. Look how much attention went into just the rack. These things make a huge difference with turntables. DYODD.
But what you mean is simply buying table and arm separately. Which is no big deal. In terms of difficulty, what you have to learn, its not very hard at all. (Says the guy who built his from scratch...)
There are a lot of great tables, and a lot of great arms, but they don't always come together that way. With a little research you can put together a great front end without too much trouble.
This can even be done as your first table. My first was a Basis/Graham/Glider. A lot of reading went into that choice but as a result of all the research when it came it went together and was up and running easy as could be.
Some tables will be drilled for certain arms. Others use an arm board. There's a lot of variety. The best advice is to just start looking at a lot of them, read reviews and comments, pay attention to setup, and what things cost.
The most important decision you will face is how to allocate funds. You can buy a really killer table and a starter arm, for example, if you want a killer rig but can't afford everything all at once. Or you could get a more balanced table/arm/cart.
So step #1 is have some sort of budget. Which needs to include cartridge, phono stage, interconnect, and power cords. Even if you aren't buying this all at once it needs to be kept in mind as it makes a huge difference. Look at my system. Look how much attention went into just the rack. These things make a huge difference with turntables. DYODD.