Garrard Turntable Owner's Club

[reubensm]

Hi all, we have a Technics Turntable Owner's Club. Think its time for us to have our very own Garrard Turntable Owner's Club as well. Let me start off with some pictures of my 301 in its original avataar. This deck was sourced and sold to me by a good friend, in the UK. This deck was part of an old hi-fi set up which was purchased with its original Garrard TPA10 tonearm, a Quad 22 Preamp and a pair of Quad II mono blocks as part of a clearance sale from an auction house. The history behind the deck is that it was purchased new by an old Englishman back in the late 1950s and used till about 1970 when he passed away. The entire rig was in storage since then and stayed there till the family found the items packed up and put them for sale, at an auction house. The deck was in pristine condition but since all the lubes had dried up, almost nothing was functional. The deck was strip-serviced by me and my brother, using help from Loricraft. Unfortunately I could not pick up the Quad preamp and mono blocks as they were sold for over 1600 GBP. More pics to follow on the servicing, plinth build and the final avataar, as and when I get them. Had these on my phone.

 

[reubensm]

Also some pics of the NOS SME 3009 Series II Improved (fixed headshell) purchased again in the UK, to go with the 301. Its was in absolute brand new, un-used condition.

 

[Record Player]

Excellent. Just about time we had a Garrard club. So many owners here on this forum. Looking forward to the posts and details.

Ill post details and pictures of me Garrard 401 and the complete setup soon. Link to the build - http://www.hifivision.com/phono-turntables/49887-sir-garrard-401-has-arrived.html

 

[gangof4]

My 301 with SME 3009 Series 2 Improved with Sumiko headshell and Astatic MF 300 cartridge (bought the last remaining NOS from Ed Crocket along with three replacement Stylus few years back. He was out of stock with both MF 100 and MF 200 by the time I got to know about Astatic MF series). The Astatic MF series (esp MF 100 and MF 200) got a lot of praise from Raul in that legendary MM vs MC post on Audiogon...... AudiogoN Forums: Who needs a MM cartridge type when we have MC?

 

[G401fan]

A small bump up to this thread...

Here's my 401, purchased in 2001 from a Chor Bazaar dealer for Rs 1500, along with a 3012 arm, on a battered plinth. There was no market, or value, for these decks here in India in those days. The previous owner must have left it exposed to sunlight, which caused the original mat to be baked into a frisbee. Schedule1, Serial no. 1482 which makes it from the first production run from 1965, with the flush strobe light which comes ON only when the speed control knob is depressed. Fully working, no speed drift, and all I had to do was oil the motor from the top, and apply some grease to the various levers. Got a new plinth made, bought a 3009 S2 Improved from eBay and plugged in my trusty V15VxMR (now with Jico stylus) and it's been up and running perfectly ever since. 50th anniversary this year.

Got the 301 (from another CB dealer) in 2009, just a few months before the LP resurgence hit these shores, which made all prices , especially Garrards, to skyrocket. Paid 5k for it, only because the guy thought he could inflate the price (he otherwise might have gone for half that) because the unit was 'peti-pack'. Schedule 1, Serial no. 14432, cream coloured, grease bearing model that was an intermediate production run, as they continued to issue hammertite greys with higher numbers up to s.n. 20000 at least. Well, this was manufactured in 1956, and some chap must have imported it back then, but never got round to setting it up, it being in its original box and wrapping, with all seals intact for 53 years. Had to open the lower half of the motor to clean out some insect residue (tropical climate!) , after which the motor ran silky smooth. Opened out the main bearing - the stainless steel was gleaming like it had just stepped out of the factory - and added fresh grease from the original Garrard tube. Got a plinth made, added a SME III (found in CB for 3K), and it now sports an Audio-Technica AT33EV. Both TTs connected to iFi iPhono which allows for both MM and MC inputs.

Both plinths are simple teak wood dabbas, with 18mm marine ply top plate. Don't think any of the exotic, multi-layered plinths might have made an improvement, as both TTs sound superb as it is.

Sold off my previous two decks, a Thorens TD 160 Super and a Linn Sondek, to make way for these. No regrets.

 

[reubensm]

Brilliant G401 fan, our paths are similar except my pockets are significantly lighter than your's by now

I am a bit busy with things and wify back home is also busy with the purchase of our next home. Once that's done, I'll post pictures of both my decks. I have taken the classic route for the plinths, inspired by FM Cybervinay, and am very happy with the results.

What are your impressions of the SME III?

 

[G401fan]

SME III ? Highly temperamental. The worst headshell of them all ( not ugly,tho', that trophy goes to the Lenco ), much too small, it's a bitch to install a cartridge, snapped off a couple of clips from the lead wires, major pain re-soldering them as the wires were way too short, the inner connections also tenuous, replaced the yoke twice with spares from eBay because of loss of connectivity, poor RCA jacks, minor hum that does not go away, etc. Finally, I replaced the RCA jacks with the connectors from analogtubeaudio.de, and the sound fell into place, all hum eliminated. The arm now sings, it's a thing of beauty with that titanium armtube, and the bearings are very very smooth. Add to that, it can take both high compliance and low compliance cartridges, and I've a spare armtube to swap carts in a jiffy.
Cheers!

 

[prakashsubbanna]

Hi Guys,

Here is my Garrad GT-35P Belt drive TT. Landed battered & corroded. I restored it to an extent possible. Will upload the before and after images shortly.

Fitted with the Shure M-95XE cart & Technics headshell. Regards.

 

[reubensm]

SME III ? Highly temperamental. The worst headshell of them all ( not ugly,tho', that trophy goes to the Lenco ), much too small, it's a bitch to install a cartridge, snapped off a couple of clips from the lead wires, major pain re-soldering them as the wires were way too short, the inner connections also tenuous, replaced the yoke twice with spares from eBay because of loss of connectivity, poor RCA jacks, minor hum that does not go away, etc. Finally, I replaced the RCA jacks with the connectors from analogtubeaudio.de, and the sound fell into place, all hum eliminated. The arm now sings, it's a thing of beauty with that titanium armtube, and the bearings are very very smooth. Add to that, it can take both high compliance and low compliance cartridges, and I've a spare armtube to swap carts in a jiffy.
Cheers!

Thanks G401fan, somehow I stayed away from SME III as it looked a bit complex for my liking. The SME 3009 Second Edition, Improved, is a Gem.

 

[AVM]

I came across this Garrad Project Build 2015. Goes to show the levels of performance this can be taken to
http://positive-feedback.com/Issue79/garrard.htm

Regards

 

[rpm]

I have recently bought the vintage Garrard AT60. Real image to follow. !

 

[jls001]

My Garrard is still a work in progress. Unfortunately it came with a broken speed selector knob, so for the heck of it I thought I'll DIY the knob. Visits to machine shops and foundries proved useless, so I decided to carve it myself out of wood. Some pics:

The broken knob:

Wooden version shaping up:

Matching on-off knob and speed selector knob:

Since the stock plastic speed adjuster would now look out of place surrounded on two sides by two wooden numbers, I had to make speed adjuster as well:

Buffed and oiled:

No progress yet with restoration beyond this. Need to find time and some inner push to set the ball rolling

 

[sachu888]

Wow Joshua, how do you do it?

Regards
Sachin

 

[AVM]

Thats a neat effort there. My Garrad is pending a cartridge before it starts to sing.
The Thomas Schick graphite headshell seems interesting.

 

[reubensm]

Fantastic effort with carving!!

 

[jls001]

how do you do it?

I used very small hacksaw, flat chisels, a round chisel, lots of sandpaper of various grades, small file set, a small knife made from an used hacksaw blade, a wobbly bench grinder (which I have since rectified) and drill bits. The round parts are cut away by clamping a one rupee coin to serve as template.

After getting final shape and size, it is dipped in linseed oil for about 6 to 12 hours, then excess oil is rubbed off with tissue paper and sun dried for few days. Then it is buffed with soft cloth before it fully dries. It is important to start buffing before it fully dries as it imparts the sheen.

These are tiny items so carving them is tedious. Buffing is even more boring

BTW, the choice of shape is deliberate. I didn't make the neck of the knobs thin like the original as that thin part is prone to breakage.

 

[Anil kumar]

Nice DIY effort Joshua lot of intricate workmanship, great!!


Anil

 

[rpm]

My recently acquired a Garrard AT60 automatic turntable,

Here are the pictures:


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[reubensm]

Nice one, this model is what led to the SP25 Mk1 (virtually the same TT without the changer functionality). Its a sincere player and will serve you well. Just keep it well oiled and dust free. Now, you may be tempted to upgrade but honestly, this TT in its own simple way, can give you many many more years of listening pleasure. Dad bought his SP25 in 1972 and we enjoyed listening to it till it passed on to one of our forum members. From what I know of, its still doing duty faithfully for him.

 

[rpm]

I am looking for an external phonostage for this deck. suggestions from fellow Garrard owners are most welcome.