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View Full Version : Goldring Lenco GL75 fitted with SME arm



chris@panteg
18-07-2009, 10:46
Hi Guys

Right i have just found out my stepson's girlfriend 's mum has this deck and was about to take it to the tip :scratch: NO i said i will have it ' i think it could be a nice project, what do you think.

It looks (from a mobile phone pic ) to be mounted in a custom plinth with an SME 3009 or 3012 not sure ,its defo a SME though ' hopefully going to see it and bring it home later today .

DSJR
18-07-2009, 11:06
Good one.. I hope it's a 12" SME, in which case you can do what another has done and remove the L75 arm and fittings, neatly and reversibly blank off the holes thus exposed and the look of the deck isn't at all compromised (apologies, I still feel bad about cutting chunks out of the top plate ;))

Beechwoods
18-07-2009, 12:40
No question - get it!

I'd love to have another Lenco to play with. The L75 is a great tweaker's machine!

chris@panteg
12-08-2009, 22:23
well i have finally picked up the GL75 and it has a 3009 ' 9 inch version with a detachable headshell ' its looking very sad and neglected ' the arm and deck are going to need a major overhaul .

The SME bearings seem to have loads of play in them err i am guessing it must be shagged '
it feels very floppy ' the plinth is home made affair and very resonant .

The GL75 feels like a serious piece of engineering though ' i am going to find out how much SME charge for a refurb 1st .

John
13-08-2009, 06:15
Good luck with the poject Chris The lenco is a lovelly deck when done up well and if it does not cost to much to get the arm fixed the SME will work well with the Lenco

chris@panteg
13-08-2009, 08:06
Thanks John

It could take quite a while 'but its a nice collectible item and saved from the local tip 'as that's where it would have gone otherwise:doh: .

jbloggs
15-08-2009, 21:34
The Goldring Lenco GL75 was the second turntable (with SME arm) I ever had (in the mid '70s) it really was a most simple design and one that gave me a lot of use, I eventually went onto own the Ariston RD11s (again with an SME arm) which was I kept up until '83... ah those were the days! ;)

DSJR
15-08-2009, 22:40
The old metal-V bearing SME's all had play in the ball-races - easily adjusted (almost) out. The later "improved" arms had a slightly different horizontal ball-race arrangement IIRC.

The knife edges are wonderful for 1 gramme trackers, but the best way to deal with them for MC's is not to chuck the arm as Rob suggests elsewhere (;)) but to use a heavier headshell and get a heavier counterweight to balance it, thus adding loading to the bearings and preventing "chatter". A heavier headshell will almost certainly minimise arm resonances too, as long as you stick to sensible cartridges and heavier counterweights are also available for both series II and II "improved" models to get the weight as near the pivots as possible.

See if you can do some basic arm-refurbs yourself, as SME are firmly in the "boutique" class these days with price-tags to match. At least new and used spares are readily available from various sources.

chris@panteg
16-08-2009, 00:45
A pic of the arm

having a bit of a nightmare trying to get these onto my pc at the moment ,my bluetooth thingy is playing up al over the place :steam:.

chris@panteg
16-08-2009, 00:55
some more

Barry
16-08-2009, 00:58
The old metal-V bearing SME's all had play in the ball-races

Don't understand - SME Vs have ball race bearings to ABEC7 tolerance.


At least new and used spares are readily available from various sources.

Yes at a price! (especially those filthy money grubbing opportunists who went in and bought up the spares stock from SME, when SME discontinued the 3009 II (and 3009 II improved) and now sell their wares on eBay) - Caveat Emptor!