View Full Version : 301 EMG project
I recently bought a 301 off a member of this parish and went looking for a plinth to put it in , this is what I came back with today , you know one thing led to another and I've ended up with a Sme 3012 , Sme mono spu and another spu that I will post else where , the plinth is made by EMG Ltd who were well known for gramophones , the arm is in very good condition coming with extra counter weights cartridge screws spacers and a spare spacer plate which are all unused, the plinth could do with a bit of sanding and scratch removing but basically was a freebie, it has a bulgin type mains socket which I will probably leave as I have a few plugs knocking about rather than cut it out for a modern socket ,
I need to go over the 301 and rewire and service I t , the Sme wants new leads making up as the wire and phono sockets have seen better days , happy days I feel are coming
http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp272/jonboy_01/image.jpg1_zpsdhpvfhfz.jpg (http://s419.photobucket.com/user/jonboy_01/media/image.jpg1_zpsdhpvfhfz.jpg.html)
http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp272/jonboy_01/image.jpg2_zps8qhqvfaf.jpg (http://s419.photobucket.com/user/jonboy_01/media/image.jpg2_zps8qhqvfaf.jpg.html)
http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp272/jonboy_01/image.jpg1_zpsjj4yprsp.jpg (http://s419.photobucket.com/user/jonboy_01/media/image.jpg1_zpsjj4yprsp.jpg.html)
a good haul.... nice work
walpurgis
02-04-2016, 20:51
Very nice. I like the distinctly period look of the plinth, it would be nice to use it if you could. I wonder if it could be brought up to something like modern requirements by some discrete beefing up inside? You could fit lift off hinges, so it doesn't have to be used with the lid attached.
Firebottle
02-04-2016, 20:51
:wow:
What a catch, good for you.
Very nice. I like the distinctly period look of the plinth, it would be nice to use it if you could. I wonder if it could be brought up to something like modern requirements by some discrete beefing up inside? You could fit lift off hinges, so it doesn't have to be used with the lid attached.
Yes Geoff Be good to beef it up as it has no mass or weight to it as such , the lid is lockable with a key ....just need to find a key ha ha , probably just leave the lid attached for now
What a wonderful find! 301 + 3012 + SPU = a classic combination.
Happy days ahead! :)
Audio Al
02-04-2016, 21:52
:eyebrows: Looking good :eyebrows:
:eyebrows: Looking good :eyebrows:
Looks good sat in there :smoking:
Looks good sat in there :smoking:
Like a very up-market Dansette! :lol:
If you are going to fettle/refurbish your 301, be warned - one member here started doing such over four years ago and still hasn't finished.
Like a very up-market Dansette! :lol:
If you are going to fettle/refurbish your 301, be warned - one member here started doing such over four years ago and still hasn't finished.
:lol: Yes I have aver been following that thread with great interest
BTH K10A
03-04-2016, 04:02
Very nice Jon
The EMG brand carries a huge cachet in the vintage hifi world. Whilst it's only a plinth, that EMG name has most likely seriously increased the desirability of your 301 / 3012 / SPU's setup.
I'd make any modifications removable like using bags of sand to add mass rather the adding additional bracing.
Very nice Jon
The EMG brand carries a huge cachet in the vintage hifi world. Whilst it's only a plinth, that EMG name has most likely seriously increased the desirability of your 301 / 3012 / SPU's setup.
I'd make any modifications removable like using bags of sand to add mass rather the adding additional bracing.
Hi Andy
i did hear that a certain well know vintage hifi collector over your way has a number of EMG items , as you say I'm also a bit loathe to modify the plinth , I have been thinking about making a removable oak frame or fitting maybe a slab of something Dense like slate inside.
EMG are a notable cabinet maker and their goods are desirable by collectors. That said they don't necessarily appeal to audiophiles. It is very fortunate to have both sets of 3012 weights and in the case of the weights in the box split weight larger weights to balance an SPU. I note you have the Ortofon made SME headshell however it seems to be paired with a flip over cart rather than an SPU?
In terms of the plinth you could improve it's sound without irreversible changes as others have noted and this would improve the sound.
Wakefield Turntables
03-04-2016, 09:52
Like a very up-market Dansette! :lol:
If you are going to fettle/refurbish your 301, be warned - one member here started doing such over four years ago and still hasn't finished.
Yeah thats me. I must admit that i have messed around and experimented with the deck/plinth/tonearm etc etc and TBH you don't really need to go as in depth as my thread. In all honesty a decent service, cleaning of the linkages and maybe a bearing service is all you need, send the arm to J7 at AO and maybe buy/build a decent plinth if you don't want the EMG cabinet. You'll probably spend less than £750 and have a deck to last you out.
BTH K10A
03-04-2016, 10:07
What is the make of the turnover cartridge Jon?
A mate who's into early blues and rock and roll music has a couple of similar SME/Ortofon headshells, one with a Garrard moving coil mono and the other with a Tannoy Variluctance mono. I was really surprised how good they both were.
It's says stylus N.5304L collard 58 transcription , had to get the kids to read it as I can't find a magnifying glass , terrible getting old
EMG are a notable cabinet maker and their goods are desirable by collectors. That said they don't necessarily appeal to audiophiles. It is very fortunate to have both sets of 3012 weights and in the case of the weights in the box split weight larger weights to balance an SPU. I note you have the Ortofon made SME headshell however it seems to be paired with a flip over cart rather than an SPU?
In terms of the plinth you could improve it's sound without irreversible changes as others have noted and this would improve the sound.
Yes it's got the mono non SPU cart on it but head shell seems to be a bit rarer? with SME on it rather than Ortofon , still got made in Denmark underneath , need to get the lid of the plinth stripped and re-polished , lucky I have a mate who does antique restoration as I don't want it new looking
Yes, the early SME headshell was made in Denmark by Ortofon. They were issued on all Series 1 and some early S2 (Split weight) SME 3009's and 3012's which is what you appear to have - If it is a very early S2 it may have the oval long hammertone finish screening can on the Sub assembly. The phono cable would also be the pre Tri connector type which would benefit from a rewire.
BTH K10A
03-04-2016, 11:58
Yes it's got the mono non SPU cart on it but head shell seems to be a bit rarer? with SME on it rather than Ortofon , still got made in Denmark underneath , need to get the lid of the plinth stripped and re-polished , lucky I have a mate who does antique restoration as I don't want it new looking
It would seem to be a Collaro then which I recall being ceramic cartridges. Your SPU GTE should drop in nicely as a replacement. :)
And to complete the cachet, track down an EMG moving coil cartridge with an integral SME/EIA fitting bayonet. A couple of these appeared on eBay a few years ago, quite likely the same couple commissioned by Alistair Robertson Aikman during development the SME arm.
BTH K10A
03-04-2016, 13:46
And to complete the cachet, track down an EMG moving coil cartridge with an integral SME/EIA fitting bayonet. A couple of these appeared on eBay a few years ago, quite likely the same couple commissioned by Alistair Robertson Aikman during development the SME arm.
I'm not sure they were EMG Barry, but are certainly right for the period. The Expert moving coil was sold by Expert Gramophone Ltd which had a different registered address to EMG Hand Made Gramophones.
The ones you saw on ebay, 78 & LP versions were supposedly from ARA.
I'm not sure they were EMG Barry, but are certainly right for the period. The Expert moving coil was sold by Expert Gramophone Ltd which had a different registered address to EMG Hand Made Gramophones.
The ones you saw on ebay, 78 & LP versions were supposedly from ARA.
I stand corrected! I thought about buying one of the two that appeared on eBay. From memory, they weren't asking much (c. £120).
Bit of an update , stripped out the bearing tonight and gave it a good clean , re greased and added a few drops of oil to the felt washer , cleaned and lubricated up all of the linkage, changed the broken speed and on off levers , rubbed back and respayed the platter and gave the inside a good degrease and clean up to remove the idler wheel marks , wired up the motor to the original bulgin connector and switched it on , a bit of a rumble as I forgot to oil the motor shaft , ran it up again then it decided to blow the suppressor so soldered a new one in , cleaned up the idler wheel with some fine emery as it was slipping slightly and ran it up again ...still rumbling but realised it was sat straight on the plinth with no Rubber washers ,couldn't find any but found some small solid rubber cones/ feet which I managed to drill a hole through and now work perfectly to isolate it , found some nice new mounting nuts and bolts in my bolt box of the right type and length ( not paying £14 off ebay !!) and hey Presto a perfectly well almost totally silent running 301 , left it running for an hour or so just to make sure ... Well chuffed ,
well its all up and running but had to add some serious weight to the arm to get the SPU to balance with those transformers fitted and had to loose the rider weight, running at 3.5 grams as a start point
deadly quiet with very low noise, the sound is very "well rounded" with no nasty spikes , needs a bit more fiddling yet , gonner find me some lead or somethng to load the plinth
http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp272/jonboy_01/sme%20arm%201_zpsrhkox2ai.jpg (http://s419.photobucket.com/user/jonboy_01/media/sme%20arm%201_zpsrhkox2ai.jpg.html)
http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp272/jonboy_01/sme%20arm%202_zpsbdgiqqmf.jpg (http://s419.photobucket.com/user/jonboy_01/media/sme%20arm%202_zpsbdgiqqmf.jpg.html)
walpurgis
22-04-2016, 20:20
Jolly good. I'm sure a bit of bracing and added mass would be beneficial. Not sure about lead though. :)
BTH K10A
22-04-2016, 21:42
Didn't Monitor Audio use lead in their DD plinth?
feel that I'm not getting the most from my set up with the SPU fitted so before I go and fiddle would my Denon 103r work in that arm with a sme head shell ?
walpurgis
20-06-2016, 21:58
The 103R should work, but I'd be inclined to try a stiffer cast aluminium headshell. An ADC item would likely do the job.
The 103R should work, but I'd be inclined to try a stiffer cast aluminium headshell. An ADC item would likely do the job.
thanks Geoff
How are you equalising the pressure on the knife edge bearings?
Yes Geoff Be good to beef it up as it has no mass or weight to it as such ,
Jon, great find. I hope you enjoy your project.
I did a similar thing last year with my 301 and a vintage plinth. It was a "Rumblecure", from, I think the 1960s. sadly it didnt live up to its name!!
it was all foam and rubber, in an attempt to isolate vibration. A terrible thing. Anyway, I ripped out all the rubbish and nailed the original top plate back in.
Now, the bit that may interest you. It was quite a big plinth, with lots of space underneath.
I mixed up some plaster and got as much in as I could. Left it for a week to set, then sanded off any edges. Gave it a real good clean then several coats of paint, mainly so that no dust would
be flying around near the motor etc.
For certain it looks like a DIY job, but it certainly sounded better after my efforts than before. The extra mass did make a difference.
I used it at a Bake off at my house and it received much favourable comment ( for the sound....................... Sadly not for my artistic DIY input and art work)
good luck
How are you equalising the pressure on the knife edge bearings?
sorry numpty time don't think I am perhaps that's why I'm having trouble , the arm is becoming quite "stiff" as it gets nearer the centre causing distortion mainly I believe from the extra weight required to balance out the spu t , the other issue which I need to address is to get a bigger spacer between the arm and plinth as the locking coller is just about on its limits to hold the arm level , now here's another thought I have a Mayware unipivot sitting in a draw perhaps I could squeeze that on the plinth as well as the SME and make a new top plate to save botching up the original , That would mean I could run mm and mc carts ... If I find some spare time maybe a winter project
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