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View Full Version : My Garrard 401 project is ready



selfaddict
28-12-2009, 11:55
This is my project, which started because I wanted to upgrade my cartridge to Koetsu Black on my Funk Vector. Unfortunately Roksan nima and Koetsu Black were not match made in heaven, so I ended selling the Funk and Nima and replaced them with second hand Garrard 401, which turned to be in very good original condition.

Then I started to looking for suitable plinth for the Garrard 401 I found Slatedeck. But after several e-mails with no answer I needed to find alternative plinth manufacturer. I finally found this company:

http://layers-of-beauty.co.uk/

The owner Russel Collinson was most helpful and as seen on the page he had made several plinths from Finnish extremely good quality Birch plywood. I have always loved the exposed plywood and this was the material I wanted to have to my plinth made from. So after several long e-mails we had finalized the specs and Russ was ready to start making the plinth.

I had bought Jelco SA-750BL 12" tonearm to go with Garrard and Russ made the plinth wide enough to take the Jelco on right upper corned and on my request made space for the second arm, 9" length, on left upper corner. This is an option I wanted for the future. I have always wanted to try 78RPM's so at least I have the option to do so if I want now.

The installation was very straightforward process. I had specified the thickness of the armboard to 15mm to make sure the Jelco do not get too unstable if raised too high from the plinth. This was very good in deed because this made sure I had enough room to adjust my VTA as I wanted and keep the tonearm stable. Russ had installed 4 threaded inserts to fix the armboard securely to the plinth. He also included new set on longer mounting bolts to fix the TT from below to the plinth. I just needed to replace the original rubber washers between the plinth and TT, these I found from e-bay easily.

After this it was a simple task of adjusting VTA and cartridge alignment. I used info from vinylengine site to get a rigth alignment protractor for my 12" Jelco. After this it was just to ENJOY the music and I have to say it was all worth the money and head scratching.

Rare Bird
28-12-2009, 12:03
The plinth with the rounded edges looks very Art Deco..looks cool. Fidelity Research 'FR-64' is a good arm for the '401'

Rare Bird
28-12-2009, 12:14
This is nice even though i prefer English Oak finished.

Looks like Santos Rosewood veneer ontop

(That's a Thorens Book under the table)

selfaddict
28-12-2009, 12:27
The plinth with the rounded edges looks very Art Deco..looks cool. Fidelity Research 'FR-64' is a good arm for the '401'

I saw the rounded edge model with vertical layers of plywood and wanted it immediately :). My plinth is solid plywood,so it is heavy and stable as I wanted it to be. When talked with Russ, he actually said this model was his first design. If you look his furniture he has used a lot of exposed plywood.

Now I am just waiting my isolation feet to arrive.I bought 4 disks of silence, and they are specified up to 90kg carrying capacity,so should be enough :lol:.

DSJR
28-12-2009, 13:32
That looks really excellent to me and, personally, I like the multi-level birch ply idea, each level jigged out differently as Martin Bastin's now costly plinths did. All you need is a properly fettled Decca (trust me, I know these things ;)) and you won't go wrong :lol:

How much are Russ's plinths approximately?

selfaddict
28-12-2009, 14:26
That looks really excellent to me and, personally, I like the multi-level birch ply idea, each level jigged out differently as Martin Bastin's now costly plinths did. All you need is a properly fettled Decca (trust me, I know these things ;)) and you won't go wrong :lol:

How much are Russ's plinths approximately?

Hello Dave.

The plinths range from £120 up wards, depending on the construction and the finish. My plinth is solid birch plywood and finished in piano lacquer high gloss finish and because this extra work it cost me £340 plus shipping. Russ really took his time and the finish is flawless. He said to get this finish it needs 30-40 layers of lacquer.

Sorry my ignorance, but what do you mean properly fettled Decca :scratch:? Are we talking about Decca cartridges? At the moment I have second hand Koetsu Black , which has been re tipped two times by the previous owner.

Rare Bird
28-12-2009, 14:31
Hi Juha

They are nice, the cut out neatness is a lot to be desired though, i'm a fussy swine, the insides has to be as perfect as the out..I think also 30-40 coats is a bit of an exageration on his part tho ;)

selfaddict
28-12-2009, 14:45
Hi Juha

They are nice, the cut out neatness is a lot to be desired though, i'm a fussy swine, the insides has to be as perfect as the out..I think also 30-40 coats is a bit of an exageration on his part tho ;)

:cool: cheers for the fussy swine :lol:

I used to be one as well, but have given up. If I want quality I approve, only way is to do it myself. And at the moment it is not possible unfortunately, so I need to rely on others.

I do not think 30-40 layers in not far off because the exposed end of plywood sucks a lot of lacquer before you start to get anywhere high gloss finish.

Alex_UK
28-12-2009, 18:30
Brilliant, Juha - you might remember I too have a (slow) project 401, and am reluctant to go the slate route as I just love the look of a 401 in a decent wood plinth (ideally Zebrano or maybe Ebony veneered) - I'll contact Russell in the New Year to see what he can come up with. Thanks again!

DSJR
28-12-2009, 18:51
My big old ATC's were laquered piano black finish and the lacquer was about 2.2mm thick - you lot can work out how many coats it took to get the finish.......

There are Decca's and there are Decca's.. Unfettled ones are very crude and the pin enters the groove with a nasal "snap," the extreme treble taking off and, it's rumoured, shaving a 19KHz tone into the grooves as well..... fettled Decca's which includes all current production and fully re-built and re-tipped older ones are a different kettle of haddock altogether, retaining the life and "verve" in the recording, having a ruler-flat frequency response from 60Hz to 10KHz and very little if any misbehaviour outside these limits.

Koetsu Blacks have always been my favourites of the older models (I have one myself with a channel down :() and you'll get much of the drama from it that a Decca gives. It's just that the Decca's work so well with Garrards and you have an arm that will stay together with one...

First though, I'd get a Wave Mechanic power supply (or similar) to regenerate the 50Hz supply at a steady voltage as I understand the 401 motor changes its speed with changes in voltage (it's not a "Synchro Lab" type as Garrard made for their other decks and certainly not a fully synchronous motor as I recall) - confirmed in a HiFi mag article from the early seventies.

Jonboy
28-12-2009, 18:54
Very Nice Juha, you've got me thinking about getting a 301/401 again, i could make a plinth out of solid oak, ash or beech, not sure what would be the best but i can get hold of any of the above before it gets turned into logs ;)

selfaddict
28-12-2009, 19:26
Very Nice Juha, you've got me thinking about getting a 301/401 again, i could make a plinth out of solid oak, ash or beech, not sure what would be the best but i can get hold of any of the above before it gets turned into logs ;)

Hello Jon.

I went for the plywood route because its damping abilities. Plywood seems to work as slate does. Slate as well as plywood is made of small layers of material, slate being sand/silt etc. plywood being hard layers of birch glued together cross section. The reason why I went vertical plywood was purely aesthetically, I am sure I could have had better damping qualities sticking with horizontal plywood, but so far I have had had no problems with rumbling etc.

This is my first experience with Garrard and I am sure it will not be the last. I love the "tank solid built" quality of Garrard and if the Japanese love the 301's so much as they do I am happy to follow their lead. I just like much better the "upgraded" 401 compared to the "old" 301.

selfaddict
28-12-2009, 19:56
Brilliant, Juha - you might remember I too have a (slow) project 401, and am reluctant to go the slate route as I just love the look of a 401 in a decent wood plinth (ideally Zebrano or maybe Ebony veneered) - I'll contact Russell in the New Year to see what he can come up with. Thanks again!

Hello Alex.

I remember your project well, your info helped me a lot to get my project started. You were the first to welcome me to the club as well :).

Unfortunately I have no patience when it comes to things I love to do, so I fast forwarded this project to see what Garrard and 12" Jelco can do in a beautiful plinth. So far I have been very impressed and this is just the start anyway.

Russ is able to do hollow or solid plinths from solid hardwood or veneered birch plywood. I had my plinth veneered cherry veneer to match my speakers and the color was perfect match thanks to Russ.

Good luck with your project and please feel free to ask if I can help in any way.

selfaddict
30-12-2009, 15:23
I just wanted to recommend a record clamp I bought recently.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Record-Clamp-Disc-Stabilizer-for-Vinyl-LPs-78s_W0QQitemZ290347964593QQcmdZViewItemQQptZTurnta ble_Parts_Accessories?hash=item439a1658b1

Only thing with this clamp is that the spindle hole is not big enough for Garrard 401, so you need to use fine sanding paper to make hole bigger. The difference is not big.

Garrard spindle 7.20mm
Record clamp hole 7.17mm

So using grade 180 sanding paper it took me max 5 min to get a nice snuggle fix with the spindle. I sands down easy being aluminum.

The weight is 370g.

Rare Bird
30-12-2009, 15:35
Dave we used to send selected items from the woodworking shop to a specialist firm that coated things to piano black, was a special finish that didnt require multiple coats,like they used too.. the finish was very thick & perfect.

selfaddict
30-12-2009, 16:42
Dave we used to send selected items from the woodworking shop to a specialist firm that coated things to piano black, was a special finish that didn't require multiple coats,like they used too.. the finish was very thick & perfect.

That must be some kind of resin or plastic based product. Those are very hard wearing. Only "problem" is that they will hide the wood grain, which I love.

Rare Bird
30-12-2009, 16:46
I just wanted to recommend a record clamp I bought recently.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Record-Clamp-Disc-Stabilizer-for-Vinyl-LPs-78s_W0QQitemZ290347964593QQcmdZViewItemQQptZTurnta ble_Parts_Accessories?hash=item439a1658b1



Good.. i bought one of these last year in silver, the engineering was superb, bubble & strobe markings were a bonus, the Strobe markings were the bug bear tho, they were not printed on accurately, you could see it wave slightly as the disc spun.I'd leave these alone if your a fussy nutter like me.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3-in-1-Record-Clamp-LP-Disc-Stabilizer-Turntable-NDD01_W0QQitemZ260528539981QQcmdZViewItemQQptZTurn table_Parts_Accessories?hash=item3ca8b6094d

Rare Bird
30-12-2009, 16:49
That must be some kind of resin or plastic based product. Those are very hard wearing. Only "problem" is that they will hide the wood grain, which I love.

It was a plastic base finish your right but totally convincing in every respect..*Hide the wood grain*!! You mean as in filling deep grain wood like oak/Ash? isnt this what piano finish all in aid of?, personally i don't like high gloss hardwood finish i think it's best for colours.

selfaddict
30-12-2009, 17:27
It was a plastic base finish your right but totally convincing in every respect..*Hide the wood grain*!! You mean as in filling deep grain wood like oak/Ash? isn't this what piano finish all in aid of?, personally i don't like high gloss hardwood finish i think it's best for colours.

What I meant by hide "the wood grain" is that the plastic or resin based products, which are most times heavily colored, will mask the wood grain and the wood itself under layer(s) of colored plastic/resin. So there is no point using expensive hardwood under finishes like these. If one wants to use these finishes why not use MDF or something less expensive.

For me lightly colored wood grain is the best looking finish combined with lacquer or natural vax.

Rare Bird
30-12-2009, 18:19
What I meant by hide "the wood grain" is that the plastic or resin based products, which are most times heavily colored, will mask the wood grain and the wood itself under layer(s) of colored plastic/resin. So there is no point using expensive hardwood under finishes like these. If one wants to use these finishes why not use MDF or something less expensive.

For me lightly colored wood grain is the best looking finish combined with lacquer or natural vax.
Deffo agree with you, like i said piano gloss is best applied to Colours..

Nice one ;)

DSJR
30-12-2009, 18:28
My 100A's were black lacquer, I suspect over a duff pair of walnut boxes. Linn used to have all their reject LP12 plinths filled and sprayed matt black..

Rare Bird
30-12-2009, 18:38
My 100A's were black lacquer, I suspect over a duff pair of walnut boxes. Linn used to have all their reject LP12 plinths filled and sprayed matt black..

Earlish LP12 plinths were made in Sheffield :)

selfaddict
30-12-2009, 18:44
Earlish LP12 plinths were made in Sheffield :)

Are they not more used working with steel than timber in Sheffield? :laugh:

Rare Bird
30-12-2009, 18:49
Are they not more used working with steel than timber in Sheffield? :laugh:

You'd die if you knew how many big names in british hifi used Sheffield for the woodwork..Pink Triangle were one..

selfaddict
31-12-2009, 22:40
I thought that I bought "just" isolation feet for my Garrard 401, but it seems that I have made the biggest upgrade by the pound so far.

These Swedish things are just mindblowing. :trust: The base is tight as... (you know what :eyebrows::eyebrows::eyebrows:" and the soundstage widened far far outside from the speakers just by isolating the plinth properly. So from now on I am a firm believer of good quality isolation products.

I cannot recommend these enough, if you want best from your TT go and buy these :mex:

Alex_UK
02-01-2010, 11:30
They sound interesting Juha - website for anyone else is http://www.solid-tech.net/isolator.htm - uk distributor appears to be Walrus Systems in London -http://www.walrus.co.uk/solidtech/solidtech.htm but can't see a list of dealers anyehere on their site, so probably they are the the only reseller?. Is this where you got them from Juha? Any indication of price? Thanks!

PS - check out the "Rack of Silence" - that looks amazing, like something out of Terminator!

Rare Bird
02-01-2010, 11:36
They sound interesting Juha - website for anyone else is http://www.solid-tech.net/isolator.htm - uk distributor appears to be Walrus Systems in London -http://www.walrus.co.uk/solidtech/solidtech.htm but can't see a list of dealers anyehere on their site, so probably they are the the only reseller?. Is this where you got them from Juha? Any indication of price? Thanks!

PS - check out the "Rack of Silence" - that looks amazing, like something out of Terminator!

What about isonoe feet Marco has on his Technics?

http://www.isonoe.com/

selfaddict
03-01-2010, 13:29
They sound interesting Juha - website for anyone else is http://www.solid-tech.net/isolator.htm - uk distributor appears to be Walrus Systems in London -http://www.walrus.co.uk/solidtech/solidtech.htm but can't see a list of dealers anyehere on their site, so probably they are the the only reseller?. Is this where you got them from Juha? Any indication of price? Thanks!

PS - check out the "Rack of Silence" - that looks amazing, like something out of Terminator!

Hello Alex.

I bought my set "second hand", but looks mint to me :) from audioemotion:

http://www.audioemotion.co.uk/pre_owned.php

I am not sure if they have any more second hand ones available. On their web page there is still set for sale, so you might be lucky. If you are interested give a Gary a call. Gary in one of the most knowledgeable hifi dealers I have ever come across. I cannot thank him enough for pointing me to the right direction many many times :cool:.

DSJR
03-01-2010, 13:34
You'd die if you knew how many big names in british hifi used Sheffield for the woodwork..Pink Triangle were one..

The firm was "Greaves of Sheffield" and they used to put little corner fillets in the LP12 plinths they made. These small fillets grew massively in the late eighties into the LP12 plinths we know today...

There were several cabinet makers in western Europe who made boxes for different manufacturers. Castle Acoustics had a once very successful cabinet making business and they did much work for ATC at the time.

Anyway, back to 401 fettling - far more interesting :)

Alex_UK
03-01-2010, 19:16
Thanks for the info Juha.

Rare Bird
03-01-2010, 20:03
The firm was "Greaves of Sheffield" and they used to put little corner fillets in the LP12 plinths they made. These small fillets grew massively in the late eighties into the LP12 plinths we know today...

There were several cabinet makers in western Europe who made boxes for different manufacturers. Castle Acoustics had a once very successful cabinet making business and they did much work for ATC at the time.

Anyway, back to 401 fettling - far more interesting :)

Hi Dave
Greaves thats it, i think they did Rogers Cabs amongs others, possibly B&W aswell.
Yes Castle Acoustics did do ATC cabs i saw em, i'm 99% certain i saw Manticore 'Mantra' plinths aswell, when i took my old Castle 'Pembrokes' up to be re-veneered.They were very very busy & could only fit you in around mid year, i don't understand why they went under