Garrard 301 restoration project

[Jimbo]

The Garrard 301 Restoration Project PT XXXXIII - Reflections, thoughts and a bit of waffle.

I'll probably do another update tomorrow, so it's a double bill over the weekend! I'm happy with the way the new feet are performing. The 301 certainly sounds no worse than it did whem I was using the bamboo feet. I would say that things "appear" to sound marginally better, I'm certainly not going to bother taking these feet away from the 301, I can't be bothered . Overall, I'm very very lucky I have an amazing soundstage that greets me anytime that I chose to use the 301. My 301 seems to specialise in immersive detail and a uncanny ability to accurately place people in a very defined area of the soundstage. The 301 is by no means the last word in vinyl replay, my 1210 would easily trounce this 301 for forsenic detail but the 1210 can't match the 301 for emotional connection, so I suppose it's horses for courses.

The 301 has always had modifications and the platter is no exception. I use a Tenuto platter mat which is made from Gun Metal. Gun Metal is approx 88%ish copper, copper works as a very good shield for some of the nasties that can get into the replay chain. I wonder if some of the sonic presentation I hear is due to this or maybe has no effect what's so ever, I suppose I'll never know . I also use a platter ring which adds additional mass to the outer circumference of the platter, it's also great for getting vinyl very flat and producing an improved vinyl/platter mat interface. I wonder if the platter ring works a little like the oversized platters that seem to be popular (Shindo, Audio Grail, CTC etc). I've never tried an oversized platter, cost isn't really an issue but I wonder just how much of an improvement they bring and does my current setup give me the same effects, or maybe even better? Again I suppose I'll never know unless I get to borrow one from somewhere (HINT HINT)!!

So, I've scratched one itch, and that was the chasis reinforcement board that I bought from the USA last month. Many versions of this had been proposed and designed and it seems that the people who designed these products really did have an inkling that the 301 sounded better with a stiffend chassis. The oversized platter is again an idea that's been kicking around for years and again it seems to add an improvement to the 301, I'm also emulating this with a platter ring (maybe not as effectively as a real platter but I'm happy). So, another itch sort of scratched. Lowered voltage to the motor and a super clean regulated power supply was something I did years ago alongside rock solid speed control. My plinth has been improved by upgrading to bamboo. Again two modifications which have been documented for years and yes they do work. I've dabbled with isolating the 301 with springs and ball bearings, and yes this also seems to work. I must admit that I'm running out of ideas with what to do next. Any suggestions??

OK, enough for tonight, stay tuned....

I would be interested in some pics of the 301 motor section so I can compare it with the one I had. With all your modifications etc I would like to see. how it sits now. Mine used to be sprung I think?

[Wakefield Turntables]

I would be interested in some pics of the 301 motor section so I can compare it with the one I had. With all your modifications etc I would like to see. how it sits now. Mine used to be sprung I think?

Mines still stock. I did replace the rubbers on the motor suspension springs a number of years ago. My 401 sits in a Martin Bastin plinth which decouples the motor.

[Jimbo]

Mines still stock. I did replace the rubbers on the motor suspension springs a number of years ago. My 401 sits in a Martin Bastin plinth which decouples the motor.

Ah - forgot yours was in the Martin Bastin plinth.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Ah - forgot yours was in the Martin Bastin plinth.

The 401 sits in the Bastin plinth. My 301 sites in my own plinth design for which I have not decoupled the motor.

[SLS]

Deleted

[Wakefield Turntables]

The Garrard 301 Restoration Project PT XXXXIV - More Tom Tweakery!


It's been a little while since I posted anything about the 301. I'm actually listening to some Monk on my 401/SME V-12/Shure M55E/EAR 834 clone setup for a change. The 301 is having some more work done on it so may as well give the 401 a spin. The latest mods have been based around trying to reduce vibration further into the 301 by using some feet I purchased from ebay years ago. These feet are nicely milled aluminium adjustable jobbies which sit on some ball bearings. Here's a quick pickie of the 301 having cleaning and fettling, this is a ritual that I always perform if I'm modding the 301, it keeps all the intrinsic clean.



It's not a thing of beauty but it gets the job done. And now just a quick picture of how the new feet look after installation, I've still not properly levelled everything at this stage so the feet may look a little wonky. .




The jury is still out. Sometimes I think they are beneficial and other times I'm not so sure. I still have the bamboo feet I made kicking around so nothing lost and nothing gained if they don't work out. I must admit to being very pleasently surprised by the performance of the 401. It makes a nice change to sometimes listen to different decks and carts.

As always stay tuned.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Erm......... update pending!

[Jimbo]

Looking forward to it

[Wakefield Turntables]

The Garrard 301 Restoration Project PT XXXXV - Infrastructure spending (less than the National Grid)!

Hello boys and girls! I was too tired last night to post any musings so here I'am today having a guinnes, remembering an old friend and listening on my 401 ( yes this is a thread about a Garrard 301) to some excellent old MONO DECCA pressings I picked up today for £12. I can't say that I enjoyed the very slow rendition of The Ride of the Valkyries on Ace of Clubs ACL 22, but hey the rest of the album sounded great, anyway I digress. I've been looking at ways to slow the spending habit on boxes and pieces of hardware and as promised have been spening more money on vinyl, I did however, fail! I've recently snagged a ex-demo Townshend Seismic Stand directly from Townshend with a choice of loading pods! I decided that I wanted a set of 4 "D" level pods which means I can easily have 40-80Kg of kit sitting on the stand. Now, I have two pieces of kit which are not protected, firstly my power amp and secondly my 4-box paradise phonostage. So, I guess I'll try the stand under both pieces of kit and see if this helps. I should easily get my money back should this experiment fail. So, whilst this is not strictly a paragraph about the Garrard 301, it does potentially have an impact of stuff travelling into the rack and then into the Garrard. Anyway, here's a picture of the equipment where the new Seismic stand will be used.



Now, the main bit of gossip regarding the 301 is the possibility of me making a bearing collar for the 301 bearing, something which other Idlers have had for years, take a look at these two pictures of a bearing collar for the Lenco GL75.





It's not very difficult to make a bearing collar and the idea is to stiffen up the mounting of the bearing to the chassis of your specific idler. Now, you may remember my gamble with the Chassis stiffening plate that I purchased from the US of A, here's a picture of the said object installed in my 301.



It was a bit of a bugger to install but very much worth the effort and made a nice sonic lift to the 301. Well, my interest has been piqued. I only wish the guys that made the chassis stiffening plate also made something for the bearing, this is, however, not the case. So, it just so happens I have a spare Garrard 301 bearing floating around, so I can start messing around with prototypes in plywood and then probably make something in Bamboo to exploit it's damping properties, ultimately I would love some permali. I've already made some custom mounting bolts! In an ideal world I would also like to make something like what Ken has done to has Lenco GL75 bearing to clamp the base of the bearing to the base of the plinth but the 301 bearing is an awkard shape and not circular so a SHF flange mount may not work very well. ANY IDEAS KEN? Of course all this could be complete folly and not really do anything for the 301 and then there is the question of why I'm not making the bearing collar from stainless steel. Well, I don't have any! Bamboo is easy to work and cheap, and enables quick prototyping, I can always go stainless steel for giggles at a later date! Any here is a quick picture of the 301 with the said spare bearing



So, that's it for now, stay tuned.