Garrard 301 restoration project

[Barry]

There is no such thing as "LXXXXII". If you mean part 92 then in Roman numerals it should be "XCII".

Good luck with the fixed headshell SME 3009 arm. I used to have one, but with a dozen or so cartridges to play with, I preferred to use SME arms with a detachable headshell. Even when set up with an ADC 25, the latter having a compliance of around 50cu, the combination tracked perfectly.

[Lawrence001]

The use of LXXXX for 90 has always interested me as I've seen it occasionally in old books and buildings. Similarly I think I've seen MDCCCC used in buildings built at the turn of the 20th century. So I wondered if the strict usage that doesn't allow it is a modern creation with stricter logic than a Roman rule.

[Barry]

After reading your post I looked at the Wikipedia article on Roman numerals, and it would seem that both the additive and subtraction system of notation was used up to the Twentieth century. Since then the notation system used now is subtractive; as used by the BBC.

So I was being pedantic in my criticism of Andy's notation. Sorry!

[Wakefield Turntables]

Well I've been well and truly taken to task over my dodgy Roman numeral usage . I promise to try harder in the future.

[Wakefield Turntables]

The Garrard 301 Restoration Project PT XCIII - Three Amigo's upgrade update


This project has been going on now for over 10 years and still I tinker. Last year I flirted with the idea of having a three armed plinth with three vintage SME tonearms. Ultimately I wanted the ability to use my favourite SPU, have very good MONO playback for my growing collection of MONO LP'S and then also be able to mess around with vintage MM's from the 1970's, mainly to play classical stuff, I do think that a decent MM cartridge and DECCA SXL's are a combination which is extremely hard to beat. Let's fast forward to 2026 and I twisted my own arm and bought a very nice example of a fixed shell SME 3009 which had basically been designed as a tonearm for the Shure V15 mk3. I got a good deal and the RCA conversion had been done which means I can use my favourite IC's when the time comes (hello Yannis)!



So here is my newest 3009. You can also see that I have started to make a Panzerholz base for the tonearm. I only have a few pieces of Panzerholz left now so I have to be extremely careful that I don't bodge anything that I make. I've included another photograph showing my Shure V15 mk 3, I can't wait to get this setup and then start playing around with some of the more exotic JICO stylii. I no longer trust the internet (or sadly) people on the various forums to send undamaged or knackered Stylii so I trust JICO, yes they are expensive and they take ages to arrive and the customs can be a PITA but at least you get what you paid for. JICO are supposed to be making a brand new V15 mk3 cartridge but the world still waits.



Finally a quick shot of what the three SME's will look like when I eventually modify the current plinth to accept a third arm.



The plinth will need to be dismantled and I will have to form a channel in the plinth to hide another setup of Interconnects which will connect the SME 3009 and then run out into the EAR 834 clone phonostage. Speaking of which I now have three phonostages linked to the 301, my Paradise phonostage takes care of SPU Silver Meister Mk2 and Jazz duties. The Croft phonostage is specifically for MONO playback and the EAR clone is especially for my MM adventures. The EAR can accept different capacitance loads, has the ability to switch bewteen two sources and has a MONO switch should the Croft break. So far my rack has been very accomodating and I managed to house the EAR 834 clone without having to dismantle the whole thing or buy some more bamboo racks. Here's a quick photo, things are a bit cramped but you can see both phonostages sitting on top of each other.



Finally, I've always wanted a Panzerholz plinth for the 301 but cost is quite prohibitive and I've never really managed to design a plinth that worked for my needs, well, that's not the case anymore. I will be seriously thinking about getting some Permali and making another plinth for the 301 around the same desigbn as the bamboo plinth which currently houses the 301. The project still has some way to go. There appears to be many upgrades which I still haven't tried but that's for another year, as ever stay tuned......

[Barry]

Good luck with the Shure V15/III. I used to have one which I used in an SME 3009 II arm. Love the use of all three arms on your Garrard 301: I assume it is an oil-lubricated bearing, rather than the earlier grease bearing.

Very impressed with the playback equalisation curves available on your Rek-O-Kut Re-Equalizer II; should cover all eventualities for records cut before the universal adoption of the RIAA recording and playback curve.

Well done!

[Wakefield Turntables]

Good luck with the Shure V15/III. I used to have one which I used in an SME 3009 II arm. Love the use of all three arms on your Garrard 301: I assume it is an oil-lubricated bearing, rather than the earlier grease bearing.

Very impressed with the playback equalisation curves available on your Rek-O-Kut Re-Equalizer II; should cover all eventualities for records cut before the universal adoption of the RIAA recording and playback curve.

Well done!

Thanks Barry. I have a oil bearing, which has been Bastinised! The Rek-o-Kut III is a nice additional to some of the very older vinyl which I sometimes play.

[Wakefield Turntables]

The Garrard 301 Restoration Project PT XCIV - Proof of concept.

Its saturday night and not a great deal is happening so I though I'd create an update on the 301. I have had a lazy Saturday and decided that I really needed to bite the bullet and get the third SME 3009 arm fitted. To be honest I didn't really know if it would fit. I'm better prepared and I have an original template to fit the arm, this is something which I did not have for the other two SME's that I fitted to the 301 so I guess it's a case of third time lucky.




Fitting the arm was shall we say testing as it took ages to find the correct drill bit. I've had to do a little modification to the SME mount which I made years ago and now I have used up the last of my Panzerholz offcuts that I bought. I'm also in need of a set of RCA leads, so I purchased a set of Amazon Basics RCA leads for the princley sum of £7.12 delivered, I expect to get them tomorrow and I will hopefully be able to play some music. The "new" 3009 will initially use an old Shure V15 mk3 with a suitable stylus just to produce some noise and make sure that everything works and actually outputs some sonics and then I have the annoying task of setting everything up again. JICO will at some point be getting some of my hard earned cash and I think I'll go down the route of a SAS/B it's ages since I've had one.

And finally we have proof of concept, a three SME armed 301 which is ready for any vinyl occasion.




OK, until next time, stay tuned....

[Barry]

Well done Andrew - but remember you only have 6 more posts to go to complete the project. New software means that no update thread can consist of more than 100 posts!

[Wakefield Turntables]

Well done Andrew - but remember you only have 6 more posts to go to complete the project. New software means that no update thread can consist of more than 100 posts!

Oh bugger, that could be a big problem!