Now the fun starts. "New" 301 hammertone to play with when...

beeton

New Member
Picked one up over the weekend. My eyes bulged a bit when I noticed a 301 on Plinth at a garage sale and I quickly but carefully picked this along with another TT up and floated off all happy like.

So, dark wood plinth ,good shape with a few scrapes and marks, but no corner damage so likely never dropped.
Good platter and hammertone finish with no pitting. Broken speed control know.
Odd tonearm with articulating shell (like a wrist) and no handle or counterweight to keep it level. Looks like some parts are missing. The shell has an empire 888 cartridge (hard to make out from that angle so I will confirm).
The tonearm had a General Electric sticker on the base but not well placed so I do not know if it is origional. The etonearm has a dual rail design (for lack of better term).

Forgive the improper terminology.

The power cable is frayed and I will replace that first after I check the grease cup and general linkages.



I will add some better 20170513_193831[1].jpg 20170513_193753[1].jpg images later as that may help.

I have also picked up an old Microlab turntable (microlab devices Toronto) but can't find any info on this company. Good plinth, some scabbing on the finish. No tonearm. Any ideas?

And lastly, a realistic 8010 TT. Spins up slowly due to a tired rubber band but the tonearm will not go down. seems the cue mechanism is stuck in the "up' position.

It was a good outing for TT.
 
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Nice haul for sure. You need to remove the " what's it worth " bit or you will end up in the Dollars and Sense forum.
 
Looks to have the original table to plinth mounting screws [301] thats a good sign.
Post additional pic,s of its arm.
 
The arm sounds like the GE I found on (coincidentally) a Micro Devices table at the dump. Didn't know what I had - both are sought after - so gave the arm away and traded the table for something minor. I do have the mat still, though I don't know why) and yours looks like it might be upside down.
That stuff and the Garrard are high end components from a previous era, and though they cannot be tossed in, willy nilly, with a modern system and sound their best, with care and proper matching, you can get them to sound astonishingly good. That's the fun of vintage audio.
Were I you, I'd sell the GE arm, and either sell the 301, or sell the Micro Devices to a fervent Canadian, and keep the other table. I'd use the proceeds to buy a period correct Decca arm and cartridge, mount them in a very heavy solid plinth, and never look back.
 
Good to hear. I as going to restore the Micro D to a clean state and leave it unfinished, more for display, next to my wind-up TT, thinking it was a non-popular item and try to restore the 301 as best as I could for myself. I will admit that most of the vintage stuff is beyond my comprehension so a long road of learning ahead.
On an aside to this thread, I visited Bloor Bay radio in Toronto today for a belt for my Realistic TT (slow cue arm to be remedied but I have another Realistic, a Lab 440 and it uses the same belt so no loss if it cannot be repaired). Some of the TT's they have on display are gorgeous but again, never having listened to a $1500 TT and proper amp, not sure It is within my financial realm to buy that type of stuff. Then there's the need for proper speakers.....
8 TT in the houses at the moment, 3 in fairly regular use.

So, regarding the 301, a very solid plinth would be better over the stock wood one?
 
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Though the MIcro Devices doesn't have anywhere near the cachet of the 301, my memory is that it shared many of the characteristics of the Rekokuts, Lencos and other simple but robust designs that can deliver a surprising amount of grunt - immediacy and weight. So I would not discount its potential as a main table.
 
Hello beeton. Welcome to AK. Check out VinylEngine.com for Owners and Service Manuals .
 
Thanks. Managed to find a reprint of the factory manual. Interesting. Just have to juggle everything including a new timing belt on the Alfa so turntables will take a few weeks I think. The realistic I picked up is likely junk as too many small issues but the Micro D and 301 will be a pleasure to clean up.
 
Don't discard the tonearm: from your description it looks it's probably a G.E "Baton" (A1-500 or A1-501). These old arms are valuable and sought after by Hi-Fi collectors (and are still usable today), especially if the (often missing) sliding arm pressure counter-weight is present.

GEBATON.1.jpg GEBATON.2.jpg
 
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The 301 when restored will last you a lifetime. Lots of information about restoring it. I followed the advice here: http://www.colisiumdevelopments.co.uk

When I tried to print it out to refer to, I found that it had formatting issues. So, I made myself a tidier copy and did some very light editing. I attach it, recognising that the credit and copyright still belongs to Tony Holley of Colisium Audio.
 

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