gillsev
Well-Known Member
Yesterday we went to an estate sale and down on the basement covered with dust, I found a Garrard A70. I didn't test it there but just rotated the platter by hand and see if everything was smooth. And it was. The auto cycle cycled as it was supposed to do. It also had a Pickering ATE cartridge (with a decent PDE stylus). The cracked cake top dustcover was also included. So I purchased it for $24.50 (already 75% off!).
Upon reaching home, I dusted it out a bit and tried to remove the inner sub platter so I could lubricate the parts inside, but alas, the rubber mat was so brittle that it all crumbled to pieces (so I discarded it)! And the sub platter won't budge anyway (with the C-clip removed). So anyway, I gave up and just decided to fire it up and see anyway. Well, it worked very good! No noises and smooth rotation. The auto cycle worked very smooth with almost no hint of sluggishness at 33 rpm with the full platter on! The changer mechanism worked fine too! Sounds awesome with the Pickering cartridge with no hums whatsoever. It has the lighter tracking tonearm than the Type A and the Pickering tracked well at 2g. It also has antiskating lever adjustment at the pivot. All I need to get for this is a record mat (original I hope). I am really tempted to keep this now but just don't have the space for it.
For the meantime, I also have a Type A that I bought before at the Bay for $50 which was also decent. It had a Shure M7D cartridge tracking at 4g. But I had to lubricate it, and refurbished the idler wheel (done by Terry) because the auto cycle did not cycle all the way through without stopping. Now it's perfect! Sounds awesome too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru2CGUsD6G0&feature=context-chv
Now I am at a quandry as to which turntable to keep. I like the Type A for its vintage look even though it tracks heavy at 4g with the Shure M7D.
But on the other hand, the A70 is more modern for a lighter tracking tonearm that would significantly give more life to my records.
Please help me decide :sigh:
Upon reaching home, I dusted it out a bit and tried to remove the inner sub platter so I could lubricate the parts inside, but alas, the rubber mat was so brittle that it all crumbled to pieces (so I discarded it)! And the sub platter won't budge anyway (with the C-clip removed). So anyway, I gave up and just decided to fire it up and see anyway. Well, it worked very good! No noises and smooth rotation. The auto cycle worked very smooth with almost no hint of sluggishness at 33 rpm with the full platter on! The changer mechanism worked fine too! Sounds awesome with the Pickering cartridge with no hums whatsoever. It has the lighter tracking tonearm than the Type A and the Pickering tracked well at 2g. It also has antiskating lever adjustment at the pivot. All I need to get for this is a record mat (original I hope). I am really tempted to keep this now but just don't have the space for it.
For the meantime, I also have a Type A that I bought before at the Bay for $50 which was also decent. It had a Shure M7D cartridge tracking at 4g. But I had to lubricate it, and refurbished the idler wheel (done by Terry) because the auto cycle did not cycle all the way through without stopping. Now it's perfect! Sounds awesome too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru2CGUsD6G0&feature=context-chv
Now I am at a quandry as to which turntable to keep. I like the Type A for its vintage look even though it tracks heavy at 4g with the Shure M7D.
But on the other hand, the A70 is more modern for a lighter tracking tonearm that would significantly give more life to my records.
Please help me decide :sigh:
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