Garrard AT6 un a console...score?

[angelaudio]

Hello AK’ers!

So I hit an estate sale and found a console for $30.

It has a Garrard AT6 (in it which is spinning but the stylus is missing and the connections from headshell to tonearm are frayed and or stripped.

Is it worth the $30 that I paid for it?

It spins but none of the functions (auto start, anti skate adjustment) seem to be working.

If so how easy or difficult and expensive would it be to set it up on a new plinth ?

Thanks in advance!

 

[swechsler]

Shouldn't be too difficult; you have the original mounting board that you can use as a template, so theoretically you could buy any base that's large enough and then cut a new top piece. I believe (but you should confirm) that all AT-series turntables from the 1960s and 1970s use the same base; possibly some other brands do as well. Does this thing actually have an anti-skate? I was unaware that any of the older Garrards did.

 

[angelaudio]

Shouldn't be too difficult; you have the original mounting board that you can use as a template, so theoretically you could buy any base that's large enough and then cut a new top piece. I believe (but you should confirm) that all AT-series turntables from the 1960s and 1970s use the same base; possibly some other brands do as well. Does this thing actually have an anti-skate? I was unaware that any of the older Garrards did.

Thanks for the reply.

I could be wrong about the anti skate, it might be tone arm weight adjustment. I attached a pic.
Never seen anything like it before

 

[swechsler]

Yes, that's the stylus pressure. You balance the arm by setting that gauge to 0, then loosen the rear knob, and move the weight forwards and backwards until the arm just balances. Then you tighten the rear knob and set the gauge to the desired pressure. Each mark should be 1 gram.

Regarding getting the auto function to work, it's actually pretty complicated mechanically and probably not for the faint of heart. There are a few guides online regarding repairing Garrard turntables but I'm not sure if any of them would apply to yours. You definitely should not start spraying it with lubricant or WD-40; that can do more harm than good.

Does the arm automatically return at the end of the record? To me, that's much more important than having it automatically start.

 

[EastPoint]

Those are pretty cheap turntables, so $30 for a non-working one is probably not a great deal.

 

[angelaudio]

Yes, that's the stylus pressure. You balance the arm by setting that gauge to 0, then loosen the rear knob, and move the weight forwards and backwards until the arm just balances. Then you tighten the rear knob and set the gauge to the desired pressure. Each mark should be 1 gram.

Regarding getting the auto function to work, it's actually pretty complicated mechanically and probably not for the faint of heart. There are a few guides online regarding repairing Garrard turntables but I'm not sure if any of them would apply to yours. You definitely should not start spraying it with lubricant or WD-40; that can do more harm than good.

Does the arm automatically return at the end of the record? To me, that's much more important than having it automatically start.

I haven’t tried. I’ll give it a shot soon. Thanks for the clarification about the knobs!

 

[Markoneswift]

Those are pretty cheap turntables, so $30 for a non-working one is probably not a great deal.

Yeah I have to agree - sorry OP - those early Garrard changers are pretty nasty. Personally, I wouldn't spend a whole lot of time (or money) doing anything with it when there's a ton of better turntables out there. Maybe, if he likes the console, the OP could take out the Garrard and drop in a better performing deck.

 

[angelaudio]

Yeah I have to agree - sorry OP - those early Garrard changers are pretty nasty. Personally, I wouldn't spend a whole lot of time (or money) doing anything with it when there's a ton of better turntables out there. Maybe, if he likes the console, the OP could take out the Garrard and drop in a better performing deck.

I think I’ll do just that...I peeked inside and the speakers are tube powered which is new to me, never messed with tube anything, so might just drop in a better deck. Any suggestions?

 

[Markoneswift]

I think I’ll do just that...I peeked inside and the speakers are tube powered which is new to me, never messed with tube anything, so might just drop in a better deck. Any suggestions?

It could be tricky and I'm not really one to comment on the how-to's for tube (or valve, if you're English like me) gear. I do know that most of the old valve amps had different requirements for input impedance than more modern solid state gear and often, the turntable was powered by the amp section rather than having it's own power supply. I did pull a very similar Garrard out of an old valve console myself a while back, but I wanted the amp section and just threw the turntable out.

What you will find, if yours is anything like mine was, is that the setup is actually fairly simple. In my console, the amp had RCA type input jacks labelled 'GRAM' and the Garrard simply plugged into them. I had to separate the power supply but that wasn't hard either. Do be very careful if you're not familiar with tube / valve gear - they pack a lot of voltage punch and can make your day a very unhappy one.

 

[HH-Bham]

I peeked inside and the speakers are tube powered

So you got the whole console? More likely that your score is with the tube amp. Post some pictures of that. And any brand name and model numbers you can find.

$30 for a tube console is not bad.

Note the tube amp certainly will need restoration. Read the sticky threads on the tube forum here if you have any interest in going that route. As mentioned above, tube amps are dangerous and can kill you.

The great majority of tube consoles are not worth restoring. Most pull tubes from preamp, tuner, and amp and sell them along with amp.