Garrard Type A turntable

[cubis]

Thanks, you are probably right. There are so many levers, pivots and linkages on these things the mind reels. It is however a beautiful and amazing contraption! I have become semi obsessed with it and purchased a second one to use to compare and contrast. Table #2 needed the same amount of work to get up to basic running trim and thankfully it does not have the same issue so I am hoping to observe it's behavior and use it to trouble shoot table #1. We shall see how that pans out. The plot thickens...

 

[thomash520]

My friend just sent me this link as I can't stop talking to him about a fine Type A I recently got here in Tucson AZ. I have two head shells for it; one has a shure M7 in it while the other has a Stanton 500 DJ. They both sound amazing on a vintage ampex tube preamp and modern tube power amp and quad 57s. How can this thing sound better than a $400 moving coil on a rabco harman kardon? Yet it does on almost any record. I soaked the wheel in rubber renew fluid and nursed the under side back after all the grease had sort of caked up. My trip mechanism is OK at 3+ grams. Anyone having trouble with it can just get in there and clean the pivots well but don't put oil on the friction surface of course! That is all I did to mine after it had sat for several years not being use. Glad to hear the affirmation from all of you; I add my acclaim for this beast.

 

[Paharry]

Thanks. I agree that they are a great-looking table, and as I always say, I can never decide if I want to play records on it or eat it.

Too bad that there is an issue with the trip mechanism, and LPs tend to skip once they get to 20 or 30 seconds from the end of the record. It had started out occurring once every 5 record plays or so, but it's happening progressively more frequently. No turntable techs in my area, and shipping it out to a boutique repair place (along with packaging costs & hassles) will exceed the cost of the turntable itself. Talk about first-world problems...

Not sure if you are still looking for solution. Best way to solve this is to disable automatic mechanism. This is an amazing turntable and I find soundstage can’t be beat. I use ortfon bronze in it but had to disable trigger for return of pickup because of the problem. Lighter pickup cannot generate enough force to push the mechanism so it skips backwards. You would have to bend one lever and problem solved

 

[Gelid]

Great thread.

I just recently obtained a Type A in the original wood plinth, and am looking forward to reconditioning it.

 

[Katalyst]

Must be the Karma today. This came home with me today. Needs a lot of cleaning . This is going to be fun.

 

[Wolfie62]

OMG!!!!

Someone melted plastic all over it!!

 

[Hunted11]

Must be the Karma today. This came home with me today. Needs a lot of cleaning . This is going to be fun.

That looks pristine compared to the one I'm working on. Forgot I had this in the cellar. It used to be my brother's. He bought it new.

 

[Katalyst]

Hunted11 you have a lot of cleaning ahead of you. I feel lucky to find one with the plinth and cover. Wiring was scary. It has now been replaced with new power wire. Idler has been sanded to remove glaze. Missing two of the four feet.

 

[gadget73]

The bright white ones are the best looking IMO. I have a tan one and it just looks dingy. Never been much of a fan of tan coloring, reminds me of 80s electronics before they changed to rancid butterscotch

 

[Hunted11]

Hunted11 you have a lot of cleaning ahead of you. I feel lucky to find one with the plinth and cover. Wiring was scary. It has now been replaced with new power wire. Idler has been sanded to remove glaze. Missing two of the four feet.

Yes I do. I ordered a new idler and while I had it apart and it was still plugged in I noticed the motor was still running. The capacitor across the switch was shorted and allowing the motor to run. I replaced the cap and that is fixed. I have a few other projects I am trying to finish before I attack this full force.

 

[Katalyst]

Rewired the mute switch and now have both channels. Hum was pronounced when a/c plugged in. A jumper from left side negative signal wire to the chassis ground /earth solved the hum. The cycling problem turned out to be the pivot for the sizing arm being gummed up. Picture of pivot below.

 

[gadget73]

that would do it. Most problems with changers is something related to sticky lube. Finding the specific sticky part can be a real pain sometimes though. More than once I've set them up on the bench on top of cans with a mirror underneath to observe what happens.

 

[Hunted11]

that would do it. Most problems with changers is something related to sticky lube. Finding the specific sticky part can be a real pain sometimes though. More than once I've set them up on the bench on top of cans with a mirror underneath to observe what happens.

Lucky the type A has legs built onto it so you just need a piece of glass to set it on to see the underside.

 

[Katalyst]

Lighter fluid / naphtha finally cut it loose. Spent some coin on a new idler. The billet Canadian wheel. The cartridge/head shell is the Shure M99. Two Garrard head shells arrived today. Going to set one up for single play. The other for 78's. Any cart recommendations?

 

[gadget73]

for 78s I really like the GE RPX or a VR-II. I run an RPX on my RC88.

 

[Katalyst]

I just recently obtained a Type A in the original wood plinth, and am looking forward to reconditioning it.

Any progress on your find?

 

[Gelid]

Any progress on your find?

Afraid it’s down a ways on the priority list. Everything functions, though it needs help getting through the changer cycle. Prob needs a thorough cleaning underneath.

Waiting on a tonearm I ordered, as mine has a bit of a twist to the headshell. Cart is tweaked to be parallel to record, but visually it bugs me.

 

[stereofisher]

View attachment 1120046

God that’s gorgeous!

 

[Hunted11]

Well I posted here I had a type A I was going to clean up and get running. Well it's not perfect, still has rust on the deck, but it sounds and operates just fine. I had to build a base for it but here are a few pictures.

 

[Katalyst]

The head shell looks different than others I have seen.