Garrard Type A turntable

[gadget73]

Finger lift from an RC121 ? I did that to mine. The stock one is terrible. Could also be a shell from a 121, they were the same if you got a 4 pin stereo one. I have a 3 pin stereo one from a 121, been meaning to either set it up for mono, or just fit another pin to make it a 4 pin.

 

[Hunted11]

The finger lift, with brush is an add on. It was actually sold as an accessory back in the day. It was universal to be used on any TT or changer. It is the stock 4 pin headshell that came with the changer. It houses an Empire 108 cart.

 

[Hunted11]

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.

My headshell was twisted. It would twist downward when I locked it in. I found a set screw on the bottom of the arm near the lock. I loosened it a bit, turned the headshell (with it unlocked) at retightended the screw. Now it is straight. Maybe this will work for yours.

 

[Paharry]

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

I could not agree more. It’s an amazing turntable and I had new Thorenses clearaudio concept etc etc. the sound state and presence is amazing. I mounted ortofon bronze and disabled trip mechanism. However, after reading about Pickering 380 that was on it originally I tried it. It is so much superior to the $400+ Ortofon. Old Pickering does have sibilants issues with the new records but the presence of sound and sound stage it delivers is worth the trade off.

 

[redpackman]

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...

I am now working on a Type A-II that had that problem, I found that I had to adjust the trip mechanism which is under the platter according to the directions given in the service manual (available at Vinylengine.com. Garrard Service Sheet 305 (point/section 3) with special attention to diagram 15. The goal is to get the "Felt pad" in the right VERTICAL position in relation to the "Striker or Striker cam." Mine would skp and/or not trip properly, or it would repeat the same groove over and over again when it got near the end of the LP. Once I adjusted the mechanism, all that stopped. It's now free-flowing to the very end of the record and trips at the proper place, two or three revolutons after the music stops.

Hope that helps.

 

[likebike23]

Here's a couple of shots of my Type A in action. I got it a few years back and went through everything and it just never had enough oomph to get through the auto cycle with the original idler. I just got my audio vault idler, installed it and it's cycling great.

I'm running a Shure M75 with a pfansteihl conical at 5gr. If you want your music to pound, with bass for days (which I do), then this is a great table.

 

[Shanebow]

Anyone interested in The Garrard Laboratory Series Auto Turntable Type A, go look for my listing in Barter Town or message, chat, or email me if you don't have access to Barter Town. Thanks

 

[dmsheehan]

Mine is sounding pretty darn amazing for not having been used for 20 years!

What I would like to do is have a plinth made for it with rounded corners, like that guy on EBAY sells from Moldova.

I had that guy from Moldova make me a plinth for my Garrard 401. He did a spectacular job. Rounded corners with a piano black gloss finish. Beautiful! I wonder if he is still around. Bad area to be working from.