Bruno Primas
Super Member
That's the other good thing about these. Once cleaned and running, they are VERY dependable. No parts to wear that need replacement.
Garrard Zero 100 stalling
- Thread starter Bobr
- Start date
That's the other good thing about these. Once cleaned and running, they are VERY dependable. No parts to wear that need replacement.
Looks worse than it is. Started learning on Garrard SL95s, which are similar underneath. Like on my Duals, I have a rule: “follow the moving levers.” One problem I had with my Zero is the automatic start would not work. It wouldn’t cycle with the arm dropping at the start of the record. The dry grease on the lever underneath kept it from moving freely. Did all the functions. The motors are easy. Pull the idler, then unclamp the motor from the chassis. Take pictures the will come apart in halves. Clean the brass bushings with alcohol and a few drops of motor oil, reassemble. Remove old grease from the big gear and regrease. Once done you will be set for a long time. I did have one Zero that ran three years and the motor slowed down. I had given it to the guy who runs it daily for many hours. Had it on my bench 20 minutes. All functions were still working. Back in service. OP, don’t let it get to you. A Lab 80 makes the Zero look simple. That’s one I need help on.
Eric
Westy56
A symphony of paradox
This has never failed for me on any TT.
This rule worked well on a BSR 810s. Looked at several in 1973. Fast forward to 2021. Has push buttons like a Miracord. Would not start when pressed. Followed the levers here. Years ago they were bad out of the box. Have one. Serviced another for an Aker. Must be ok as I haven’t heard. As said once serviced the Zero isn’t a bad table. Interestingly I have not had arm issues with them. They all have worked flawlessly.
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only arm issues I have with mine are self-inflicted. I damaged the wiring and had to replace it, but what I used is a little too stiff. It randomly binds up now. Need to change that to a better wire.
re-wiring these arms is not fun, so I advise being careful with those wires.
re-wiring these arms is not fun, so I advise being careful with those wires.
Has anyone ever actually gotten a 50-year-old Garrard idler wheel to work by "lightly sanding" ? All sanding does is reveal a new layer of dried out, hard rubber. Every old Garrard I've restored has needed a rebuilt idler. (Duals, OTOH, seem to have used a different compound and many of their idlers are still good.)
The big problem with Garrards is they never hold true speed. They're always either a little too fast (liveable) or too slow (useless).
Tonearm wires are no fun. 45 plus years and they like to break! Anyone with a BSR 810 be careful. Broke on mine. Then on another 810 in for service! Just this week I rewired a Dual 1229. . Took the wire from one with a broken arm to put end on one where the end holds the cartridge. My hands are not as steady as they used to be. Got the wire through and soldered. The stuerpimple was gone and you can’t get working ones. This will be the second 1219 I have made from an audio cable. My bench 1219 has worked flawlessly for several months. Haven’t had the nerve to test the wiring. No rush as I have 5 working tables. Rainy day and it was fun to be at the bench. Playing records while working on this 1229. Not sure this will work. Stay tuned. At least the homemade pimple is happy and working!
Eric
Never had issues with wheels on Garrards. Lucky I guess. I may have a wheel kicking around here if you need one,
Eric
Bruno Primas
Super Member
Yes. I use a relatively rough paper, (300-500 grit), and sand lightly on the edge, (while spinning). Sometimes it makes all the difference in it's ability in completing the auto cycle.
Well, I learned something from you gentlemen. Personally, I have never successfully revived a Garrard idler. Maybe it's a humidity thing. I live in a very low humidity environment; perhaps that's led to my idlers drying out more than the three of you have found. Anyway, thanks for the perspective.
BTW, I think it's true that even with a brand new idler, there's a level of clunkiness and lack of smoothness in the auto cycles of all Garrards. I'd say the "B" decks (SL-95B et al) are the worst, and the Autoslims are the best.
I have one other question where maybe I can also learn. For me, the Garrards are not good at maintaining true speed. I've never had one that's dead-on at 33.3. In contrast, the Duals have a speed adjustment (tapered pulley that can move up and down slightly). My Dual comparison is not to spit on Garrard. It's more in frustration that the German decks are, well let's just say it, slightly better engineered.
How are the Zero 100s on speed? That's one of the few Garrard models I've never owned.
Bruno Primas
Super Member
The Zero's have a pitch control.
If your idler is in decent shape, motor cleaned and lubricated, as well as the platter bearings, the speed should be pretty consistent. I prefer the Garrard motors to the Dual ones. I also find that once the Garrards are running correctly, the need far less attention and maintenance than the Duals.
For German tables, don't forget about the Elac Miracords! Probably my favorite auto/changer.
If your idler is in decent shape, motor cleaned and lubricated, as well as the platter bearings, the speed should be pretty consistent. I prefer the Garrard motors to the Dual ones. I also find that once the Garrards are running correctly, the need far less attention and maintenance than the Duals.
For German tables, don't forget about the Elac Miracords! Probably my favorite auto/changer.
Hello. I am new here and have zero info on Garrard TT's but have a 37lb Solid Brass Platter that I have seen used on these tables. Do you have any info on such a heavy platter such as this? It is to heavy for my use.
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Some good things to keep in mind in here. I have 2 Garrard Zero tables, both wood bases.
For some time, I’ve wanted a GT55, with the magnesium Zero arm. I’ve got one coming, but it’s filthy. Questionable packing job, too. FedEx…
I don’t know how similar the mechanics are underneath. I don’t think it’s a changer. But it should be an interesting restore project.
For some time, I’ve wanted a GT55, with the magnesium Zero arm. I’ve got one coming, but it’s filthy. Questionable packing job, too. FedEx…
I don’t know how similar the mechanics are underneath. I don’t think it’s a changer. But it should be an interesting restore project.
I think that's a changer. See the black thing between the tonearm base and the platter? That supports the record stack. The GT55P is the single version if I'm not mistaken.
chuck them in a lathe with a very sharp tool bit. Take extremely light cuts and it usually works out. Prob only take about 0.002" off the total diameter but its enough to get through the glaze and square the edge up. I've not had a ton of luck with sanding though if I'm being honest.
oddly enough the wheel on my Zero-100 is original and untouched. Never sanded or shaved it, and it works perfectly, which is honestly surprising. Variable pitch too, so its dead on and does a fine job of holding it.
the non-adjustable ones you can slow down with careful sanding on the motor spindle, but too far and you're SOL unless you want to try building it back up with silver solder and turning it back down to diameter or trying to see how long a bit of heat shrink tube will survive.
extra fun on these because you get to deal with routing wires around the bearing at the end of the arm without pinching or binding anything. Getting that all apart and back together again is not exactly a joy.
T68
Super Member
One potential weak point on the Zero pitch adjustment construction is that the whole idler wheel mount "hangs", using a spring to keep it pulled tight upwards against the thingy that allows it to be raised or lowered to fine adjust speed.
Springs can loose tension with age and if this happens here it can allow the idler to travel up and down the conical pulley, hence cause speed instabilities.
On my Zero100 I replaced this spring with a stronger new one and could measure a slight improvement in wow with an app on my smartphone.
Not that it was a real issue from start but I wanted to see if my theory about this could be validated.
Springs can loose tension with age and if this happens here it can allow the idler to travel up and down the conical pulley, hence cause speed instabilities.
On my Zero100 I replaced this spring with a stronger new one and could measure a slight improvement in wow with an app on my smartphone.
Not that it was a real issue from start but I wanted to see if my theory about this could be validated.
Re building back up, I've also found that to be difficult. I once tried JB Weld; didn't realize that that was a bad idea, because it was incredibly noisy. I've successfully increased the speed using clear nail polish. However the wow and flutter got worse. Actually, I think the wow and flutter we can now measure (though how accurately i can't say) easily using those rpm phone apps will always read worse than a properly weighted w & f measurement using a meter. But it is kinda scary to see how much the speed varies (like, as much as 0.4 rpm sometimes more).