Observations about the Garrard Lab 80 antiskate
Some observations about the Garrard Lab 80 antiskate:
The versions for the original Lab 80 and for the Mark II differ. The original one has notches into which the "famous" steel ball clicks, those click-stops providing a tactile reference as to the antiskate setting. The Mark II has visible calibrations on the shaft and a window in the weight for setting the antiskate.
On the original, the notches for the click-stops are not linearly spaced, so that the force applied by the gravitational pull on the sliding weight increases non-linearly as the weight is pulled from the one-gram notch to the two-gram one, through to the five-gram notch. On the Mark II, the calibrations are linear so that going from one gram to five grams, the force increase is proportional.
One COULD surmise that at lower tracking weights, the inherent friction in the tonearm pivots and trip mechanism would themselves provide some resistance to skating, thus making the tonearm system less reliant on the antiskate, the lower the tracking weight; hence the nonlinearity in the original antiskate mechanism's design. It provides somewhat less antiskate at the lowest tracking weights.
But then, why the linear spacing of the calibrations on the Mark II? I submit that it's due to someone wanting to create a "new" feature for the Lab 80 Mark II. Two years into the production run of the Lab 80, it was to get some "freshening" for the marketplace. The obvious visual elements were the new, enclosed tonearm housing and the restyled raised control panel with black/silver accents and fluted operating tabs (the neon pilot light and record size indicator were deleted). Operationally the automatic play with the short spindle was the big advance. Other "new" features introduced at minimal cost were the auto repeat of a single record using the tall spindle (invert the existing 45rpm donut adapter onto the spindle, and you'd "fool" the machine into thinking it had another record to play...works on the original Lab 80, too); a white pointer on the top of the headshell...and the visible calibrations for the antiskate. These "new" features were largely cosmetic rather than functional, so I'm thinking that the stylists overrode the engineers on the
antiskate calibrations. The evenly spaced calibrations looked better, even though from an engineering standpoint, the proportionately lesser antiskate at lower tracking weights was probably functionally more correct.
The Garrard Type A70, which was introduced with antiskate at the same time as the Lab 80, differs from the Lab 80 in having LINEAR spaced clickstops on the lever arm carrying the sliding weight. Its tonearm pivots are the same as those of the Lab 80, and its automatic trip mechanism is slightly lower in mass due to a lighter-weight operating lever, but (I am estimating) not all that significantly. The A70's antiskate part did not change when it was updated to the 70 Mk II. So, why do the 70 and 80 models differ?
And the Garrard AT60, which got antiskating that was fixed and nonadjustable (but referred to as "automatic" in sales literature) had enough friction in its tonearm system, largely from the tonearm return link, that it didn't need antiskate at all. Its anti-skating is rather like the gadgetry for its own sake which was to be "sternly rejected" according to the Garrard creed.
It's hard to get inside the collective "head" of those at Garrard Engineering at this late date; probably few if any of the "decision makers" are still living today. In the 1963-1966 timeframe, the company was undergoing major change, due to its acquisition by Plessey, then considered one of the major electronic conglomerates in the world, though one with little experience in the consumer field. I can imagine style vs. substance, "sizzle vs. steak" battles within the company. Many have said that Garrard's 301 and 401 transcription turntables didn't make a profit on their own but that their prestige "rubbed off" on the profitable mass market record changers that Garrard made by the thousands and sold to phonograph and radiogram makers. It's also been said that the prestige automatics such as the Type A and Lab 80, didn't do much better, if at all, than break even, but again the prestige of the finer products reflected favorably onto the lower-priced but higher-profit mass production products; and longtime Garrard management felt it paid off. But perhaps Plessey, wanting to maximize quick profits, didn't see it that way. Not long after its introduction for the 1964 selling season, it was already decided that the Lab 80, itself evolved from the Type A and the RC88, was to be an evolutionary dead end; the next high-line models from Garrard would be totally different, and of much cheaper build.
So perhaps some of the seemingly illogical design decisions made by Garrard at this time can be explained, though not excused, by a somewhat schizoid company persona.
Many Lab 80 owners have noted that the rubber ring providing the force onto the steel ball for the "click-stop" antiskate setting has deteriorated after all these years. On my recently-acquired Lab 80, this was certainly true! Fortunately the steel ball was still present on mine, but if it is lost from your Lab 80, it is a 5/32" ball bearing, a very common size found on bicycles; a bicycle repair shop should have them, if your local hardware store does not. Perhaps not coincidentally it is also the size of the ball thrust bearing located at the bottom of the Laboratory Series motors on the Lab 80s and the Type A/A70/70 Mk II! To replace the rubber ring holding it in place, you can try to source a small O-ring, or using a sharp blade, cut a slice from a piece of rubber or vinyl tubing or something similar. I used a 1/4 inch "screw protector" found in hardware stores (at my local one they were two for 61 cents), its usual function being to slide over the screws that had to be driven through a layer of material, so the sharp end would not scratch objects or hands. In all but one respect, it was the ideal choice when sliced to proper size to fit the "groove" in the antiskate weight. That "one respect?" Screw protectors come in standard color codes to denote size. The proper size for our Lab 80 antiskate, 1/4 inch, is WHITE...and the original Garrard part is black. One COULD use a black marker pen...
Some observations about the Garrard Lab 80 antiskate:
The versions for the original Lab 80 and for the Mark II differ. The original one has notches into which the "famous" steel ball clicks, those click-stops providing a tactile reference as to the antiskate setting. The Mark II has visible calibrations on the shaft and a window in the weight for setting the antiskate.
On the original, the notches for the click-stops are not linearly spaced, so that the force applied by the gravitational pull on the sliding weight increases non-linearly as the weight is pulled from the one-gram notch to the two-gram one, through to the five-gram notch. On the Mark II, the calibrations are linear so that going from one gram to five grams, the force increase is proportional.
One COULD surmise that at lower tracking weights, the inherent friction in the tonearm pivots and trip mechanism would themselves provide some resistance to skating, thus making the tonearm system less reliant on the antiskate, the lower the tracking weight; hence the nonlinearity in the original antiskate mechanism's design. It provides somewhat less antiskate at the lowest tracking weights.
But then, why the linear spacing of the calibrations on the Mark II? I submit that it's due to someone wanting to create a "new" feature for the Lab 80 Mark II. Two years into the production run of the Lab 80, it was to get some "freshening" for the marketplace. The obvious visual elements were the new, enclosed tonearm housing and the restyled raised control panel with black/silver accents and fluted operating tabs (the neon pilot light and record size indicator were deleted). Operationally the automatic play with the short spindle was the big advance. Other "new" features introduced at minimal cost were the auto repeat of a single record using the tall spindle (invert the existing 45rpm donut adapter onto the spindle, and you'd "fool" the machine into thinking it had another record to play...works on the original Lab 80, too); a white pointer on the top of the headshell...and the visible calibrations for the antiskate. These "new" features were largely cosmetic rather than functional, so I'm thinking that the stylists overrode the engineers on the
antiskate calibrations. The evenly spaced calibrations looked better, even though from an engineering standpoint, the proportionately lesser antiskate at lower tracking weights was probably functionally more correct.
The Garrard Type A70, which was introduced with antiskate at the same time as the Lab 80, differs from the Lab 80 in having LINEAR spaced clickstops on the lever arm carrying the sliding weight. Its tonearm pivots are the same as those of the Lab 80, and its automatic trip mechanism is slightly lower in mass due to a lighter-weight operating lever, but (I am estimating) not all that significantly. The A70's antiskate part did not change when it was updated to the 70 Mk II. So, why do the 70 and 80 models differ?
And the Garrard AT60, which got antiskating that was fixed and nonadjustable (but referred to as "automatic" in sales literature) had enough friction in its tonearm system, largely from the tonearm return link, that it didn't need antiskate at all. Its anti-skating is rather like the gadgetry for its own sake which was to be "sternly rejected" according to the Garrard creed.
It's hard to get inside the collective "head" of those at Garrard Engineering at this late date; probably few if any of the "decision makers" are still living today. In the 1963-1966 timeframe, the company was undergoing major change, due to its acquisition by Plessey, then considered one of the major electronic conglomerates in the world, though one with little experience in the consumer field. I can imagine style vs. substance, "sizzle vs. steak" battles within the company. Many have said that Garrard's 301 and 401 transcription turntables didn't make a profit on their own but that their prestige "rubbed off" on the profitable mass market record changers that Garrard made by the thousands and sold to phonograph and radiogram makers. It's also been said that the prestige automatics such as the Type A and Lab 80, didn't do much better, if at all, than break even, but again the prestige of the finer products reflected favorably onto the lower-priced but higher-profit mass production products; and longtime Garrard management felt it paid off. But perhaps Plessey, wanting to maximize quick profits, didn't see it that way. Not long after its introduction for the 1964 selling season, it was already decided that the Lab 80, itself evolved from the Type A and the RC88, was to be an evolutionary dead end; the next high-line models from Garrard would be totally different, and of much cheaper build.
So perhaps some of the seemingly illogical design decisions made by Garrard at this time can be explained, though not excused, by a somewhat schizoid company persona.
Many Lab 80 owners have noted that the rubber ring providing the force onto the steel ball for the "click-stop" antiskate setting has deteriorated after all these years. On my recently-acquired Lab 80, this was certainly true! Fortunately the steel ball was still present on mine, but if it is lost from your Lab 80, it is a 5/32" ball bearing, a very common size found on bicycles; a bicycle repair shop should have them, if your local hardware store does not. Perhaps not coincidentally it is also the size of the ball thrust bearing located at the bottom of the Laboratory Series motors on the Lab 80s and the Type A/A70/70 Mk II! To replace the rubber ring holding it in place, you can try to source a small O-ring, or using a sharp blade, cut a slice from a piece of rubber or vinyl tubing or something similar. I used a 1/4 inch "screw protector" found in hardware stores (at my local one they were two for 61 cents), its usual function being to slide over the screws that had to be driven through a layer of material, so the sharp end would not scratch objects or hands. In all but one respect, it was the ideal choice when sliced to proper size to fit the "groove" in the antiskate weight. That "one respect?" Screw protectors come in standard color codes to denote size. The proper size for our Lab 80 antiskate, 1/4 inch, is WHITE...and the original Garrard part is black. One COULD use a black marker pen...
Last edited:
