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My Garrard Lab 80 Obsession

fiddlefye said:
Ah, so the combination MkI chassis and MkII arm explains my Lab 80 then. When I first got it I was a bit perplexed as it had the size indicator and all of that, yet the arm from the MkII. I agree that they are lovely. Still working on getting mine to where I'd like it, mostly because it came with some sort of non-original plinth that really doesn't work very well.
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Pics?
 
grooveman said:
Nice Type A!! I really would like to score a dust cover like your's! Btw....my Type A won't drop 45s using the LRS-3 stacker spindle. It will if I hold it in my hand and turn the end tip of the spindle. But when inserted, it doesn't drop the 45, but the arm lifts and goes over and attempts to lower. I posted this problem on the Garrard Forum at Vinyl Engine but got no responses. Any ideas what's causing the 45 from dropping? Sorry if this is abit off topic, but would really like to stack and play my old 45s! Thanks.
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May I suggest a drop of sewing machine into the hole? Can't hurt. Pardon if this has already been suggested.
 
Garrard Lab 80 MKII

I got the Garrard Lab 80 MKII on Ebay. It arrives Saturday. I remember as a kid (11 yrs) sitting around listening to one play back when they were new. I hope it is in good condition!
 
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KevinL said:
May I suggest a drop of sewing machine into the hole? Can't hurt. Pardon if this has already been suggested.
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Thanks for the suggestion. I've already tried that and the LRS-3 still won't drop a 45. Must be something underneath that's not grabbing onto the end of the spindle and turning it, which pulls in the the side ears allowing the 45 to drop. Might have to tip the turntable on it's side and see what's going on underneath while the spindle is in place and auto function is engaged.
 
KevinL said:
There's one currently on ebay: a Lab with a MkII arm. Starting at 200 bucks. I suppose they're going up as far as value.
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Starting at 200? Wow. Mine was $5 when I bought it last year. Mind you, it needed a bit to get it going as some idiot had lost the ball bearings from the spindle. I ordered some brand new ones, not a huge expense and I have a spare set or two left over. I figured the Lab 80 was undervalued relative to it's quality, but not by that much! They sure are purty though, aren't they?
 
The one on Ebay for 200.00 isn't worth 200.00. It's had some water/moisture on it. The people selling it are stupid. What are all those dials and knobs for. Looks like the turntable from the Bat Cave. When Lab 80's start to go for 200.00, legitimately, you might as well pop your money on a Lenco or move on up to the 401. I love my Lab 80, but it isn't worth 200.00. Even if it was, I would never sell it. Sometimes you feel like it's your duty to preserve and care for something!
 
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fiddlefye said:
Starting at 200? Wow. Mine was $5 when I bought it last year. Mind you, it needed a bit to get it going as some idiot had lost the ball bearings from the spindle. I ordered some brand new ones, not a huge expense and I have a spare set or two left over. I figured the Lab 80 was undervalued relative to it's quality, but not by that much! They sure are purty though, aren't they?
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You are preachin' to the choir. Personally, I would not own an ugly TT, now matter how well it performed.
 
Dang it, originally I thought all I'd have to do was save up and look for a good deal on a 301, to complement my decorative but hardly audiophile Model 2 (Type 2? ...really, really old model, anyway! :D), and I'd be done with Garrards.

Now I have to either look for a Lab 80 and a Type A, with weirdly-melted-looking "caketop" dust covers, or forget I ever read this thread... Gee thanks, guys! :sigh:
:D

Seriously, those are cool-looking turntables! :thmbsp: I saw a "pot lid" tape cover on a Garrard recently, but the deck itself was a poor/undesirable model. Will keep my eyes open for these "fancier" ones! That Lab 80 looks like a very solid 60s-type idler table, and most of them, once cleaned and lubed up and replinthed in a massive plinth, sound very good!
 
From the New Yorker 1964 Ad

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131east23 said:
The one on Ebay for 200.00 isn't worth 200.00. It's had some water/moisture on it. The people selling it are stupid. What are all those dials and knobs for. Looks like the turntable from the Bat Cave. When Lab 80's start to go for 200.00, legitimately, you might as well pop your money on a Lenco or move on up to the 401. I love my Lab 80, but it isn't worth 200.00. Even if it was, I would never sell it. Sometimes you feel like it's your duty to preserve and care for something!
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That's the auction where the seller in his description put "Due to increased scum bidding on eBay all sales are final" "Scum Bidding" Obviously the seller has some issues. I don't under stand why some sellers put remarks like that in their auction descriptions. It is so unprofessional.
 
bradshawsa8 said:
I got the Garrard Lab 80 MKII on Ebay. It arrives Saturday. I remember as a kid (11 yrs) sitting around listening to one play back when they were new. I hope it is in good condition!
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Oh my, you're the one who aced me out on that one! :D Happily, I'm not the one who drove the price so high. It looks like you were dukeing it out with another fellow for awhile and then I jumped in. Then you went 5 bucks over me. If I'm not mistaken, the wood on the arm is a beautiful lighter shade. The under chassis is very clean and grease was not overly slopped on. It also looks like there's some updated wires going on underneath. I wanted it for the base, and then I was going to sell off the lesser of the two. Keep us posted on how it works out. It does look like a very clean unit and congrats on your purchase!

(btw, if it had the potlid dustcover I would have been more aggressive)
 
I have a similar story of childhood abuse of a Garrard TT except it was an AT-6. Fascinated by the operation of an automatic TT, a 2 or 3 year old me grabbed the tone arm and ripped it off the table. Dad had it fixed and I knew never to touch it like that again. I too was born 1964.
 
interalian said:
I have a similar story of childhood abuse of a Garrard TT except it was an AT-6. Fascinated by the operation of an automatic TT, a 2 or 3 year old me grabbed the tone arm and ripped it off the table. Dad had it fixed and I knew never to touch it like that again. I too was born 1964.
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Bravo! Now I know I wasn't alone. :D
 
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