garrard 301 and its' restorations


i was looking at a recent  you tube video of a restored garrard 301 in action. the platter motions while playing an lp were  very "wobbly" and bouncy ,like it was tracking a warped record or a spring in the suspension was "detuned"  is  this an optical illusion or is this normal to the idlers ?. i've never seen this on a vpi ,acoustic signature ,technics 1200 direct drive , kronos ultra high end etc .


 

theoriginalthor1

Showing 1 response by islandmandan

The Garrard 301, and 401, have no suspension. The platter sits atop a spindle that is around 5-6" long, in a substantial bearing well, and bronze bushings. This bearing well is affixed solidly to the chassis. I can't imagine a scenario in which a platter/spindle would be so unstable. The spindle/bearing on my 40+ year old Garrard 401 is still functioning as well as it did when new. It has to be caused by something else, as mentioned, a warped record or such.

Regards,
Dan