Garrard 401 record clamp or weight?

the Garrard 301-401 are some of the few tables with a dished plater so the weight or clamp works very well, better then flat platers.

Actually thats not correct.

The 301 platters are concave ( dished ).

The 401 platters are flat.

There may be some early 401's with the 301 dished platter assembled during the crossover period.

So you cannot use rigid mats  eg copper/graphite etc on the 301 platter. On my 301 I machined the platter flat to accommodate alternate mats.

The bearing is robust enough for either option so its more of what you prefer. you do not need much pressure due to the dished plater so keep that in mind. 

I don't agree - on the standard 301/401 platter/bearing adding too much mass will wear the bearing out - its not up to it.

Also the 301 motors are not as strong as the 401 and in my view are not suited to heavy platters.

If you want to go to heavy platters or heavy mats/weights, you really need a better bearing and are better off using the 401 as a base unit.

I would buy a 10in leveler at homedepot to avoid the dished platter problem.

What's a plater?

the Garrard 301-401 are some of the few tables with a dished plater so the weight or clamp works very well, better then flat platers. the bearing is robust enough for either option so its more of what you prefer. you do not need much pressure due to the dished plater so keep that in mind. Do Not use a riser in the middle i.e. a cone or O-ring as some clamps-weights come with, your just defeating the superior dished plater advantage.

If you use a mat use one that lets you take advantage of the dished plater. also some of the metal mats are also dished.

By dished I mean the plater is not level and is higher around the edges and lower in the middle this allows the record to get pressed into the plater and forces the record including the edges down against the plater. best designed plater ever IMO, in this regard that is.

oh one last thing do not level a Garrard 301-401 with the plater as its not level to begin with, its dished. 

 If using a clamp, it would seem that there is a 'right amount' of pressure. Just after the clamp has made contact with the record, and then touched the record to the platter. That would be at least reference or starting point for how much pressure is the right amount. Concerning the copper mat, I like the idea behind it. Are these copper 'plates' thick or thin? Do they have substantial weight, and of course, can you be sure that they are flat? 

Well that's interesting to hear. Thanks for weighing in. 

I prefer no clamp or weight. It closes down the soundstage and reduces the life of the music. I tried the SCuMat. It's very well made and looks excellent. However, I didn't like how it sounded on either of my 401s. It made the sound dry and brittle.

I'm definitely thinking about a future copper record mat!

On my 401, I use my old clamp from my VPI Scout, and a copper plate on the platter. It handles the weight very well, and sounds good with a few different carts on my Dynavector 501 arm.

Regards,

Dan