I got my first linear tracker, a Garrard Zero-100, in 1974. When I first saw their ad I thought they had the Holy Grail. After getting the machine, I wished dearly for 2 things: that it was manual operation from the ground up, and that they had spent the money on the articulation. The arm would not track for beans!
A year later I found a Rabco ST-7 mounted on a Technics 1100 table, so it was the world's first straight tracker (the Rabco was built in 1968) on the world's first direct-drive table.
I had the Rabco until about 1989. It got heavily modified- carbon fiber arm, a much-updated servo control that worked really well (the arm was famous for skipping or lifting off the LP due to servo malfunction- their original 'servo' was a joke), modified counterweight and modified track.
I replaced is with an SME V and was a lot happier... but I have often thought about how to sort out the arm's weaknesses since. There is a company called THK that makes motion tracks that have no bearing slop, that integrated with more modern bearing designs and an LED activated servo would result in a world-class arm.
IMO/IME none of the air-bearing arms work very well as often they have more tracking angle issues than a good radial tracking arm due to flex in the cantilever of the cartridge.
I am glad I had my Rabco when I did- it did very well on the inner 1/3 of the LP so my records from that time are intact.
A year later I found a Rabco ST-7 mounted on a Technics 1100 table, so it was the world's first straight tracker (the Rabco was built in 1968) on the world's first direct-drive table.
I had the Rabco until about 1989. It got heavily modified- carbon fiber arm, a much-updated servo control that worked really well (the arm was famous for skipping or lifting off the LP due to servo malfunction- their original 'servo' was a joke), modified counterweight and modified track.
I replaced is with an SME V and was a lot happier... but I have often thought about how to sort out the arm's weaknesses since. There is a company called THK that makes motion tracks that have no bearing slop, that integrated with more modern bearing designs and an LED activated servo would result in a world-class arm.
IMO/IME none of the air-bearing arms work very well as often they have more tracking angle issues than a good radial tracking arm due to flex in the cantilever of the cartridge.
I am glad I had my Rabco when I did- it did very well on the inner 1/3 of the LP so my records from that time are intact.