Garrard 401 servicing/rebuild

MotherSky

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Apologies for the rather rambling post:

I'm thinking of unearthing my Garrard 401 project, and sending it away to be professionally overhauled - I intended to do this myself originally, and I am certainly more than capable and have a well equipped workshop. .. however, evidence would suggest that I am never going to get round to it, and quite apart from it being something of a busman's holiday from my day job, it's currently easier for me to find the money, rather than the time
So my question is: can anyone recommend a high quality/meticulous professional service to do the work? I have been in touch with a couple of likely firms, but I have no way of judging their output, and I am rather fussy about this kind of thing - any pointers/recommendations/feedback would be greatly appreciated - I'm aiming to send it somewhere next week - MH
 

DomT

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Dominic at Northwest Analogue did an absolutely superb job on my 401.
Whilst I have not used him when I was researching the same thing the internet pointed me to him. I did speak to him a few times and he seems a decent chap. His wife though is in the British Olympic sales team but don’t let that out you off.
 

Clubsport911

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I had a 401 and gave it a right old seeing to - transformed the noise floor (lowered)... what are you looking for ? Frankly, you sound like an engineer (I'm aerospace and defence by background) so that's what I ripped mine apart into a thousand pieces... Being a designer of electronics motor control systems helped as well ? What condition is it in ?
 
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MotherSky

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I had a 401 and gave it a right old seeing to - transformed the noise floor (lowered)... what are you looking for ? Frankly, you sound like an engineer (I'm aerospace and defence by background) so that's what I ripped mine apart into a thousand pieces... Being a designer of electronics motor control systems helped as well ? What condition is it in ?
It had spent many years at the back of someone's dusty cupboard, and apart from the cosmetic issues, has obviously not been serviced for a very long time. The main thing I am hoping to achieve is the lowest possible level of mechanical noise - I have had to scale back my original plinth design due to room layout issues, and won't have as much mass working in my favour - it seems to make sense to have someone with in depth experience go through it with a fine tooth comb rather than reinventing the wheel. My area of expertise is rooted in much older technologies, long before the application of electronic control systems (I'm a horologist specialising in automata - if you're having trouble with your Bruguier singing bird box, drop me a PM 🙂) but doing a lot of small scale precision engineering work makes one surprisingly intolerant of imperfection in the work of others...
Audio Grail did fantastic work, but seems to have vanished, and I don't think he offered servicing from what I have gathered - I'm leaning toward CTC I think - MH
 

MotherSky

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I seem to remember Audio Grail outsourced the work.
That makes sense - however he went about it, the results looked first rate - I would imagine any refinishing work would inevitably be farmed out - a different discipline altogether.
Do you have any first hand experience of CTC? The website is certainly very professional looking, but I haven't found any references to his work on any of the forums.
 
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rabski

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I'm a horologist specialising in automata
Now you're talking. One of my favourite things to look at, but sadly just one singing bird here. All the other stuff is well out of reach.

However, if you can sort out clock mechs, then the 401 (or any idler for that matter) will be a piece of cake. The principles really aren't far different to any small-scale mechanical engineering, only the drive system is far bigger and simpler.
 
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rabski

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On the other hand, I get the busman's holiday bit. It's the same reason I keep building and repairs as mostly purely hobby, or the fun would go.
 

MotherSky

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the fun would go.
Absolutely this - I would much rather be going off at a complete tangent in my spare time (of which there seems to be less every year that passes) - I'd also prefer something that means learning new skills and exploring unfamiliar territory - building a valve amp for example 😉 - MH
 
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rabski

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Absolutely this - I would much rather be going off at a complete tangent in my spare time (of which there seems to be less every year that passes) - I'd also prefer something that means learning new skills and exploring unfamiliar territory - building a valve amp for example 😉 - MH
I get it totally. I love designing and building things, especially valve based, but apart from a few odd and very old/precious guitar amp rebuilds for special friends and acquintances, I avoid anything commercial. It would rapidly stop being 'workshop fun'.

I don't even like selling things I've made or repaired, hence why I have rather too many amplifiers, DACs, phono stages, etc.
 
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Faithless

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I would have no hesitation in recommending Ray Clark from The CTC. I have had a 301 and 401 transformed from rusting barn finds to like new. He has a facebook page where he shows off his magic skills.
 
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