GARRARD 301 CLASSIC MACASSAR EBONY AND PANZERHOLZ BY WOODSONG AUDIO

"The original Classic'......


Here is a turnkey world class Garrard 301 setup, minus cartridge, in gorgeous Macassar Ebony. Included is a factory fresh Ortofon RS-309D tonearm with tonearm cable and digital scale, fine adjust solid bronze armboard, 4 Track Audio true isolation devices.

This deck is shown for representation only. Please inquire for a timeline for manufacturing and delivery lead times, and about other specific options.

 Here is a link to see hi-res photos of this plinth,  and many others:

 https://www.flickr.com/photos/51504257@N02/

 Woodsong Audio often has in stock, 301 motor units for building a top level Garrard 301 turntable. We also have an extensive collection of instrument grade exotic hardwoods which we have been accumulating for years, waiting for the right moment to grace an amazing turntable.

 Every aspect of the Garrard 301 idler drive motor unit is completely disassembled, inspected, cleaned, and then skillfully re-assembled. A typical Woodsong Garrard refurbishment includes:

• Complete dis-assembly, including removal of the face plates  to enable a full cleaning and polish of the enamel, then  riveted back in place with stainless rivets to match the original aesthetic. If the original face plates are worn, scratched,  or otherwise less than optimal,  they are replaced.

•  Linkages are completely disassembled, cleaned in an industrial ultrasonic tank, re-assembled, treated with a light marine grade cleaner/ corrosion inhibitor, and lubed at the wear points and sliding surfaces.

•  All springs are replaced, and proprietary Spring dampers installed on the motor carriage springs.
  
  


•  A new spark suppressor is installed.
  
  


• The wiring harness, and all terminations are checked for corrosion, electrical and mechanical integrity, poor connections are repaired as needed.


• Switch contacts are checked for wear, cleaned, or replaced if necessary.


•  The main spindle bearing is micro polished, and the bearing bushings recharged with the correct lubricant.  New felt ring bearing seal is installed.


• New idler tower grommits are installed,  replacing the old ones which are almost always over compressed, or hardened, thus transferring more mechanical noise into the 301 chassis.


• The idler wheel is checked for pitting, out-of-round, dents, excessive wear in both the rubber and the bearing journals, and cleaned.     In the case of an idler which is excessively worn, or damaged,  we have found that the quietest idler wheels in existence are the original Garrard produced idler wheels.  We have tried ALL of the replacement aftermarket idlers,  and they are all measurably noisier.   Yes, it seems like it should be an easy piece to produce an improved model.   There are at at least several examples of newly produced idler wheels that look better,  but when installed,  are actually noisier,  and inferior,  some by a wide margin.  
  
  


•  Idler wheel bushings are replaced with bushings made from a very high tech, long wearing, and high lubricity thermoplastic, audibly lowering mechanical noise from the idler drive. This is an absolutely critical point,  and huge improvements in operation are often experienced, and expected.  Most every 301 that we have seen has worn idler wheel bushings, which results in increased audible noise.  The idler wheel drive / bushings/ carrier, is the largest single source of audible noise in the Garrard 301  The original oilite bushings are noisy at best.   Due to the imprecise idler wheel casting, it is often not a simple matter of pressing in new bushings.  Woodsong Audio has a proprietary method of aligning the idler wheel bushing bores, allowing for a closer tolerance, and smoother, quieter operation.  The thermoplastic bushings have mechanical properties which are similar to metal, yet they act like a 'filter' in transferring less mechanical noise than metal idler wheel bushings.
  
  


•  The motor is completely disassembled, the motor bushings stripped of the remaining old oil, the oilite porous structure cleaned thoroughly, and then recharged under vacuum with the correct lubricant.  New felt lubricating rings are installed.


• Motor coils are checked for proper resistance.


•  A new Woodsong high precision eddy current brake is fitted, replacing the often bent, and always imprecise original eddy brake disc.


•  A new speed correct 60hz marine brass pulley is installed

•  The motor unit is then fine tuned and run in over the course of several days to ensure many years of optimum performance and trouble free operation.


• Non strobe platters are stripped, prepped, and refinished in a 2 part urethane in flat black.


• Show quality sandblast and refinishing, polishing of the chassis is available.

 The Ortofon RS-309D dynamic balanced tonearm offers top shelf playback and mates well with the Garrard 301. Woodsong Audio is an official Ortofon dealer, and we carry many other high quality lines as well. If you are looking for something specific, please inquire.

 The Miyajima Shilabe Cartridge, and Oswald Mills Audio graphite headshell are not included in this listing.


The Woodsong Classic 301 plinth features a solid bronze, rigidly mounted, 1" thick, 4.75" diameter tonearm mount which can be loosened and rotated in its recess to allow for precision micro adjustment in the spindle-to-pivot mounting distance.

 The plinth is a true CLD design, built with Russian birch plywood, a layer of man made slate, and just the right amount of Panzerholz, and vacuum pressed with nearly 2000 lbs/sq. ft., bonded with carefully chosen adhesives to ensure a mechanically cohesive, void free result.

The current Woodsong Classic model is a culmination of 9 years of working with the Garrards, many hours of listening, and constant fine tuning of our designs. Woodsong plinths are unrivaled in sonic quality, craftsmanship, and longevity. Look closely at the details...

Woodsong Audio is the ONLY plinth maker using 2mm thick, in house custom cut, genuine solid wood veneers for wrapping the sides of rounded corner plinths, bent exactly like the sides of a guitar, prior to vacuum pressing. Other plinth makers use paper thin, inexpensive, commercially supplied veneers which are ironed on. If you are considering the purchase of a custom built plinth, learn the difference between the 2, and how to tell, as there is no comparison in quality.  A quick view of a high resolution photograph, of the top edge of the plinth, where the top surface meets the sides will reveal the thickness of the veneers being used.   If it looks paper thin,  it is.    Among the reasons why thin veneer is inferior to heat bent solid wood, is that over time,  the paper thin veneer allows the layers of the plinth substrate to 'telegraph' through the finish when looking in the sheen of the finish. Other benefits to using heat bent solid wood for the finish include extreme longevity, significantly better depth in the natural colors, and better choice in where 'joints' are located on the plinth surface. You will never see a veneer joint running across the front or sides of a Woodsong plinth.

Our signature finish is hand rubbed oil over highly polished wood. This needs to be seen in person to fully grasp the intense beauty of wood that is finished in this manner.

Other finishes are available on request.

 Please inquire with any questions, to check on availability, and also delivery times.

Ships world wide in a specially built crate to ensure safe transit.

 Chris Harban
 Woodsong Audio
 www.woodsongaudio.com
 208.304.0973