Garrard 401 Service

Hi, I am looking for a person that can service a Garrard 401. If you know of anyone, pls get back to me. Tx

Mthoi,

Unless there is something damaged, there is nothing complex or complicated about the Garrard 401 that one cannot perform servicing on this TT...I've done it myself and suspect you can do it too.

Get the manual on-line to find out or send me a note if you need the document.

Hi VT4C,

Thank you for your moral support. I have managed to service my recently acquired G 401 - although it is nearly 35 years, it is in good shape and require some minor work. The motor still runs quiet.

I replaced the idle wheel and changed the idle wheel springs (the speed was intermittenly inconsistent), tightening the pulley, cleaned and oil-change the bearing, oiled the motor, added a surge suppressor capacitor, and a bit of cleaning of the chassis.

Got it running with a Ortofon 2M Black/SME 3009 S2, playing good music. It sits on a DIY plinth with a set of golf balls on-top of 4 soup cans for stand (learned from Foomarhing) and luckly no rumble that some owners complained about.

I am ready for some tweeks.

Reg.

Hi Mthoi,

Great to know and congratulation on your purchase!

You did all the things I would have done the same...Oh, I guess you did oil the spindle shaft as well....Yes...The idle wheel will need a new one as it's already harden by now after so many years. I purchased an extra strobe light just in case.....It's relatively cheap.

I've not done any special tweak on my 401...Guess the thrust pad might be next on my list.

Hi VT4C,

I have a couple of things that I have planned to do to the Garrard :-

i. Rubber o-rings for the platter. The 401 platter do ring like a bell and can do with some damping. I have used 4pcs of white-rubber band (large ones used by postman). Thought it sounded better but a bit distracting.

ii. New bearing. As you mentioned, Kokomo seems to have a good review. One of our forumer Dixchen, has a machine shop that produces Lenco 75, Garrard 401 & 301 spindle & bearing kit. I am taking delivery of a pair (401 and 301) this Friday, and looking forward to hearing it - will provide an update. His spindle/bearing kit have good reviews in Lenco Heaven.

iii. New power supply. Loricraft has a GBP 1,000 (RM 5K) for an external PSU for the Garrard!! I would probably do a DIY using a Siemens Micromaster 420 to control the voltage (< 240v) and frequency (1 - 160Hz). The other alterantive is to build a frequency controlled AC PSU (one forumer featured in the DIY Forum).

iv. New Plinth. Still cant get a quote for a multi-layer heavy plinth.

Reg.

Hi Mthoi,
Well thought off...Guess you already had planned a list of tweak even before you got your 401.

I'm very keen to know how's the spindle & bearing kit from Dixchen turns out. Appreciate that you can keep me posted. Thanks.

Hi VT4C,

Dixon delivered the bearing/spindle set for my G401. Met Ricky, another G401 owner also using Dixon's upgrade.

I spend the later part of the evening to change the new spindle/bearing in less 10 minutes (remove platter, remove 3 screws/nuts, remove old bearing/spindle and replace with new bearing/spindle).

Anyway, I stayed up until 3 am listing to the G401 with the new spindle/bearing upgrade. I relistened to it again this morning to make sure.

The sound improvements are significant! Earlier, the sound was a bit "slow" and the bass was a bit smeared. With the upgrade, quieter background, improved soundstaging, improved clarity all around. The bass on percussion is now clear and sharp. The PRAT also improved.

I would highly recommend this upgrade. The only note is that the bearing/spindle kit is much longer than the stock - maybe about 1.5in longer (130mm).

Reg