My journey started in childhood and evolved into a passion.
I’ve been spinning vinyl since 1970. While not as long as some, it’s been sufficient time to appreciate that no other medium rivals a properly set up turntable and cartridge.
My initial records played on a cream-colored, vinyl-covered Dansette, which boasted a mono speaker encased in soft brown tweed fabric.
Over the years, I’ve used various brands of turntables, predominantly Garrard’s, to play my vinyl records. Eventually, I acquired a Loricraft Inspiration Model 501, which took the place of my reliable cream 301 grease bearing turntable that Loricraft Audio had refurbished. To this day, I still possess it, along with several other fully restored units.
The Garrard 301 turntable with an SME tonearm is considered the ultimate setup.
Radiograms were once the rage, yet they gradually gave way to modern music centers. I recall the Bang and Olufsen Beogram—elegant and costly.
A BBC program, Tomorrow’s World, declared that “vinyl was dead” and that the CD was the medium of the future. I recall an episode where they spread strawberry jam on a CD and still managed to play it.
A few years ago, I encountered Terry O’Sullivan from Loricraft Audio, who possessed an extensive collection of Garrard turntables. I was in search of spare parts for these units; however, Loricraft had none available. This marked the beginning of my quest.
We provide parts to Martin Bastin (his number is not available for distribution), and have supplied Loricraft Audio with pulleys and plastic components. Currently, we are also supplying SME UK with parts for their advanced Garrard 301 turntable.
Most Garrard owners seem be natural DIY enthusiasts who enjoy performing their own servicing and installing spare parts. Nevertheless, earning trust in selling-quality British-engineered parts is of great importance to us.
The Classic Garrard Turntable appears to have a larger audience in the western world, with 90% of our parts being exported. Predominantly, these parts are sold through our shop or on eBay.
We don’t publish technical details or historical information on our pages, but this information is widely available online and has been extensively documented. Searching for Garrard 301 and 401 will yield numerous results. For technical advice on Garrard, Vinyl Engine is a recommended resource.
I would like to express my gratitude to Terry from Loricraft Audio for graciously granting permission to use the Garrard trademark on our products, which adds a touch of authenticity.