My Garrard Lab 80 Obsession
- Thread starter gillsev
- Start date
That's great! Thanks for posting.
That's a Lab 80 (USA) caketop cover, all right! Anthony Perkins was a man of class!
Also this photo includes another classic, a Zenith Royal 2000 Trans-Symphony, the first
American FM/AM portable radio, and the first portable FM radio with AFC (Automatic
Frequency Control, a servo-circuit that kept the radio tuned if the tuner drifted).
Also this photo includes another classic, a Zenith Royal 2000 Trans-Symphony, the first
American FM/AM portable radio, and the first portable FM radio with AFC (Automatic
Frequency Control, a servo-circuit that kept the radio tuned if the tuner drifted).
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gillsev
Well-Known Member
My Latest Project Yet ...
Being super sentimental with my Lab 80 to be exactly like my Dad's variant is a must for me. So now I won this at Ebay and will soon proceed with the organ transplant
My Dad had the Mk I but with the closed pivot, so I will replace my open pivot arm with this closed one. I know most of the die hard Lab 80 fans prefer the open pivot style for some reason (I guess it gives the illusion of a longer arm).
Stay tuned ...
Being super sentimental with my Lab 80 to be exactly like my Dad's variant is a must for me. So now I won this at Ebay and will soon proceed with the organ transplant
My Dad had the Mk I but with the closed pivot, so I will replace my open pivot arm with this closed one. I know most of the die hard Lab 80 fans prefer the open pivot style for some reason (I guess it gives the illusion of a longer arm).
Stay tuned ...
So that's who bought it!
The listing was actually not quite accurate. It said, "GARRARD LAB 80 MK II TURNTABLE WOOD TONEARM" but on an 80 Mk II the tracking force scale would have been a silver adhesive label. This one has printed silver markings so it is from a late-production Lab 80 Mk I...which is what your father had, from your description.
Just don't lose any of the tiny ball bearings when you remove the original tonearm. Don't ask how I know.
The listing was actually not quite accurate. It said, "GARRARD LAB 80 MK II TURNTABLE WOOD TONEARM" but on an 80 Mk II the tracking force scale would have been a silver adhesive label. This one has printed silver markings so it is from a late-production Lab 80 Mk I...which is what your father had, from your description.
Just don't lose any of the tiny ball bearings when you remove the original tonearm. Don't ask how I know.
gillsev
Well-Known Member
I also prefer the printed silver marking on the tracking force scale (which was exactly like my Dad's) than the silver adhesive label.
And concerning the ball bearings, believe me, I won't go into that deep by dismantling the whole tonearm stem assembly (there's no need for that). All I'm gonna do is replace the pivot cover that you screw in on top of the whole assembly, then pass the wires through that small hole, then solder to the muting switch. Wallah! :thmbsp:
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gillsev
Well-Known Member
.... or another way of doing this is by cutting the wires on the acrylic cluster terminal - where the headshell fits in (so I could pull the old tonearm out without having to mess resoldering on the muting switch), then just solder it to the cluster terminal of the new arm ...
The plastic seems more likely to melt than the muting switch I think. When I had mine apart to bend the arm straight, it seems to me the wires were crimped into the connectors on the acrylic bit and then pulled through the block to lock them in place, sort of like many car connectors are assembled. I would not want to mess with that end of it if I could help it.
gillsev
Well-Known Member
Yeah, that's what I feared. I guess got to do it with the muting switch then :sigh:
Chriswashere
Active Member
Hello everyone I just picked up a few lab 80s and am now a fan of them. Despite all the mechanical problems I'm running into I actually like these quite a bit now. Despite a full cleaning one of my labs still refuses to work in auto mode and it will also not auto reject the arm . The table has already been dissembled and lubed but to no avail.
If anyone has any recommendations that would be great! I would really like to get this thing going again. This particular turntable was used in a north carolina radio station for many years so it has a lot of history thats worth saving.
If anyone has any recommendations that would be great! I would really like to get this thing going again. This particular turntable was used in a north carolina radio station for many years so it has a lot of history thats worth saving.
gillsev
Well-Known Member
Have your idler wheel put on a new rubber by Terry. It will give it new traction. All my Garrards' idlers have been replaced by Terry. He does a great job :thmbsp:
http://www.terrysrubberrollers.com/
Chriswashere
Active Member
My idlers are just fine. My tables actually came with some nos ones that work great. The others were hard as a rock but some sandpaper took care of that
I love my Lab 80. But I couldn't work on it if I tried. Way too complex for me. Luckily for me, and you, there are some terrific folks on this forum that really know their way around these tables. So be patient, I'm sure you'll hear from the soon. And don't give up. Amazing table when working right.
Chriswashere
Active Member
What record spindle are you using?[/QUOTE]
Both the multi play and single play spindles. The table should automatically return either way though.
Even if the problem can't be found I'll just keep using this beast in manual mode without the return. It sounds great
I need to post a picture of this thing soon. It's a neat looking table.
Chriswashere
Active Member
I'm having issues uploading the pics . Whats the easiest way to upload them?
