hifiblueprint

301

301 Transcription Motor. Turntable, Garrard, 1954

Garrard's first professional transcription turntable, an idler-wheel drive playing 33, 45 and 78 rpm records, built to broadcast and studio standards.

Garrard 301, isometric drawing
Garrard 301, photographed

A-05, isometric, same camera for both

Drawing
A-05
Introduced
1954
Produced
1954 to 1965
Made in
United Kingdom
Designed by
Not credited by sources
Launch price
Not confirmed
Size
350 x 150 x 370 mm
Weight
9.1 kg

Garrard of Swindon began production of the 301 in 1953 and launched sales in 1954. It is a rim-driven idler design with a cast aluminium platter, a three-step pulley, a motor suspended on six springs and an oil brake for fine speed control. Garrard added an oil bearing in 1956, and the 401 replaced the 301 in 1965. Garrard is now owned by SME, which builds restored 301 drives to order.

In the collections of Ingenium, Canada (Garrard 301, circa 1958, accession 1996.0559.001) and Science Museum Group (Garrard 301 turntable with instruction manual, 1956, object 1979-442).

See it in listening room no. 02, at the Eames House

Front elevation of the Garrard 301 Transcription Motor, 350 mm wide and 150 mm high
Front elevation, dimensions in millimetres. Drawn from published dimensions and descriptions; detail is simplified.

Specification

ItemAs published
Speeds33, 45 and 78 rpm
DriveIdler wheel on a three-step pulley; motor suspended by six springs
Speed adjustmentPlus or minus 2 1/2% control knob after speed selection; oil (eddy current) brake
PlatterCast aluminium; stock weight 2430 g
Performance targetWow better than 0.1% RMS, flutter 0.4% RMS
Power100 to 130 V or 200 to 250 V, 16 watts

Reissued

Garrard (owned by SME) Garrard 301 Advanced

Garrard (owned by SME) builds the 301 again. Pricing is through dealers.

See it at garrardturntables.co.uk

The house

Founded
1915
Founder
Garrard & Co., the jewellers
Origin
Swindon, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
Today
Owned by SME, part of the Cadence Audio group, since 2018, and sold as built-to-order Garrard 301 turntables.

Further sheets

Sources

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrard_Engineering_and_Manufacturing_Company
  2. https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/garrard_rc_80.html
  3. https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/garrard_301.html
  4. https://jeffsplace.positive-feedback.com/?p=7363
  5. https://collection.ingenium.ca/item/1996.0559.001
  6. https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co117299
  7. https://garrardturntables.co.uk/
  8. https://sme.co.uk/heritage/

Notes for the record: Production dates vary: Radiomuseum 1954 to 1964, Positive Feedback 1954 to 1965, Wikipedia says production began 1953 with sales from 1954. No launch price was found; Radiomuseum lists US$89 for a Garrard 301 in a 1961 Allied catalog, which is a later US retail price. Dimensions are Radiomuseum's 350 x 150 x 370 mm for the Transcription Motor 301. Weight is Radiomuseum's 20 lb for the Allied-catalog 301 listing (that listing's dimensions are 16 x 3.5 x 13.75 in, which differ). The 2430 g platter figure is Ray Clark's, quoted by Positive Feedback. The 0.1% and 0.4% figures are described as the performance standard the 301 had to meet. Speeds, six-spring suspension, 16 W and the plus or minus 2 1/2% knob are from the Ingenium nameplate record. No designer is credited; Positive Feedback names E.W. Mortimer as Garrard's chief engineer in a paper about the 401. SME's heritage page says Cadence Audio acquired the Garrard brand in 2018 and SME launched a new 301 in 2019.