Transcriptors and Michell: Hydraulic Reference to Gyro Dec

Turntable Heaven For A Day

by Nick Seiflow

Is there a legal limit to the amount of turntable pulchritude permissible in one room?

Here at The Turntable Shop we believe in challenging the Statutes; to boldly go where no sane vinyl spinner would – just another day at the TTS.

So, when a customer brought in a Michell Hydraulic Reference for servicing, the obvious thing to do was to scour the shelves and assemble an armada of our favourite objets de vinyl and gaze in awe at the result.

Transcriptors and J.A. Michell Day at The Turntable Shop

Transcriptors and J.A. Michell Day at The Turntable Shop

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Roy Orbison – Mystery Girl

by Branden Haynes

Roy Orbison’s “swan song” and posthumous “Mystery Girl” finds this Travelling Wilbury at the peak of his powers. For such a modest man, he could sing with such brilliance that angels in heaven would take notice. His operatic voice was truly unique and earned him enormous admiration from fans and colleagues alike.

Mystery Girl - Roy Orbison

Mystery Girl – Roy Orbison

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The Keith Monks Record Cleaner – Only The Best For Your Vinyl

by Nick Seiflow

The Keith Monks 'Archivist Duo' Record Cleaner

The Keith Monks ‘Archivist Duo’ – Broadcast-Archive Standard Precision Record Cleaner

We’re delighted to be able to offer our customers the finest record cleaning service available.

For all records, 33s, 45s and 78s (which require their own special treatment) the Keith Monks Omni Cleaner uses the tried-and-true washing and vacuuming process which has made the name Keith Monks the choice for museums and broadcasters across the world. Continue reading

The Technics SL 10 Turntable Part 2: Under the Covers–Adults Only…

Under the Covers of the Technics SL 10 Turntable….

by Nick Seiflow

The beautifully easy-to-operate Technics SL10 is anything but simple under the smooth lines of its aluminum skin.

What follows is not a manual for disassembly and maintenance, but more of a tribute to the Golden Age of turntable design.

Such a table as the SL-10 could never be made again. Sad, but based on the economies of scale whomsoever tried to build and market such a machine would quickly find themselves selling pencils on the street corner. To design this table from scratch alone would involve massive amounts of R&D. let alone actually  making and marketing it.

Technics SL 10 Turntable - A view of the armassembly before the work begins... The problem - broken thread, no arm movement, no music. The dust looks worse than it really is.... mant screws to remove, and some wiggling to remove the record clamp, and work can begin!

Technics SL 10 Turntable – A view of the arm assembly before the work begins… The problem – broken thread, no arm movement, no music. The dust looks worse than it really is…. many screws to remove, and some wiggling to remove the record clamp, and work can begin!

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Thorens TD150 Turntable Review – The Most Underrated for 50 Years?

by Nick Seiflow

1965 Thorens TD150 Turntable with 1959 Quad ESL 57

1965 Thorens TD150 Turntable with 1959 Quad ESL 57 Speaker – Yes, your grandfather had it this good!

When Thorens and Garrard were duking it out in the early 60s you had your choice: in the German/Swiss corner was that marvel of precision engineering, the workhorse of radio stations ands recording studios, the TD124. One of the most beautifully built idler drive tables ever conceived, and just so German; no one else would have added a belt to an idler drive (situated between the the idler wheel and the motor, and whose sole purpose was to isolate the platter from the really rather minor vibrations of the motor). The 124 has a permanent seat at the adult turntable table; used prices reflect its coveted status, reaching into the $1000s for a rebuilt example. Continue reading

Forgotten Classic Turntables

What ever happened to the Sony PS-X60?

by Nick Seiflow

Sony PS-X60 Turntable Top View

Sony PS-X60 Turntable Top View

There are dozens if not hundreds of classic turntables that seem to have faded from the public consciousness; I’m largely speaking of the casualties from The Great Turntable Wars of the 1970s here, but our time span could be from 1965 to 1985 – and we’d still miss some worthy contenders.

Case in point – the Sony PS-X60. Made in the late 70s, just before the advent of the little plastic disc that was to spell doom for the vinyl industry. This particular example appeared on my repair bench a little the worse for wear. Continue reading

Zen and the Turntable….

Better Than Nothing?

by Nick Seiflow

Unity 1 TT w Grace Arm w Audio Technica 95E Cartridge

Unity 1 Turntable with Grace Tonearm and Audio Technica 95E Cartridge – Created by the Gnomes of Zontar?

Here at the TT Shop we spend most of our time listening to music (how we suffer…) through a variety of turntables, and of course the trusty ol’ Quad 57s. I for one can think of few better ways to spend my days. Actually that’s a lie. There are no better ways.

Some of the tables we listen to are expensive, even works of mechanical art, and some are finds that materialize in the occasional dumpster. With a little attention even the dumpster tables can do a remarkable thing – and that is make music.

It gets me thinking. What’s better – nothing, Continue reading

Transcriptors Skeleton Turntable Review – Perhaps the Most Beautiful?

by Nick Seiflow

Transcriptors Skeleton Turntable with Vestigial Tonearm

Transcriptors Skeleton Turntable with Vestigial Tonearm

Perhaps the most beautiful turntable ever designed, the Transcriptors Skeleton, circa 1973, still arouses the same astonishment today that it did some forty years ago. Designed by the late genius, David Gammon (and apparently initially sketched on the back of a cigarette packet) the Skeleton  is a true beauty.

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