The original drive, and everything since
The 301, taken further
Every Garrard 301 Advanced carries a transcription drive that first turned in 1954, restored in house at SME until the years fall away. Around that drive SME builds the present: a plinth machined from a high density compound, silent by nature, a two stage isolation system, and an SME precision tonearm chosen at commission. Each one is built to order, and made once, for life.
Begun as an original. Rebuilt as new.
The Making
Every 301 Advanced begins with an original Garrard 301 drive, entrusted to the SME manufactory at Steyning, taken apart to the last component, cleaned and restored, and rebuilt to the condition of the day the 301 left Swindon. The restoration is SME's own from first to last, by the same hands, on the same machines and to the same standards that build SME's own turntables and tonearms.
The transcription turntable standard
The Garrard 301
The transcription turntable was born in the broadcast studio, an instrument made to reach speed the instant a record was cued and to hold that speed true, whatever the stylus met in the groove. Garrard's Model 201 of 1930 was the first, chosen by the BBC. The Model 301 of 1954 followed, and was soon at work in the BBC's studios and in broadcasting houses across the world, described at the time as the ultimate in electric gramophone motors. The 301 has been the reference among transcription turntables ever since, sought after as an original and built to order today as the 301 Classic and 301 Advanced.
Garrard 301 Advanced
Specifications
| Header Column 1 | Header Column 2 | Header Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Plinth | High density compound, CNC machined, acoustically inert | |
| Platter | Rim-driven, high mass, accurately balanced | |
| Motor | Induction, spring suspended and magnetically screened | |
| Tonearm | SME M2-12R or SME Series VA-12 | |
| Voltage | Dual range, 100-130 and 200-250 volts | |
| Frequency | 50 or 60 cycles to the motor pulley | |
| Consumption | 16 watts | |
| Wow | Less than 0.2 % | |
| Flutter | Less than 0.05 % | |
| Speed range | 33-34, 44-46, 76-80 rpm | |
| Dimensions | Width 563 mm, depth 418 mm, height 200 mm to the highest point of the tonearm | |
| Weight | 23 kg |