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Free turntable but needs cart.

post #1 of 13
11/14/09 at 2:29am
Thread Starter 
Well i got ahold of a free Garrard model 770 turntable today! Its in kinda rough shape but it spins! I am in need of a cartridge b/c it is lacking one.
Should I be able to use any cart I wish? Or will it require some sort of adapter?
Im having trouble finding any info on this turntable at all.
Ill get pics in the morning.

If i can use a regular cart what do you guys recommend? I would like to keep it under $100. I was looking at the Grado carts b/c i figure they would go well with my headphones.

Thanks for the help, i can truly say I am a vinyl Noob!
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post #2 of 13
11/14/09 at 2:59am
Congrats on you turntable, you need to choose between moving magnet (mm) or moving coil (mc) cartridges. Generally mc’s are preferred by “audiophiles” but their low output requires better amplification stages, I would probably go with a mm to start with.
You will also need a phono stage which is either build into your amp or is separate.
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post #3 of 13
11/14/09 at 3:39am
Have you tried vinylengine.co.uk? They have information on lots of turntables; I don't know if they have the manual for yours, but it is worth checking.

Grado makes nice cartridges - I've used their Gold and Platinum models - but another budget cart to consider is the Shure MX97E. It's affordable and it sounds great.
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post #4 of 13
11/14/09 at 10:55am
Thread Starter 






So What is the black part that has the 4 wires on it at the end of the tonearm?
How will that work with another cart?
Is this a standard mount?
And What is that adjustment on the top right of the table not on the tonearm?

Thanks, I have some cleaning to do!
Edit: man i always forget this site does not resize pics lol, ill fix them. Edit2: fixed
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post #5 of 13
11/14/09 at 11:39am
Thread Starter 
I measured the headshell and it is 1'' across. I think Standard mount is 1/2''. I tried taking it off but failed. I found one screw and removed it but it does not want to come off.
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post #6 of 13
11/14/09 at 1:23pm
Unless I am missing something, you don't have the piece that mounts the cartridge to the headshell. That is an ebay find. Looks kind of like this: New Garrard SL75 SL75B Turntable Cartridge Mount.C-1 C1 - eBay (item 350185037307 end time Nov-25-09 09:19:54 PST). Might be worth it to buy a completely functioning Dual or BIC with the $20 you would spend on that piece. But, then again, I might be the one missing something.
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post #7 of 13
11/14/09 at 2:18pm
Thread Starter 
Does this look more like it? http://www.garage-a-records.com/jpgs/zb22.jpg
Came from this site: Plug In Headshells and Cartridge Mounts-Garage-A-Records-1-888-800-7597
What do you mean by buying a functioning dual or BIC?
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post #8 of 13
11/14/09 at 2:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lozanoa11 View Post
Does this look more like it? http://www.garage-a-records.com/jpgs/zb22.jpg
Came from this site: Plug In Headshells and Cartridge Mounts-Garage-A-Records-1-888-800-7597
What do you mean by buying a functioning dual or BIC?
Garrard made a few excellent turntables and many cheap plastic ones. The older large frame rim drive Duals like the 1019,1219,1228,and 1228Q are better than what it looks like you have. It may not be wise to spend good money after bad but free is a good price. Memepool has a list of quality used budget turntables to look for on this forum. Technics and Thorens are other common brands to look at when buying used.
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post #9 of 13
11/14/09 at 2:45pm
Thread Starter 
Oh. I just figured i would use this to see if I even like or would use vinyl. I figure a decent Cart and a decent turntable would at least give me satisfactory results until i could afford something better.
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post #10 of 13
11/14/09 at 4:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lozanoa11 View Post
Oh. I just figured i would use this to see if I even like or would use vinyl. I figure a decent Cart and a decent turntable would at least give me satisfactory results until i could afford something better.
That is a reasonable assumption, but vinyl is fickle. It is very easy to spend $75 on a cheap AudioTecnica cartridge + a replacement headshell and have something that sounds terrible.

What I meant in my previous post was that to buy a BIC 980 completely functional would be less than that $75 figure and maybe, if you are lucky, you could find a Dual 1019 for that price with a cartridge.

Then you would really have something to be proud of and that will play beautifully for years to come.
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post #11 of 13
11/14/09 at 4:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lozanoa11 View Post
Oh. I just figured i would use this to see if I even like or would use vinyl. I figure a decent Cart and a decent turntable would at least give me satisfactory results until i could afford something better.
You are quite right. This Garrard model isn't the last work in turntables by any means but it's just as good as the Dual models from the same era. Garrard continued making some decent enough decks into the 1970s and this is an idler drive with a low mass tonearm probably around the time of the Zero 100 which was a famous Garrard of that era by the looks of it.

Garrard 770M Owners Manual, Service Manual, Schematics, Free Download | Vinyl Engine

Since you have it already and assuming the thing isn't trashed then it's well worth getting it working. You will have to spend 50USD at least for a decent new cart with any 2nd hand deck and Dual models have just as many potential proprietry headshell issues so i'd persevere with this.

Ask on vinyl engine as above as someone is bound to know of the correct headshell part which you are missing.

The Shure cart mentioned in the link is a standard 1/2" mount so you are probably just missing the mounting plate as people have said.

With a low mass arm like this your choices of cart are more limited these days but a Shure or else a Nagaoka would also be a good choice.
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post #12 of 13
11/14/09 at 5:53pm
Thread Starter 
Ok i think i found the correct Cartridge mount. Now For are cart, what kind am i looking for with my tonearm? You say a Shure or a Nagoaka, but do i have other choices?
Would a Grado not work well with this?
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post #13 of 13
11/14/09 at 6:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lozanoa11 View Post
You say a Shure or a Nagoaka, but do i have other choices? Would a Grado not work well with this?
You need a high compliance cart which arn't so common these days as the Garrard arm is described as low mass.

Full explanation here Tonearm/Cartridge Capability

I'd guess a Grado would be fine but they are known to have noise issues with many decks having a relatively unshielded generator so I don't recommed them as a first time cart for this reason. There are enough potential issues resurrecting an old deck like this without having to worry about things like that in my opinion.

The Nagaoka MP11 would be one of the best value carts of this type still around. Otherwise the most common alternative is high end DJ carts (for reasons too longwinded to go into) The better Stanton's like the 680 are very nice. Shure's only really Hi-Fi cart these days is the M-97 and Ortofon still make many higher compliance designs. Audio Technica's will work on the whole but the compliance on many of these has been reduced in recent years to suit modern tonearms.
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