Woodsong Audio Garrard 301 Japanese Cherry 2 tonearm plinth

Woodsong Audio brings to you the highest quality, best performing plinths available for the Garrard idler drive turntables.

This listing is for a 2 arm plinth with 2 armboards machined to your choice of mount, 2 blank armboards,, and Track Audio footers, veneered in Japanese Cherry. This will accept any combination of 2- 9" or 12" tonearms. The plinth, and 301 deck in the photos , are shown for reference only. To purchase a plinth, please contact me to finalize details, such as tonearm mounting, etc.

An IEC fitted to the rear of the plinth delivers power to the Garrard motor.

4 tapped holes in the base of the plinth allow the footers to be threaded securely into the plinth. 1/4-20 is standard, but other threads are available. Track Audio isolation devices or Stillpoints, are available as footers.

This Japanese Cherry is among my very favorite of boards that have passed through my hands over the years. One board measured 11', x 3', by 1.5" thick, the very center slice of the tree. I counted 135 growth rings. The entire board was consistently figured as seen in the plinth photos. Amazing wood! I have a little of this wood left, but when it is gone, there is no more, it is not a commercially available species, and is very rare. Japanese Cherry is close in color to domestic Black Cherry, but more finely grained. This tree grew in France, and was imported into the US.
Constructed from a time tested combination of materials, including a proprietary damping material, specifically selected adhesives, resins, and other materials. Woodsong Garrard plinths are a true CLD design.

Armboards are made from a variety of materials, often Ebony, Cocobolo, Rosewood, or a composite material that I have found to be ideal for armboards. Most often, I like articulating armboards, but can provide several different options to suit different needs. The articulating design will accept either a 9" or 12" arm in each position.

Most Woodsong Garrard plinths are finished in a high quality, shop cut veneer, specifically chosen for beauty of grain, and long term integrity, and cut and surfaced at our facility. This is not to be confused with commercially available veneers which are most often used in furniture building and common woodworking. Commercial veneers are most often 1/42” thick, or 0.8mm. Woodsong shop cut veneers range from slightly less than 1/16”, for very stiff woods like Ebony or Cocobolo, that need to bend around plinth corners, to about 3/32” for plinth tops (2-3mm). Woodsong shop cut veneers are also not to be confused with thick (often clamed around 1”) solid wood ‘veneers’.
It is easy to find plinths being offered elsewhere that are wrapped in solid wood, often 1”. This is a very bad idea, and is a guaranteed recipe for joints opening up years later, or sooner. All wood has moisture in it, and all wood moves with moisture and temperature change. Also, all finishes breathe, including resins, and thick plastic looking coatings like automotive clearcoats. Dense exotic hardwoods are especially prone to not giving up their moisture quickly. Thick woods need to be seasoned for years, and they will still change in dimension when moved to a different environment, or even seasonally. It is easy to ‘wrap’ a stack of plinth materials with 1” thick boards, it requires little precision, or preparation of materials, and is relatively easy to shape/finish. This is why people do this. Looks good out of the showroom, but watch out in the long run. Woodworkers throughout the centuries have dealt with this element of the nature of wood. Those who do not, their woodworking does not last, period. Anything thicker than about 1/8” to ¼” of solid wood over a stable substrate such as a CLD plinth, is entering into where the wood has an agenda of it’s own with regards to dimensional change. No finish, or wishful thinking will stop wood from moving over time. This is one of the main reasons why veneer was created. If you are considering buying a plinth, you owe it to yourself to understand the techniques used in the creation, and what makes an heirloom quality piece.

Email for a picture package with hi-res photos.

Thank you for looking.

Chris Harban
(208) 304-0973
www.woodsongaudio.com

Plinths are shipped in specifically built shipping containers, designed to take the abuses that the couriers are capable of. Worldwide shiping is available.