Woodsong Audio Garrard 301 Panzerholz 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 custom Garrard 301 plinth in your choice of veneer. The turntable in the photos is shown only as example, none of the items shown are included. Your deck will be built completely to your specifications, including finish and tonearm mounts. Please contact me to discuss your project.

The massive deck in the photos was built for mono transcription of 78 rpm records. The Ortofon 309 tonearms were completely rebuilt, Cardas rewired, and adjusted, as well as custom tonearm rests and tonearm cables made. The plinth is veneered in Oregon Myrtle. The armboards are also Myrtle, and designed so that no fasteners are visible.

Your plinth will be constructed of 3 layers Panzerholz plywood, Baltic Birch plywood, and a proprietary damping material, bonded with specialty adhesives. The deck will mount with polished M6 oval head screws which closely resemble the original Garrard hardware, from the top. 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.
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. Armboards will be cut to your choice of mounting pattern.

The finish and attention to detail is what sets Woodsong plinths apart. Most plinths are finished in hand rubbed oil over polished wood. This is regarded among many woodworkers as the most beautiful finish for wood. I also offer true 'cut and rubbed' show quality automotive finishes, as well as instrument grade epoxy and lacquer finishes. In my opinion, the best finish for most situations is oil over polished wood.

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, and also, many hardwoods are not ideal for sonic reasons, and their mass should be kept to a minimum in a CLD plinth. 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.

Woodsong Audio also offers complete top quality restoration of the Garrard decks. Please see my other listings for more info about what is available.

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 shipping is available.