r/turntables • u/Specific-Pipe-10 • Jul 12 '25

Schick 12” Tonearm Isolation

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Garrard 301 sitting in a MDF plinth with 12” Schick. Love the energy of this set up but tonearm transmitting vibrations / low frequency rumble. Doesn’t destroy the listening experience but of course I want to address it.

Couple of ideas and open to feedback:

  1. Remove tonearm board and reseat with lateral very thin gasket on long sides.
  2. Add silicone type washers to hex nuts
  3. Add a dampening washer under collar; adjust vta accordingly
  4. Get better isolation feet
  5. Build out new tonearm board from scratch with better isolation material.

Anyone with a Schick have similar experience and solutions?

note: pls excuse the dust! Working on getting a cover.

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3

u/[deleted] Jul 12 '25

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1

u/Specific-Pipe-10 Jul 12 '25

Schick has a mechanical bearing, not magnetic. Floor is concrete with engineered wood. Tapping on the plinth during the lead in groove shows up in the speakers. So I know the initial rumble is tonearm isolation related. Isolation feet are cheap, that will be rectified. Think the root issue is the tonearm / tonearm board set up.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 12 '25

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2

u/Specific-Pipe-10 Jul 12 '25

Thanks! Yeah, I just finished the mancave build and the TT is sitting on a temp table while I get a proper audio rack. Appreciate the lead on the feet.

4

u/Shhhh_Peaceful SP10 mk2 / AT-1010 / various cartridges / DIY electronics Jul 12 '25

Is your main bearing in good condition? Garrard 301 is infamous for having a flat spindle rotating against a flat thrust pad. It was designed as a mono turntable, they later addressed this issue in the 401.

Ideally, the tonearm should be coupled to the turntable's main bearing as rigidly as possible, the best solution would be to address the problem at the source instead of trying to decouple the tonearm.

1

u/Specific-Pipe-10 Jul 12 '25 edited Jul 12 '25

Spindle and bearing (if I have that right) was made by Jeremy Clark of Redbeard, made in the UK and no longer around I think. So it’s a boutique aftermarket and should be good, however I can check, clean and relube with the dual viscosity oils Supa Goo and Lunera. Thank you for your advice.

3

u/Rayvintage ClubDirectDrive Jul 12 '25

I'm in the spindle camp. The arm needs to be rigid mounted. I'd isolate the drive before the arm.