> > Gerrard was (I can't imagine they're still around) an > English turntable company. They were pretty big in > the 50's and early 60's. They basically made the best > LP changer around . . .
They also made the turntable equivalent of the K1000 - the Garrard SP25. Generations of college students grew up with one of these (I owned the Mk II, IIRC). It was cheap enough that students could afford it, but it had all the features necessary to get good sound out of a record without destroying it in the process, and it was built to withstand reasonable amounts of abuse. A Garrard SP25 (and, later, a Pioneer PL-12D) are the main reason why I've got 30-year-old records that are still playable. In particular, when fitted with an SME lightweight headshell and a Shure M75 cartridge the PL-12D operated reliably at 0.75g tracking weight - significantly better than most of the "groove grinders" out there.
