The Garrard Engineering and Manufacturing Company of Swindon, Wiltshire was a British company which was famous for producing high-quality phonograph turntables. It was formed by the jewellers Garrard & Co in 1915 to create precision rangefinders, as they had the specialist equipment necessary. The company was sold to Plessey, an electronics conglomerate, in 1960. After several years in decline, Garrard was sold by Plessey to Gradiente Electronics of Brazil in 1979 and series production was moved to Brazil. The remaining Garrard research and development operation in Swindon was reduced to a skeleton operation until completely shut down in 1992. Then, Gradiente licensed the Garrard name to Terence O'Sullivan, now doing business as Garrard and Loricraft Audio, since 1997.
The Garrard 301 Transcription Turntable was the first transcription turntable from the Garrard Engineering and Manufacturing Company that supported all extant commercial playback formats - the 33, 45 and 78 rpm records of the time. The first model was called the Garrard 301. The later 401 was nearly identical mechanically, but with a redesigned exterior. Both models were utilised by the BBC and in commercial radio stations, mostly in Europe; the 301 and to a lesser extent the 401 were also exported around the world. Production in of the 301 started in 1953; the 401 was produced until 1976. Long out of production, Garrard 301 and 401 model turntables today are sold on the used market for as much as ten to twenty times their original cost.
Before there were workhorse direct-drive turntables in clubs, and belt-drive turntables on audiophile racks, the standard mechanism for playing LP records was the 'idler drive', a system utilizing an intermediate wheel in a capstan arrangement, in closely-coupled contact with the edge of the platter. Unlike the beltdrive, which separates motor and platter via a compliant belt, and direct-drive, which uses a low-speed direct-current motor, idler drives most often used a high speed (circa 1,600 rpm) alternating-current motor engaged to an intermediate, or 'idler' wheel, which physically rotated the platter. Transcription turntables must have speed accuracy and wow and flutter specifications that meet professional broadcasting standards.
