“Just Like New”
One of the most delicate, and therefore most difficult, turntables to work on is one made by Harman Kardon about 40 years ago, a linear tracking model with a Rabco tone arm. The adjustments necessary to get the tone arm to move properly are time consuming, often frustrating, and the brushed aluminum plinth requires great care in handling lest it acquire an unredeemable scratch. I recently had occasion to repair one that had been out of service for some years – perhaps decades – along with a classic Bob Carver preamp and amp that were not performing well. I got through the work well enough and was able to restore the table and the preamp/amp to original spec’s for a reaonable price.
A couple of days after returning them to the customer, I got a call from him. When he identified himself, I a flash of dread went through me. What if something had happened to the turntable on the ride home? What if I had made a mistake on the preamp work? What if … But immediately my fears were allayed, when the next thing he said was “I can’t thank you enough!” He called to tell me how pleased he was that his equipment was working “just like it did when it was new.”
Well. That made my day!
