Vintage MK0 michell gyrodeck, keep pristine or upgrade ?

[emokid]

I resently purchased a gyrodeck witch the previous owner claimed was a late 90s model , and as little as i knew about the table i belived in that .
But when i start checking model changes and equipment stages i fint that my table is a 1983 mk0, i belive the first production year ?
It is all original with the alu platter , papst motor ( prod month 8.83) , old bearing , double belts , flat feet , plinth and dustcower in wery good shape, with no cracks or major scratches .
Only upgrade as far as i can see is the QC gyropower , and a moerch up4 arm .
so What to do ? keep it original or upgrade the full package ?
Does it have a collectible value as an original first series , or is that just in my head ?

[Spinnr]

Emokid.

Werner is the resident expert here on all things Michell, I hope he chimes in.

The double belts are really one for 45 and one 33, don't put them on at the same time.

The table is called a Mk1, only so after the other Mks were bought out. If you are going to build a vintage system around it, then love, lube, and service it properly, and keep as is. I have kept mine as a Mk1. In pristine Space Odessey 2000 condition (Stanley Kubrick rented the space next door for the movie, hence the Mk1 being in one of the scenes).

Do upgrades improve sound quality? Most likely. Does it sound fantastic just as it is? Most certainly.

Should you grind away on the upgrade path? No, go buy a new Orbe and don't destroy a wonderful piece of Michell vintage technology.

What should I do with the money I would have spent on upgrades? Spend on vinyl.

Vinyl forever.

[Werner]

Flat feet?

Yep, that's a Mk0, although there being two belts indicates that it is not one of the very first ones.

Whether you want to modernise or not is your call, and I can't help you with that.

Perhaps you should listen, and if happy stick to it. And if not happy sell it to a collector and buy a new Gyro SEduction, for instance.

[aviasom]

Maybe it's better to listen for a few months, in this period his ears decided, retrofitted or not !

[emokid]

Flat feet?

Yep, that's a Mk0, although there being two belts indicates that it is not one of the very first ones.

Whether you want to modernise or not is your call, and I can't help you with that.

Perhaps you should listen, and if happy stick to it. And if not happy sell it to a collector and buy a new Gyro SEduction, for instance.

i dont know if the two belts are supposed to be on at the same time or the previous owner just put them on , looks like you can move one up and one down to get 45rpm (two bigger pullies on motor) .
if i chose to sell it what would it be worth and where would i put it up for sale to get a good price ?

[Spinnr]

You're going to sell it, never having heard it?

You are no vinyl fan. You must either be kidding, or just trolling here for a buyer. You've lost me. Sorry I posted, and offered my enthusiasm.

Vinyl forver.

[emokid]

You're going to sell it, never having heard it?

You are no vinyl fan. You must either be kidding, or just trolling here for a buyer. You've lost me. Sorry I posted, and offered my enthusiasm.

Vinyl forver.

ouch , what toe did i step on here ???
i newer said i woud sell, i said IF , and since im not building a vintage rig around it ,AND beacause im a vinyl fan(at least starting to be) i would not like to "destroy " a good piece of vintage tech with upgrades if im better of selling this to a person wanting to keep it original and true . and myself getting a later model with the upgrades im seeking .
As to having never heard it , it has been spinnin continuosly since i got it ( a few breaks for sleep thats all) !!!!
I know if i keep it i am going to want upgrades and thats the reason i posted in the first place .

And one more thing : Newer try teaching a Norwegian about trolls you might know a lot more about vinyl , but when it comes to trolls you wont ever reach even to my knees

[Jagged]

If it's truly a Mk0 it's very rare indeed. keep it as it is. If it's a Mk1 then you might as well upgrade parts as you can afford to. However to really be cost effective and if you want a later one consider selling it rather than upgrading.
If you haven't found them already, check these two sites for all the information you will need.

http://www.angelfire.com/music5/michell_gyrodec/

http://www.michell-engineering.co.uk/tu ... llery.html

[pivot]

Emokid.

I have kept mine as a Mk1. In pristine Space Odessey 2000 condition (Stanley Kubrick rented the space next door for the movie, hence the Mk1 being in one of the scenes).

Don't want to derail the thread but have to ask a question.

I don't know a lot about Gyrodecks but like to think I know Kubrick flims. When was a Gyrodeck in a Kubrick film?

The table I am aware of in a Kubrick movie was the Hydraulic Reference turntable that Mitchel bought the rights to from Transcriptors...and that was in "Clockwork Orange" not "2001". Yes?

[emokid]

Emokid.

I have kept mine as a Mk1. In pristine Space Odessey 2000 condition (Stanley Kubrick rented the space next door for the movie, hence the Mk1 being in one of the scenes).

Don't want to derail the thread but have to ask a question.

I don't know a lot about Gyrodecks but like to think I know Kubrick flims. When was a Gyrodeck in a Kubrick film?

The table I am aware of in a Kubrick movie was the Hydraulic Reference turntable that Mitchel bought the rights to from Transcriptors...and that was in "Clockwork Orange" not "2001". Yes?

this is what it says on michells page :

J.A.Michell Engineering as a precision engineering company doing work for the nearby film industry (e.g. spacecraft models in Kubrick's "2001 - A Space Odyssey"), motorcar and aircraft builders and, indeed, audio component manufacturers. While thus having been involved in turntable design before, Michell Engineering got officially launched in hi-fi when we took over the manufacturing of the Hydraulic Reference model (seen in "A Clockwork Orange") from then-neighbouring company Transcriptors.

[sreten]

Hi, If ain't bust don't fix it, retro fitting updates is never cost effective, rgds, sreten.

[emokid]

i just found the serial number after talking to tech at michell engineering . its engraved in the chassis underneath by the tone arm .
And the number is only the three digits 913 so i guess its early indeed

[blakep]

i just found the serial number after talking to tech at michell engineering . its engraved in the chassis underneath by the tone arm .
And the number is only the three digits 913 so i guess its early indeed

Thank you very much for that info! I had no idea of the engraved serial # and its location until reading this thread.

I have Gyrodec that I purchased at a police auction (mainly stolen bicycles) in the mid 80's for $200 Cnd. with an MMT arm and a Koetsu Black on it (both of those long since gone). No power cord/supply with it which I did have to purchase and it had the soft feet as well which I also replaced immediately but I still felt I did rather well

The soft feet I found out later were indicative of a pretty early model. As it turns out mine is serial #543.

I used my table pretty much as is until about 5-6 years ago when I returned to analog with a stronger committment.

As you are in Europe, a very reasonably priced upgrade path is available to you (with dealer/distributor markups here in North America, it is much more expensive).

I have not touched my motor and won't until it dies as that is a pretty expensive upgrade. I also have decent power conditioning which the table is plugged into. What I did do (apart from the feet in the early 80's and I would advise you to change them) recently is this:

1) buy new springs as well as the upgraded suspension posts
2) replace the main bearing with the new bearing
3) replace the aluminum platter with the composite platter.
4) buy the newer composite clamp (you might want to do this last or you could possibly live without this one-I really like the look of the newer all black clamp and with the felt washer it does work considerably better than the older clamp)

FYI, the main bearing and platter must be replaced at the same time. You cannot do one without the other.

I would say that doing the feet and those 4 upgrades (based on my experience) will give you an excellent performance boost without breaking the bank and the newer suspension posts also allow for much easier and faster setup of the table.

To save money you might want to advertise on a couple of the audio sites there seeking a used platter from someone who has upgraded their composite Gyro platter to the Orbe platter. That's what I did and and the cost was about 50% vs. buying new here.

On your side of the pond, Michell's price for the new main bearing is very fair as far as I'm concerned, as are the new suspension posts.

A new belt is a given of course, but one will be sufficient, and a few drops of oil for the motor of course.

Frankly, I see no collectible value to keeping the table as is but, if there is, you will be able to retain all the original parts (nobody will buy them anyway ) to return it to its former glory if required.

[emokid]

Thanks for all feedback , turns out my table was shipped from Michell on february 13th 1984 , impressive , Steven even told me the full spec of the tt and who ordered it

Sooooo , after considerations i found that its going to be a full upgrade /rebuild/customisation
I will make a project of it , this is what i am going to do :

-Orbe platter with screwdown clamp
-inverted bearing
-decoupled towers
-dampening of chassis
-decoupeling of tonearm
-free standing motorhousing
-new custom acrylic plinth
-Gert Pedersen style suspension
-gert pedersen style stabilisation
-new cartridge ,probably Benz glider
-painting and airbrushing of chassis

This is going to be a gyro like you newer seen before

This way i can bring it back to original ,only with a coat of paint, since im not changing the plinth or chassis, and keeping all original parts .

It is going to be mostly all black with custom airbrush graphics on the chassis ( painted dull black and handed over to the graphics artist today ).
The plinth is already made in 15mm clear acrylic , shaped roughly like a mickey mouse head , will post a picture as soon as i figure out how
All suspension parts ,and motor housing is made locally ,all out of stainless steel .
The other parts will be ordered from Michell engineering as soon as i can get hold of Steven (been trying all week) .
Ordering directly from ME makes the price not to bad and having the rest made locally it will all cost me something like 600 usd (plus the Cart offcourse)