Michell Giro Deck and Keith Monks KMAL Record Cleaner


A friend of mine is downsizing and wants to sell both for 2,500. I know they have been taken very good care of and haven't been played in quite a while. He said he oiled the bearings on the turntable and cleaned a record with the record cleaner after replacing the pump, and said the record player is ready to be hooked up. He also has 3,000 records he wants to sell, most of which were only played once on a Thorens turntable. I think this is one hell of a deal. Am I mistaken?

garrymac

I'd go for it...as long as everything works and/or doesn't need a ton of work.

Good Luck!

Which Monks? The older style "string" point nozzle is different than the newer ones that are either smaller scale or stringless. The older ones are robust, the pump diaphram will eventually have to be replaced, you need to make sure the machine was not abused by back water into the pump, running the machine if you know how it is supposed to operate should reveal the latter--the pump will not have proper suction. I had mine, the more current Omni, revamped by the guy who does the LOC and archival machines in the US. I also put some silicon washers between any metal screws on the top plate to minimize rusting. There’s a "good practices" for running these, I was shown how, and adapted to my own needs. I love the damn thing, have had old VPI and still have the KL. Good luck.

PS: on buying records, hard to evaluate X number for Y price blindly. There are records and then there are records. Do you know what his pile consists of? Era, labels, particular performances, bands, pressings? Condition is of course a factor. Pennies on the dollar for dross; more for collectibles or desirable pressings. Need more granularity but that is often at odds with size of collection and price. Triage it. 

 

Haven't seen the albums yet, but knowing him and the music he listens to, there are going to be some good original presses in excellent shape. The Keith Monks is the older one. He also has a Luxman phono amp LE-109 for sale; I wonder what I should offer for that.

Let’s be clear: for $2500, you get the JA Michell GyroDec with the TechnoArm and Goldring cartridge, the Keith Monks record cleaning system, AND you’re on the inside track to purchase records of your choice from the 3,000. Is that what you’re contemplating? If so, it sounds like a good deal to me! As always, condition should be a consideration.