Shida 12 Garrard 301/401 plinth

Shida 12 Plinth – Crafted for the Garrard purist
 
Restoring a Garrard 301 to its full potential is a journey—one that doesn’t end with a service. To hear what your deck is truly capable of, you need a proper plinth. Not just a stand, not just a block of wood, but a carefully considered foundation that respects the Garrard’s design while elevating its performance.
 
The 301’s powerful motor is a marvel of engineering, but it doesn’t exist in isolation. Left unchecked, its vibrations can travel through the plinth and find their way to the stylus, introducing subtle distortions that veil detail and impact. The goal isn’t to smother these vibrations completely—that would be like putting a pillow over the Garrard’s voice—but to manage them in a way that preserves the music’s energy and life.
Many take the “mass-damping” route, layering 18mm birch plywood into a weighty slab. It works—to a point. But overloading a Garrard with mass can dull its signature dynamics, stripping away the explosive micro-details that make the music feel so immediate and real.
At Shida, we took inspiration from Ken Shindo’s legendary designs, refining our approach through a decade of testing and listening. The result is the Shida 12 Plinth, a finely tuned blend of materials and construction techniques designed to complement, rather than constrain, the Garrard’s magic.
The frame is built from solid hardwood, hand-finished with layers of natural wood oil, and Gilboys wax for a rich, lustrous surface. The motorboard—crafted from dense Keruing plywood with a thin MDF core—absorbs vibrations while maintaining a lively, organic sound. A final top layer of Forbo furniture linoleum adds constrained-layer damping, controlling unwanted resonance without overdamping the system.
M6 inserts and spikes come standard, but the design invites customization. Whether paired with aftermarket feet like IsoAcoustics or placed on an isolation platform, the Shida 12 adapts to your system’s needs.
More than just a plinth, the Shida 12 is a precision-crafted foundation for one of the greatest turntables ever made—designed not to tame the Garrard, but to let it sing.