All moving parts were removed, cleaned and lubricated where appropriate.įirst play, incorporating an A&R P77 MM cartridge which I didn't attach any great value to, and I just could not believe how good it sounded. The headshell articulates by the action of a thin metal rod located under the arm. The arm is made from very hard Sapele wood that was original supplied by an old London firm of piano key and striker manufacturers. The original wiring was retained and was terminated at the tonearm cable connector on the side of the plinth. It was a little fiddly as particular attention was given to accurate alignment and VTA height. My new arm was assembled and fitted onto a spare Garrard 301 and wooden plinth. Wilfred died 5 months after the LP was recorded aged 62. Wilfreds only previous recordings had been on Decca 78rpm some 48 years earlier. This was released on his own label 'Panosona' in 1978 where he is accompanied by Roy Gillard on violin. He also gave me a new copy of the LP 'Music by Wilfred Worden'. When I went to collect the headshell and a copy of the alignment protractor, I heard his massive horn loaded Panosona speakers very impressive. He also used a heavily modified Worden tonearm on a Garrard 401 fitted with a very special Van den Hul MC cartridge.
![garrard zero 100 brother garrard zero 100 brother](https://www.radiomuseum.org/images/radio/garrard_eng_mfg_co/zero_100s_2500696.jpg)
Last month I bought a Mk1 tonearm less headshell, but only because I had already sourced a spare headshell from a 78yo ex colleague of Wilfred Worden who lived in West Cumbria. The top of the range of these was over 6 feet high corner unit and was part horn loaded with a Lowther PM6 unit reversed to point inwards. He became head of music at the Benedict Abbey School in Fort Augustus in the Scottish Highlands where he also continued to compose music and persue his love of inventing hifi especially a range of Lowther based loudspeakers under his tradename Panosona. A video of him playing Chopin can be seen on īe patient when you click on 'play' and you will see a truly memorable performance.Īs a result of the 1930 world depression followed by the 2nd World War Wilfred's career never progressed. Wilfred was born in 1917 and after first learning to play the piano at the age of 9 became a world famous child prodigy classical pianist by the age of 14.
![garrard zero 100 brother garrard zero 100 brother](https://assets.catawiki.nl/assets/2020/11/23/4/6/8/468a8561-e4fc-49ce-a014-13fcc0eebe31.jpg)
Before he died in 1958 he had invented a wooden bodied tonearm with articulating headshell which gave an accuracy in tracking over the radius of a record to +/- 0.25%, ie a substantial improvement on conventional side mounted tonearms.įollowing his death, running of the billiard table business and further development, patenting and marketing of the tonearm was taken up by his 41yo son Wilfred. James Worden had a long established busines in my birthplace of Blackburn, Lancashire making billiard tables. A Mk111 version made of metal and featuring VTA adjustment was demonstrated but never sold. Subsequent enquiries revealed that approx 140 of the Mk1 units were sold in the early 1960s following which a Mk11 version was marketed by others. I first heard of this tonearm a couple of months ago.