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I was recently lucky enough to buy a near-mint example of this fabulous electric motor from a friend and fellow TMF member, and thought I'd start a thread. I bought this unit to install in one of my EMG Xbs (having already made a similar swap in the other one; both originally had Garrard AC4 motors and the mounting plate is the same).

Like the Garrard Super spring motor, the 201 was the absolute pinnacle of quality for the time. Garrard's previous electric motors were gear-driven to the spindle; one source suggests that eliminating noise from the intermediate drive was the main impetus for the 201, which is a direct-drive induction motor design with a conventional speed governor.

I hope others will add to and/or correct the information that follows, which I have gleaned from various scant sources over the last couple of years.

Known types, in approx. chronological order:
(First Garrard electric motors 1928)
201 (or 201A?) introduced in 1930? (patents 1928 and 1930) – at first 78rpm only
201-V (US market?)
At some point 33⅓ rpm was provided (for e.g. cinema use) *
201A, 201A/2 some had one, some two speed control levers
201B (after WWII) speed control panel projected further from platter (extension plate fixed to bedplate). Some late models had three speed control levers *
201/B/1,2,3
201/B/5, 201/B/5B
Garrard 301 introduced in 1954; the 201 may have continued in production for some time thereafter.

* and later 45 rpm - simply by long range of governer adjustment

Some models had an auto-stop mechanism.

Many examples were bought by the War Dept during WWII, and many by the BBC who either made or commissioned their own variants.

Various catalogue entries/adverts (the US one is dated 1949, and the 201/B/5 one 1953, at or near the end of production):

An instruction leaflet:

The following account of Garrard’s history, featuring the 201, is edited from an article that appeared in Home Theatre Review, January 2009 (no author noted):

Garrard itself is - technically speaking - probably the oldest name in audio because it is part of the family that gave us Garrard and Company, appointed Crown Jewellers of London in 1721. Thus, it can claim - in 16 years - that it is three centuries old. This is no more of a stretched conceit than a modern bank tracing its roots back to a shipping or trading company from the 1600s. The part of the DNA that led to turntables evolved in time for the Great War when, in 1914, Garrard was asked to manufacture precision range finders for the British Artillery, possessing as they did, both the craftsmen and the necessary machinery.

Thus, in 1915, the Garrard Engineering and Manufacturing Company Ltd was formed with Major S.H. Garrard as Chairman and Mr C.E. Newbegin as Managing Director, from a factory installed in the premises the White Heather Laundry in Willesden, London. When the war ended, Garrard segued into consumer products. Luckily for us, they took note of the boom in gramophone sales and with it a demand for spring-wound motors. (Remember: Great Britain once led the world in clock and watch manufacturing.)
Garrard's audio output started off with the Garrard Number 1 Spring Wound Gramophone Motor. In 1919, they moved to new premises in Swindon, making motors for Columbia, Decca, HMV, Lugton, Selecta, Coppock and many others. In 1930, though, with electric motors replacing the wind-ups, the first Garrard-branded record-player appeared.

Garrard decided to make a top-quality AC motor as a prestige model, a direct-drive motor for the heart of what became the Garrard Model 201. It found success quickly, being adopted by the BBC and other broadcasters, by cinemas and by those protean creatures who would later be called audiophiles. Designed originally for 78rpm records, it was later modified to play the 33 1/3rpm LPs and 45s, and was the first of what were later to be called transcription turntables. It featured a 32-pole induction motor designed by Monty Mortimer, mounted in a pressed steel chassis. Being direct drive, it featured a complex mechanical speed governor.

The 201 remained the flagship model through the Second World War years, during which Garrard, naturally, helped the war effort with military work. In 1945, after the death of Major Garrard, all links with the jewellery strand of the brand were severed, and The Garrard Engineering and Manufacturing Company Ltd. became a separate entity with Mr H.V. Slade as Managing Director. By this time, with the war over, the public wanted a change from austerity, so gramophone sales escalated. A couple of interim models would appear to exploit the new 10in and 12in, 33 1/3rpm and 7in 45rpm vinyl records, as well as 78s. They needed, too, to accommodate a new generation of lightweight pick-ups, including magnetic cartridges.

Then, in October 1954, on the eve of the dawn of stereo and thus concurrent with the global explosion in interest in 'high fidelity', Garrard unleashed the 301. Robust, minimalist, beautifully-built, it featured a massive motor driving an idler, which drove the platter via its rim. The unit consisted of a die-cast aluminium base, enamelled in grey (later changed to a creamy white) and featured grease bearings, changed to oil bearings in 1957. And, yes, there are those who prefer the former to the latter. As the grease bearing models are much more rare, the prices are commensurately higher. Best estimates for sales of the 301, according to the archive material in the possession of Loricraft - the keepers of the Garrard flame - suggest circa 65,000.

In 1965, Garrard launched the 401 to replace the 301. In addition to Eric Marshall's styling makeover, a more severe look in metallic charcoal with chrome details, much was changed underneath though the deck remained, fundamentally, the same rim-drive behemoth. Most notably, the motor had increased shielding to allow it to be used with Deccas, Grados and other cartridges susceptible to hum, and so was de-rated from 16W to 12W. The 301's motor had aluminium endplates and was ventilated, while the 401 had iron endplates and was not ventilated. In place of the 301's flat thrust pad, the 401 featured a raised phosphor bronze thrust pad, while the variable speed range increased from the 301's +/-2% to +/-3%. By 1977, when the 401 was put out to pasture, approximately 74,000 had been sold.

Lovely Motor .
I think I have seen one on Chunnys EMG radiogram unit ?
They dont appear to turn up often .My Expert has one of the Red Collaro Electric motors fitted ,replacing a spring driven one .

Thank you for sharing the instruction leaflet, I've never seen it before.
From the "Super" motor to the 401, Garrard motors were the leaders of the pack. The 301 is universally considered the finest gramophone motor ever built. The 201 is a work horse, the ugliest of the lot and my personal favorite.
The motor in a gramophone is of paramount importance. It's where all the energy for the sound comes from, so a solid, balanced motor can make a huge difference to the overall sound.

Here is my latest 201 project.
BBC Transcription Turntable Unit TD/7 with twin Garrard 201B decks.

Ah! I'm really pleased it was you who bought that one Chunny, well done again! What a beast that is.

I have a lowlier BBC 201-based unit which I'll get round to restoring (or at least completing and fettling) at some point. It runs perfectly even in this condition! I was lucky enough to pick it up on eBay for around £20, an extreme bargain.

I'm wondering how the main lubrication works on these BBC variants, as the standard entry point down the hollow spindle is obscured by the flexible coupling and secondary spindle above.

chunnybh wrote:The 201 is a work horse, the ugliest of the lot and my personal favorite.
The motor in a gramophone is of paramount importance. It's where all the energy for the sound comes from, so a solid, balanced motor can make a huge difference to the overall sound.

Totally agreed, and with the wonderful sound produced by the large EMGs/Experts, the difference between a very smooth and powerful motor and even a good but lesser motor is very noticeable in my opinion. Just as with well-engineered hi-fi turntables/plinths using the massive idler designs like the 301, bass response and what the audiophiles call "timing" both improve and cohere in wonderful ways. Thrilling stuff. Some folks scoff at this sort of thing, but perhaps don't "have the ears" - which is not at all meant in a derogatory way, but just human nature, as any good recording engineer or producer will tell you. And admittedly, only a minority of 78s really show these differences off well.

More photos to follow of the two different 201s now nestling gloriously in my Xbs.

Motorboard template, evidently post-war but probably not the latest production date:

Here is my latest 201 project.
BBC Transcription Turntable Unit TD/7 with twin Garrard 201B decks.

[/quote]
Wow
where did that come from ?
Is it pre war ? I notice the typical BBC knobs I have seen on films