Today was a great day !
The VP of international sales from MoFi Electronics popped in to showcase the recently announced Fender x MoFi PrecisionDeck turntable.
This turntable marks the 75th anniversary of Fender and, quite fitting with the story below - they collaborated with MoFi Electronics to create this masterpiece which is limited to 1000 units globally.
Back in 1944, Fender created the blueprints to a mechanical turntable - one whose rights were sold in 1945 for the sum of $5000.
This money was used to create Fender as a brand that we likely all know of today.
Thus fitting for them to create a beautiful piece like this, all made within their own and MoFi factories.
You can read a little more on this story here: Fender PrecisionDeck Story — Mobile Fidelity Electronics
This turntable is made from a slab of swamp ash that is made, profiled and painted at the Fender factory. Each piece is unique with each piece of wood being 100% natural - it's the same finish from the Precision Bass Guitar.
Once machined - the plinth is then shipped off to MoFi who first and foremost, have the slab tuned.
I was shown today the amazing work that goes into harmonising the resonance on the plinth itself - being a natural wood, the proto-types each sounded a little dull. This was down to the resonant characteristics of natural wood.
MoFi shipped some of the prototypes off to a specialist to "tune"each slab. In essence, the underside (hidden by a metal panel now) has a number of cut slots and grooves with materials packed in to manage the resonant frequencies. It now has a very refined sound - quite like that of the UltraDeck but with a little more colouration (more bass, a little sparkle in the vocals) but incredibly quiet too.
They've used the 10.3" tonearm with PSC+ materials that's found in the Ultradeck but with a newly worked lifter, 300RPM AC motor (240v input on the back) with 33/45 belt positions on the pulley. The platter is 1.3" Delrin with a saphire contact within the main bearing itself, and the spindle being isolated with defrin.
I was able to witness the HRS isolation feet in action too - those pieces are a work of art! Tapping the solid oak stand, I could feel nor detect any transfer of vibrations into the platter itself.
The turntable will ship with the MoFi MasterTracker MM cartridge attached.
I managed to grab a few photographs - our 2 channel demo room is mid-build so I wasn't able to get any wider photographs I'm afraid but hope you enjoy a little sneaky preview of what this fabulous turntable will look like.
We have been allocated 3 units - one will be on permeant demo and the other two are to be sold.
These are priced at £3495