Testimonials

From the moment I found Restore Galore online and emailed Darren I knew that I had found the right man for the job, his professionalism, enthusiasm from our very first correspondence gave this me absolute complete confidence in his ability to restore a Bush SRP 31 as a surprise for my husband.

This machine had been in my husband’s family for over 50years, so it was vital that the player looked the part but not taking away any originality and sounded terrific. Darren kept me well informed every step of the restoration and sent me photos too.

When I received the player back, I was amazed at finished Player before my eyes it looked and sounded amazing, I knew my husband would be so pleased when he opened his present on Christmas morning.

A fantastic service from a totally dedicated person, whose passion for the job shines through, I cannot recommend his services enough.

I was lucky enough to inherit a Hacker SP25 with its speaker. After so many years of neglect however, the sound quality was really poor.
Darren took on the project of restoring the record player. I was keen to maintain the patina of the Hacker, but also wanted to unlock that rich depth of sound you just don’t get with digital equipment.

When I visited Darren at his workshop after he’s completed the work, we played the first movement of Beethoven’s 5th piano concerto on a record I’d brought up for the occasion, which was one of my grandfather’s favourites and – I was knocked out by what Darren had achieved.

Thank you Darren for completing a very sensitive restoration and unlocking a truly great sound that I’ll enjoy for decades to come and for doing so within the budget we agreed.

I would have no hesitation in recommending to anyone ‘Restore Galore’ for its excellent customer service; attention to detail and expertise.

I would just like to thank you again for the fantastic job you did on our record player. Sheila says it is at least 50 years old and she reckoned it looked like new. (We did have tears) I cannot get over how good it looks and the sound quality is excellent.

I would have no hesitation in coming to you again and recommending you to any one.

I had bought a Decca RP-205, supposedly restored from eBay. It soon became apparent that this was not the case. I got in touch with Darren, and after a full restoration, he has brought my beloved 1965 player back to life, and more importantly made it safe!

A great service from a truly dedicated individual, and the attention to detail is second to none. Fully in contact with me throughout the whole process.

I cannot recommend his services enough.

Our daughter bought an old Decca 588 record player from a charity shop but it did not play records at the correct speed. After a quick internet search I found Restore Galore who advised what the problem may be and an approximate cost to get it fixed.

Darren came to take the turntable out of the cabinet and fixed it within a week before returning to refit the mended turntable. Our daughter is now enjoying listening to our old records as well as some new ones. We would recommend Restore Galore, a great service at a fair price.

I bought my HMV 2030 in 1968 with my first salary cheque and have been using it ever since so I was dismayed when it stopped working. How lucky I was to find that in this age of built in obsolescence there was someone skilled enough to repair it.

Darren completely rebuilt the turntable, serviced the amplifier, cleaned everything and even replaced the lens and bulb of the little pilot light which had not worked for years. Importantly, he also arranged collection and return.

I am delighted with the result and that I can still play our large collection of records and enjoy the mellow sound.

At the tender teenage years when I joined the RAF as an apprentice, I had a Dansette Bermuda record player that I took back to camp and this was then used as the room record player for the next 2 years Ish. That original one is long gone but approaching our 50th anniversary of passing out as JT's (junior technician) we had a small reunion planned. I bought two very cheap Dansette's of the same period for music at our party.

I needed them sorting after years of neglect or gash servicing. Restore Galore seemed the place to go from feedback and after speaking to Darren.

It was the best choice I could have made, both players serviced, repaired as required and returned in perfect working order. I have played them non-stop for the last few hours and I could not be more pleased. It's like the first time I received mine for christmas.

I am loving them and still have lots of vintage vinyl, nicely cleaned, to play.

I bought my dancette record player in 1971. It has been part of my life for ever. After a few house moves over the years it just stopped working.

Do I throw it away, or get it repaired?’ Well the answer was easy , get it repaired.

Looking for companies on the internet I found ‘Restore Galore’ and I am so glad that I did.

I had Speedy replies to my e mail enquiries,( that is defiantly a good star in my book). So I finally arranged to pack the Dancette up and post it to Darren . I was informed when it had arrived, and was kept updated with how the repair was progressing, the rough time scale as well as the estimated cost of repair.

All was good. My beloved Dancette has been returned to me in full working order. It has been cleaned up, now looking beautiful with a wonderful clear sound . I am so happy to have it back.

I had an excellent reliable service. I highly recommend Restore Galore for restoration work.

Thank you very much.

I used Restore Galore in autumn 2019 to repair an old Hacker gramophone as a present for my son who liked it as a child and had old records. It was not working at all and had lost knobs and other bits and pieces.

Restore Galore did an excellent job and it now works extremely well.

Darren at Restore Galore is a real 'find'. He combines in-depth product knowledge and technical expertise with a genuine interest in maintaining and repairing these wonderful period players. I have been helped and guided enormously by his advice, and would recommend his services in the strongest possible terms.

Not all heroes wear capes. Some wield tiny screwdrivers and bring life to the neglected and forgotten. Darren took my Technics SL-6 that was giving me a hard time and not dropping the needle. I had given him a bit of a diagnostic of the problem and sent a few pics to which he communicated a solid amount of knowledge and things I should try out before sending up to him in York.

After a few days he pinpointed the problem. The return spring had come away from the tracking adjustment. He also cleaned up the drive rails as the grease on them was about ready for giving up. I’m now back with my beloved record player, the sun is shining, I’m listening to tunes on way too loud and grinning from ear to ear, so thank you Darren for bringing music and joy to me and my wife in these weird difficult times. I could not recommend Restore Galore enough. Darren provided a thoroughly A star service and excellent communication from beginning to end. I will be recommending him and Restore Galore to anyone I know.

My 54 year old vintage Hacker Cavalier has been expertly and meticulously restored to the highest standard.

It now looks as new and sounds fantastic. Once again I am enjoying playing my 45s and 78s effortlessly on my classic Garrard record changer.

This has far exceeded my expectations thanks to such a brilliant service from Restore Galore

I’ve had my 1979 Kenwood KD2070 turntable from new, didn’t want to replace it, and was a little anxious in sending it away for repair. I needn’t have worried.

I asked Darren to replace the audio cable, which had developed a fault, which he did. He also cleaned the pitch control, which now works perfectly, and repaired the tone arm rest. A fantastic job, and top class service - above and beyond what I expected.

I would highly recommend Darren and Restore Galore!

I can't recommend Darren @ Restore Galore highly enough. He has repaired & restored a very sentimental Fidelity record player for me. Darren is a perfectionist, my record player looks better than brand new!!

Nothing is too much trouble for Darren. 5* rating.

I purchased a Dansette from an online store with the hope that it was in full working order, unfortunately it was not working that well when I recieved it, after looking around online for somebody to repair it I saw Restore Galore and after reading all the good reviews I contacted Darren, a while later I decided to have a day out in York and on the way i dropped off my Dansette for Darren to have a look at, after an examination of the player Darren contacted me and fully explained the problems with it and what he had to do to get it working again.

A few weeks later I had another trip to York and collected my now fully working player. It now works a treat and sounds brilliant and I fully recommend Restore Galore to anybody, great service and communication.

My cherished Dynatron Cordova player suddenly stopped working and, after searching far and wide for someone who could fix it, I found Restore Galore. I cannot recommend Darren’s services highly enough. Not only did he rebuild the amplifier but also fixed the auto-return function, which was a pleasant surprise!

Darren was so accommodating and kept us up to speed throughout the process. I have faith that the player will keep going for another 50 years, bringing lots of joy and I cannot thank Darren enough for his kind and thorough approach.

I am so glad I found Darren purely by chance on an internet search. A while ago I purchased a “fully restored” 1969 Fidelity HF41 record player which had developed a fault which meant the platter would not drop records or rotate on start up, a gentle push by hand and it was going as normal until the next time.

All was explained to Darren via Email and calls. He told me what the fault was almost certain to be, and what he would do.

My player has now been fully restored mechanically and cosmetically, with other diagnosed faults also rectified. More importantly a major electrical safety issue was discovered and rectified.

The result is I now have a record player that actually looks like it should, but works as it should, and the improvement in sound is unbelievable.

Thank you Darren, you are a credit to your chosen profession.

I purchased a Bush SRP 31C record player with a Garrard 210 deck late last year, with a view to reliving my childhood. I was given
an identical Bush player 50 years ago as a present along with Buddy Holly's greatest hits.

The deck I purchased needed a good overhaul, and I contacted Restore Galore about doing this work. I sent Darren the Bush player
and he gave it a detailed check before reporting back as to what was required. I went with the recommendations, Restore Galore did the
work, and last week I was reunited with the Bush player.

I'm thrilled to bits. I never expected such a positive outcome. The refurbished player and the electronics are immaculate, and sounds gorgeous.
Everything from the first time I used a Bush player 50 years ago, was exactly as I remembered it.

Hats off to what Restore Galore have done. Its perfect, and the Bush player is currently playing more vinyl than my modern expensive German system!!!

I have a late 1970s Hacker Centurion, which had seen better days. I gave it to Darren for a complete restoration and it was returned to me “As new”. It plays my large vinyl collection beautifully, the radio is superb and I can even play my Hacker cassette tape recorder through it. Thank you Darren for an excellent job!

I asked Darren at Restore Galore to look at a Dansette record player I bought on ebay from another company that claimed to restore and refurbish Dansettes. From the second I met Darren I knew he was the guy to get it working properly. Within minutes he knew what the problem was, within a few days the record player was working perfectly. Darren also went over and above by not only fixing the original problem but identified another issue that was hampering the sound quality.

In the end, not only did I get my record player back in full working condition, but it sounded twice as good! I can't recommend Restore Galore highly enough. If you want a guy that really knows his stuff, you've just found him.

Darren took our near-50 year old non-functioning portable record player, and turned it back into its younger self – it sounds great, and really pumps out the volume – brilliant.

My 1960's Dansette had finally give up. A quick search on Google came up with Restore Galore. I contacted Darren gave him a quick rundown of its symptoms and arranged to meet up. On meeting and talking to Darren I thought this kid will do for me, a guy with a passion for old machines. He loaded up the Dansette I'll be in touch mate was his words and off he went. A few phone calls & txt messages, some good some bad, then later came the words it's ready, repaired fully serviced like a new Record player, in fact it's never sounded this good. I can't praise Darren enough an excellent service and really quick turnaround. I would definitely recommend Restore Galore to anyone.

I bought a Zenith American record player from my local market to which I had to use a step down transformer to test due to it running on USA voltage. When testing it there was no sound and it smelled of smoke.

I contacted Darren and we had a chat about what could be done to get it working and of all the repair companies I tried, it was obvious that this one was passionate about its work.

The mid century record player had been thoroughly repaired and converted to Uk voltage and I was kept Informed of the player’s progress throughout by phone. Good old fashioned honesty and approachable is this guy.

I now have the record player in perfect, no in better working order, and it is now one of a kind and sounds fantastic. I would without hesitation recommend Restore Galore as the best service I have had in years.

From my initial correspondence with Darren, he gave me complete confidence in his ability to restore my Garrard record player. He ensured I was kept informed of progress and, as I always felt it would be, the restoration of my record player has been a complete success.

I am more than happy to recommend Darren at Restore Galore.

Service, contact and quality of work all superb.
Memories rekindled instantly when we played some old 45's over the weekend
Authentic sound from the Fidelity is just stunning.
So glad I found someone who was prepared to help with this the way you did.
Thank you so much, five star service......excellent stuff.

My parents’ 1960s Ferguson record player with radio amplifier was our family’s main music source right into the early 1980s. When my parents eventually changed it for something more modern, the old Ferguson was relocated into my bedroom and became my main music source throughout my teenage years.

However, after nearly 30 years of standing idle since the early 1990s, I wanted to get the record player working again and restored to its former glory, but had no idea where to begin. Searching online, I luckily found Restore Galore and began an email exchange with Darren about how to proceed. He even recommended how to get it safely transported to his workshop half way across the country.

Once it was there, Darren was able to provide me with an initial assessment of what needed to be done and continued to provide updates throughout the work. He was also able to source like-for-like components, which is quite incredible considering the age of the unit.

I now have a fully working and beautifully restored record player which is proudly on display in my home. Darren, I can’t thank you enough for all your hard work. I can thoroughly recommend Restore Galore for anyone considering similar work.

Absolutely wonderful. Darren's restoration work is second to none, and I would highly recommend anyone wanting a repair or service on their vintage record players to send them to him. You won't be disappointed.

My Dual 731q was in need of repair and by chance found Darren on the Internet. Sadly the turntable got damaged in transit and after careful consideration l let it go.

This was after Darren had offered to find the parts needed. May l say at this point l found Darren very helpful, professional and always willing to go the extra mile, he was amazing!

Darren then offered me a Sony PS 6750 as a gesture, obviously a very sought after turntable. We agreed a figure. Darren then serviced and did what he had to do. I have now received the turntable and to say l am blown away would be a gross understatement. Darren has been a breath of fresh air and l only wish l had met him earlier, a true professional and wonderful person. Thanks so much it was a pleasure.
Graham Launder.

I bought these two things on eBay from a seller in Seaford, East Sussex. They were sold for spares and parts only. They were cosmetically in near perfect condition apart with a few blemishes due to age, considering that they needed a full overhaul and restoration because they were not working accurately. This was probably why they were only sold for spares and parts? However, when I did a google search for record player restorations, I discovered “Restore Galore”, which is a place for sending old record players, speakers and maybe radiograms? The place is based somewhere outside of York town in Yorkshire. I am from South East London and live in a town called Forest Hill in Lewisham. I packed the items and posted them to Darren at “Restore Galore” who appears to be an expert restoring, servicing and reconditioning these items. Where else would you find people of that kind?

So, when he looked at the record player and speaker, it was discovered that there was too much grease under the platter, notably known as a turntable, which had to be removed and cleaned; it also meant that the whole unit had to be removed for a complete overhaul. This also explained why the arm would not return back to its rest because of that. The operations of the platter work in conjunction with the arm too? Darren also discovered that someone tried installing another speaker inside the unit; he made necessary corrections professionally. Some of the parts including capacitors had to be replaced. The amplifier speaker, which accompanies the record player for stereophonic sound was also serviced and overhauled.

When I received these items I could not believe my eyes thinking how professionally this guy, Darren has done!!! I was so amazed looking at these two and that they looked almost like new. The mains light on the record player was working and restored in full working condition!!! Whoever reads this piece I highly recommend “Restore Galore” because wherever would you find people like Darren who specialises with these masterpieces!!!

I have my Mum and Dads Hacker Rambler record player on which we used to play records in the late 1960s. Life went on, I got married my Mum and Dad died and technology moved on at an alarming pace. The Hacker has lived in the attic for the past 35 years.

A few months ago whilst having a clear out I got it down and whilst it worked, the speaker was obviously broken. I wondered if it could be mended and found Darren from Restore Galore and asked his advice.

Darren has kept me informed every step of the way and whilst initially having trouble sourcing the part he needed, eventually found it as he always said he would. So, if you have an old record player and you're wondering what you should do with it then please give it to Darren.

His costs are very reasonable and you will find yourself reliving all those bygone days when the music was fabulous and a day lasted a fortnight! I can't praise Restore Galore high enough, remember the name.

I am so happy I found Restore Galore! I wasn't sure if it was possible to have my record player restored, I had inherited it from my Gran who had bought it in the 60s. It had always made a loud hum, but then it started making a constant scream when the turntable was turning. I really didn't want to buy a new one, so finding Darren was just brilliant.

He is so knowledgeable and had excellent communication with me throughout the process. I found his quote really reasonable and I'm so happy with the results. My record player had a full clean and rebuild. It's now playing my records with perfect clarity and is really making me appreciate what a quality machine it is, the sound is just brilliant. It means so much to still be able to listen to my favourite records on this precious machine. I'd absolutely recommend Restore Galore.

Just had my Dansette Monarch restored by Darren. He has done a wonderful job of cleaning and servicing and it sounded great when i called to collect it. Would strongly recommend him to anyone. Thanks Darren.

I approached Darren to take a look at my Bush record player after being let down by another engineer. It was a bit battered and the turntable wasn't working properly, but it was still much loved as it has been with my family since the 1970s. I felt able to put my trust in him to restore it properly right from the start.

The care he has taken with the restoration has been heartening. It is now fully functional and plays my records well, but more than that, it has been carefully restored to a nice condition with the old charm still remaining. This is tough to achieve so I am thrilled that Darren has been able to and will treasure it for a long time to come.

Looking for a place to restore my treasured vintage record player I was directed to Restore Galore.
There I found a professional music maker who's as passionate about sound quality as he is with aesthetics.
My restored player is now an audio and visual masterpiece! Massive thanks!

After being gifted from my mum her old inherited Dansette that she was given in the 70s and finding it no longer played properly though looking in half decent condition I found Restore Galore online and decided to have it done up.

With the addition of legs, a recovering of the outside and the cabinet itself being sorted out honestly I couldn’t be happier! It sounds as good as the bluetooth player I have in my household but looks 10x better!

Since having gotten it back there have been smiles and tears and Darren has made two women very happy with his work! Thank you!

I recently bought a 50-year old Thorens TD-125 turntable that had supposedly been refurbished but had various problems. I also didn't help the situation by accidentally breaking the tone arm during a house move!

Darren is so incredibly knowledgeable. It's clear he respects this old equipment a great deal, and cares about what it means to his customers. He not only fixed all the problems I'd told him about, but went out of his way to fix and improve many other issues he spotted too. One bit of the job turned out to be particularly tricky, but he wouldn't stop until he'd found a solution.

The turntable is like brand new and it sounds amazing. I'm delighted with Darren's service and won't hesitate to use him again in future.

Darren’s electronics expertise shone through on the repair to my Sony PS-4750, he was able to fix and service the player back to a fully working state where at least a half dozen other so called vintage repair outlets had all rejected it as not possible to repair due to age and lack of parts. He stayed in touch at all times and explained in detail the problem and it’s resolution.

Darren is definitely in that ‘old school’ branch of real engineers that will repair something rather than just swapping out parts to see if it works! Turnaround was fast and extremely reasonable for the technical nature of the repair. I’d would not hesitate to recommend his services to anyone who may need them.

I found Restore Galore after picking up a beautiful old Dansette Bermuda record player in a Brighton junk shop that needed a little TLC.

Darren gave the turntable a thorough rebuild, including adding a new plug and stereo cartridge suitable for modern LPs. He also uncovered and fixed some questionable DIY repairs by the previous owner. It’s now back to sounding incredible – I’m looking forward to spinning records on it for another 50 years.

The man really knows his stuff: If you’re lucky enough to have a vintage record player or amp in the garage that you’d like to see working again, don’t hesitate to give him a call – he’s the expert your turntable deserves!

I have a forty year old Technics SL-230 turntable, which is a great bit of kit but began to show its age ten or fifteen years ago. Finally it would not switch off, but the turntable would not revolve. Restore Galore saved this worthy machine from an unworthy end, at a cost I would have paid twice over. Brilliant.

I can’t thank Darren enough for the restoration of my early ‘70s Ferguson 3414. What he received was a barely working system with no output and a deck caked in 45 years of someone else’s cigarette tar.

What I received back was a fully stripped, dipped, cleaned and restored piece of British engineering. Darren’s workmanship, skill, care and passion for his work is outstanding. I thoroughly recommend him.

I purchased a Garrard 4HF online, which was completely seized, the speed selector was jammed and would not budge and the motor needed a complete overhaul, as did the whole deck to be honest.

Contacted Darren and gave him the diagnoses and not only did Darren organise the collection of the boxed up Garrard, he fixed it and put it back to literally factory conditions and even went as far as cleaning the linkage in a special bath, so as to completely the clean the 50 year old grease that had solidified on them. The deck came back to me safely and was completely clean, as new.

Darren also fitted new RCA’s, cleaned all the bearings and wired the deck for stereo.

In all a fantastic job! I am over the moon with the Garrard, Darren’s work and professionalism.

Highly recommended.