My name is Mike Disher, and I have the audio bug. I'm also a hobbyist inventor and all around DIY guy. About 5 years ago I decided to try my hand at building a custom turntable. Turntables and mechanical watch and clock movements fascinate me. I view them as functional pieces of kinetic art. I based  my turntable design on the legendary Rega P3, and I created a new, custom acrylic plinth and a set of feet. I also devised a way to hide the motor, and I improved the motor mounting system. The plinth rests on small silicone dots, providing added isolation. The result was a very modern looking table. I called it the P3 Skeleton. Skeleton is a watchmaking term for a movement in which material is removed from the plates and bridges to reveal the inner workings. A  fellow audio enthusiast saw this table at my house and offered to buy it on the spot. I did not sell it, but I was happy that others appreciated my work ...

This first table kept me happy for a while, but then I decided to try something new. The next project was another reinterpretation of a classic table, the Michell Syncro. Following the same formula as my first project - improve where I could while creating something attractive and unique, I produced this…

The first two tables generated several favorable responses, so I decided to attempt something more substantial. I combined a Rega arm, Michelle armboard, and VPI platter with a custom  two-piece plinth, 2 sets of custom feet (one in aluminum and one in acrylic), and a custom motor box filled with lead shot. I devised a system to adjust the armboard height so that the owner could easily use other tonearms. One of the things I like about this design is that it offers many opportunities to tweak things to change or improve the sound. For example, I did not permanently join the two acrylic pieces that make up the plinth. This allows a third piece of material, such as aluminum or wood, to be added to the mix. As in my earlier designs, the plinth rests on a small silicone dots - a system that can be easily modified. Vinyl junkies often like to tweak their turntables to achieve just the right sound.        

My current project also incorporates a VPI platter and Rega arm, but everything else is custom. The two-piece plinth was created by an audiophile friend I met through Audiogon.com. Dave owns a company that manufacturers products using acrylic. He saw one of my earlier tables and suggested that we collaborate. A friend of Dave's made the feet to my specs at his machine shop. I carried over several of the "tweak-friendly" features from my last table and added a few more. I love the look of the "Coke bottle green" acrylic. This is the result…

You can drop me a line at mike@inventiveguy.com.