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- Pro-Ject built the USD$3,299 Harley-Davidson Turntable around the brand’s idea of “mechanical soul”, not just the Bar & Shield logo.
- Its 2.75kg drive system includes a 300mm glass platter, aluminium sub-platter and a hefty 915g record puck.
- Its heavyweight construction, precision-machined parts and controlled motor power are all there to keep the record spinning steadily.
Belt buckles and T-shirts aren’t the only places you’ll find Harley-Davidson‘s famous Bar & Shield logo. Pro-Ject has now turned it into the chassis for its USD$3,299 turntable.
Now, you don’t actually need to own a Harley to wear the badge, but you’d have to be a pretty committed motorhead to park this thing next to your record collection. Rather than simply sticking the logo on one of its existing decks, the limited-edition Harley-Davidson turntable was built from the ground up to bring what Pro-Ject calls the “mechanical soul” of the open road into your living space.
That starts with a chassis shaped around the Bar & Shield and finished with polished aluminium, stainless steel and a genuine leather record mat inspired by a motorcycle saddle. It certainly looks the part, but what’s more interesting is how Pro-Ject has put it all together. The brand has piled on mass, precision machining and vibration control to make the turntable as mechanically serious as the motorcycles that inspire it.
1/5How Do You Give a Turntable ‘Mechanical Soul’?
For starters, that oddly shaped plinth isn’t hollow decoration. It’s machined from solid MDF with no hollow spaces, then combined with aluminium to improve rigidity and damp unwanted resonance before it reaches the stylus. Think of it a little like suspension for the turntable, isolating the stylus from unwanted vibrations coming from the room, speakers or turntable itself. The three height-adjustable aluminium feet add another layer of damping between the turntable and wherever you’ve chosen to show it off.
Then there’s the sheer amount of mass moving around the turntable. Pro-Ject quotes 2.75kg across the drive system, including a 300mm glass platter, diamond-cut aluminium sub-platter and an enormous 915g Harley-Davidson record puck that clamps the vinyl against the platter. That puck alone weighs nearly a kilo, but all that rotating mass serves a purpose. Once it’s spinning, all that mass makes the platter harder to suddenly speed up or slow down, helping it hold a steadier 33⅓ or 45rpm. The heavy platter and puck also help keep unwanted resonance under control.
Keeping the Record Spinning Steady
Pro-Ject has gone equally hard on the bits that make it spin. The motor pulley and aluminium sub-platter are CNC-machined to tolerances the brand says can reach one-thousandth of a millimetre, helping the drive system maintain consistent speed. A dedicated DC/AC generator then feeds the belt-driven motor a stable power signal, reducing tiny fluctuations that can make sustained notes sound as though they’re wobbling, otherwise known as wow and flutter.
Finally, there’s an 8.6-inch hand-polished aluminium S-shaped tonearm with a pre-adjusted Pick it PRO moving-magnet cartridge. As the tonearm travels towards the centre of the record, its gravity-based anti-skating system adjusts the force acting on the stylus to counter its natural pull towards the centre, helping keep it properly seated in the groove.
So yes, the Harley-Davidson Turntable looks every bit like the sort of thing you’d expect to find parked next to a motorcycle collection. But Pro-Ject’s idea of “mechanical soul” goes further than the Bar & Shield silhouette. Almost every heavy, polished and precisely machined part has a job to do once the record starts spinning.
Pro-Ject Harley-Davidson Turntable Key Specs
- Speed: 33 / 45rpm with electronic speed change
- Drive: Belt drive
- Platter: 300mm glass platter with leather mat
- Tonearm: 8.6-inch S-shaped aluminium tonearm with SME headshell
- Platter Bearing: Stainless steel axle in brass bushing
- Included Accessories: Leather mat, singles adapter, record puck, phono cable and power supply
- Dimensions: 543 x 124 x 437mm
- Power Consumption: 4W / 0W standby
The Pro-Ject Harley-Davidson Turntable is available as a limited special edition for USD$3,299. Australian pricing has not yet been announced.
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