“Please allow me to introduce myself”… No, I'm not Mick Jagger, but new Audio T employee, Ade Pollard, his better looking twin. I’m a man of few words, taking the opportunity to give you some insight into the life of a new employee (that's me, not MJ, of course). So, come with me now on the first instalment of my '“Life of a Rookie” blog series…

In a former life …

After obtaining a degree in Mathematics from Leicester University, I spent some time working in retail at Boots the Chemists, before deciding to do a PGCE and become a maths teacher. I spent two years in a school in Northampton before moving down south to sunny Brighton, where I spent 30 years teaching at Blatchington Mill School and VI form, in Hove.

That was enough for me and I decided to “retire” from teaching, seeking to pursue other interests in the world of music and Hi-Fi. I have always had a keen interest in this area, so when the opportunity to work at Audio T came up, I jumped at the chance. Luckily for me, Audio T welcomed me into their family and so here I am. Fortunately, John and Paul are big kids, so it hasn’t been such a culture shock and I haven’t needed to get the cane out ….. yet!

Time for the Teacher to become the Student…

So, my new life here at Audio T began on Tuesday 7th September, where I was given the keys to the castle and spent some time getting to know the two gents at the Brighton store.

For those of you familiar with the Brighton branch, you’ll know that John and Paul are lovely chaps. It seems to have taken very little time to feel like I've known them for a long time. Being of a similar age certainly helped!

It's been a long time since I last worked in the customer service industry, and even then that was in Boots the Chemist. There are systems a plenty to get to grips with and products and spare parts you would have never known existed.

Boys and their toys…

Part of the joy in joining a company like Audio T is all the fun gadgets we get to play with. Now, a turntable I have always coveted, but never owned, has been the Linn LP12. Watching John and Paul take these apart to service is a sight to behold. It clearly demonstrates the mastery in engineering required to construct and assemble every component to create the top quality sound from vinyl that Linn have been able to make over the years.

During my first week, I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing John's 30 plus years of expertise in servicing several different marques of these magnificent machines. The care and attention to detail he shows whilst stripping, replacing, rebuilding and re-aligning these beauties is a privilege to watch. You can read about the detailed process in our previous blog Here. I hope to be able to emulate his skills once I’ve visited the Linn Factory in Glasgow to be trained by the finest engineers.

Audio T RP3 — Rega Planar 3 in a Sporty Red finish

In contrast to the LP12, I have also witnessed Paul's skill in servicing the Rega Planar 3. In engineering terms this is a much simpler turntable, but quality often comes in many different forms.

I was privy to some interesting techniques including a very a rather unique way of removing the bearing (a trade secret of course). This is all useful knowledge for me personally because I can practise these techniques on my old 1980's RP3 deck and get that back into action.

Beyond the gear…

It has been a pleasure to chat with the many new and old customers that have come into the shop and it has tested my knowledge of the various combinations of Hi-Fi available. But I'm pleased to say I’m happy with my recall but there is much to learn.

So, stay tuned and find out how I get on with my journey in the wonderful world of Hi-Fi and Home Cinema.

To be continued . . .

Thanks for reading - Ade - Audio T Brighton

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Linn can be found at the following Audio-T stores