Artemis/Schroder SA-1?

Notec,
Is that "mechanical dude", as in Robocop, or "mechanical, dude", as in The Big Lebowski?

If the motor made that much noise and was not grossly "broken", the company will have discarded it in favor of some other motor that does not make noise. To do otherwise would be corporate suicide in the highly competitive tt marketplace. Also, there are numerous superb aftermarket DC tt motors available to anyone. So I think that all you need to worry about is the choice of wood and whether the turntable is still being made at all.

Frank S did get back to me (he is traveling in US after RMAF) and has relevant info regarding availability of the table. Any additional questions, really best to address directly to him via email.

Also heard from a dealer (when it rains it pours). He confirmed the noise, though he attributes it to the tape tensioning roller not the motor. He says it bothered him at first (certainly audible at close range), but he finds the musical performance of the table so compelling that he got past it. He says between the WT line at the low to mid price points and the SA-1 at the high, he got rid of the other tables he previously carried. So obviously he likes it. (I say this just so you have some idea about his analog preferences. They're aligned with mine, but ymmv.)

Now I find myself in sympathy with Notec. The capstan is the single truly unique feature of the turntable and highly desirable for its effect on belt creep. Any number of tape recorders use such devices and on any good RTR, they are silent. No reason to tolerate a noisy capstan, so far as I know.