My old man's birthday is coming up and I've decided to get him a new record player as his is looking a little beat up(to say the least). However, I don't really have any idea about such players so would appreciate it if somebody could give me some recommendations. Cheers

Lucky dad!
Depends on your budget maybe, but take look at (and a listen to, of course) the Pro-ject range starting at about£150 for the Debut3?

I am looking for recoommendations for a cheapish turntable?

Cheers Bob, thats the kind of thing I could be after, certainly the price bracket of circa £150 is about what I'd like to pay.

Would also advise buying a non-standard issue cartridge and if so any in particular?

***Would YOU advise***

I don't know how much Rega's cost over there, but I know they are a wonderful buy here in the US. They sound very good as is, but they can be "tweeked" for very little to make it sound as good as the "Big Boys".