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Fixing A Silvertone Record Player(circa 40's?) W/ Speaker//Help Me Through

#61
Kevin1960 said:
So, exactly what record have you picked out for your first play? Sounds like you will have it done in time for New Years. Remember, Youtube it, or it didn't happen. Enjoy and have fun!
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Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. I was bumping the thread to keep it alive. I didn't see your post. I got a Electrohome record player a month ago. I wanted something for the old and something for the new.

I got a few records to start. I'll try to post pics. Btw, I'm definitely posting a YouTube link when it's up and running.
 
#62
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#65
Very cool. I would like to nominate Wish You Were Here/Pink Floyd for first play. I have a special connection to that album. Make sure each album is as clean as possible and make sure your tech. installs a new needle and you will be all set. Your placement of this console should be on a level place with some room around it for you to change records. Do NOT use the record changer function as the dropping of one record upon the other will scratch and shorten the life of your collection. Back then records were cheap and easily replaced and the convenience factor was more important in regard to the design feature of changing records manually. Can't wait to see this on YouTube!
 
#66
A lot of vinyl is being reissued these days. The record that used to make my speakers really extend even at lower volume levels, was Bob Marley and the Wailers Live! The CD never lived up to what the vinyl could do. Fleetwood Mac Rumours is another good one on vinyl.

But since the player is from the 40's why not find some records that were issued at that time.
 
#67
Stereo records were introduced in the late 1940's but were rare, and I would think mono issues would be appropriate as beans-on-toast said, to be period correct. You may find the extended frequency of most modern reissues to be not much of an advantage in the case of some of these older consoles. They didn't exactly have the top of the line speakers installed in these things. They were designed for the high volume consumer market. I used to love watching the opening to happy days with the juke box mechanism choosing the record.
 
#69
Kevin1960 said:
Stereo records were introduced in the late 1940's but were rare, and I would think mono issues would be appropriate as beans-on-toast said, to be period correct. You may find the extended frequency of most modern reissues to be not much of an advantage in the case of some of these older consoles. They didn't exactly have the top of the line speakers installed in these things. They were designed for the high volume consumer market. I used to love watching the opening to happy days with the juke box mechanism choosing the record.
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Even better! >
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#70
HOOLIGAN said:
Almost all those lps you are posting are recorded in stereo- It is an old mono player. You may want to concentrate on finding old mono 45s and 78s, or be prepared to be seriously underwhelmed by the sound of this when you get it back.
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This does have FM, but may be only mono. The OP never said this was a stereo or mono console. All stereo records are reverse compatible with the earlier mono systems in use at that time. Most 78's in that era were poor quality recordings and the records themselves were of poor quality vinyl and few have survived in good condition. I do have a few in my own collection handed down from my father. 45's came in both mono and stereo far into the 60's but became more rarer in the late 60's as you may find the dominance of stereo releases moved into the forefront of sales. I would suggest a mid 50's jazz recording as being as close to period correct as you could get with out a wayback machine. Most jazz recordings were released in limited quantities and many record companies producing jazz records at that time had limited budgets, and so mastered for a mono release way into the 60's in some cases. This may be your best chance to find a period correct recording.
 
#71
Thanks for the info guys. I'm all new to this, so I am not very knowledgeable. Lots of good info posted to lead the way tho. I called up the place and they told me to check in on Tuesday. Radio is fixed. The speaker is repaired. They are getting to the record player this week.

I've been using an electrohome RP for a few months. It works pretty well but I feel the speaker system is bad. Kinda wanted to hook up a cab to it. I tried unsuccessfully with a cab/amp the other day.
 
#72
This is good to hear. Remember, patience is needed in these cases. Many of these devices were never meant to last this long and have a lot more mileage than you or I. Don't forget to post some pics when you get her back. Keep it in use and it will stay running a very long time and provide a unique conversation point in your home. I do remember working on a hundred year old windup Victrola in the early 90's. They had a different kind of quality control back then that allowed many consumer grade items to last a long time if they were well cared for.
 
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#74
Bring some records with you when you pick it up. You don't want to get it home and discover more issues. You may also want to be prepared for a cycling or two of the record changer mechanism once you got it home. They are very gravity dependent and like an old fridge need to be cycled a couple of times before all the levers and gears settle down after a move when it gets tilted. Have fun and enjoy. On a sadder note, I have just heard that Norway has stopped all commercial analog AM and FM broadcasts in favor of digital only broadcasts. They have a lot of folks that are diehard radio listeners who are upset about this, but as we all know most changes will move forward and not back. This could be the start of commercial analog radio broadcast phase out on a world wide basis.
 
#78
Like I said the 78's were poor quality single records that were mass marketed from the turn of the century into the early 50's. Then I think, RCA/Victor and Columbia/CBS began a format war with one setting the LP market at 12" 331/3RPM and singles at 7" 45 RPM in the early 1950's. Songs were getting longer and both the artists and producers desired a longer format than the time limitations of the 10" 78RPM format provided. Material from symphonic, jazz, and now popular music were pushing the technological barriers to expand quality and length of recording time available on releases. I have checked out my 10 "78's and have found them to be all mono releases. I am pretty confident the stereo releases didn't start until the 12" 331/3 started to hit the market in the late 1940's and early 1950's. I do have a Frank Sinatra record on a Columbia 78 "If You Please" and the flip side "Sunday,Monday or Always". Sadly, although I currently have 2 modern turntables neither has the capability to play anything this old. I think into the 1980's they phased out the 78RPM and 16RPM speeds on turntables.
12" LP 16RPM records were used for dictation and language learning. The format was something like audio books and I think it was primarily found in many public libraries prior to the 1950's. Up until 2007 I worked at a place that would service the playback machines and do digital transfers of these recordings onto CD's for the county library system. The slow speed did not lend itself well to music recording due to the poor audio quality captured but did provide a long play/recording format at that time. Some of the recordings transferred I recall at that time I think were speeches by Franklin Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover & Shakespeare readings by popular actors of the pre-1940's era.
 
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