Phonoland

Posted: **Sat Aug 18, 2012 7:45 pm**

MattTech wrote:
DoghouseRiley wrote:In my teenage years, one of the most popular record players was the Dansette,
This was considered a "girls record player" by myself and most of my more discerning friends. It usually had just a volume/on/off and a tone control, with a BSR, Garrard, or Collaro deck.

At the time I had a separate turntable, speaker and a Trio amp with separate bass and treble controls.

Dansettes are pretty popular at the moment.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/csc/Vintage-Retro ... te=1&rt=nc

By jove old man! - didn't you have the funds to purchase a lovely Quad preamp/amp?

I've serviced those, and they're built like a work of art.

I could have, but I saved all my part-time job earnings to buy my first car at the age of seventeen when I left school. This always had a far greater "pulling power" with the girls than any old record player. This was in the late fifties. The only people with a car in our road were me and the local doctor. Anyway, a friend had one of the first small transistorised portable record players, that just played 45s, so we "had everything covered." Great days, long gone.

Posted: **Sat Aug 18, 2012 8:03 pm**

And--you "had the girl", since you had a car ?
Ron Rich

Posted: **Sat Aug 18, 2012 8:50 pm**

The only disadvantage was that my car was over twenty years old where some other teenagers had the use of their parents' cars.
But they suffered from the "Cinderella restrictions" it wasn't always available particularly on week-end evenings and they weren't allowed to be out too late at night.

Posted: **Sun Aug 19, 2012 6:16 pm**

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts. I only had eight old records so I didn't want to spend a lot of money. The turntable would work fine and then slow down, and then later return to the proper speed. I have been experimenting by tapping on the turntable and noticed it would make it speed up. I looked inside and everything looked normal (as many people said it has a very small motor). Well I have told the manufacture I am sending it back. Yes it is a cheap Chinese product but I only had eight records from the 1970s that I had put on cassette which had deteriorated to the point where only the base was left. The original records had not been played much and are in good condition. When the speed is correct this turntable makes a nice digital copy using Audacity that I can then make a Wave Sound or a MP3 from. I can then burn a CD and it will play back on any computer however it will not playback on a regular CD player; how do I burn a CD that will play on a regular CD player? My goal is to make new cassettes so I can hear them in my car. Sincerely Geo

Posted: **Wed Oct 17, 2012 1:56 am**

Lack of lubrication.

Posted: **Tue Jan 01, 2013 12:41 pm**

Geo,

Several years ago, I bought a Tascam CC-222MKII Cassette<--->CD burner. It looks just like a regular cassette tape deck and will burn in either direction, plus it has dedicated inputs for a turntable and aux-in inputs for any other media you desire. Direct connect, no computer or nasty, complicated software involved. The unit will actually work separately, with the tape deck playing through an amp and speakers in one room, and the CD portion doing likewise in a separate room with the same setup, both at the same time.

I can plug anything into it from any external source, and burn a CD AND Cassette at the same time. Maybe paid about $700 for it, but it works well.

My quirk with these LP's playing slow is that I have a Maggie console, credenza, and two drum table units from the 70's with the newer W700 series turntables, and they all play SLOW. Being a musician myself, I notice these differences. Just drives me up a wall.

I'm still driving an old 1996 truck with Delco AM/FM/Cassette. --BB

Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona

: TASCAM.jpg (58.57 KiB) Viewed 4270 times

: W700 Series.jpg (52.17 KiB) Viewed 4270 times

Posted: **Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:29 pm**

I realize that this is a resurrected old post string, but I've been curious if the currently produced Califone record player is any good --

http://www.califone.com/products/1005.php

To my eyes, it looks suspiciously like one of those horrible Crosley Traveler phonographs. I bought one a few years ago to replace my short lived Vestax Handy Trax, and returned it a few days later because the turntable spun about 10%-20% faster at all speeds. Apparently, I'm not the only one who had this experience (first review) -- http://www.amazon.com/Crosley-Traveler- ... ewpoints=0

Interestingly, my one experience with a used Califone--circa late 1970s--also didn't turn out too well. In spite of the fact that the seller claimed it was "fully restored," it was full of dust inside, and both the volume and tone controls crackled. After a few months, it stopped working altogether.

Joe

Posted: **Tue Jan 01, 2013 9:42 pm**

Joe,
IMHO, the word "restored" is one of, if not the most, abused word in the language. I almost feel some government agency should be formed, to license the use of that word--About the only reason I think that should NOT be done, is that I rate most government agencies a step lower then a used car salesman---
Happy New Year to All !! Ron Rich

Posted: **Wed Jan 02, 2013 7:33 am**

That Califone that Joe posted about is pure..........garbage.
Indeed just like those Crosley knockoffs.
Trash.

As far as I'm concerned, just about anything made these days is garbage.
The only decent record-playing equipment now is overpriced esoteric machines.

Asides from that, it's best to stick to using something from THE AGE OF VINYL - like from the 1960's/70's.
That is when Quality was included with the purchase. :wink:

EDIT:
I just checked that Califone site - they actually want $264.50 MSRP for that hunk of crap??? :shock:

Jeezus!.... they got stones!
So typical of the greedy companies today.... but I digress.

Posted: **Wed Jan 02, 2013 10:17 am**

Check a few things:

Is the record slipping on the turntable mat?

Is the rubber mat hardened with age, or missing?

Is the record dish warped, so it touches the turntable only at the center hole on one side.

Is the tracking force excessive? Don't mess with it without a gage and knowing the correct force.

Lightly touch the turntable with your finger with no record on it. if it stops, there is something wrong with the drive.

Posted: **Wed Jan 02, 2013 7:35 pm**

MattTech wrote:That Califone that Joe posted about is pure..........garbage.
Indeed just like those Crosley knockoffs.
Trash.

As far as I'm concerned, just about anything made these days is garbage.
The only decent record-playing equipment now is overpriced esoteric machines.

Asides from that, it's best to stick to using something from THE AGE OF VINYL - like from the 1960's/70's.
That is when Quality was included with the purchase.

EDIT:
I just checked that Califone site - they actually want $264.50 MSRP for that hunk of crap???
Jeezus!.... they got stones!
So typical of the greedy companies today.... but I digress.

Hi Matt:

I have to admit that since my main interest in this hobby is limited to anything with a crank sticking out of the side of the cabinet, I hadn't really tracked the availability of "new production" turntables for several years. I just clicked on the KAB USA site, which had about a dozen models the last time I checked. Now, virtually NOTHING -- http://www.kabusa.com/frameset.htm?/ -- and NOTHING from the other sellers I used to check from time to time.

Along this line, a simple Google shopping search comes up with the mostly overpriced plastic made-in-China garbage.

All of this at a time when vinyl is gaining in popularity among the younger set!

Shame, really....

Joe

Posted: **Wed Jan 02, 2013 8:13 pm**

Joe, as I mentioned previously, the best bet is to source out a (vintage) unit in good condition and have it serviced to perform like new again.
And most likely for decades to come.

They show up in thrift shops, grandma's attic, flea markets, and.. ugh, must I say it, online.
1960-1980 IMO are the years to look at, since record-playing equipment was built with quality standards not available today - at least not for a reasonable price.

Any of the 1950-59 RCA style 45 players are great performers once restored properly.
The VM line of changers through the years are also a good choice for albums, and parts are still available.
VM units were used in a lot of phonos under various brand names.
If higher standards are required, the Technics line of turntables for one, are a fine choice.
The list can go on...

Posted: **Wed Jan 02, 2013 8:23 pm**

Hey Joe--
I have a drill, and cranks are available, so, I can put a crank on almost anything you like--almost anywhere on it---
Ron Rich

Posted: **Wed Jan 02, 2013 10:40 pm**

Ron Rich wrote:Hey Joe--
I have a drill, and cranks are available, so, I can put a crank on almost anything you like--almost anywhere on it---
Ron Rich

Unfortunately, for it to work with a phonograph, the motor has to be "electrically-challenged" from the start. :lol:

Well, actually, to be accurate--and not to drive this post string TOO off-topic--in order to pick my interest, it would have to have a spring motor, have been manufactured between about 1926-1930, and fitted with an exponential horn. Preferably, I'd want one with about a nine foot horn like this:

But I'd probably settle for something more like this:

Actually, I'd be perfectly happy with it's American cousin:

JDS

Posted: **Thu Jan 03, 2013 4:46 am**

Aww, Joe, throw away those ugly old creatures and invest a piddling $150,000 in the Basis "Work of Art" turntable.

Phonoland

33 1/3 records play slow

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