Vintage Record Changer & Turntable Repair

09/03/2026

Oops. The day is almost over and I forgot to post. Another typical StudioMatic Mk. II. This one came in with the indexing cam completely frozen. Original needle worked about halfway through testing and then the diamond tip came off, but good strong cartridge. Typical motor mounts and connecting rod grommets.
This is such a great record, it's a singer and an iconic filming location now both gone.

09/02/2026

These early Maestro record changers are scarce. They do show up in some portables and lower to mid grade consoles occasionally. These suffer from grease that absolutely has to be chiseled off in some cases. But with fresh lubricant they run beautifully. The engineers of this changer apparently worked for VM at some point. A real privilege to work on this one. Of note, everything on these is really "tall." Even though it has sort of a short spindle, the platter itself is very tall, hard to see when it's installed, and the tonearm gadgetry at the back, also very tall. Maybe tooling up smaller, more precision parts was cost prohibitive. They work smoothly and quietly and you think they would have been a contender. However, they didn't really we room to increase platter size. Maybe they were just a little old-fashioned in their proportions and maybe missed the peak of the record changer production craze. Who knows? The company apparently survived in some form and designed the disaster that ended up in many lower end Magnavox units, many being replaced within weeks or months due to warranty claims.
I love this record, it's one of only three that featured any other voices besides Richard's and Karen's.

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09/01/2026

This 1966 Zenith was bad. Came in a little bit dirty and with some tape residue on the baseplate near the headshell. Don't know what was taped down there… Anyway this cost a pretty penny as someone had been in it before. The plastic trip lever and cap were missing. I believe the main gear was stuck, only turning on its rivet. Typical AC switch, idler, new needle… And the kicker, it needed a new motor. Somebody "lubricated" the upper bearing with graphite which should never be used on precision-high-speed-anything. Graphite is granular in nature and can act as an abrasive, it's only for macro things that move slowly. We also found that the motor wires had been cut, so somebody had the motor out at some point. Took care of all of that with a complete replacement motor and wiring.
Previous person lost the fiber washers for the idler, the ball bearing for the pusher in the spindle, the original needle spring, and they bent the trip pawl stop. All in all, previous "service" cost the current owner quite a bit of extra money.

09/01/2026

Since last November we've been around 20 jobs + or - behind. Now it's closer to 25 and we've come to the conclusion that we can't take on any more inquiries until we're caught up. Please hold inquiries until October 1st. If you've already been in contact and have our packing instructions and/or are on the list for a shipping label, you're all set. 👍🏻Thanks! Kyle & Kevin~

08/31/2026

Magnavox came in having been sprayed with WD-40 which, as we all know, is always fantastic for the drive system's grip (it's not).
Cartridge was described as "quiet" and this is because it had a dead channel. We did one of our conversions on it. Owner wondered if it would play "the big records" so demonstrated with this 12 inch single.
This 12 inch mix starts like the LP version but having two verses before the chorus, the video's almost 2 minutes long.

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08/30/2026

This RCA Studiomatic came in generally working condition but needed the normal motor mounts and connecting rod grommets. Lots of lubrication getting sticky. Pivoting cartridge worked for all of three minutes. I tried to save it by blasting electronics cleaner in it but that only worked temporarily. Owner is an RCA buff and has a small collection of spare cartridges and knows how to put them in so hopefully that will work out. Shown here tested with a monophonic record for good measure.

08/29/2026

Overdue Pfriday Photodump.

08/28/2026

This poor Magnavox came in quite dusty and with the original EV cartridge detached. I could not get it to hold a needle for anything. Tried four different replacements until it held one that was fine unless you tried to flip it. Turns out it had an almost dead channel. This cartridge uses the Tetrad-style plug and we were able to put a new cartridge in. The motor was really sluggish also, so good thing it came in.
This is one of those great records you never hear anymore. Caught it in the low end of an American top 40 from the 80s and immediately set about locating a copy.

08/27/2026

This portable model was offered through JCPenney from 1967 to 1969 ('67 may have had white or chromed control caps). It was also sold under the Arvin name. There were other variants including a two speaker stereo version and eventually a simplified version without a tone control. A modified version continue to be sold under the Arvin name into the early 1970s. This is from my personal collection and I love it dearly. Eventually the wire spring that lifts the 10 inch sensor button broke so it's been sidelined for years until I found a parts donor. I swapped that part in and managed to figure out its operation and make something suitable for the parts donor. That machine was posted a few days ago.
It also had a clunky-chunky awful BSR cartridge in it, so I replaced it with a Tetrad which sounds great and tracks anything I can throw at it at 3.5 grams.
This thing is way better than a Cruiser and sounds fantastic comparatively.

08/26/2026