[Jukebox-list] Seeburg A Thorpe/DS cartridge conversion

[David Breneman]

--- dirksenj at bellsouth.net wrote:

> I've got a Seeburg A on 78 rpm that I'm working on. Amp has been
> rebuilt as has the original blackhead cartridge. 

Who rebuilt the cartridge for you?

> ...it sounds muffled and "scratchy".

That's an interesting combination. Usually "muffled" implies
poor treble response, and "scratchy" implies extreme treble
response.  Is the "scratchy" sound surface noise from the
records, or a "static" like sound?  If it's the second, it
can be an intermittent connection in the voice coil of the
speaker - an indication that it was damaged when rebuilt.
I had a pickup once that a previous owner had squirted full
of silicone bathroom caulking. God knows what inspired 
that "fix", but it certainly sounded muffled!  It even jumped
out of the groove on loud passages.

> I'm convinced it's the cartridge, as I tried another amp from a B
> with the same results. 

But again, how about the speaker?

> I have two of the repro Thorpe/DS cartridges
> that I want to try, but wanted to know if anyone has done this
> before and what modifications to the amp you made. 

I have one of those that I bought as a possible solution
before I got ahold of West Tech to rebuild my cartridge.
(The cantiliver was loose, causing the magnet and voice 
coild to move out of alignment, also resulting in muddly
sound.) I wasn't very impressed with the fact that it
was constructed in such a way that the A-sides of the 
records would be played backwards in orientation to
the cantilever. Also, it would have required me to cut
the pickup lead and wire it in to operate.  That's a
modification I was't willing to make. The whole thing
just seemed a little too kludgey to me, but I can see
how someone without any cartridge at all would find it
better than a non-functional jukebox. It's certainly not
an improvememnt.


David Breneman         david_breneman at yahoo.com


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