1956 Magnavox Magnasonic 420 Console Phonograph Repair & FULL CATALOG!
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- Опубликовано: 19 авг 2016
- In this video we'll do some much needed service maintenance on an otherwise pristine vintage 1950s Magnavox Model CP291C, also just called the "Model 291", Console Record Changer. These mid-50s models featured Collaro Imperial changers, Made in Great Britain, with "Pianissimo" pick-up and a dual diamond or sapphire stylus. This example also came with all the original paperwork and a full 1956 Magnavox Catalog, which we will peruse in detail! At the end of this video, for good measure, we will also plug a guitar into the quad 6V6-powered 20W tube amp and see what it sounds like as a guitar amp!
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I have this phonograph!!! Only mine is an earlier model - my parents bought it new in 1955. Yours looks identical to mine, even the wood finish is the same. I had 2 restorations done on it. After 30 years of heavy use and being banged up by us as kids, It went to junk by the early 1980s. So an electronics friend did the 1st restoration in 1992, but put speakers in it that were too powerful. 21 years later, I contacted my friend and he did restoration #2 in 2013. New and more appropriate speakers. He replaced the entire turntable with a 1957 Magnavox turntable, which he also restored. The original one in my unit from '55 was shot and this one only has very subtle appearance differences. Now - it plays like a dream with little to no compromise on the cosmetic appearance! Crank the volume and it kicks ass!! Love it!!! :-)
My grandmother had this console. Listened to it from the 60's till recently. We also had the melody master-monaural hi-fi
That was a expensive phono in 1956 and you did a fine job of recovery.
Thanks, Ken. It got even better with a new cartridge and stylus. Sounded great.
My mother's family from Dominican Republic had this same unit! We used to visit in the early 70's for summer vacation and I remember playing with it as kid! What a coincidence!
Im 62yrs old and i have seen these consoles only 3 times.....fantastic sound and blast from the past.....sat and listen to Connie Frances.....Andy Williams.....Paul Anka.....the whole shit....and Elvis Presley....Dave Clark Five.....wonderful times.
These are such great examples. If I ever get my restoration business off the ground, I would love to restore these and make new woodwork as needed to bring back the originality and beauty.
Love the old Maggies. And the jack handy shirt! Thanks for sharing
Hi What a surprise when I saw that name Ruth Electric on that card. I worked there in 1960. That number 7600 was our Telephone n umber 451-7600. We were located at Bonnycastle and Bardstown Rd in Louisville Ky. It brought back a rush of memories. Thanks for posting. Magnavox was a step ahead in my opinion. Mr. & Mrs Ruth was a very good people to work for. Joe
That is so damn cool. You just made my month! So what was the punch card about? Was that some kind of way to keep track of customers? Was I right on that?
i was just given the very same cab and my 1st thoughts was to turn it into a old tube amp for my guitars, so i started looking around on here and ran across your video and was like " heck yeah hes plugging in a guitar" love it very good sounding, i can't wait to get mine ready to be plugged in to and rock out!
nice,i have the same one and they sound great! awesome that it came with all those extras too,i have just about the same other than the catalog. you could tell the people had these consolettes really cared/respected things back then.
People used to have pride in ownership, because things were made better. We did not yet have this throwaway mentality. We had a REPAIR and maintain mentality. People saw appliances like this as an investment and treated them well, in general.
very interesting video, thank you. i love vintage stereos and electronics
Brad, your videos are the best in RUclips. Seriously enjoy them all!!
Thanks, man. Not sure I'm "the best" but I do try to put some love and care into my videos. I'm glad you enjoy them. Thanks for watching and taking time to comment.
Great job resurrecting it! Very punchy with the guitar without any modifications to the amp.
Thanks it is great seeing these things that I grew up with,bringing them back to life.
Thanks for watching. Glad you enjoy watching me indulge my love of this old stuff. It's an acquired taste, I'm sure.
I remember sitting in my sisters living room.....listening to her console.....miss this so much.....1968....if i can remember....rick.
Was lovely to hear your guitar playing. Very nice, and that is a cool Magnavox...I guess it's a parallel push pull output(2 per phase //)? I had to do a double take when I first saw the valve line up as it looked like six power tubes and nothing else. The Berkshire amp and speaker combination in the catalogue looked outstanding - would like to play with one of those.
Hi Brad!
Thanks for the trip down memory lane, My parents had a Magnatone stereophonic model (I can't remember which one) that I used to wear out all my Ventures records on.
I still chuckle at the use of "arama" that was used to describe products.
Even now in the 21st century I find myself saying o-rama when I'm at a loss for words.
Sometimes I get funny looks when I tell someone their amp has a lot of scratch-o-rama in the potentiometers....lol.
I thought I'd already replied to this... Guess not. But yes, The Ventures should be required listening for guitarists. I have about 8 or 10 of their LPs.
I like the Gerry and the Pacemakers song you first played on the record changer.
Those Collaro Conquest Model record changers were the best. The reason it kept shutting off is because you already had the record dropped on the platter. The lever in the back senses the presence of the record. If it doesn't feel a record drop, it will shut off. Your sales brochure has a 1956 date code on the back. You can move the lever behind the speed control to manual if you don't want it to shut off with the record already on the platter. I would still recap the pre and power amps. I've done many of these Magnavox Magnasonics and they do sound so much better once recapped.
Yeah, i figured that out after about 2 minutes playing with it. It had been a while before this since I'd messed with a record changer. My usual turntable has been a Technics linear style.
The English made Collaro changer motor is synchronized on the 60hz on the AC line. It held a constant speed from 75vac to 145vac as I tested it on my variac ! Also the spindle was larger in diameter and the idler wheel was larger and thicker.
Usually a rejuvenation of the amp included replacing ALL of the capacitors, wax and electrolytics !
Hi G, Brad, Plug and play, no conversion necessary, cool. Good job on the service, looks like it works great. Take care, C.
I've been jamming on it the last couple days. Sounds nice. I may need to go in and service the amp at some point. If I do, I'll probably use the occasion to make another video.
Wow, what a piece of equipment.
Yeah, this one was cherry.
A cool turntable amp combo that i'll bet rocks solid in person with 2-12'..I want your rainbow label early MCA pressing of the soundtrack to American Graffiti... the perfect musical choice for play on a 1956 Magnavox!
I do not know about the card, l think it was just to make a note, it was not used for anything particular. We serviced magnavox for two department stores (Kaufman and Stewart's plus our own sales) back then Magnavox did not have a middleman, they went from factory to dealer and Ruth was the only place you could get info or parts for Magnavox units (in the Louisville area). If any service shop had to have Magnavox parts they had to get them thru Ruth. We were located in what is now Do Whop Shop. We also sold RCA television only sets. In the late 50's and early 60's Ruth was the top of the line service company in Louisville. We made home service calls, our service call was $4.95 for house service, if it had to got to shop it was another $10.00, some of those combination sets were very heavy, we were considered the top service company. We serviced and sold sets mostly in east Louisville. Man I am windy I will hush. Thanks for the memories. Joe
Good work, interesting video👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼😊
Thanks, STeve.
THANKS BRAD NICE VID, I HAVE 5 CONSOLES LIKE THAT 3 ARE 6BQ5 AND SOUND GREAT! LOVE THE GRILL CLOTH ON THEM. YOUR DAUGHTER IS BEAUTIFUL!
Thanks, Dave! I have another stereo hi-fi from 1959 that's a Curtis Mathes. Has 4x 6BQ5 and sounds great as well. And thank you! My daughter is a handful, but so worth it...both of them.
You said it well when you said (cheap amplification) but sounds great. Going with that, I picked up a 1959 RCA tape cartridge player that I think was never or very little ever used. It has 2- 6v6gt tubes, 3-12ax7's, 1- 5y3gt, 1- 6cg7. Looks and sounds awesome, then I ran my tube monster pedal through it and look out, it was really cooking then, what a cheap and cool way to get great tone. Thanks for all your videos and demos...... videos of the player are coming soon.
Very cool, Ron... link em when you get em posted!
I had been in the market for an old Magno when I found a very similar model to yours, but my is a few years older ... A 1954. Sadly, it had spent many years in a very damp environment (probably a basement) which did a lot of damage to the lower end of the unit. All the mahogany veneering had lifted and broken away the first 7-8 inches up, so the cabinet had to be completely disassembled, stripped, re-veneered, and refinished.. The amp had taken so much moisture that everything under it had either rusted or corroded to the point that the tubed couldn't be removed. The amp and preamp sections just had to be tossed and replaced with modern solid state transistor boards, the speakers had rotted and required modern replacements as well, and a modern stereo cartridge was added to the tone arm. Doing this did give the unit stereo sound. True, the unit is too small to give good separation, but it does allow for fuller sound when playing more modern stereo records. The turntable is similar to the model in yours but not exactly. Mine seems to have some pieces missing from the automatic changer mechanism, which really didn't bother me as I don't like to stack and drop records anyway. The tone arm is very light on these and, best of all, when the turntable is set to the off position, the idler wheel is physically pulled away from the rest of the mechanism so, as long as the table is/has been stored in the off position, the wheel will not get flat spots. As poor as the condition of my machine was, the table speed is still 'spot on' with only a good cleaning and oiling. My machine is not worth the time, effort, nor money I have invested in it; however it looks great in my den and can play mono and stereo records now just as I need it to do and it is completely dependable and has no warm up time. i have no regrets for feeling sorry for it and rescuing it from (I am sure) the land fill.
Nice save! Labor of love.
Great video Brad totally enjoyed it.
Thanks, Richard! Appreciate that, Buddy. I thought some might find it tedious with all the paperwork details, but I like that kind of minutiae.
You are a repair person and the paperwork is important.You are keeping the repair art alive on these old tube driven devices. I need to make an RCA to 1/2 inch jack cable just in case I find an old piece like that.
Totally, man. It's not the rockinest guitar amp, but heck, stick a pedal in front if you want OD and you're set. In the meantime, spin some records on it and pretend it's still the 70s or 80s.
I used to have a turntable running imto a heathkit tube amp in my room in the 60's and played my guitar thru it all the time.
You were probably only a fuzz pedal away from full on Hendrix.
That's a highly desirable console, very nice. I do hope you replaced the wax capacitors, especially the coupling caps to the 6V6's---the output trans in that is parallel push-pull, and if it has a meltdown, good luck in finding a replacement.
dont know if you guys gives a shit but if you're stoned like me atm you can watch all of the latest series on instaflixxer. Been watching with my girlfriend for the last couple of weeks :)
@Kellen Jaxtyn yea, been using InstaFlixxer for months myself =)
Boa adaptação amigo. Vida longa e próspera pra você e família. Rio RJ Brasil
Just bought one just like this in Anderson yesterday. I had a lot of the same issues thanks for your in-depth video I don’t know who all for taking the time to be informative if you were it’s going in my Elvis corner. LOL. Hard to believe Indiana has given way to China
I worked on a lot of this old stuff back in the early 1970's but here in the uk there is almost nothing left, im amazed that you can find so much old equipment in the usa Andre london UK
The US was the biggest consumer market in the world at the time and we still actually made a lot of great stuff here in the US in the 50s and 60s. Different world now. But because there are so many snobs who turn their noses up at anything 'old', they have no idea how good some of this stuff can be.
Very True about old stuff being better! It was well thought out and 60+.years on it still works!
I had the Model CP292B with the AM/FM radio ! I think that my grandmother bought it in the early '70s for $40 !!! I installed a guitar input on the back for my guitar and it was great !!! Sadly my dad ended up putting it on his front porch and it got wet, etc. and we ended up just throwing it out. Looking back I could have probably pulled at least the amp out to save.
Talk about case candy! the original owner of that did a great job! There are so many banged up and junked instruments on the market I always scratch my head why people cant take care of things. this owner is like me, love they did such a great job of keeping that stuff together...
You can tell they were really anal about their records and this unit. You would be too if you spend $200 in 1956 on something.
That Thing Must Have Alot Of Power
To Amplify A Guitar. I Guess That's
The Wonders Of A Tube Amp.
Just picked up a 292b off the side of the road yesterday, it works. No turntable in it though, Thanks for all the info.
Just drop in a modern turntable and you'll be set.
I just picked up this exact model from 1957 with all the original paper work. I can see one 6v6 was replaced in 1964 and there's some minor scratches on the cabinet but pretty darn clean.
I have this one too. Any idea what needle to buy
Just spotted this video, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have the opportunity to pick up a non-working one (turntable broken) and am interested in doing the guitar amp conversion. I'm just wondering if this will work well or if there are better units with which to start? I have some skills in building and reworking old tube guitar amps. Thanks!
Hi. You've probably sold this unit seeing as though it's been 6 years, but I noticed it has the rare Shure Brothers ceramic cartridge. I installed that cart on my extra headshell for my BIC turntable. It sounds amazing but it has to have a receiver that offers mag and ceramic inputs.
The docket(for the repair) and the receipt(for the stylus) both show the same date AND year, it's just that the second '6' on the repair docket was not clearly written and could be mistaken for a zero.
Hello guitologist,I have a similar magnavox as the one in this video that needs repair,and I'm having a hard time finding parts for it, i was wondering if you could guide me in the right direction? Thanks for your help, love your work.
22:37 my heart dies
We have an almost identical unit. The tone arm moves stiftly left and right, may just need cleaning and tuning. Issue is the wires from the tone arm to their connection points below the turn table base. Wires are 1-red and 1-blue and a braided ground. The red and blue are broken from their solder points. Is there any way to see exactly where they solder. I dont want to hook them up backards if there is a backwards.
Nice piece of history. Checked out the address for Ruth Electric Company on Google Maps and it looks like the building still exists and is home to the Doo-Wop Shop. The front has some nice architectural detail.
Hello I have this same one I got at a antique store for 120. Any idea what needles it takes or where to buy them
Hey. I’m trying to restore a truetone that I picked up. Can you give me any pointers? We’ve checked things with a voltage meter and found the bad parts. We’re just not sure how to remove them or where to get them.
I can see the bobbysoxers, (mom), slow dancing in the living room now. 35:55.
Bought this model for $70 today.
Why needle do you buy
zenith used those cartridges among several of the same stereo cartridges
i'm considering getting a changer like that since it is only 40 miles away and has a motor like the one on my F200-C
Hi filidity mono is under appreciated
these sound great when used as a hifi for pc/laptop too ... cheapest way to own a tube amp combo which sounds better than the current production hi-priced tube hifi's ... amongst these Pye Black Box is a great sounding unit which doubles up as a laptop table too
Good call on the laptop table. If you live in an apartment, this thing is about the right size and could serve as a table when not in use. I'm going to put a switch box on this one so I can plug in my iphone and play mp3 through the tube amp, rather than my crappy computer/TV audio system I normally use
Yes best to listen to sounds produced by tubes back through tubes ... one can be surprised by how much a good vintage tube amp will bring the sounds back to life as they were heard coming out of the amps originally despite all the digital conversion and compression processes in between ...
I just picked up a Motorola 56 420 just like yours but with an am/fm eye tuner radio with the same amp and an xm? Model turntable
New project I might hide a guitar jack by turntable radio vent :)
What is the belt conditioner you use on idler wheels?
probably another 12AX7 up in the preamp chassis with the controls. the one on the amp is audio and inverter.
That works out to over 1300 dollars in today's money, definitely a big investment but it seems like a pretty nice unit for the time.
I know. $200 was a lot of money in 1956. And this was on the lower end! Imagine springing for the Berkshire! That thing must be a monster. I'm going to look for one of those.
Hell, considering you can go out and easily find a decent 90's hi-fi set up at garage sales for 50 bucks or less, times have definitely changed. People practically give stereo equipment away nowadays.
Isn't it amazing what marketing can do? When a new generation comes along and goes into the consumer market for the first time, they are faced with searching the shelves of big box stores with no personalized help in choosing a good system, they've probably never heard a tube amp in their life they're aware of, and they'll look at something like this and think it's ugly or old fashioned, but have no idea the beast that hides inside, or how one can be slightly modified to accept their modern input devices like ipods, ipads, laptops, or iphones.
Brad....that was outstanding! I really like to see the step by step trouble shooting. I was thinking caps as you were but man, you really fixed it easy. I'm glad that you didn't convert to a traditional guitar amp and really really like the guitar "conversion" at the end. Curious, what solvent do you use to clean the pots and tube connections? Thanks!!
I use a product intended for industrial use. I'll show it in a future video for you. It's a CRC product, I think. I like it better because, for one, it's cheaper by comparison to the stuff you get at Radio Shack and elsewhere, and it lingers longer, doesn't evaporate quite as quickly, so you have more time to work the pots and tubes in and out.
Here it is... I found it: amzn.to/2bE6FLn
You can shop around and get a better price than that though, probably.
+The Guitologist great. Thanks. My Strat has some scratchy pots and switch that I'd like to try to clean. Rather not replace them.
I Bet A Pedalsteel Would
Sound Good Over That
I knew a guy that had two cats wow and flutter. All he needed was a dog and bird. Woofer and tweeter.
Nice. :)
Mine was making noise after a few minutes of operation as electronics heated up. I placed a small fan in the cabinet and plays all day!
When using the 45 rpm adapter, was the upper arm needed for fully automatic operation? Judging from the looks of it, the upper arm supports 12" 33s, but not 7" 45s.
frdjr252 it’s there for both. If you don’t use it, it can shut off reacting to where the upper arm is
my Hi Fi is a Quad 11 valve set up, have you worked on them?
No, not familiar with those.
I HAD AN RCA HI FI PLAYER ALMOST IDENTICAL...GOT MINE IN 1954...LOVED THE SOUND..IT WAS NOT STEREO BUT STILL GREAT SOUND..WISH I HAD IT TODAY...WANT TO SELL YOURS???
How Cheap? I just started to actually COLLECT and just really like to know. BTW Amp sounds great as well as the guitar playing !! :)
Magnavox provided kits so an old mono set could have the record player be stereo a technician would have to install it though since it was quite involved
Hey Brad- I have a friend that collects vintage juke boxes... he owns two and when they are in mint condition, they command huge prices.. Ever thought about getting into the restoration of those? could be a good business opportunity... people use them now as decorations, man caves etc.. they are beautiful....
I'm into anything I think I can turn a profit on, but I don't know that market well enough, and jukeboxes, like hi-fis, are large. I'm afraid I'd really need more space to get into that too deeply. People who deal in that kind of stuff, and vintage arcade games, etc., usually have warehouse space. I did see a really nice jukebox the other day, but they wanted all the money for it.
Hey, thanks for this! I have the exact same model and your video helped me identify what's working and what's not. The problem so far is I can't get the turntable going. The unit turns on and everything's lit up as yours does. I turn to start and nothing happens. Are you able to point me in the right direction?
Thanks for watching. It's highly likely your turntable needs a complete overhaul. Probably needs to be lubricated. Go to the auto parts store and buy a can of white lithium grease. Carefully disassemble the turntableand lubricate everything - every part where metal touches metal, including the shaft and the motor. There is a clamp in the axle of the turntable which you'll need to remove to get the table off. underneath, there are two rubber wheels also, one is the changer wheel and the other is the idler wheel. Those probably need to be rejuvenated. As rubber ages it hardens and shrinks. If the rubber isn't hard yet, you can get away with just using automotive belt dressing to increase the grip on the rubber. Hope that helps.
If none of thse helps, there is a guy online who did a tutorial about how to completely overhaul and break down Collaro turntables.
Thanks for the quick reply. So would it needing cleaning/greasing explain why it's not starting up? I can spin the platter by hand. I was worried that there is something wrong with the motor.
It's possible there is, but it's also possible the motor is spinning, but the idler wheel is shrunken and not making contact. OR the motor could need lube.
Hi Guitologist: I have watched A LOT of your marvelous posts about repairing these Magnavox radio/record players. Maybe you can help me with mine? It is a Magnavox Stereophonic about 1965. The speakers are great, nice sound, radio. The record turntable has quit turning. It turns smoothly manually, but after the record drops the turn table does not turn. I have taken it out, cleaned it, oiled it, see no broken anything (but then I wouldn't know if it is broken). Any hints on why the turntable is not spinning?
Go through my entire video series on the other Magnavoxes and watch all the different points where you need to lubricate, and makes sure you're cleaning ALL the old grease off and using white lithium grease. Also, make CERTAIN you have no grease or lube on the idler wheel or idler spindle. If you get lube there, it can cause that problem. Also try treating your rubber parts with the automotive belt dressing I've mentioned in other videos. You can buy at auto store.
thx for responding! I wish I knew what the idler wheel or idler spindle is. I've tried to find someone to look at it, but no one seems to be available so I thought I would tackle it myself. One more question I have is that would it need cleaning and greasing (it really does look clean and greased because I bought it about five years ago from someone who restores these record players) if I can spin the turntable easily manually?
Were those MCA albums the soundtrack from American Graffiti?
Yes.
Will this also play stereo LPs without damaging the record grooves?
Louis Sanchez Yes, all Stereo Records were Monaural compatible. That is one thing that took Westrex and others a lot more time to engineer. Reel to Reel had Stereo about 1953 I believe. It’s a fascinating subject that I’ve studied a lot over the years.
Yes but the myth persisted that stereo records would be ruined by a mono cart. That’s why record companies maintained a double inventory for years
What is the song at 32:40 my grandfather used to listen to it
I like to see those older sets restored to origional form. Not turned into guitar amps
I’d love some help with my system it’s the same changer and it starts and stops and it used to work fine...
Gummed up mechanism. Clean and re-lube.
You only want to play mono on that with the Shure cart. It will eat stereo. No vertical compliance
They advertise a tracking force of less than 10 grams :D Times have changed a fair bit, haven't they?
Now tou have a bunch of snobs saying your records will be toasted if the tracking force is 10 grams
Do you have a schematic to this unit that you would be willing to copy and sell to me, or tell me where you found one? Thanks!
I do not have a schematic for this one. I would think there's one out there online. I have Riders, but I don't have the 1956 one.
ashame the tv's with a dual channel ampifier didn't have phono inputs
Does it work.
The video title says Magnatone, but the thing is a Magnavox... Type-O???
Thank you for pointing that out. Nice catch. Yeah, it's obviously a Magnavox. Working on little sleep.
yep new is better not always I use old Hacker 1960 radios to make up small amps.using Fet stages to mimic 12xa7, and I retain the germaium power ampyep I've got little time for snobs old so called junk upcycled great
yeppirs, typical bad crystal cartridge humage. It may be high enough impedence for guitar pickups. The changer is fine, when the upper arm is down, as in last record, it shuts off. Don
I had forgotten about that quirk with these changers. Figured it out eventually. It did need service though. It wasn't operating smoothly or reliably at all. I didn't film all 3 hours of me sitting there dorking around with it like an idiot (lucky for you)! ;)
A good overall greasing and a couple re-tensioned springs fixed that. As for the hum, it was a bad ground connection issue with the arm, which detaches, needle and all. Some contact cleaner in there and also at the RCA connection did the trick.
I am saving pointers here for my 1958 Magnificent Magnavox Brittany with the optional timer. Thank You!
Try Calling A Service Center Now
& See How Far You Get Today.
Raise the stacker arm and it wont shut off. Just play it manually. The cartridge is dead
I know that it is better to keep units stock but I wonder did Thomas Alva Edison really intend record re-producers to have a Linear Tracking Pick-up like his wax cylinder player if so then maybe the turntable could be replaced with a Linear Tracking Turntable and we would a system that would replay vinyl like Thomas Alva Edison intended.
DAVID GREGORY KERR Edison didn’t have vinyl. He used wax, an early cellophane derivative and for his discs the record surface was almost identical to Bakelite. His last records were shellac/Bakelite and had nearly noiseless reproduction. A revelation at the time, 1929. His Son had been running things and pulled the plug about ten days before the 1929 stock market crash.
Did not finish the job!
I think that first receipt said 66 and not 1960
parachuteman4 No, 1966 was all Solid State. Last tube Amps were 62/63 for most companies
i have a magnavox collaro made england just don't have the needle. who knows you are interested in buying it I live in Indonesia.
Ugly tonearm design.