Audio Club of Maine (ACMe)

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Another random question. I have a Marantz 2235B and I bought a restoration kit from irebuildmarantz.com last winter, thinking I would tackle that. (I rebuilt a Fisher 500B several years ago). Now the itch to do that myself has faded. Is that something New England Hi-Fi would consider? There's roughly 70+ parts, mostly caps, some resistors, a new power switch and a relay. I'd like it rebuilt but I don't want to ship it. SoPo is only about 40 minutes from me.

First, let me say that I have no idea what NEH would charge you. Replacing all the caps is very time consuming. A hobbyist can justify the time, but this may be cost prohibitive for them. Also, they probably wouldn't use your kit as they probably take a mark up on the parts. I guess I'm saying don't get your hopes up, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

 

[Rockyhill]

First, let me say that I have no idea what NEH would charge you. Replacing all the caps is very time consuming. A hobbyist can justify the time, but this may be cost prohibitive for them. Also, they probably wouldn't use your kit as they probably take a mark up on the parts. I guess I'm saying don't get your hopes up, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

I enjoyed the Fisher rebuild as it was replacing components in a point to point wiring environment. Additionally it required using a schematic to locate the parts. The Marantz has single sided PCBs requiring a more delicate touch. The process will be a bit less analytical and more repetitive. I guess I have to think about the time commitment.

 

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I enjoyed the Fisher rebuild as it was replacing components in a point to point wiring environment. Additionally it required using a schematic to locate the parts. The Marantz has single sided PCBs requiring a more delicate touch. The process will be a bit less analytical and more repetitive. I guess I have to think about the time commitment.

You can improve your odds by ordering a de-soldering tool with a built in electric vacuum pump. I got one of these and never looked back. It cuts down on the time it takes to desolder and also helps to limit damage to the PCB. It's worth the $100 investment when you consider how much it will cost you to have someone else do the work. The catch to the low cost de-soldering tools on e-pay is they are designed for the grid in Japan/China and are retooled for the US market by just changing the power cord. I run my de-soldering tool on the variac at 100 VAC so the heating element doesn't break down. New tips are available on Ali Express.

 

[pumablues]

Is that something New England Hi-Fi would consider?

You'd have to ask them, probably. I will say, they announced AFTER I dropped my HK 330b off, that for the near future, they were only going to be servicing items that they had sold... apparently they were so overwhelmed with outside repairs (like mine, for example), that they were several months out in repair lead time, and the shelves, when i had dropped my receiver off, were crammed full of gorgeous stuff that folks had dropped off for their repair services.

If they clear their backlog (mine was ready for pickup about 2 months after drop-off), they might open back up to outside repairs. Your best bet is to give them a call and find out

 

[pumablues]

Update: I called New England Hi-Fi today, about picking up my reciever. (turns out there was a "missing" fuse holder on the bad channel.. weird).

I asked about outside repairs, and he (I assume Chris, the owner, though i could be wrong) said they are taking outside repairs agian, though the turnaround time was still VERY long... 1-2 months.

Now... whether they would use your kit to rebuild your Marantz,or just try to spot repair the things that were shot -- that's the conversation you can have with them Hope this helps!

 

[sKiZo]

AcMe?

Might give somebody in Nebraska an idea for a group name ... Hmmmmmm ...

 

[Rockyhill]

AcMe?

Might give somebody in Nebraska an idea for a group name ... Hmmmmmm ...

 

[safebet]

Any Primus fans here? They are playing Sunday night in Portland and I have a lead on two tickets if interested.

 

[pumablues]

Hi @safebet ! I'm sorry to say I was tied up that weekend. How was the Primus show? I bet it was fantastic.

I did take my 13 year old and her friend to the AJR concert at the Civic Center; first indoor show I'd been to since before the Pandemic. It was very, very good. Even if you're not into modern pop, the stagecraft and musicianship was on display

 

[safebet]

Hi @safebet ! I'm sorry to say I was tied up that weekend. How was the Primus show? I bet it was fantastic.

I did take my 13 year old and her friend to the AJR concert at the Civic Center; first indoor show I'd been to since before the Pandemic. It was very, very good. Even if you're not into modern pop, the stagecraft and musicianship was on display

Glad to hear you had a good time with the kids. Those are memories that stand the test of time.

I had to miss the show and was seeking to get the tickets into someones hands who might have wanted to go. No big deal but it would have been great to hear them perform A Farewell to Kings, one of my favorite Rush albums.

Last time I saw Primus they opened for Rush! Geddy sings "Time Stands Still" but I say it flies.

 

[EastDeering]

Hi there. I'm in Portland. I recently joined the Audiokarma message board here. Perhaps someone here can help me out with a project: I need to transfer what may be some kind of acetate disc recorded in the 30s-early 50s. It's vertically cut. It's for a research project and it's historically important. I'm having a great deal of difficulty finding someone willing to do it.

 

[infullview]

Hi there. I'm in Portland. I recently joined the Audiokarma message board here. Perhaps someone here can help me out with a project: I need to transfer what may be some kind of acetate disc recorded in the 30s-early 50s. It's vertically cut. It's for a research project and it's historically important. I'm having a great deal of difficulty finding someone willing to do it.

You may not find anyone in Southern Maine that can read this. Are you sure it's not horizontally modulated? Vertical cut would be something like an Edison cylinder. If you have what I think you have, it was acetate, and you sprayed it with something that softened it for cutting, but these machines looked like a record player and and were horizontally modulated like any standard record. They used these in the 50's to record children's recitals.

 

[SiliconTi]

Try University of NH, they have access to quite a bit of old tech ion their archiving dept. (well, they used to).

If you can give us some more info on the media, someone may have what you need.

 

[EastDeering]

Here is an image of the label and some of the grooves. Notice that there are no extra holes in the centre. The grooves are very fine and appear under a loupe to have the information on the bottom of the groove, like an Edison Diamond Disc. In fact the grooves are quite a narrow thread. This recording was taken at the New England Conservatory music department, probably in Brown Hall. The conservatory has no interest in helping me with this, which is not surprising. The ensemble and conductor on the record was a legendary part of the Boston church music establishment and university establishment and is still an internationally known name. Since this is, as far as I know, the only existing recording of this man's work, I don't want to play it on the wrong equipment. If it's an acetate, it shows no signs of a glass or aluminum base, and no separation or stearate dust, etc. It appears to be a pressed record.

 

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Here is an image of the label and some of the grooves. Notice that there are no extra holes in the centre. The grooves are very fine and appear under a loupe to have the information on the bottom of the groove, like an Edison Diamond Disc. In fact the grooves are quite a narrow thread. This recording was taken at the New England Conservatory music department, probably in Brown Hall. The conservatory has no interest in helping me with this, which is not surprising. The ensemble and conductor on the record was a legendary part of the Boston church music establishment and university establishment and is still an internationally known name. Since this is, as far as I know, the only existing recording of this man's work, I don't want to play it on the wrong equipment. If it's an acetate, it shows no signs of a glass or aluminum base, and no separation or stearate dust, etc. It appears to be a pressed record.

This looks like typical micro grove technology and I believe this is horizontally modulated as you can see what looks like wave patterns on the record. Any good elliptical stylus should be able to play this record. It does look pressed and there were plenty of fly-by-night operations that offered this service for schools. The most important thing to do is make sure you clean the record well before attempting to digitize the audio. There looks to be a lot of paper dust on it. Do not use alcohol based cleaners!! If this is vinyl, use mild dish soap and water to clean it with a soft sponge, rinse well, and wipe it dry with a towel in the direction of the groves. Make a V with your thumb and fore finger to hold the towel and rotate the record to dry,

 

[SiliconTi]

It does look like vinyl, but could be shellac. Either way, gently cleaning with mild soap and water should do the trick.

 

[EastDeering]

It is definately shellac. I am a veteran collector, and have seen everything from rec-o-cuts to 16 inch transcription discs to brown wax, it's all in my collection. This record is unique to me, I'm glad to get the help from you guys. From the research for my dissertation, there are two periods in which this could have been made: 1938-40 or 1950-55. There are pretty much no other possibilities. During both of these times he taught at NEC, Boston University, or both. BU can help but it will take months for a slot.

The way I can really date this is by the voice of the tenor Cantor in the final track. The man's name is Chester Bonney and I will be able to date it somewhat by how old his voice appears to be, believe it or not! Here is where technical musical knowledge meets record collecting!

 

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It is definately shellac. I am a veteran collector, and have seen everything from rec-o-cuts to 16 inch transcription discs to brown wax, it's all in my collection.

If it is truly a vertical cut, consider finding someone with a Quadraphonic setup using a real Shibata stylus to play this. It certainly wouldn't hurt the record and you would get excellent results.

 

[Will_Emanuel]

Howdy all, Will here, I'm just outside of Portland in Falmouth. Got loads of gear, also work full time in the summers at NEH as a service technician. Hopefully some of you are still fairly active.

 

[grochon]

Welcome aboard, Will. I used to live in Yarmouth but relocated just north of Augusta. There's some nice folks on this site but sometimes life gets in the way of our hobby!