EMG soundbox with Orchorsol conversion

[Ahmed]

Here I am with another post about soundboxes

This fellow came to my position yesterday. On first glance it's a very good early EMG soundbox which is all very nice and exciting indeed. Turn it a little though and the plot thickens; what's that Orchorsol back doing here!?

This got me scratching my head for a fair bit. The front is most definitely early EMG, yet the back is 100% Orchorsol, and is certainly made specifically to fit this faceplate. I couldn't find any other examples or mentions of such a soundbox online, only adding to my puzzlement.

With huge thanks to Graham the mystery was solved. At the same time EMG were offering those soundboxes, Orchorsol were offering to convert any soundbox to their lifebelt system; whatever the soundbox, Orchorsol will do whatever is needed to convert it. Someone clearly decided the Meltrope back on their soundbox didn't cut it and went for Orchorsol's system instead!

With seemingly no other known examples, I might possibly be the custodian of the only known complete example of this EMG/Orchorsol assembly. Now that is exciting !!

Interestingly, it weighs exactly the same as the equivalent with an original brass back. Is that intentional or by complete coincidence, we may never know. I don't know very much about where it came from either as the vendor hasn't got back to my request for more info.

Obviously I'd love to hear it singing, and hear what (if any) difference the Orchorsol lifebelt system makes. That said, I have decided against doing anything to the Orchorsol part, as replacing the rubber tubing is bound to seriously damage the rock hard original; something I'd rather not do until I see another complete example. Another option for getting the soundbox singing without damaging the back is being explored.

It is truly amazing there is still clearly so much to discover and unearth; you really never know what might be around the corner!

[Orchorsol]

Congratulations on acquiring that Ahmed, it's a fascinating hybrid and a fantastic treasure! I'm seriously envious!

I bought a couple of the soft replacement Orchorsol lifebelt rubbers when they were being offered on eBay fairly recently, really just for some future date if ever I get serious about trying to extract the best from those soundboxes. The rubber mouldings were made by Martin Herrick of Herrick Pickups (guitar pickups). Maybe you could contact his to see if he still has any. In extremis I WILL sell you one of mine on, as this is a 100% necessary good cause, but I'd prefer not to...

[Ahmed]

Many thanks Andy! I'm very proud to be the custodian of this fascinating piece

And many thanks for your kind offer I have a new rubber replacement to hand, but the problem is extracting the old one is bound to damage it (it being the original rubber) which I really don't want to do given its interesting history. The other option being explored is a new brass back, allowing the soundbox to sing again and keeping the Orchorsol kit intact; win win!

[chunnybh]

Very nice indeed.

[Inigo]

A hint. The orchorsol back looks as an exact copy of an exhibition back, much easier to find. You could find one exhibition and make the necessary arrangements or modifications to make it equal to the orchorsol, if it has different screws or something...

[Ahmed]

A hint. The orchorsol back looks as an exact copy of an exhibition back, much easier to find. You could find one exhibition and make the necessary arrangements or modifications to make it equal to the orchorsol, if it has different screws or something...

Good point. Those soundboxes were based on the Exhibition, and I would bet the dimensions of them are very much the same if not completely identical. It would make sense for Orchorsol to have modified what they already had in stock to convert an exhibition, being a very common reproducer, rather than machine a whole new back if that's not needed.

[Oedipus]

I suspect that the early EMG soundboxes were based not directly on the Exhibition, but on the Goldring clone (often called 'Saturn'). One of them might be more correct to use, and also cheaper to acquire than a true Exhibition!

[Ahmed]

I couldn't resist hearing what it could do any longer, so gave it a service today and managed to replace the rubber without it crumbling into dust.

Here it's is singing: https://youtu.be/nxMp2IV9h-w

Will report back on the merit of this modification once o got to know the reproducer a bit more