Credenza Maintenance

[need4art]

Intresting... Being pretty new (3 years)to the hobby I had heard from many people at the CAPS show that if I REALLY want to hear the way these machines can sound I need to get a crendza. But reading the comments by some there seems to be a BIG spread on how people view them from a sound standpoint. I have a 4-7 with a really good and in great condition pot metal reproducer that can really blow the doors off my Victor VXI with a #2 reproducer as well as a couple of other Brunswick and Victor machines. Could this be explained by the reproducer? I have read much about the merits of the crendza's folded horn and with the exception of the 10-50 it is supposed to be "top dog"

For me this is a learning experence,in fact I did not really listen to my crendza before I started to do the rebuild stuff. Its a habit I got into from rebuilding classic cars as a hobby-I tend to remanufacture them so they drive and are as dependable as new. Takes 5 years from beginning to end and that is why I am weaning myself from that hobby-too expensive and I may not live long enough to finish many more cars!!!
Abe

[OrthoFan]

...I have a 4-7 with a really good and in great condition pot metal reproducer that can really blow the doors off my Victor VXI with a #2 reproducer as well as a couple of other Brunswick and Victor machines. Could this be explained by the reproducer?
Abe

Interestingly, this same issue came up a few posts below:

http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... f=2&t=4777

I'd have to say that the improvement in sound quality is primarily due to the use of the Orthophonic sound box in conjunction with the exponential tone chamber. The sound box and the exponentially tapered tonearm & horn--all are designed to work together as a system.

There was actually quite a detailed discussion about this topic, on this board, about six or more months ago, but of course I can't find it now.

[wjw]

I picked up a 1926 Credenza on Craigslist. I'm going over the machine, touching up scratches in the cabinet, cleaning, etc. I have the back panels off and I wanted to know if there is any kind of sealing I need to do on the horn or where the metal neck is screwed together, or maybe the ball-bearing track under the tone arm. What maintenance does a Credenza usually need?

Damon
St. Louis, MO

Damon, the Credenza needs most attention at the reproducer (no holes in diaphragm, oil its little bearings). The connection of the reproducer to the tone arm must be air-tight. Some use teflon tape to aid here. The crook has to be air-tight (grease this joint) and that felt gasket joint at the tone arm base always needs re-packing with grease. The integrity of these three joints (and the diaphragm of course) are crucial to the bass reproduction.

[AZ*]

The item that made the biggest sound improvement for my Credenzas was adjusting the screw, nut and metal bar that hold the cast-iron neck in contact with the wooden horn at the back of the machine. This joint was loose when I got my first Credenza, and the sound quality was only so-so. Making that joint airtight made a world of difference, and I check it after my machines have been moved.

I do grease the tonearm joint, but I've not messed around with the exotic horn treatments. I more often play my VV 8-9 which I prefer to my Credenzas due to the 8-9's large metal horn. It has a louder, brighter sound.

[frenchmarky]

The tricky one is if you remove the tone arm from its mount and re-grease the bearings. It took me an hour or so to get all the bearings back in; if you do this, a good coat of grease holds them in place while you put it back together.

I also polished the little bearings on with some metal polish to a mirror finish.
I can't remember the trick I used but there is a way put the whole thing including the balls back together again without much fuss, the grease is a good tip to keep them from rolling out of place. If yours is one with the adjustment screws mounted in slanted slots, set them for the least amount of play but without any drag. You definitely want to degrease all that old gunk and dirt out of the bearing too. There may be different types of bearings depending on whether you have the overhang support on the tonearm or not.

[frenchmarky]

Damon, the Credenza needs most attention at the reproducer (no holes in diaphragm, oil its little bearings).

Most likely will need more than just oiling, I've rebuilt 5 or 6 of these orthophonics, and they all had huge problems as is, like frozen-up ball bearings and loose solder joint at the needlebar/diaphragm. I'm able to do decent rebuilds including replacing the tiny ball bearings without any real special equipment, but it is extremely tiny work that takes a little practice, a few tiny tools, and patience. Also either a visor magnifier or a desk magnifying glass. If it has bearing caps you might be able to just eyeball the bearings while pushing lightly on the needlebar, and see if it looks to be frozen or not.
But if the balls are not clean and shiny, forget about the box sounding anywhere near as good as it could.