Vitaphone Upright, coming home on Friday, any advice?

[startgroove]

So, finally got around to picture taking today. Here are several views of our Model 12 Vitaphone. Would be glad to answer your questions about the tone arm. Cheers, Russie

[BillH_NJ]

Yes, the arm looks very similar to the one on my 75. I think there were at least a couple of different designs over the couple of years that Vitaphone was in business. In your photo it looks like it is set up for vertical cut discs. The thread is looped over the hook on the side post to pull horizontally to play lateral cut records. Apparently the very shallow angle between the needle and the surface of the record was supposed to be an advantage.

[marcapra]

I just realized that I was confusing Vitaphone with Vitanola! So many off brands to remember!

[startgroove]

Bill, here is a pic showing the string attached to the hook in order to play lateral recordings. I note that the wooden beam stays aligned with the armature, while on yours it seems to be at an odd angle. Hope this helps. Cheers, Russie

[BillH_NJ]

Thanks. What keeps it aligned, since the tension is to one side and the arm pivots within the armature at the needle end?

[startgroove]

It looks like the loop, which attaches to the center of the diaphragm, is short; about ⅜ to ½ inch long. That keeps the beam from moving off center too much. The photo below shows a close up of the loop. Cheers, Russie

[BillH_NJ]

It still seems that the arm moves off center on mine. Maybe there is too much tension on the line going to the coil spring under the motorboard? If anything the sound is more muffled for lateral cut records when the line is looped over the side hook.

[Django]

Thank you for all of the replies. I haven’t done anything to it yet. The tone arm on mine is different than the others that I have see, (weighted full length arm rather than the weight at one end). Pretty cool little upright, (only 17” wide).

[dzavracky]

What was the advantage of having the diaphragm so far away from the needle/stylus?

[startgroove]

One advantage/disadvantage is that it muffles the high frequencies, thereby preventing the annoying background hiss, especially from acoustic recordings, from being heard. Unfortunately, it also muffles the higher frequency musical tones. There is also the rumor that it eliminated any claims of patent infringement. Another small advantage is that the undesired sound coming off of the exposed side of the reproducer diaphragm is directed downward instead of outward toward the listening area.