New happy Expert Junior owner with questions

[snallast]

So now I´ve joined the lucky Expert owners, and I´m delighted!

I have 2 questions though: (I´ve read everything Expert-EMG-related on the Forum and The EMG Story, what an excellent book!)

one is: how does one "tune" this unusual soundbox? It does sound great in the bass and middle register but has very little response on the high notes.

The other question is, is there any point in thinking it might be a good idea to get some weight of the soundbox? It´s awfully heavy and half of my records (the worn ones) won´t play through before the needle is shot. Or should I simply accept this is the way it´s built?

Hakan

[Meltrope3]

Beautiful instrument, Hakan--congratulations!

As far as worn records go, you just can't play them with fibre needles--they're only made to be used on records in good condition. You'll have to use steel. Some people use steel needles with their EMG/Expert soundboxes, but many others prefer to switch to a lighter soundbox, especially a Meltrope III, when playing worn records with steel. The sound of the Meltrope III is excellent; it has a highly compliant needle bar balanced on two pairs of ball bearings.

I have a 4-spring Expert soundbox exactly like yours, and for some time I've been using it without the finger guard on the front. That saves a lot of weight, and my needles seem to wear better.

There are folks on here who know a lot more about tuning the EMG and Expert soundbox than I do, but there are a couple of basic principles to keep in mind. You can play around with the tightness of the springs, with the positioning of the points of the springs (i.e. where they contact the needle bar), and finally, you can manipulate the position of the needle bar forward or backwards.

Spring tightness: Many people agree that it's a good idea to keep the side screws as slack as possible (you want them to JUST hold the needle bar in place, and not buzz), and to have the cross screws tighter. I often leave the side screws off, or turn them to one side, and let the two cross screws do all the work.

Positioning of the spring points and positioning of the needle bar are two issues that go together, because they both concern the ability of the needle bar to pivot on top of the two pivots (one of the pivots is flat, the other is like a knife blade). You can loosen the springs (all four) and move the needle bar slightly forward and backward, then retighten the springs (always doing this gently). You'll notice that some positions of the needle bar sound better than others. What you're after is the needle bar position that gives the maximum freedom of movement to the diaphragm.

I tend to think that the needle bar does its job of pivoting best if the points of the springs are roughly on top of the pivots that the needle bar is swiveling back and forth on. But having the needle bar the correct distance forward/backward in relation to the diaphragm is probably the key parameter to keep in mind.

There is no ONE tuning that works best for all records. You want the maximum needlebar compliance the individual record will bear in order to bring out the full sonic "bloom" of the record, but you don't want too much compliance for a given record or you'll get distortion. A really slack tuning (say, loose end springs and very loose cross springs or no cross springs at all) can sound good for bringing out the latent richness of quiet recordings, but then you come to a loud record (or a loud passage on an otherwise quiet record) and suddenly you'll get a lot of distortion as the diaphragm gets overdriven.

Some people loosen the screws holding the back plate on, loosening the squeeze of the gaskets on the diaphragm, but I've never noticed any change from doing this.

It's an art, not a science, and once you start tweaking you may find it very addicting. One last point: be very gentle with the thumbscrew when changing needles. If you're not careful and use too much muscle on the thumbscrew you can easily move the needlebar out of alignment, and accidentally mess up a soundbox tuning you've spent a lot of time and care on!

Louis

[Meltrope3]

And be careful in tightening the springs to never overtighten them . Though they're chromium steel, they've often become brittle in their eighty or so years of life, and they are just about impossible to replace.

Louis

[snallast]

Thanks Louis for all the good advice. I will definitely use it and I understand that it´ll take some time to get acquainted with this machine, somehow it´s built on another principle than I´m used to. It´ll just have to take time - which is ok!

Where would I go about looking for one of those Meltrope III soundboxes? Ebay? Sounds like a good idea getting one as I´d like to be able to play all my records on this machine.

Hakan

[Meltrope3]

Meltrope III soundboxes in good condition do show up on (British) ebay about once a month or so, and they're not expensive. There's one there now that looks fine (the minor corrosion to the outer shell is fairly common and I wouldn't take it as a sign of serious abuse). http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Meltrope-111- ... 5b0debdff2

Meltrope III soundboxes were sold by themselves, but they were also produced under license as part of certain makes of gramophone such as Sonora and Decca. The Sonora Meltrope IIIs look like the one in the ebay listing above, with "Meltrope" carved out in letters around the edge, only in the middle you have the Sonora brand name. Decca also produced a very elegant chrome art deco version of the Meltrope III that was standard on some of its portables for many years. These are really beautiful! There's nothing visible on these Decca soundboxes to identify them as Meltropes, though if I remember correctly the back plate is marked "No. 3".

The tonearm flange rubber on this one looks a little rough. Mine was still quite soft but I replaced it anyway with one of the new ones that ChunnyBh (a TMF member) sells on the 'bay. Having good quality flange rubber is important for preserving your records, so the money that you'll spend on a new gasket is a good investment.

One day I plan to replace the diaphragm gasketing on mine, just on general principles, but it plays like a champ right now, with what I think is the original gasket rubber. I've squirted a little clock oil into the ball bearings that support the needlebar, just to keep everything nice and lubed. (To paraphrase an old Navy saying: If it moves, oil it! If it doesn't move, smear the joints with plumber's grease!)

The Meltrope soundboxes had some kind of licensing arrangment that enabled them to use the same elegant screw mounting found on the EMG/Expert reproducers, so everything there will look very familiar.

A site with interesting pictures of various Meltrope III soundboxes can be found here: http://www.graham-ophones.co.uk/#/decca ... 4586693284

If you look on YouTube you'll also find one or two videos of sound comparisons between the EMG/Expert soundbox and others, including the Meltrope III. These are a lot of fun! Even though YouTube isn't quite like listening to the real thing, you can still hear a lot of differences between one reproducer and another.

Louis

[emgcr]

Congratulations Hakan. I saw this instrument for sale and I have to say I have never seen one in better condition---a real beauty---at least judging by the photographs !

Louis has excellent advice and I am sure you will enjoy soundbox adjustment after initial experimentation. I wonder when the rubbers were last replaced ? It might be advisable to start out with new material throughout ? The other important aspect is to ensure that the tonearm swings very freely and easily and that there is a nil bias on the swing itself---when gently pushed in either direction, travel motion should very quickly come to a halt and not continue or reverse. You may need to wedge one side of the case to achieve such a happy---but essential---state of affairs. This will mean that the needle is resting fair and square in the bottom of the record groove without any pressure one way or the other. Undue needle wear can result if there is a bias in either direction.

A further point to check is the tracking. Is the motor original do you think ? My own Junior has a replacement which was poorly installed before I bought it and I had to make alterations to correct. Your soundbox is on the heavy side but, in general, this type plays very well indeed without wearing the needle before the end of the record but only if everything is set up correctly. I have had an occasional problem with premature wear on extremely highly modulated records but this is rare. The 4 spring Expert soundbox was top of the range and Juniors were often sold with 2 spring equivalents.

[Mr Grumpy]

Congrats Hakan,

That machine is a stunner!!

[Damfino59]

Nice Expert. The Meltrope III also works great with thorn needles.

[Orchorsol]

Congratulations Hakan! I too had seen this beautiful Junior for sale, and it's really heartening to see that it has gone to a truly appreciative home. EMGs and Experts are endlessly gratifying and fascinating creatures.

I think others have covered the ins and outs of tuning - the two pairs of springs, "holdoff" between the faces of the body, choice of gasket material, leather or rubber washers under all screw heads, and the condition of the large rubber ring in the tonearm mount (Chunny here on the TMF sells excellent replacements). Endless tweaking to be had, and yes it can make considerable differences! It's best to adopt a scientific approach - only adjust one feature at a time, maybe ⅙ or ¼ of a turn maximum, and mark or remember a datum so that the adjustment can be reset to the previous or original position. Ensure that the diaphragm/needlebar can move similarly in both directions with the same effort, i.e. is 'balanced' at the null point with the diaphragm flat. This is only what I have been shown and explored myself - there are others far more knowledgeable and talented!

[chunnybh]

Congratulations, a real beauty.
The Junior is probably the most versatile of the Expert range.
My first instincts used to be to rebuild the soundbox but I have now learned to leave them alone unless absolutely necessary. A soundbox that sounds naff on one record could bring another record to life.
The Meltrope III is a very useful soundbox. I use it to play worn records and with thorn needles it performs better than most.
To get the best out of your Junior, find some Australian laminated records and use bamboo needles, even rough looking laminates are better than the a pristine UK release.