The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I am having a problem with my Aretino front mount reproducer rebuild. I rebuilt it, but the sound is so low I can barely hear it playing. I will list what I did, exactly what I did and any help as to what's wrong will be greatly appreciated.
First, I disassembled the reproducer, very easy.
under the diaphragm was a metal washer looking thing, huge, same size as the reproducer itself. You can see it in the before picture under the diaphragm.....

I got a new diaphragm and outer locking ring, painted the diaphragm to match the horn, let it dry for a week...

Put the new diaphragm on the ''washer'' and installed the outer lock ring...

installed the needle bar with the 2 side adjustment screws...
Done!
when I installed the needle bar I just rested it against the diaphragm and didn't wax it... thinking maybe that's a problem...

Just a note, record used plays loud and crisp on other phonographs, so I know it's not that..

In conclusion, I may feel the metal washer or the not waxing may be what's wrong????

I think the needle bar needs to be waxed. Also, make sure the needle bar is tight against the diaphragm. Check to see if the needle bar screws are tight against the housing. Make sure you have the right thickness of gaskets. Let us know how it works.
Harvey Kravitz

Did it play any louder before you rebuilt it ?


Seeing that automotive-type internal-snap ring suggests that someone before you worked on this, and made-do as best they could... same goes for the metal washer under the mica diaphragm.


I am not familiar with Aretino machines or reproducers, but with any acoustic talking machine, they perform best with an air-tight connection from the horn-side of the diaphragm on-wards to the flaring bell of the horn. The diaphragm is typically sealed to the reproducer body with either rubber tubing, rubber rings, bees-wax, or waxed-paper rings...

I do not see any sealing medium in the "before" picture, and did not notice any mention of it in your proceedure ?


Try this: remove the reproducer from the machine, and putting your mouth to the horn-connector part of the reproducer, try gently puffing, then drawing against the reproducer - if properly sealed, you should not be able to move a continuous stream of air through it; once you exhaust or pressurize the area inside the reproducer cavity, you should feel resistance.

Hopefully an Aretino expert will rise to the occasion...

De Soto Frank wrote:Try this: remove the reproducer from the machine, and putting your mouth to the horn-connector part of the reproducer, try gently puffing, then drawing against the reproducer - if properly sealed, you should not be able to move a continuous stream of air through it; once you exhaust or pressurize the area inside the reproducer cavity, you should feel resistance.

Hopefully an Aretino expert will rise to the occasion...

On my Exhibition, the diaphragm will deflect in and out when breath/suction is so applied, as Frank described. You can perhaps more readily see this "pumping" action if you stand before a mirror while so doing. I use the bathroom mirror on the medicine cabinet for this purpose; also, the light is good there.

I'm no Aretino (or any other!) expert, but my suspicion was aroused by your statement that you painted the diaphragm. Was the diaphragm ever painted, i.e., did it leave the factory painted, or not? Could it be that the paint layer is impeding the vibratory capability of the diaphragm? This would be much like putting a finger tip on a mica diaphragm and/or needle bar: reduced vibration = muted sound, but in this case the paint would affect the entire surface of the diaphragm, not just one area of it. Just a thought....

The reproducer played low and very distorted prior to rebuild. There are a lot of very good tips, but prior to
trying them I will make a before video tomorrow and we'll go from there!! The diaphragms came painted from the factory.

My bet is air-leakage between the diaphragm and the body.

I did not read anything about gaskets. What did you use? I don't think you need that old retaining ring thing. It has been a long time since I did that run of repro reproducers and I am not sure what I used for gaskets. If I remember right, I used some flat stuff cut down from something like a Diamond Disc reproducer and a piece of regular white gasket tubing. I can see if I have any of them left and see what I did.

Make sure you have the needle bar pressed against the diaphragm. Do you have a nice tight fit on the horn?

The paint looks good on the diaphragm!
Dave

Another thought: Is the diaphragm touching the body of the reproducer? It may need to be trimmed to make sure it is not.
Dave

The pivots for the needle bar should only be tight enough to prevent rattling. You don't cinch them tight.