The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Have this irritating problem with my Amberola 50. Here is the problem:

When I play a cylinder it play good until you get to the ¼ or maybe last 1/8th of the cylinder, the. It sounds like the stylus is not in the groove and missing up and down. Sounds awful. I have swapped full motor assemblies same problem. Across the cylinder it seems the contact is not even. In other words one end of the cylinder is higher than the other. I have adjusted everything on the carriage and the reproducer lift pin. Same problem.

I am wondering if someone tampered with the mounting brackets which would set the motor higher or lower at each in the cabinet?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks everyone.

Jerry

This depends on whether it's specific cylinders or all cylinders. Since you have swapped full motor assemblies, the problem is likely the records you are playing.

Celluloid cylinders are prone to shrinkage, especially the Indestructible variety. It would not be at all unusual for part of an Indestructible to play properly and another part to have issues.

With Blue Amberols, plaster loss can contribute to the effect you are describing.

It could also be that the stylus is worn out. A worn stylus will not track properly to the bottom of the groove. Usually this problem first shows up with a kind of "echo" when you play a cylinder.

Years ago, I had this problem with my Amberola 30. My mentor and I did the following: First we checked the stylus to make sure it was good. Then we checked the lateral and up and down movement of the weight and stylus bar. There was still problem. Finally the culprit was a dirty feed screw and the half nut needed to be adjusted. This was over 20 years ago, and the machine still plays find.
Harvey Kravitz

Thanks to everyone for your help. It seems the problem is with the horn, I changed the horn spring and it seems to work better. The cylinder I was using was a Indestructible. Like the earlier post said, that can be an issue. It seems Amberola machines are finicky.

I have a Amberola 30 that was not playing well. I believe age or someone working on it stretched the spring. The horn was not floating well. I was having a hard time getting my big fingers into the gap between the horn and motor board. It seemed easier to put the bottom spring on first then lay the motor down and attach to the motor board that has the small hook on it. Mine plays better to. I had to replace the speed adjustment screw too. Tom

Sounds like you have already solved your problem, but another cause of your symptoms could be a bent mandrel shaft. If it is even a little bit out of horizontal, it can cause those symptoms.

Cliff

Correct me if I am wrong, I believe that the Amberola motor, Reproducer and horn is independent of the cabinet in that if the mounting brackets in the cabinet have been tampered with or slightly moved up or down a hair it should not make any difference as to the change in stylus contact across the entire surface of the record since horn spring causes the horn to float.

I have checked everything and something is not right with the horn. When the horn is pulled out from the reproducer to where the reproducer neck has part of it showing, the machine works perfect. The horn otherwise gets pushed forward as it travels and at the end of the cylinder is pushed up to where the needle does not make good contact with the record. The end of the horn is about 1 ¼” where is goes into the reproducer. I am wondering if someone cut the end of the horn off to get a swollen neck reproducer out?

Jerry,
Remove the horn completely from the reproducer throat (and cabinet if necessary) to eliminate any resistance on the reproducer and carriage. Play a cylinder (or two) and confirm that the cylinder(s) play well start to finish without any connection to the horn.

If the cylinders play just fine without the horn attached then it would seem to be a rational conclusion that the problem is with the horn-to-reproducer. The horn on the Amberola 30/50/75 must be able to move freely under the motor/carriage assembly so that the reproducer/carriage could care less that it is attached (to them). Presuming the horn throat is clean and lightly lubricated and the reproducer end is clean and lightly lubricated so that the reproducer-to-horn connection moves freely then I would remove the front grille and monitor the travel of the horn during play of a given cylinder. If the horn throat in any way affects the motion of the reproducer/carriage then this is your problem. Put a few thin spacers (thin fiber washers or whatever) under the top casting screw holes to slightly lift the motor assembly to allow enough clearance for the horn movement and test the results.

It's tough to diagnose without pictures so share a few if possible.

Thanks,
Doug

FellowCollector wrote:Jerry,
Remove the horn completely from the reproducer throat (and cabinet if necessary) to eliminate any resistance on the reproducer and carriage. Play a cylinder (or two) and confirm that the cylinder(s) play well start to finish without any connection to the horn.

If the cylinders play just fine without the horn attached then it would seem to be a rational conclusion that the problem is with the horn-to-reproducer. The horn on the Amberola 30/50/75 must be able to move freely under the motor/carriage assembly so that the reproducer/carriage could care less that it is attached (to them). Presuming the horn throat is clean and lightly lubricated and the reproducer end is clean and lightly lubricated so that the reproducer-to-horn connection moves freely then I would remove the front grille and monitor the travel of the horn during play of a given cylinder. If the horn throat in any way affects the motion of the reproducer/carriage then this is your problem. Put a few thin spacers (thin fiber washers or whatever) under the top casting screw holes to slightly lift the motor assembly to allow enough clearance for the horn movement and test the results.

It's tough to diagnose without pictures so share a few if possible.

Thanks,
Doug

Hey Doug:

I actually took the pin out from the horn and pushed the horn end all the way onto the reproducer neck as it should be. The machine plays perfect, it seems that the pin restricted the horn movement. The horn needs to turn quite a bit, and with the horn pin there, it caused the horn to be out of alignment and to bind. It does not really seem to need the pin.

Jerry