I may be getting a jukebox

[Chad Hauris]

You might try and see who the local vending/jukebox company is...they might have knowledge of where some old jukeboxes are or even have some stored away. We came across an old jukebox operator who had a barn full of machines which they sold for $150 each. Some of them were tube machines and we bought 2 of them. They did need some work of course but had all the components to them.

Also I got a Rockola console jukebox from a vending company auction several years ago. They had a whole warehouse full of jukeboxes and were selling some complete machines for $10 each. I would have got more but only had space to haul one.

You probably don't want to get one from an antique dealer/"re-seller" as they tend to charge a premium for them.

[radiotvnut]

Today, I looked at a Jukebox that I could have bought for $40; but, I passed on it. It was an MSN brand 45 rpm box that looked to be from the late '80's. It was sitting outside under a covered overhang at an antiques mall. It was very dirty and looked to have had extreme moisture to the cabinet. There was a service date of '94 on it and it was full of country records from the early-to-mid '90's. It had a cloth speaker grille at the bottom. Above the grille, there was a glass where the mechanism could be seen. Then, the title strip area was on the top of the jukebox. The sides were made of particleboard with fake woodgrain finish. I talked to a friend, who knows more about jukeboxes than I do; and, he said these boxes were very problematic and that I did the right thing by leaving it alone. Before today, I'd never heard of an MSN branded box.

[sampson159]

i have a seeburg lpc-1 from 1963 and a rockola gp 432.the seeburg is a great unit,heavy but a good performer.the rockola was purchased from ebay and although i got it very cheap,it wasnt as advertised.did get to manually play a record,amp is good and it sounded great.the gripper unit was gone and also some other parts seemed to disappeared in shipping.the lpc-1 was also purchased from ebay.older gentleman was going to a nursing home and he had to give it up.nice unit that needed some minor work to make perfect.the rockola is from 1966 and you can see the record through a small opening in the glass.always had a juke in my home since 1976

[Chad Hauris]

Originally Posted by radiotvnut

Before today, I'd never heard of an MSN branded box.

That sounds like maybe an NSM City 2...there was one at the laundromat when I was
in college. It used a mechanism a lot like a Seeburg where the record was played vertically.

[radiotvnut]

That's it, Chad. Here's a video of one like the one I saw:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY33J9iUpJs

[ggregg]

My experience with these is that the Seeburg mechanism, while the most complex, is the most reliable in the long run and the gentlest on records, even the 50's ones. The older mechs can be set around 5 grams or maybe a little less and that won't kill your records. After about 1966, they could be adjusted to about 3 grams or just slightly more than a professional turntable. You find many that have lubrication issues (grease that turned into glue usually) but once degreased and relubed, most will pop right back and as long as you keep using them, at least once in a while, will keep running. But they are very complex. If you start putzing with them, and don't know what you are adjusting or taking apart, you can be in for big trouble and many many adjustments.

Seeburg has some amp issues but even the LPC 1, which seems to be the worst, can easily be modified to sound much better. The R from 1954 is one of the best sounding 45 jukeboxes, ever, and easily the best in it's time frame. The G from 1953 is probably the second best.

I have a tube Wurlitzer and have had very little trouble with it. It sounds good and the only mod I think I might make someday is to adapt a magnetic cartridge to it and fit a phono preamp in the box somewhere. The Seeburg's, with their Pickering magnetic cartridges, have noticably more punch.

If I had to rate the sound of jukeboxes by brand, overall, based on what I have heard, I would have to say Seeburg, AMI, Wurlitzer, Rockola. Each brand has some standouts. The AMI Stereo Round system works and sounds very good. The Seeburg R and even the G are amazing on how a mid 50's juke can sound so good.

Some solid state Seeburgs from the late 60's and early 70's, like the LS2 and 3 and UPC 1 and 2 sound really really good, rivaling good home component systems. By that time, they were using ported speaker boxes which really makes a difference. I've seen some mid 60's boxes, like the LS series and the PFEAU where the title strips were moved so you could see the entire mechanism. That is actually the only thing blocking the view of the mech. On the PFEAU, there is enough room to mount the title strips above the woofers in the front of the cabinet.

Don't know that much about NSM. It seems they came on the scene mostly after Seeburg got into bankruptcy to fill a void since for most of the eighties, Seeburg was on again, off again, then eventually off for good. Happened to Wurlitzer too and they sold to a German company. Only AMI and Rockola left standing.

[Chad Hauris]

We did the magnetic cartridge conversion on both a Wurlitzer 1900 and 2300. As the 1900 used the Cobra tonearm we had to get an arm salvaged from a Wurlitzer 3100 for it. The 2300 allowed a magnetic to bolt on in place of the Sonotone ceramic. On both of them we used a solid-state preamp and a Pickering cartridge. The difference in the sound is incredible. It will go from sounding like an old portable phonograph to almost like a modern stereo component system with a huge increase in sound quality and bass and especially converting from the Cobra will be a lot more gentle on records.

[tubetwister]

If they are wrong and you find this : A Rock-Ola President --- only one known to exist and valued at at least US$150,000 It would be a hundred well spent .