covah
New Member
Posts: 20
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Post by covah on Mar 21, 2009 22:56:48 GMT -5
Hello. This has appeared on eBay. It has a "Dance" reproducer which has come apart. Knowing whether it can be restored will affect my bid. Thanks!
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Post by coyote on Mar 21, 2009 23:25:41 GMT -5
Any reproducer can be restored with the right parts and patience, right? Just my opinion, but I think the Dance repros are a royal PITA to restore, due to the "top" spring where the three-screwed flange is. Usually the stylus link has pulled out of the diaphragm, and since the link seems to be crimped directly into a metal piece in the "ivory" button, it's not feasible to use the original diaphragm.
The original button on the diaphragm has a hook for the "top" spring, so unless you want to forgo using that top spring, you'd have to attach some sort of hook to a new diaphragm. This Dance might have more issues than just the linkage, but if you want any spare parts, I have a Dance that I scavanged the stylus from, and don't plan to restore. It also had the "pulled out linkage" problem.
Repairing any damage to the rear pivot where the weight has come off of this one shouldn't be too bad, as unlike other DD reproducers, as you can actually get to it without the connecting tube being in the way when you remove the flange screws and top part of the reproducer.
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Post by matty on Mar 21, 2009 23:28:26 GMT -5
Do the dance reproducer linkages use metal woven through the silk, or is that just the Edisonics?
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Post by coyote on Mar 21, 2009 23:34:35 GMT -5
I've seen two, one appeared to just have the usual DD linkage, and the other one was wire-WRAPPED...almost like a tiny spring wrapped around the linkage. Very odd.
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covah
New Member
Posts: 20
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Post by covah on Mar 21, 2009 23:39:54 GMT -5
Thank you for the prompt responses! I would be sending this out to be repaired, am wondering how feasible this is even for an expert.
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Post by coyote on Mar 21, 2009 23:47:36 GMT -5
I'd like to know what experts would do with a Dance. I'm no expert, but I have two that I bought just to fiddle around with. It appears from the photo that the rear pivot screw head that holds the weight broke off. How THAT could happen is beyond me. That's an easy repair with another pivot screw. The problem for a "correct" restore is the diaphragm issues--the linkage and the spring on the other side of it. I tried various ways to re-attach a linkage to a Dance diaphragm or remove the button and transfer it, hook and all, to another diaphragm, but nothing worked well and it was all very fiddly work. I'm very curious to know what George Vollema or anyone who restores reproducers professionally would have to say about repairing the Dance diaphragm.
Just good timing with the quick reply...I happened to be posting my own reproducer question (Thanks, G'Shane!).
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Post by matty on Mar 21, 2009 23:59:08 GMT -5
If you know Steve Medved, he'd be the guy to restore a Dance reproducer.
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Post by maroongem on Mar 22, 2009 1:05:21 GMT -5
A note of caution. When buying what you perceive to be a DANCE Reproducer, ask the seller what the serial number is or if in person, check it out. True DANCE Reproducers have a spring loaded stylus AND a spring loaded diaphragm. These Reproducers will have a serial number prefaced by the letters "LD", followed by the serial number. When Edison was changing over to the New Standard (later called the Edisonic), he used up existing DANCE Reproducer bodies but the spring loaded diaphragm was deleted as found in the Edisonics. These will be found with the serial numbers prefaced by the letters "LD" but will have "NS"stamped following the serial number to designate New Standard.
Bill
Edit: As far as the wire wrapped linkages, I have rebuilt several original untouched DANCE Reproducers, and none of them had the wire incorporated with the silk linkage, so I can't attest as to when these came about.
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Post by coyote on Mar 22, 2009 13:05:34 GMT -5
Thanks for the warning about the "transition" dance reproducers. The one with the "regular" linkage has SN 2205, and the "wire-wrapped" linkage was on SN 6383. I didn't look at it too closely at the time as the linkage was pulled out of the diaphragm, but when I went to remove it from the stylus bar hook, some of the wire wrapping was stuck to it, and "unraveled" from the linkage. It's the strangest thing I've ever seen. It reminds me of the springs around the linkage in the C reproducers, just much, much finer and wrapped around the silk linkage. Sort of like a ballpoint pen spring, but finer.
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Post by MicaWyattMonster on Mar 23, 2009 21:07:48 GMT -5
To fill in a few fuzzy spots here:
DANCE reproducers are easily identifiable by the 3-screw flange between the body and the top tube. Easy.
Nextly, the Dance reproducers had a spring above the diaphragm to help keep the diaphragm from flexing from the added force of the stylus weight. In the later version, the New Standard (later coined the EDISONIC), Edison's technicians installed a THICKER diaphragm which eliminated the need for a top spring.
I always remove the top spring, because it makes the diaphragm sound DEAD or HARSH. Additionally, I replace the entire warped diaphragm with either a Greg Bogantz or a Brian Krapes version. I no longer manufacture these, because there was simply not enough call for them.
Make sure the stylus pivot pin isnt seized in the weight shoulder bosses, and also make sure that the stylus tip isn't sheared off.
Wyatt - EdisonDiamondDisc.com
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