'Teen Angel' Dion Belmonts 45 vs 78 rpm 1500A Wurlitzer 'The magic brain'

[@andrewoldham1]

I do love this Wurlitzer Jukebox but they can be real trouble even at the time to Wurlitzer Engineers. I bought one a few years ago and after spending thousands of UK pounds on restoration it was forever causing issues, so much so it had to go. I now have a Seeburg M100A still on 78's which is the same issue after issue and a Wurlitzer 1015 which gives no problems at all. Great to see a video of this amazing Jukebox working. A well pressed 78 can sound so much better than a 45rpm record

[@dennissalamante6785]

Andrew Oldham Compare this to your 1949 Seeburg M100A Jukebox. It has a letter keyboard just like this Wurlitzer 1500A, and also plays 78RPM records too. By the way, I requested this song to be played on your Seeburg M100A Jukebox from 1949.

[@ronmartin4212]

This is why I always preferred Seeburg models playing sideways with just the mech rolling forward and back.Less trouble.

[@shawnsuhr]

Havent had any crunch 78's yet . Hope that dosn't happen . Mine is loaded with $ of records. I usally am there while it plays to make sure no "train wrecks" happen. It has had a few close calls but I have owned it for 25 years . I'm no pro but I know this machine well. The amp is out of an 1700 and I rebuilt it twice myself.

[@jukeboxeddie1]

The 1500 series was a black eye on Wurlitzer. Mechanism was overly complex due to its design to play both formats. It used between 14-17 micro-switches and was always going out of adjustment on location. I recently spoke to a retired Wurlitzer engineer and he said that even factory-trained technicians could not keep the 1500 running reliably. One thing to keep an eye out for is the cam follower -- becomes loose and swings out 2 trays at once from each stacker. Death to your records. Crunch!

[@pinbret]

nice video that has to be the most complicated thing Wurlitzer ever made jukebox wise ...

[@Westtoledoguy]

the 78 is so much better I think

[@vrxdical]

Westtoledoguy yep

[@keithm5224]

I think 78s sound better in any application

[@Artcurus]

The 78 sounds a lot better, BUT, there's still way too much hum. Maybe biasing or grounding? I run tubes in my mobile DJ service, and that bias is pretty damn critical, especially when you are running 100+ watts on a pair of 6550. Middle school kids have a tendency to get upset when music goes bye bye unexpectedly ;-)

[@dhelton40]

This unit needs service. When the tone arm un mutes there is a noticeable hum. This is not normal. For all the other problems with this machine, hum should not be one of them.

[@pauljames5914]

Your amplifier has a 120 cycle hum. Needs a new filter capacitor.

[@rafaelalves5121]

Isso ci é musica

[@neilforbes416]

Playing a coarse-groove 78 and a microgroove 45 with the SAME STYLUS? Obvious the stylus was for the 78, it sounded better. The 45's groove would've been severely damaged by playing with the wrong type of stylus.

[@jukeboxeddie1]

This stylus was made expressly to play both speeds for this model so no other one will work. It is a compromise all around so the fidelity is only fair.

[@neilforbes416]

+Ed, the makers have made a very poor compromise, I would think. I have a Tevion(brand) USB turntable which has a 78-speed option but the stylus is for microgrooves, another poor compromise as the 78's played on it sound harsh and tinny. Styli for 78s are as scarce as hens' teeth these days and one designed for "modern" hobbyist turntables even more rare. I guess we just have to put up with what's on offer.

[@keithm5224]

@@neilforbes416 I have a modern electronic turntable (numark) with a 78 option. You have to change out needles, you shouldn't play 78s with a microgroove needle. I have two different cartdriges and headshells for easy use

[@keithm5224]

Just go on ebay and buy a 78 stylus for whatever cartridge you have. There's plenty of options. The company that made your turntable did not expect you to play 78s with a microgroove needle

[@neilforbes416]

I'm rather wary of E-bay in that they require you to pay for your purchase by Paypal, an organisation I simply DO NOT TRUST. If E-bay used the Australia Post's "Billpay" method, it would be much easier. First, call your bank or building society to access your account for Billpay purposes(follow the prompts). Once in, the products have a code number which you type into your phone keypad, then you type in a "Biller Code", then a customer reference number and the cost of the product is debited from your bank or building society account. I use Billpay, or "B-pay" as it's actually known, to pay my monthly phone/internet invoices. It's quick and easy and done in a couple of minutes. To purchase a 3-mil stylus for 78rpms it would work thus: After entering your phone account to access for B-pay, You've found the product, 'X' brand stylus for 78rpm, the product code is '123456(hypothetical), you punch in 123456# on your phone keypad, then you're prompted to enter the biller code, which could be 543210, another hypothetical number, which is punched in as 543210#, then you're prompted for your Customer Reference Number(CRN), another hypothetical number, say, 24688642, entered as 24688642#. The product code, biller code and Customer Reference number could have any number of digits but I think the maximum may be ten digits. When you've entered all your product, biller code and CRN, you're prompted to confirm by pressing a single digit, perhaps '1' or any number. When the purchase is confirmed, you're given a receipt number, generated by your bank or building society, just scribble it on any bit of paper you have handy, job done, purchase made, and no Paypal in the middle to possibly stuff things up. DEAD SIMPLE!

[@ReelinandRockin99]

That 45 is slow

[@shawnsuhr]

yea a wee bit slow. berrings may need a good oil / Idler wheel could be slipping. amp is out of order again so currently not working :(