I just want to publicly thank Mark for his skill, craftsmanship and attention to detail in bringing these classic pieces of audio history back to working order. He is a true artisan. They will now be pressed into full service as part of The Hot Jazz Society’s equipment line up playing period authentic music at events and venues up and down the country.
Hi there. I share your admiration for Mark's abilities, and duly record them here. But, may I please enquire about 'The Hot Jazz Society'? I searched online but could not find it - perhaps I did not look in the right place? But I have been a fan of (and a musician in) Hot Jazz since the 1960s. I'm now retired, but was not hitherto aware that your society existed. I would be very grateful to receive particulars, & would naturally like to join such a commendable organisation! Best regards, Norman Field.
@@bixanorak Hello Norman! I am of course fully aware of yourself. In fact, if I remember rightly, it was your demonstration of one of these that put me on the road to hunting down a pair, so thank you for bringing them to my attention. Though it took me a heck of a time to find someone like Mark who was competent enough to restore them to the desired level. We are not an actual society, it is just a name I use for my DJing escapades playing period records using period authentic equipment, thus the need for the No.11s. Please do now consider yourself an honorary member of ‘Hot Jazz Society’ All the best HJS
Just stumbled into this. I'm sitting in a small farm shop in Eastern Canada in January with a woodstove and a barn cat. Got rather involved with you rewinding the coil. Looked up to see my barn cat sitting at my shoulder watching the video. I think she liked your voice. Anyway, we enjoyed the visit.
This man is clearly beyond great at what he does. In my opinion Mark, you are an extremely gifted person in countless disciplines. The extremely high level of your attention to all of the fine, little details is what sets you apart from all of the "others". Thank very much fine sir for sharing your super-high level skill with us. You truly are AMAZING Mark! Fred
It’s amazing that you didn’t just fix the cartridges, but went the extra mile to try and keep them as original looking as possible. It’s so sad to see people just modernising old stuff and taking their charm away… I’m so glad there are people like you doing their most to maintain the essence of them!
Interesting take. If the people who made those pickups originally had listened to someone like you, they would never have made them. If you don't understand what I'm saying, it's that those pickups were a way to modernize the gramophone, taking away its charm.
Back in the 1950s, ,my dad had a couple of gramophone arms. The pickup was full of extremely fine wire. I remember dad winding the coil several times using mum's Singer Sewing Machine. It would work for a while but the coil just kept going open circuit. He solved the problem by buying a "modern" automatic turntable which he connected to an RCA radio which had an input for an electronic tone arm. It actually worked. This got me building amplifiers and speaker boxes. Ah the good old days. Mike in Oz
Hi Mark, What memories you have brought back to me. As a child of 10 in the early 50's and lots of odds and sods from the 20's and 30's I had many of the old magnetic pick-up heads to play with. My father made a radio-gram using a wind up gramophone with a magnetic head and a table top radio complete with 2.0 volt accumulator and 9v grid bias battery and 120v HT battery. That was all high tech in those days. Many thanks for an enjoyable trip down memory lane. MoK
You know, Mark, as much as you enjoy the work you do, just imagine the joy and warm hearts of the people whose "things" you fix must feel. You restore their hearts.
I know you have serious kills, but when you compared the original cloth wire to your repro wire, my jaw hit the floor. HOLY Biscuits! That was amazing.
My Dear Mark, I would love to give your parents a hug for having you as this was a very touching episode in the lively sounds of the past as if we were there. Bravo, Mate, just well done. 👍
Ladies and gentlemen the last tune at this afternoons tea dance is Victor Silvester and His Ballroom Orchestra and Meet Mister Callaghan from the 1954 film of the same name....catchy ain't it! That Mark was the most entertaining thirty five minutes I have spent watching a restoration. Excellent.
I will never have a workshop like yours, nor the skills you are demonstrating in your videos. But this is the next best thing, enjoying your adventures into repairs and rebuilds. And everything is done with a smile. Thanks Mark.
Just an amazing thing to contemplate.. those musicians of the day, almost 100 years ago were likely amazed that their music could have been recorded, reproduced and performed on gramophones in people's homes to enjoy. That we are hearing that performance on a lovingly restored device, which was then stored and distributed to people worldwide over an unimaginable global communications network.. It would seem some combination of magic and alien technology. Oh, how so much has happened over those years, and what lies ahead in the next 100?
The needle going up into the centre of the coil reveals the evolution of the design into Decca cartridges. It just needed to change to a stylus connected to an iron armature, along with a second coil and you have a stereo Decca cartridge! A Decca engineer-John Wright-bought the rights to the design when Decca stopped making them and continued to produce improved versions until he retired two years ago. I have his final two versions and very fine they are. I hope the new owner of his business will soon start up production again.
I didn't know the probe yet, it's simply brilliant. It's unbelievable how you managed to wind these delicate wires onto the roll. Your work is more exciting than a crime novel. Great, I'm really excited. Thanks for the video, it means a lot of work and takes a few hours.
I love the old stuff it reminds me of when i was a kid i liked taking things to bits to see how they worked cutting a long story short we had an old record player a stacker .11 year old me when decided to mess with it plugged in got an electric shock lessons learned
I love the engineering aspect of your job. I'm getting quite jealous of some of the kit you have and the knowledge you have on the mechanical side. Another superb job.
Another great video! Makes you realise how labour intensive the production of electronics was back in the day. The materials used were so different as well, rubber, leather, cotton, bakelite etc. The horse shoe magnet was excellent!
Since I found Mark's channel yesterday, I just cant get over his smile and loving face !! Every vdo of his is a treat to watch !! This, ofcourse is a pure Labour of Love for his craft ❤
Really?!!! Knowing how to make your own rubber, and having everything to make it! WOW! I thought I was being clever when I refurbished an old pull light (art deco). Not even close. ( I know your pain with the new, thin, cloth covered wire). Bravo.
Mark. I love your videos and approach to problem defining and solving. Keep up the good work. Happy New Year. One burning question: What is the name of the piece of music in your intro credits? It's brilliant, cheery and unique. Ideal for your theme music; just like you.
My grandpa's tube radio had a Pickup input that was enabled by pressing two of band selection buttons together and i was told it is for connecting to an external source(like a line in port) but it is the first time i see what a real pick up looks like.👍
I am absolutely baffled by Marks vast knowledge and his even greater willingness to fix what many ‘techs’ would just throw it away without a second thought!
Well done. I had to do one years ago. 3rd attempt without wire breaking. I normally wind a few turn round the magnet and flash is across a 12V battery to ensure the field is nice and strong.
Wonderfull. Thank you for allowing the record to fully play out into the exit groove. Lovely to hear a time gone by... It would have been incredible to hear it for the first time with an 'electronic' speaker.
The title "Gramophone Pick-up Restoration" sounded a bit dull, but the video was anything but. A brilliant piece of work; the attention to detail for the cable was amazing.
I thought exactly the same. Binge watched his videos and this one was nearly left over - it would be a real shame. So many details and techniques he used - unbelieveable. I'll try to remember some of them for my own projects.
We could be best friends. I just discovered your channel a couple days ago and your tech work is the level I strive for. You work on a lot of stuff I would LOVE to work on. Every time there comes a moment where I’m like “he should do this or that,” you do. Every time. You have a wonderful sense of pride and passion and as another tech geek I really appreciate it a lot.
What a patient bl0ke this man is. Great w0rk, real skill.... I was kind 0f thinking "what's the p0int" but then I realised that he's enabling every0ne t0 appreciate these hist0rical artefacts in as genuine a way as p0ssible.
I absolutely love this stuff but and Mark is a genius but I do have to point out that modern "vintage" cable is widely available. Looks period correct but is modern construction and specification.
Impressive with you sence of accuracy I enjoy watching you repairs. Thank you very much for getting old stuff alive again and sharing the knowledge to do so. Per
Oh mine god. you are Absolutely fanrastic. Really nice job. I remember seeing that type of an electric pick-up in a small radioshop in Stockholm for many years ago. Bjorn
It’s a joy to watch your handiwork, attention to detail and level of expertise in what you’re doing, Mark. This video was especially fun, since I brought down my record player from the attic during easter where its been sitting for the last 15 years to play some LP’s for my son of 8 (or ‘music thingies’ as he calls them), and I now could show him a proper 78 RPM record player also, not just 33 and 45. Thanks again, love your work!
Loved that tiny coil winding machine. Back in the dim and distant past, one of my jobs involved winding coils for transformers. My machine was a bit larger though and powered by a big three-phase motor!
You Sir are an ABSOLUTE GENIUS!!! the way you completely replaced the coiling and put everything back is very good but what really Impressed me was the attention to detail and how you even dyed the cable to an exact match to the original
have a Victor Orthophonic with the Western Electric pickup, which looks just like this one. the rubber suspension for the stylus had turned rock hard. They also used that pickup for recording onto a blank disc as well.
just bloody marvlous watching you fix up these pieces of historic technology you colour match on the chord was spot on 10/10 mark keep these videos comming.
Dear Mark. Fabulous work. I can't add any more superlatives to the rest of the comments. Your dedication is beyond reproach. Nice to see you have all the equipment to perform the restoration. Never thought I would see you working on such vintage equipment. Will be looking for more. Best regards Allan 😃
These episodes of yours, Mark, are outstanding; with all the various disciplins that you are so skillful at. A real joy to watch.😊
I just want to publicly thank Mark for his skill, craftsmanship and attention to detail in bringing these classic pieces of audio history back to working order. He is a true artisan.
They will now be pressed into full service as part of The Hot Jazz Society’s equipment line up playing period authentic music at events and venues up and down the country.
Hi there. I share your admiration for Mark's abilities, and duly record them here. But, may I please enquire about 'The Hot Jazz Society'? I searched online but could not find it - perhaps I did not look in the right place? But I have been a fan of (and a musician in) Hot Jazz since the 1960s. I'm now retired, but was not hitherto aware that your society existed. I would be very grateful to receive particulars, & would naturally like to join such a commendable organisation! Best regards, Norman Field.
@@bixanorak is the club hot if you get my drift ...
Tracking weight is horrendous. Do you really use such devices to play old shellac?
I don't!
@@bixanorak Hello Norman!
I am of course fully aware of yourself. In fact, if I remember rightly, it was your demonstration of one of these that put me on the road to hunting down a pair, so thank you for bringing them to my attention. Though it took me a heck of a time to find someone like Mark who was competent enough to restore them to the desired level.
We are not an actual society, it is just a name I use for my DJing escapades playing period records using period authentic equipment, thus the need for the No.11s.
Please do now consider yourself an honorary member of ‘Hot Jazz Society’
All the best
HJS
@@BTW... I agree. That obsolete nail and brick mechanism will destroy them.
Anyone else? I think that playing the whole song at the end, on the newly-refurbished pickup, was pure editing genius & a perfect ending to the video.
Absoloutely clever !
I couldn't agree more!!
Genius. 😊
Yep, that's the big advantage of using 100+ year old non-copyrighted music.
I had the pleasure of an azure AI advert half way through the track. 😢
Just stumbled into this. I'm sitting in a small farm shop in Eastern Canada in January with a woodstove and a barn cat. Got rather involved with you rewinding the coil. Looked up to see my
barn cat sitting at my shoulder watching the video. I think she liked your voice. Anyway, we enjoyed the visit.
This man is clearly beyond great at what he does. In my opinion Mark, you are an extremely gifted person in countless disciplines. The extremely high level of your attention to all of the fine, little details is what sets you apart from all of the "others". Thank very much fine sir for sharing your super-high level skill with us. You truly are AMAZING Mark! Fred
Yes Fred, you have absolutely right and it was a plasure to see this video how he fixt the old grammophon player! Fred
My sentiments exactly Fred...a true Labour of Love for the craft !!
I totally agree with your assessment of Mark's approach to his craft.
@@fredcommandeur8809 I agree with both of you friends. Mark is amazing Fred
It’s amazing that you didn’t just fix the cartridges, but went the extra mile to try and keep them as original looking as possible. It’s so sad to see people just modernising old stuff and taking their charm away… I’m so glad there are people like you doing their most to maintain the essence of them!
Interesting take. If the people who made those pickups originally had listened to someone like you, they would never have made them. If you don't understand what I'm saying, it's that those pickups were a way to modernize the gramophone, taking away its charm.
Back in the 1950s, ,my dad had a couple of gramophone arms. The pickup was full of extremely fine wire. I remember dad winding the coil several times using mum's Singer Sewing Machine. It would work for a while but the coil just kept going open circuit. He solved the problem by buying a "modern" automatic turntable which he connected to an RCA radio which had an input for an electronic tone arm. It actually worked. This got me building amplifiers and speaker boxes. Ah the good old days. Mike in Oz
It is so refreshing to see someone so intelligent and skilled who is modest and not arrogant.
Hi Mark, What memories you have brought back to me. As a child of 10 in the early 50's and lots of odds and sods from the 20's and 30's I had many of the old magnetic pick-up heads to play with. My father made a radio-gram using a wind up gramophone with a magnetic head and a table top radio complete with 2.0 volt accumulator and 9v grid bias battery and 120v HT battery. That was all high tech in those days. Many thanks for an enjoyable trip down memory lane. MoK
You know, Mark, as much as you enjoy the work you do, just imagine the joy and warm hearts of the people whose "things" you fix must feel. You restore their hearts.
The look on Mark's face at the end. Pure gold.
I know you have serious kills, but when you compared the original cloth wire to your repro wire, my jaw hit the floor. HOLY Biscuits! That was amazing.
This is one of my favorite episodes yet. Re-winding the coils and custom-dyed cable fabric are just over the top excellence. Brilliant work, Mark.
An incredible fix!! How you were able to keep everything in the look of the period was just magical to watch!!
My Dear Mark, I would love to give your parents a hug for having you as this was a very touching episode in the lively sounds of the past as if we were there. Bravo, Mate, just well done. 👍
Your commitment to keeping things as authentic as possibly is a joy to behold!
Ladies and gentlemen the last tune at this afternoons tea dance is Victor Silvester and His Ballroom Orchestra and Meet Mister Callaghan from the 1954 film of the same name....catchy ain't it! That Mark was the most entertaining thirty five minutes I have spent watching a restoration. Excellent.
thank you i hoped someone would mention the title i love the tune
Thank you very much sir! Instantly in love with it.
Pure “vintage” gold 🎶
I will never have a workshop like yours, nor the skills you are demonstrating in your videos. But this is the next best thing, enjoying your adventures into repairs and rebuilds. And everything is done with a smile. Thanks Mark.
Just an amazing thing to contemplate.. those musicians of the day, almost 100 years ago were likely amazed that their music could have been recorded, reproduced and performed on gramophones in people's homes to enjoy. That we are hearing that performance on a lovingly restored device, which was then stored and distributed to people worldwide over an unimaginable global communications network.. It would seem some combination of magic and alien technology. Oh, how so much has happened over those years, and what lies ahead in the next 100?
Amazing.....was very therapeutic. Didn't want it to end. You are truly an engineer at heart. Bless you.
An engineer indeed.
Brilliant to watch a chap working like a true PRO and having a bit of banter as well. Keep her lit Mark x
Marks' willingness to take on tough projects is so very admirable, as is his successful completion!
Who couldn't love Mark's knowledge, skill and attention to detail?
A very interesting video.
It works much better than I thought, that electric pickup must have been one of the first audiophile gadgets.
The needle going up into the centre of the coil reveals the evolution of the design into Decca cartridges. It just needed to change to a stylus connected to an iron armature, along with a second coil and you have a stereo Decca cartridge! A Decca engineer-John Wright-bought the rights to the design when Decca stopped making them and continued to produce improved versions until he retired two years ago. I have his final two versions and very fine they are. I hope the new owner of his business will soon start up production again.
That old 78 sounded FANTASTIC 👏👏👏👏
wow, i'm amazed at the sound it was producing. nice job.
I was just going to say the same. Amazing sound!
Love that manual coil winder! And your patience, which using such a tool must require.
I didn't know the probe yet, it's simply brilliant.
It's unbelievable how you managed to wind these delicate wires onto the roll.
Your work is more exciting than a crime novel.
Great, I'm really excited.
Thanks for the video, it means a lot of work and takes a few hours.
I love the old stuff it reminds me of when i was a kid i liked taking things to bits to see how they worked cutting a long story short we had an old record player a stacker .11 year old me when decided to mess with it plugged in got an electric shock lessons learned
Bringing the past alive. Pretty amazing!!
I love the engineering aspect of your job. I'm getting quite jealous of some of the kit you have and the knowledge you have on the mechanical side. Another superb job.
I love your dedication to detail, Mark. Even down to using a coil winder which looks to pretty well match the No 11 pickup for vintage!
Another great video! Makes you realise how labour intensive the production of electronics was back in the day. The materials used were so different as well, rubber, leather, cotton, bakelite etc. The horse shoe magnet was excellent!
Since I found Mark's channel yesterday, I just cant get over his smile and loving face !! Every vdo of his is a treat to watch !! This, ofcourse is a pure Labour of Love for his craft ❤
Absolutely!
The more I hear of this gear (as charming as it is) the more I appreciate the micro-groove LP and a half-decent hifi setup.
Really?!!! Knowing how to make your own rubber, and having everything to make it! WOW! I thought I was being clever when I refurbished an old pull light (art deco). Not even close. ( I know your pain with the new, thin, cloth covered wire).
Bravo.
This is way beyond a simple repair. Mark, you're a legend! Thank you for sharing!
perfect video :)
*more turns make for a hotter pick-up (larger electrical signal) but as the inductance increases the high freq are being attenuated.
Just a super job and your modern version of an old cable is flawless
Originality is never been compromised by MARK.
You are really genius
Coolest TH-camr Gentleman beside Mr. Duncan.
Mark.
I love your videos and approach to problem defining and solving.
Keep up the good work.
Happy New Year.
One burning question:
What is the name of the piece of music in your intro credits?
It's brilliant, cheery and unique. Ideal for your theme music; just like you.
My grandpa's tube radio had a Pickup input that was enabled by pressing two of band selection buttons together and i was told it is for connecting to an external source(like a line in port) but it is the first time i see what a real pick up looks like.👍
35 mins of pure satisfaction! Thank you for your time and effort and keep on the good work!
one of my favourite watches, so authentic to detail. what a satisfying project from start to finish
Mark, you are truly a craftsman! love your work, thank you :)
Well done that man!
And thanks for letting that nice bit of music play out Mark, nice finishing touch.👍👍
90 years ago a whole factory of workers put those pickups together and you did all by yourself! well done sir! now the scratchie records are louder!
I am absolutely baffled by Marks vast knowledge and his even greater willingness to fix what many ‘techs’ would just throw it away without a second thought!
During my RAF trade training I spent many hours at RAF Cosford looming cables using thread and beeswax.......ah happy days
I love how you have all the tools and equipment to do all of these projects.
@Maveric exactly.
Amazing work again, Mark! A true craftsman.
A most talented and likeable chap.Well done Mark!
Absolutely BRILLIANT 😄 And what a great surprise at the end. It actually sounded bloody good, 78 rpm must allow plenty of treble to come through.
Very good Mr. Mark. 👍
Ah Sharps Doom Bar! Made very close to me here in Kernow. Excellent choice Sir!
Gotta say, the resulting pickup sounds REALLY good. Bravo to you and to the original engineers!
Hey Mark, seen a lot of your videos and I`m really impressed of your skills and problem solving !
Keep going, you are one of the good youtubers !!!
Many thanks, Mark, for another totally enjoyable video. What amazed me was how good the sound was from that damaged 78. Extraordinary!
Ain't it?😅
You are brilliant at what you do, Mark.
You are good. Much more patience than I can usually muster.
Well done. I had to do one years ago. 3rd attempt without wire breaking. I normally wind a few turn round the magnet and flash is across a 12V battery to ensure the field is nice and strong.
Wonderfull. Thank you for allowing the record to fully play out into the exit groove. Lovely to hear a time gone by... It would have been incredible to hear it for the first time with an 'electronic' speaker.
The title "Gramophone Pick-up Restoration" sounded a bit dull, but the video was anything but. A brilliant piece of work; the attention to detail for the cable was amazing.
I thought exactly the same. Binge watched his videos and this one was nearly left over - it would be a real shame. So many details and techniques he used - unbelieveable. I'll try to remember some of them for my own projects.
Wow unreal i cant think of anyone who dose a restore like mark salut mark
We could be best friends. I just discovered your channel a couple days ago and your tech work is the level I strive for. You work on a lot of stuff I would LOVE to work on.
Every time there comes a moment where I’m like “he should do this or that,” you do. Every time. You have a wonderful sense of pride and passion and as another tech geek I really appreciate it a lot.
Absolutely! Well said.
What a patient bl0ke this man is. Great w0rk, real skill.... I was kind 0f thinking "what's the p0int" but then I realised that he's enabling every0ne t0 appreciate these hist0rical artefacts in as genuine a way as p0ssible.
I absolutely love this stuff but and Mark is a genius but I do have to point out that modern "vintage" cable is widely available. Looks period correct but is modern construction and specification.
@15:08 Nice use of "compromised". Had a James Bond feel to it.
Your videos always put a smile of joy on my face. Thank you Mark !
Brilliant sounding. You're not only a fixer, you're a restorer, lad.
Fantastic how Mark Mends. You sir are amazing. you just restored a part of history, and in this disposable world that’s truly a treasure.
As they used to say ,yow cor beat it our kid, super videos Mark showing superb skills and application !
Ok Mark i loved all what you repair, you its a genius for that, thank you.
Bravo, great workmanship and entertainment.
mark you had a challenge winding those coils with very fine wire and dye the cable sleeving well done
The recording of the orchestra was quite good. You could hear every instrument distinctly !
Impressive with you sence of accuracy I enjoy watching you repairs. Thank you very much for getting old stuff alive again and sharing the knowledge to do so. Per
Outstanding! You sir are a craftsman. Respect.
Now all you need to do is get hold of a lot of old 78s and record them into MP3 files. Well done Bob the Builder
Mark, That was a great, just great. I hope they end up in a museum. Thank you for going to that trouble - from me and future generations.
Oh mine god. you are Absolutely fanrastic. Really nice job.
I remember seeing that type of an electric pick-up in a small radioshop in Stockholm for many years ago.
Bjorn
It’s a joy to watch your handiwork, attention to detail and level of expertise in what you’re doing, Mark. This video was especially fun, since I brought down my record player from the attic during easter where its been sitting for the last 15 years to play some LP’s for my son of 8 (or ‘music thingies’ as he calls them), and I now could show him a proper 78 RPM record player also, not just 33 and 45. Thanks again, love your work!
Loved that tiny coil winding machine.
Back in the dim and distant past, one of my jobs involved winding coils for transformers.
My machine was a bit larger though and powered by a big three-phase motor!
You Sir are an ABSOLUTE GENIUS!!! the way you completely replaced the coiling and put everything back is very good but what really Impressed me was the attention to detail and how you even dyed the cable to an exact match to the original
Lovely restoration, you had some patience rewinding that coil! Can't believe how great the 78 sounded through the pickup.
Another brill video Mark,a brown pinstripe suit , trilby and a mustache would have topped it off 😊👍
nice record!!!!!!!!! Like>>> billy vaughn, raunchy stereo ( when I was young....)
Mark, your workmanship and attention to detail is just superb. I am very impressed with what you do and how you do it!
'kin 'ell, is there anything you can't turn your hand to Mark, that was beautiful workmanship, well done mate.
This is my most favourite video of yours Mark. The ending was beautiful 🥹
have a Victor Orthophonic with the Western Electric pickup, which looks just like this one. the rubber suspension for the stylus had turned rock hard. They also used that pickup for recording onto a blank disc as well.
just bloody marvlous watching you fix up these pieces of historic technology you colour match on the chord was spot on 10/10 mark keep these videos comming.
Dear Mark. Fabulous work. I can't add any more superlatives to the rest of the comments. Your dedication is beyond reproach. Nice to see you have all the equipment to perform the restoration. Never thought I would see you working on such vintage equipment. Will be looking for more.
Best regards Allan 😃
Astonishing attention to detail - those cables... 😲
The end result was fantastic! The sound quality was amazingly far better than the standard needle affair. Great job!👏👏👍👍
Crikey Mark - that is out of this world, what a genius I am truly impressed
Love the attention to detail, It makes all the difference