That depends! Do you want to have it functional, or are you just asking if any of it is worth keeping? If you want it all working, you would have to find someone to take it to. At the very least the turntable will need a little mechanical attention, lubricant, probably a stylus etc. The amp and receiver will likely need some capacitors replaced and I would expect that all the pots are going to be pretty stiff, noisy and rough going. Who knows though, it might power up as is. I've had crazier things work! But it will require some degree of service/attention. If you're not attached to it other than you don't want to throw away something potentially cool, I would save as much as you want just for the hell of it. When it was time to come to terms with the fact that my old console needed more attention than I cared to invest in it, I took everything out of the cabinet, cut the front off, put it back on with hinges and turned it into an entertainment center type thing. Then I pulled the amp and kept it (it had a bunch of less common tubes that I've ended up using on repairs of British amps) and I also kept cool knobs, functional speakers, etc. and junked the rest. Magnificent Magnavox! Looks great. What's that old VHS tape lurking in the back corner?

rsmurphy wrote: Mon Dec 18, 2023 9:27 pm Are the insides to this old Magnavox console salvageable or should the entire thing get trashed? Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions!

Honestly probably not. My extended family runs a 3-generation auction company & I used to help out from time to time and those and church organs almost always just sat there unloved and unclaimed. And despite being named "hi-fi" systems, they almost never were that sound-wise (except when compared to previous iterations I suppose).

That being said, it does look like a tube chassis w/ the amplifier, if there is sentimental value, it is possible someone might be able to convert it to something usable.

I changed strings on my beat to hell Starfire and the NECK IS COMING OUT of its pocket. No breaks, it’s just coming out a mm or two on the back.

I plan to get this guitar the attention it deserves after 53 years, but I do not plan to pay for an expensive Guild Surgery right before the holidays. I need this to not explode into little pieces until March or something.

Any preventative measures I can take other than loosening the string tension?

Agreed: I wouldn’t keep that Guild under string tension if it has a failing glue joint.

Maybe one of our experienced luthiers or repair people can chime in, but I think if the neck tenon is separating from the body, a likely repair would be to clean and reglue the joint, which doesn’t seem like it would be too pricey if there’s nothing worse going on.

Re: late-50's Magnavox console

Was going to drop it off at a resale shop but was hoping it would go to an individual geeked about restoring vintage consoles. Found one! Thanks, Tom & Garth, for your replies.

rsmurphy wrote: Wed Dec 20, 2023 11:43 am Re: late-50's Magnavox console

Was going to drop it off at a resale shop but was hoping it would go to an individual geeked about restoring vintage consoles. Found one! Thanks, Tom & Garth, for your replies.

That's great to hear and I know there's folks out there that are all about these things, especially the tube ones. I might be colored based on experience w/ the auction company where I just saw SO MANY of these things that were absolutely beautiful as furniture never go to a new home.

If they're local to you, recommend they start driving an hour or two outside the city and they can have all of these they want for nearly free at estate sales/auctions. Even the tube ones end up going in the dumpster which is a shame but yeah.

This is a street-find bass that recently moved into the practice space.
I think I could probably handle straightening out the bent saddle issue -- I'm more curious about the non-functional free-spinning tuning peg (1) that I assume is toast.

Any tips on tracking down a single replacement?
It doesn't have to be perfect. There's a few single options on eBay.
Looking for low-cost or no-cost, if anybody's got an orphan that needs a new home, hmu.

Does anybody recognize this Global brand bass from 1970's?
I assume this is Japanese or Korean.

Looks fine to me!

JK. I wouldn't straighten that screw out, the threads will be fucked and it will be weakened from that bend. Just take the saddle to the hardware store once you get the screw out and find a suitable replacement. Might be metric, so be sure to check if standard sizes don't fit. As for the tuning machine, do you have a local music shop? I always take stuff like that to mine and the dude has a bucket o misfit parts. I've had a few replacement bass tuning machines come out of of there. If you go there regularly, or buy some strings or something while you're there, it will likely be very cheap or free. That's a very standard style tuner for those import basses. It might be worth replacing all the tuners if you decide to use it. I think Ping makes a direct fit replacement.

I've seen a number of those Global SG basses and played one at practices decades ago. Body is probably plywood, not that that's a bad thing. Nice and light? It will probably rip if you can set it up decent. I bet the pickups are just cheap ceramics that they put in different enclosures and used on guitar and bass. I love those. Not super bassy but throaty and bratty and wholly appropriate on a short scale garage rocker like that.

I bought one like that for peanuts this year, somehow it’s one of the best I have ever played. Get some flats on it if you can. The pickups are single coils in bucker covers, my neck one sounds like a contact mic on an upright bass, in a very good way. Super playable too.
The tuner fix may be a case of popping the cover and tightening the screw holding the post, but it’s more likely a broken tooth on the post’s gear. You may be able to use pliers on the post to turn it past the gap as a temp measure.

Just by looking at the frequency graphs - can you tell what makes the AEA N22 work so well for my reedy voice:
and what makes the AEA KU5A sound so bad?
I’m trying to learn what to look for in these. The N22 sounds flattering and the KU5A sounds like a nasal endoscopy on me.

I keep meaning to sell the KU5A for something else, as that was supposed to be my nice vocal microphone (which it can be on other people) and the N22 was supposed to be my nice guitar mic, but I have been using them in reverse.