vinyl addict Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 Looking to rewire a Music Hall tonearm. One of the tonearm wires are broken. Anyone ever attempt it? Wondering if I can do it on my own. I'd also like to know how much wire I need. Is 12" enough, or should I buy 24". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Don't buy any. But it from me (after I make sure I still have my kit). I'll check tonight and let you know. vinyl addict 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinyl addict Posted January 2, 2017 Author Share Posted January 2, 2017 Awesome. Is the one with the sleeve? We are both talking about the 4x33? I need the clasps that attach to the cart too. Have any of those? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 On 31/12/2016 at 3:29 PM, vinyl addict said: Looking to rewire a Music Hall tonearm. One of the tonearm wires are broken. Anyone ever attempt it? Wondering if I can do it on my own. I'd also like to know how much wire I need. Is 12" enough, or should I buy 24". It very much depends how hand dexterous you are, if you do any sort of model making, small engineering or an aptitude for working on small things then it's a piece of piss but if your only skill is a 2:1 in English Literature and the misapprehension that this qualifies you with an understanding of Physics or Mechanics then it will end in absolute disaster. Also the first time I did it was a lot harder than the 25th so I would practice on a old throwaway arm if you can. If it's your first time buy a cheap old turntable and practice on that, once you've done it you'll be amazed just how good your cheap table will sound. The major worry points are: Don't cut anything off until the last part Don't forget the earth wire if your arm has one which will be fixed to the arm body after the bearings (usually the headshell or arm tube) and to the outgoing earth wire and is usually black You can use one of your old arm wires as a new earth wire but if you need to replace that then you are going to be taking the arm apart to a lesser or greater degree so you need to be sure what you are doing there Oh and don't cut anything off until the last part. Basically you attach the new cable to the old and pull it all through until it's threaded through all the way from headshell to wherever it connects to the outgoing lead, do this slowly and carefully making sure you know where the earth wire is and what it's doing. Don't cut anything off until you're at the point to make of the tags at the headshell and definitely not before you're going to make the connection to the outgoing lead. I've not done a rewire on a modern Project or Music Hall arm so I don't know how the output lead is connected to the arm wire or how it's fitted into the arm base so you may need to construct something here, the older ones had the fine wires outside of the arm and the joint was done there but if it's an in line joint that's potted into the arm base then make mechanical joints in the wires before you solder and heatshrink over the individual cores and then heatshrink again over the lot but make sure the length of the heatshrink is not too long, you will then need to fix it somehow. Once it's back in place and you are left with tails hanging out at the headshell end then you can cut to length to attach your tags but make sure you leave a loop sufficient to remake the ends 2 or possibly 3 more times, the first time you strip and cut to attach the tags you'll probably cut right through when you strip which you probably found when you attached the outgoing lead. The extra length is useful if you like to change cartridges and end up breaking the wire while doing it. A 9" or 10" kit should be sufficient if the outgoing lead is joined in or near the arm base but I always use a 12" kit as it doesn't cost a lot more, gives room for error and you can also use the excess to make headshell leads for SME type headshells I'm not sure if you want the overall sleeved and screened wire or the individual twisted cores for your arm but if you can't get the overall sleeved through your bearing housing you can always strip the outer sleeve off. If I haven't put you off having a go let me know how you get on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinyl addict Posted January 2, 2017 Author Share Posted January 2, 2017 Yikes.....sounds frightening. I may look for a local shop to do the work. That sounds awfully tedious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinyl addict Posted January 3, 2017 Author Share Posted January 3, 2017 Well, I got a quote today via email. The guy wants $250. That's gotta be the high end of the spectrum, right? I just need the labor only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 It's one of those fiddly jobs that's really easy if you can do it and really scary if you can't, so you're paying for someones time and skill to do something you can't and it's not like you can go many places to get this sort of thing done so they can charge what they like. Like I say get an old turntable from somewhere (even an old cheap belt drive DJ table that no one wants will do) and have a go, take your time with it and give it your best shot and if it goes badly wrong it's a small amount of money to risk and a good education, but if you get it right and you feel comfortable doing it then well that's a $250 job that won't cost you that ever and you will have a spare turntable that will sound way better than it's origins. Have you searched youtube to see if there are any videos on doing it? It always amazes me just how much good info there is posted there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinyl addict Posted January 5, 2017 Author Share Posted January 5, 2017 Yeah, I've searched YouTube, but no such luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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