If there's enough demand for 3d printed BSR single-play 'stub' spindles... I do in fact have a 3D file of one. It might not be an exact copy, but it would be usable in both full-size and 'mini' BSR changers. A couple of caveats, though. It'd probably be the most economical if you have your own 3D printer. Getting a single one made by a 3D print house like Shapeways would probably be similar in expense to finding an original. And since they're 3D printed, there is a slight texture. The originals were molded and fairly smooth. If someone wanted to buy multiples, it would be less expensive per item. They would be printed on a plastic tree (like the parts of a model airplane).
I know you've demonstrated the surprisingly good sound quality of 78 rpm records before, but the 1939 shellac record you played here had a sound that is hard to describe--it's like you are actually there in the recording session. Maybe just due to very little reverb, the acoustic treatments applied to the walls or something--I dunno, but it sounded warm and pleasant, even with all the brass instruments.
Do you remember the tone arms with a flip stylus? 78 on one end and 33/45 on the other? For 78s the ceramic stylus that weighs a ton is ok because the 1/4" thick shellac records were made super hard! But a magnetic cartridge (with counterweight) is needed for the soft vinyl 33s and 45s. Radio Shack used to sell a plug-in preamp with 4 RCA jacks, 2 input and 2 output.
That 78 sounds amazing wow!!!!! There's something surreal about hearing recorded music sound that good from back then even though there are plenty of examples.
If you look closely at the edge and the hub of the record, you will notice that they are raised. This is a hold over of record changer days so the grooves sit up off of each other and WILL NOT damage each other. The first flexi disc I ever recall. was when I was in Kindergarten or grade one, and everyone got a flexi disc of "The Sound of Music". I thought that it was the neatest thing When I got my first BSR turn table, it was locked up tight, so the vendor gave it to me for $5. I had to clean and lube EVERYTHING and get a new needle...
Hello to Jerry King ,I saw the VWestlife vid again cause his videos are fantastic but I did not hear how he said the lp's will scratch each other ,I have several changers 2 BSR's 2 Garrards one dual cause I got tired of getting upeverytime I listened to records I grew up with the BSR ,I used to believe that to but i have these changers and trying them out I bought several used records to test the theory out so far I have not seen anymore scuffs or scratches sinc e i been testing them the only way they scratch is when handling them my father was never taught the proper way to handle records nobody knew in my day ,i have been carefull when i play the other sides just like an audiophile is carefull i to am c arefull so far 2 years and only one srcatch cause i was moving by record player and hit tonearm by accident my bad but sdo far so good JRo
I used to have a turntable similar as my first and it had all the speeds as well. A bit longer. I am surprised that shellac record didn't melt from all the kissing.
I love this thing and combined with the all in one it becomes a really neat, space saving music system. I see all the bad publicity BSR gets but just watching that thing working like some clever automaton is a pleasure. My mom had a Marconiphone stereo with one of these mini changers when I grew up in the 70s. It was the only record player I had access to until I was 12 and got my own. It played all of my mom's easy listening, all of my early kid's records and then as I got older, all of my rock and pop music. I never questioned its ability or sound quality. It was always there ready to do its job and never once needed fixing other than the occasional stylus change. I have much better quality gear these days but I'll never look down on these clever little machines!
They actually did make deluxe minichangers. My Panasonic RD-7683 uses a C-138R which adds a cue lever and the ability to set the overarm parallel to the width of the deck so you can place a record properly in single play mode. The C-124 and C-127R can also do this.
My recollection is that some LP box sets had the sides configured for stacking, so the first record had "part 1" on the first side; the second record had "part 2" on its side 1, etc. Then, when all the first sides had played, you would flip the whole stack over to hear the rest of the "parts." Also, the records in these sets had a slightly raised outer ridge (unlike the 45s with the raised centers) to protect the grooves. Anyway, this is what I remember from my 70s childhood, but I also could have dreamed it. It essentially all seems like a fading dream now.
Changers originated during the 78 rpm era. Classical music recordings were sold as multi-disc albums, and many were configured for stacking on changers. From the 1950s through 1970s, some classical music LP box sets were also configured for changers. Here's an interesting bit of trivia: classical LP box sets from The Decca Record Company ("Decca") were normally issued in single-play configuration, i.e. the assumption that the listener was using a single-disc turntable. The same titles prepared for release in the US and Canada by their affiliate, London Records ("Decca/London") were configured for stacking on record changers! From my own LP collection, the 1973 London release on 3 LPs of the Prokofiev Romeo & Juliet ballet score (with truly awesome sound quality) is in record-changer configuration! This makes it awkward when playing one-disc-at-a-time on a single-disc turntable.
They only usually sound "scratchy" because they've been played so many times with a steel needle. If you get one that has hardly been played, then it will (obviously) sound like new. I'm 71, so I remember in the '50s how they sounded when we bought them. They were, of course, our latest pop records.
Great changer. BSR really knew how to make a record player. I remember being very excited getting the brand new BSR C138R when it came out but this mini changer is stunning. The audio quality knocks it out of the park, the stereo separation is amazing.
LPs were also designed for stacking. That's why they have thicker rims and centers too. I think the first time LPs were pressed like that was with GRUVE GARD system, arround 1954 if I'm not wrong. Correct me if I am, please.
With how crazy the world is becoming lately, it's nice to get this warm, cozy, nostalgic feeling when watching you talk about old tech. Very appreciated.
I used to have a BSR mini changer (branded as a Montgomery Ward Airline)…. it wasn’t too bad for what it really was (though I got rid of it before I moved back in 2014). Thanks again for another entertaining and informative video!
I had a Masterwork that had a minichanger with auto size selection. I also had a Panasonic RD-7673 with a minichanger. Currently, I won a Decca with a minichanger which will need work for the auto size selection on the minichanger. I am also bidding on a Panasonic with a C-138R which I think looks pretty cool and I plan to install a Shure SC35C cartridge on it.
This is essentially the same turntable that's in my Emerson portable record player, which uses a BSR supplied unit. The speed selector switch is almost identical.
This BSR Mini-Changer was also sold by Radio Shack as the Realistic Modulaire Mini-Changer. I am very familiar with this, as my kind father bought me a brand-new Realistic Modulaire stereo system (FM/AM receiver, matching bookshelf speakers, and the optional Mini-Changer) for a Christmas present in 1969. Good memories! I didn't really exploit the record-changing capabilities as much as you did. FYI the company's formal name was Birmingham Sound Reproducers, founded in 1932. There's a fairly thorough Wikipedia article on the company. It seems BSR's production peaked in 1977. Eight years later, BSR disappeared as a company. Japanese turntable manufacturers became hyper-competitive, consumers lost interest in record changers and preferred single-disc turntables, and the emergence of other recorded formats were too much for BSR to overcome.
11:53 I never appreciated those single-play spindles one bit, especially when there was no provision for storing either in the base (or "plinth" as they say over there). One spindle or the other often gets lost and more often than not it's the hard-to-replace stacking spindle that ends up missing. Someone should have designed a stacking spindle with a setting that lets you slide the record over it easily, for those who can't get the hang of guiding the record over the shelf.
Some manufacturers provided a small tray at the rear or side of the changer mechanism to store the spindles. Not very common though. My solution way 'back when was to have a container to store the smaller items. A plastic hobby organizer (with a lid) served very well.
Great review, I've always found these record changers interesting. I'm surprised that a 2nd record never seems to fall down at the same time. On that Bermuda Holiday Island Cruise record at the end of the video, the bass is really out of tune during the repetitive ending.
That spring in the tonearm brings back memories. We were playing a record on a BSR deck and noticed the record appeared to be changing colour as it played. The spring had fallen off completely giving a tracking force in the tens of grams !
For my high school graduation in 1983, I got a Zenith 3-in-1 system with radio, tape and record player. The record player was a BSR and it had the 78 rpm speed yet. The first record I played on it was the one you had here, Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf".
The Electrohome Apollo had the same BSR mini changer. You could use sandpaper on the motor shaft to bring the speed down a bit, that's what I did... just don't sand too far because I know a guy who did that and ruined it lol. As cheap as these things are though, they're good reliable changers that are easy to fix, and that's a pretty big upside honestly lol, also nice "easter egg" with the location :P
I’ve actually discovered an easier solution myself that doesn’t involve filing it down. Just raise the idler wheel height so only a small portion of the wheel is touching each step. All you have to do is turn the flathead screw. I forgot if it was clockwise or counter, as I did this a while back
Just for info : The original model of this BSR mini changer judged the size automatically by the use of a white pop up dimple on the RHS of the TT. When it remained raised it knew it was a 7", when pushed down it recognized a 10" or when depressed in conjunction with a trip arm next to the back of the overarm it knew it was 12". An amazing set up but the white pop up nipple was prone to failure over time, pity :(
It's odd how they chose a rip off of the V-M TrioMatic for their mini changers over their own Magidisk system that was used on the full sized BSR changers. Magidisk was far superior. Allowed randomly mixed stacks, and never failed to accurately index the records.
That's the AA50. BSR got into trouble about that sensor idea because it wasn't theirs! There was a full size version too, the AA47. They can be a bit harder to work on than the usual BSRs as the sensor tends to stick with hard grease and is tricky to access.
I had thought that Panasonic made its own mini-changers, though I remember seeing them a little later than 1970 and they might have been either made in Japan under license, or custom made by BSR. They had a slightly different record size sensing system than what BSR used on its intermixing changers (this being a simpler non-intermix model). They also had a surprisingly substantial cast metal platter. I've read that Panasonic also made BSR-like full-sized changers in the 1980s after BSR had started to run into financial trouble.
On a history of BSR website there are publicity pictures of a large batch of BSR changers setting out on a journey to Japan via the Trans-Siberian Railway. Of course once the Japanese had learnt how to make their own BSR was doomed. p.s. On a similar subject there Were Sony record players which were factory fitted with Garrard decks.
Totally blown away about the sound of that 78. Even on these lousy tv speakers, the sound is kinda jaw dropping. What's even weirder is that I swear I heard this song not that long ago in another video.
Thanks for this video. It's always great to see old technology functioning just the way it was designed to when new. I have several Garrard changers of various vintages that are working properly, and they are well designed and fun to use, if not the best way to play records. For those of you surprised by the sound of that 78, I can assure you that there are superb sounding electrically recorded 78's from the late '20's onwards. If you think it sounds good on a BSR changer, listen to it on a high quality turntable with a better stylus and proper equalization!
I received that all-in-one as a gift, new, in 1981 for my dorm room. Had to buy an 8-track tape, just to experience playing one, since I never had before, and it was a dying format by then. I also recorded a few friends' 8-track tapes to the cassette player/recorder. The resulting quality was.... unsurprisingly, not great. ;)
This looks and functions very similar to one I have. I love mine, it's a General Electric CA800H record changer. It doesn't have 16 rpm, and the woodgrain is fake, but it's got the same size footprint, same type of cover, and even the tone arm clips in the same way. Mine has a metal platter. I use it exclusively for 78 RPM, and sounds about the same as yours. Still use my Sanyo TP-1020 direct drive for 33 and 45.
Interesting point. For many years, most US-branded changers were made by Voice of Music. From the mid '60s into the '70s, BSR became an extremely fierce competitor and swiped nearly all of the economy-class record changer market from VM.
Nice setup... I have a Panasonic rd7673d, very similar in design to yours, perhaps a little different in the tonearm and cartridge. It's my main driver for records!
“Listening to music expert anything will damage your records” that is so true, according to vinyl fanatic, you should basically just look at them, while they were clearly designed as consumable objects
My parents used to own a restaurant in the 80s. They used a record changer for background music, sometimes a record would spend weeks or months in the stack, being played several times every night. I don't remember any record having taken any visible or audible damage to talk about from this.
@@jondonnelly3 Two problems with that: 1- "digital" is like the anti-christ for pure analogue lovers; 2- playing a record is a ritual, intfinitely more profund than pressing play on a digital player; you would spoil the sacrality of the whole process.
I have the same BSR mini changer. I bought it about 30 years ago to transfer my 78rpm collection to cassette tapes. I use the lineout from the phono plugged directly into the mic jack on the cassette deck, it works great.
Also, BSR did make 3 deluxe minichanger models - the C-124, the revised C-127 and C-138 (C-127R and C-138R, respectively), which adds a cue lever and the ability to move the overarm out of the way so that it is parallel to the width of the minichanger so it doesn't get in the way when using it as a single-play semi-automatic. The Panasonic RD-7683 uses the C-138R, which is worth taking a look at if you want to compare the deluxe minichanger to the standard minichanger (I posted a short of my RD-7683). Mine seems to run at the correct speed instead of the usual 5% speedup.
I'm not sure what stylus version Pfanstiehl is basing their 273 stylus on (seems to be the SC5 stylus, specifically), but officially, the BSR C1 cartridge with the ST3 or ST4 stylus is designed to track between 2g to 3g. If you're able to find the correct ST3 or ST4 stylus, you can lower your tracking force to 2.5g (this is what my BSR C1ST3 cartridge is set to track at, with the proper ST3 stylus - it was original to my Panasonic RD-7703 but I am using it with the C116 that I converted into a C141 that is on my Lear Jet console stereo).
Early LPS did scuff against each other because they were dead flat like 78's had been. By 1960 if not earlier the industry had adopted a change in profile shape which at least helped with the problem. The label areas were raised like with 45's, and the edges of the disc were raised as well; the stylus rode somewhat "downhill" into the first music groove. RCA Victor called it "Gruve-Gard" and Capitol called it the "T-Rim." Capitol/EMI was, I believe, the only company that pressed those 45's with the notched collar around the label. They took over manufacturing for Warner Bros. in the late 70's and suddenly Warner 45's had the same collars. I even have a Bell 45 pressed in France by EMI Pathe' that has the collar.
@@vwestlife What a great find! Thanks for posting! I have a Sears compact stereo with a BSR changer similar to yours, except the control knobs are a little different. What height is the 45 adapter you are using? I got my changer second hand without one, and tried a flat BSR adapter I had on hand; it fits but won't drop the records so I suspect it's the wrong height.
By the way, the reason Warner Bros. switched their manufacturing to Capitol was that they had used CBS's plants since they started the label in the late 50's, but by the 70's WB was outselling CBS's Columbia; and CBS record boss Walter Yetnikoff himself ordered his factories to "slow-walk" Warner's orders. Warner found themselves getting short and late shipments. Capitol had pressing capacity to spare, so WB switched their manufacturing to them.
Panasonic made a Mini receiver that perfectly matched the dimensions of the base of that changer. I used to have both (separate garage sale finds) around 2003 when my parents made me get rid of a fair portion of my stereo collection in a move. Some LPs are made to be changer safe like 45's. In the 50's RCA had a system (I forget the name but I have a 10 LP Glenn Miller collection with it) where they made BOTH the center label and the outer rim dead wax thicker than the playing groove portions to protect it. There were also changers designed to minimize or eliminate record scraping during the change cycle....Glaser Steers made a variety of changers for various companies based on their excellent GS77 mechanism (you could even build your own if you bought the Heathkit version) that would fully stop the platter, drop the record and tone arm, then resume rotation for playback. Many consider them to be among the best and gentlest changers made (especially for the early 60s) and I'm quite fond of mine. They probably would have kept making them that way, but GE bought them then cheapened that feature out of existence...Back in the 60's GE would do OBNOXIOUS things in the name of cost savings such as not using a CRT socket on their TVs, but instead only buying the metal clips from one and plugging the individual wires onto the pins with nothing to locate them if you ever needed to remove them and connect a tester, making a FP twist lock capacitor a structural element by clamping other parts to the top end, etc.
There's also an MCS (Modular Component Systems -- J.C. Penney's electronics brand) record changer that uses a corkscrew to very gently and gradually lower each record.
Why don’t companies make record changers anymore despite vinyl records being popular again? I know because of turntable companies like Crosley use cheap components, and the old components from BSR were just too expensive to manufacture anymore.
@ 2:58 -- Wow I haven't heard that particular rumble for 40 years. This was the first stereo phono I owned as a kid and it has a warm spot in my heart, even if a ceramic cart doesn't have a warm sound. ;-) PS When I got my first belt-drive / mag cart turntable I thought I had gone to heaven.
Your unit in particular is from at least 1972 due to the newer Panasonic logo that was introduced in 1971. I had an RD-7703 with the older Panasonic logo that was made as late as 1972. I think around 1973 was when most of the older logo gear was out of their inventory. I also had an RD-7673 minichanger with the older Panasonic logo as well. On another note, my Hanimex has this weird quirk where I need to press "SLEEP' to turn mine on, and when it decides to randomly shut off, i have to press "SNOOZE" to put it back on.
Yep! This has to be a later production from about 1972 since it had the modern Panasonic logo. Similar models used the old Panasonic logo before 1972. Since he mentioned from 1970, it supposed to have the old Panasonic logo on there.
The ridge around the outer edge of the label was an EMI invention that was adopted in Britain by the British arms of RCA, Warner, CBS and MCA as well as the indigenous brands, PYE and Decca. In America, Capitol adopted the idea because Capitol was/is a *SUBSIDIARY* of EMI(Subsidiary being the equivalent of an infant toddler in a family).
"And, yes, it's playing 2% too fast, that's normal for these." I was _just_ thinking to myself, "Man, that sounds about 1.9%, maybe 2% fast." Good to hear it confirmed.
Used to have a similar Panasonic changer back in the mid-90s. 'Converted' it to a magnetic cartridge player. Was a later release without the 16 speed. Eventually got hold of a Technics turntable. Wish we'd known ceramic cartridges were (more or less) line level as we now have a few old boomboxes we could've enjoys hooking a record player to...
Hi VWestlife I have one of those BSR mini changers I won at a local auction however I can't use it as its a US model (110v) and here in England we are 240v :/ Would you be interested in it ? Long as you cover postage its yours,I don't want anything for it
I had a record changer just like this one but it was by General Electric. My grandmother gave it to me it was my late uncle's. it was a great little record player. Where are used to live at my mom's house we had a mobile home and moisture got in through the roof leaking the record changer was in the closet. It seized the platter to the spindle I tried getting it to move and it shattered like glass. They are really nice little record players. Mine had only three speed 33 and 1/3, 45, 78
The full autochanger mini changer was UA50 or AA50 having a metal turntable and rubber mat these and the trims and colour light grey black over arm and black pickup arm either white or black leavers for speed and on /off reject. around 1967 - 69 having BSR sx1H or mono X3M yellow
Hi, VWestlife. I don't know if you'll see this or not, but an old-school sort of record player you should check out is any of the Califone record players. They were used in schools. They played 16, 33 1/3, 45, and 78 RPM records with a flippable LP/78 stylus. A seemingly popular model is the 1430k. It's a solid-state unit that takes an Astatic 89t type cartridge.
I hade a Montgomery Ward Airline "Bookshelf" stereo with that same TT, but the tone arm was a metal tube with a plastic base housing and pickup head. The stereo had an AM/FM radio and I/O jacks for a tape deck and...headphones! I got it for Christmas in 1972. I was 11 and thought that stereo was the bomb! Had up until my HS years.
I like 👍 your stereo, which is hardly in the picture. Although this record player is a great component, I like 👍 the wood 🪵 grain of both. Depending on what available speeds are on this record player, ya might be able to play transcription records, which are a 16, on the speed selector switch. Your friend, Jeff.
I love how this stuff was manufactured to last: not to be used, break, tossed and repurchased. The entire electronics industry, with very few exceptions has been intentionally moving in this direction and I hate it. (All the whole they virtue-post about being "green") I did have a Phillips 3disc changer that lasted a solid 20+ years before it crapped out. Was sad that it finally broken. First, some filtering capacitors went out, but it just caused some odd little glitches. Eventually one of the major logic control chips bit the bullet, and the thing went down for the count. I help onto it, but sadly it was beyond my arts to restore it.
7:47 That's a relaxing part where the sounds is a bit quiet + some vocals and I hear a crackling noises from the vinyl record. It feels like I'm back to the 30s-40s again.
My 1972 Electrophonic component system I purchased as my college dorm system came with the alternate BSR MINI. It served well, didn't damage the records I still have and enjoy with my larger more high end system. Similar features but with the metal tone arm and platter. In ways, I miss it!
That 78 playback segment really shows how good they can sound if played back / captured right. People often associate these old 78's with thoughts of some tinny crackly lo-fi mess, but with more modern equipment you can bring out the real character in the sound.
Thanks again to VWestlife for this video ,I have seen a lot of these minchangers type of players never thought much about them this one was pretty cool to see it did function like a larger version of a bsr TT i liked the base being made of wood it made it look fancier than if it were a plastic base after a fough week at work it felt good and a great surprise to see one of your vids again boy I needed this it made me forget my rough work week THANKS AGAIN JRo
amazing, happy to see these. im not an avid collector by any means, but your videos help me to be a smart collector. thanks for the great showing of technology that created the world i was born into
