Ebay: Neumann AM32B

[Sillitoe]

Nice!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Neumann-AM32B-record-lathe-project-for-parts-see-pics-/321729829077?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ae89798d5

[Kornyfone]

Is this a good value? It looks like it needs....everything. lol

[Sillitoe]

Neumann lathes were built like tanks and their mechanics are pretty flawless, so unless this machine has been also treated like a tank (which it may have been judging by the look of it) it should be mechanically sound.
If you were looking to restore this lathe to original specs then you may have a hard (and expensive) time finding replacements for the missing parts, but if you like the idea of a big project then it could be a great base from which to implement new concepts and technology that is currently being discussed on the board.
I'm sure your fellow trolls would love to help out with such a project.
I think if you put lots of time and around another 5K into it you could have a decent system.

However if you're after a turnkey top quality system with great support then there are much better options. I would get in contact with Flo.

I'm sure some others more qualified than me will chime in with their thoughts on the value.
I personally wouldn't pay that price... Nice project though.

[opcode66]

It would take more than 5k to get this going. No platter ring and chuck table. That alone is a huge issue. You dont see those for sale very often. It would be very expensive to reproduce them. No platter motor. I've seen lyrec motors go for up to 5k themselves. To find an alternate for driving a heavy platter would be costly and time consuming. If you used a mono head and cheap amplifier then you would make it cheaper to get cutting. However, a stereo head, pre-amp and power amp alone would cost 5k or more. So, you are looking at something like 15k to get this cutting stereo. Plus a lot of time and effort. Maybe a year or two of work and sourcing parts.

Looks like some sort of home brew fixed pitch motor and motor control was added. That may solve the missing pitch system issue.

Finally, you would have to source all the typical things for cutting records: mixer, monitors, computer, high quality d/a, helium if neumann head, a tonearm for the lathe or a turntable to playing test cut, vu meters, blanks and sapphires. That is all easily another 5k.

This isn by no means me saying don't buy this. This is me being realistic about the cost and time to get it running.

[Sillitoe]

Yes, there was a Neumann platter on eBay awhile ago for 5K...
I was thinking a Caruso and a belt driven custom platter.
If you don't destroy the parts that you modify then you could start cutting sooner for a lot less and buy original parts as they pop up.
This is me being optimistic about the cost to get it cutting.
Do it!