You can find Ron on the FB group Phonoland.com. (For Wurlitzer, the master is RobNYC). It is really amazing how much these guys know.

My Wurlitzer 2150. When I got it, it was the standard covered in solidified grease, rodent crap and tons and tons of acorn shells. Must have been a big party destination for the local mouse population. Had to do a ton of work to get it to work. Converted it to use a ceramic/magnetic cartridge given the issues with the old Cobra's also added a crossover and tweeter. Had to redo the cabinets...used a couple of fancy veneers. Tried to keep it in the same 'spirit' as the original. Since this was the 'unblinged' version of the 2100, I also put in led strips (on color change for the bottom straight gold for the general illumination). Lot of work on the amp, actually have two now, one which I fully rebuilt including new pcb all new components from caps to resistors to tube sockets. Pretty happy with the aesthetics and sound.

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Thanks

I believe the 1700 came with a Cobra. I converted my 2150 from the Cobra to ceramic (then magnetic). This is a fairly common upgrade, so I'm wondering if it could be as simple as someone having converted the cartridge and you are now trying to fit the proverbial round peg into a square hole?

It's a bit like asking who makes the better truck, Chevy or Ford.

I have a Wurlitzer 2150 so I may be biased; however, I think most would say that Wurlitzer's are built like a tank, to the point of being over engineered in places. That having been said, I also think most would say that Seeburg's sound better than Wurlitzer's. Then you have AMI and Rockola, which I am less familiar with. I would recommend joining (or at least browsing) the Phonoland FB group. They can provide guidance on specific models that may be more or less problematic, typical issues, etc. Plus they are extremely helpful with diagnosis, remediation, sourcing of parts, etc.

Here is a video I found showing changing out the Cobra cartridge. But, yes, it should just slide right in.

Caps for sure, new tubes is probably a good idea.

Looks like a 524 amp? Bill Bickers (Jukebox Friday Night) sells both tube and cap kits. He also sells them on e-bay, I believe. I highly recommend Bill. He was a big help to me as I rebuilt and converted the amp so I'm sure he can answer any questions you may have. I fear your sound problem is gong to be with the Cobra. I remember talking to someone awhile ago that said it is almost impossible to get a 'clean' Cobra replacement.

Based on what you have described, seems like that is the solution. My assumption is plgg3 is assuming no random play/flakiness in the mounting bracket that could cause the switch itself to move (unlikely but I guess it is possible).

You can go to Discogs and enter in the records to see what they are selling for. Hard to say from the pics, but these look to be in decent condition. I actually have a couple of those in my jukebox right now.

In my experience, the big money ($20 or more) is from newer stuff (2000-2005) where there were very few made as the shift to CD was already complete. And some of the limited (in numbers) foreign releases where they put a great B side with an A side as opposed to the std US and Europe releases where you often have a good A paired with an undesirable B. Since jukebox space is so limited, these can command good $.

I may be interested in the lot; however it is completely dependent on the titles. If you have played them and can confirm the grade, that makes a big difference on what they are worth. If you haven't played them, you run the risk that the ones you want aren't really playable.

Personally, I would 'inventory' them by simply taking a picture of a half dozen or so at a time, both sides. That way, one can make a somewhat informed guess on condition as well as seeing the titles. (Also, if any have sleeves that are specific to the record, like the picture sleeves, show those. Looks like all will be generic record co sleeves)

Actually shouldn't be that much...probably all fit in a a mid sized USPS flat rate box or you can use media mail with very low rates

I'd reach out to Bill Bickers at Jukebox Friday Night:
http://www.jukeboxfridaynight.com/

He does amp rebuilds and carries a lot of kits to recap amps. I don't see a kit for the 556 listed on his site; however, he may well be able to put one together for you

I have a Wurlitzer 2150, so I am biased. In my research, the Seeburgs are generally considered to have better sound while the Wurlitzers are built like tanks. (Some would say they are over-engineered.) The issue with the Wurlitzer Cobra cartridge used in some models is addressed by converting to a ceramic/magnetic cartridge. That's what I did, it's not difficult. Of course, some run with the Cobra's. To be honest, my feeling is that this a Chevy vs Ford truck conversation. Find one you like the looks of. None of the 50's jukes are audiophile equipment...plus you have the charm of the noise of the vinyl and the dynamics of the room. Any of them will sound fine. Whatever you get, I would recommend the Phonoland.com FB group as a great resource to help troubleshoot any issues. I have been helped on several occasions with esoteric issues that only someone who had to maintain them for many of years would have ever run across. Good Luck in your search!

One other piece of advice...I would get a 160 or 200 play jukebox. You'll quickly discover how the studios would match the A-side song you want with a song on the B side that you will never play. Now, to be sure, there are exceptions (great A and B side) and there are some reissues, like the Collectibles and Back to Back Hits series where they even mixed artists. However, I would count on a good 25% of the plays being songs you won't ever play.

Unless you really, really, love the rebuild process, you may be better served finding something is a bit better shape. I can't speak for the 2900; however, parts can be very pricey and add up quickly, especially some of the bling pieces and the glass. Also, there are a lot of moving parts in a jukebox and it can be daunting trying to figure out how everything interacts. This is especially true if beginning from a state of it not working. Personally, I think you might find it more satisfying to get a project that 'sort of works'. Records select sometimes, records don't always play, records don't unload...that sort of thing.

And as belairjoe said, you should expect to do some work on the amp. Bill Bickers (Friday Night Jukebox) http://www.jukeboxfridaynight.com/ does rebuilds as well as sell kits for those who prefer to do it themselves.

I have a 2150 and it had the same problem. It was very annoying nd the sporadic nature of it made it difficult to torubleshoot In my case, it was not a tube but the socket for one of the tubes. I think it was one of the 12AX7 tubes. So, if you find a tube doesn't do it, look at the socket (also the pot for the volume)

It's a very nice box, visible mechanism and holds 100 records. I have one of the Wurlitzer comparable models (2150 the 2100 being the fancy version) with the visible mechanism and 100 record capacity. The Seeburg and the Wurlitzer 2100 tend to be highly desireable and, therefore, very pricey. I'm not that familiar with the Seeburg's abd there is somewhat of a Ford/Chevy kinda thing between the two brands. If you cut through that, it seems like the Wurlitzers are over-engineered (built like tanks, not to say the Seeburgs are fragile) while the Seeburgs sound is better (again, not to say the Wurlitzer is poor). Your best bet is to get on the Phonoland.com facebook page. There are several Seeburg experts on there that can tell you specifically what to look for.

I suspect there may be a couple of things at play here. One of the most painful aspects of these is that everything is interconnected meaning you adjust one thing and something else messes up, so you try to adjust that and something else messes up. It can be very frustrating. My GUESS and the starting point for me would be the overrun adjustment. As you know, the selector hits a pin and then reverses slightly. If it reverses too little or too much, the record may not be served correctly or even at all and that can cause it to not clamp properly (issue #3) as well as not returning properly (issue #2). This can cause several other issues with how the record is playing. Also note that differences in the right and left side could be the result of the mechanism not be leveled properly. Anyhow, I'd start with the overrun adjustments.

I have a 2150, so the nomenclature and adjustments might be a bit different. Per the attached, it looks to be screws 1 and 9. If you manually trigger one of the selector pins to raise it, then manually move the selector crank arm, when the pin on the arm hits the raised pin, you will notice the crank stops but the arm continues moving forward. After a very short distance, the arm will trigger a switch. This reverses the motor so the arm backs up some, the other screw determines how far it reverses before stopping. The 1 and 9 screws are used to set how far it reverses.

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When I am looking for rare stuff, Discogs is where I go.

I would add the Phonoland.com FB group as well.

The best thing about that one is you don't have to spend hours trying to find 45's with a good B side!