Bush RP50 record player - some advice

[dualloop]

Originally Posted by Edward Huggins

Whilst I have never come across a BSR X4H cartridge, the "H" suffix means it is a high-output type and I must advise you that this is the wrong cartidge for your record player. It may have been wrongly fitted by a previous owner.

Thanks for letting me know.
Does anyone have any advice on the correct cartridge for this record player?

[ms660]

So far as I can gather the original was a BSR X1M.

Lawrence.

[dualloop]

Looks like the X1M is quite hard to get hold of in the UK.
Does anyone know of any modern-day alternatives or if there is another vintage cartridge I could use instead?

[AD360 Rob]

The original cartridge should be an X1M as Lawrence has said, tracking at 6 to 8 grams (This from the Manufacturer's service manual) As you say, X1M cartridges are all but impossible to obtain now. You could fit an SC5M which is a stereo ceramic and may well fit your original cartridge clip, a few of these still turn up as New old stock on eBay. You will find that this will have 4 pins instead of 2 but you should find the extra wires already present in the arm. What you will need to do though is join together the Left + terminal to the Right + terminal and the same with the Left - and Right -. This is most easily achieved on the tagstrip under the deck where the cable from the amplifier is connected.

[julie_m]

The Bush RP50 has a two-stage amplifier (UCL82), so a "Chinese Cheapie" ought to give a strong enough signal if you can find a way of mounting it in the headshell.

Those cartridges are actually capable of much better performance than modern record players admit .....

[dualloop]

Originally Posted by julie_m

The Bush RP50 has a two-stage amplifier (UCL82), so a "Chinese Cheapie" ought to give a strong enough signal if you can find a way of mounting it in the headshell.

Those cartridges are actually capable of much better performance than modern record players admit .....

Would this one work as an alternative?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/383659045...kcid=28&chn=ps

[AD360 Rob]

That is a Chinese cheapie, they're ok, a bit bass light to my ears and have a lower output than the BSR ceramic SC5M. but, they are cheap and available. that one is a good choice as it has the mounting clip, a lot don't. There's also a version with a flip under stylus (like your original)

[kirstyd]

here are some photos of the user manual showing the original[red] cartridge .I have had this machine from new [1968] its cartridge failed around 1972 and was replaced with the Acos .i remember being very impressed with the difference in volume and sound quality once the new cart was fitted .The next model was the RP60 same machine with minimal cosmetic changes [different deck and cartridge]I have tried this machine with one of those cheap carts and while it did work the sound was very average and you need the volume up quite a way .

[julie_m]

That would do the job; it's a bit expensive, but at least it comes with a mounting clip, which might save you some headache.

Note the original cartridge is mono, and the replacement is stereo; it will need the two channels wired together. BSR supplied their changers ready to accept a stereo cartridge, with four wires in the tonearm, linked in pairs on the terminal strip for use in a mono player. The unused pair of wires would be tucked up in the tonearm.

With the record player unplugged, test for continuity between pairs of wires in the tonearm. Now one of these connected pairs go to the pins labelled "L+" and "R+" on the new cartridge, and the other pair go to "L-" and "R-".

[Edward Huggins]

Originally Posted by kirstyd

here are some photos of the user manual showing the original[red] cartridge .I have had this machine from new [1968] its cartridge failed around 1972 and was replaced with the Acos .i remember being very impressed with the difference in volume and sound quality once the new cart was fitted .The next model was the RP60 same machine with minimal cosmetic changes [different deck and cartridge]I have tried this machine with one of those cheap carts and while it did work the sound was very average and you need the volume up quite a way .

I can understand you noticing a difference between the Acos and BSR cartridges. The reason for this is that the Acos catridge is a GP91-3SC high-output type and this is actually the wrong type of cartridge for your UCL82 based amplifier.

[dualloop]

Thanks for all the advice so far.
I have located the extra 2 wires and carefully scraped away the 50+ year old glue holding them in their tucked up position.
I can't see any markings on the wires or on the plastic covers so can anyone shed any light on which way around these go?
The extra wires are white and black.

[ben]

White is signal, black is gnd.

[julie_m]

Originally Posted by dualloop

Thanks for all the advice so far.
I have located the extra 2 wires and carefully scraped away the 50+ year old glue holding them in their tucked up position.
I can't see any markings on the wires or on the plastic covers so can anyone shed any light on which way around these go?
The extra wires are white and black.

Use a multimeter and test for continuity between the "spare" wires and the wires already connected to the existing cartridge. The two "+" terminals on the new cartridge need to be joined to each other and the two "-" terminals need to be joined to each other, but it makes no difference which way around.

[Heatercathodeshort]

I had a problem with the RP50 when it was new. To be honest it was really odd and they sounded very boxy with a nasty sound. I phoned Bush at the time and they were aware of the problem and informed me that they had received a few complaints from customers and dealers. They were rather dismissive to say the least! They were usually very helpful.
I think these were mainly used by teenagers of the time and they were more than happy with it's performance. The two stage amplifier should have given a good account of itself but single valve amps such as the EL84/UL84 designs sounded much better. It may have been the speaker or a poorly designed [cheap] output transformer causing the problem but by the comments posted it sounds more like a poor cartridge matching problem.

The original BUSH service data for the RP50 is only a supplement to the RP40.The two players are identical other than cosmetic bits. This gives the cartridge as a X1M medium output unit fitted with a BSR ST5 stylus. Maybe it needed a little more input to drive the tone control network. Of course they may have changed the cartridge during production. Service data is dated 1/5/1966 for the RP40 and 1/1/1967 for the RP50 supplement. Scan attached. John.

[dualloop]

Thanks for your input everyone.
The new cartridge has arrived and has been installed.
No more skipping on records and while the volume output is lower than it was (just turn it up a little more) the sound is definitely much clearer with no screeching at higher frequencies.
The only issue I'm still having is getting a good weight on the tonearm, the best I can get it is 7g which I think is a little too heavy?

[Edward Huggins]

Please remind me what type is the new cartridge? Tracking at 7 grams is certainly too heavy for most new ceramic cartridges, more like 4-5 grams is best.

[dualloop]

It's this one:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/383659045...kcid=28&chn=ps

No make or model on it as it's a Chinese cheapie one

[kirstyd]

Originally Posted by Heatercathodeshort

I had a problem with the RP50 when it was new. To be honest it was really odd and they sounded very boxy with a nasty sound. I phoned Bush at the time and they were aware of the problem and informed me that they had received a few complaints from customers and dealers. They were rather dismissive to say the least! They were usually very helpful.
I think these were mainly used by teenagers of the time and they were more than happy with it's performance. The two stage amplifier should have given a good account of itself but single valve amps such as the EL84/UL84 designs sounded much better. It may have been the speaker or a poorly designed [cheap] output transformer causing the problem but by the comments posted it sounds more like a poor cartridge matching problem.

The original BUSH service data for the RP50 is only a supplement to the RP40.The two players are identical other than cosmetic bits. This gives the cartridge as a X1M medium output unit fitted with a BSR ST5 stylus. Maybe it needed a little more input to drive the tone control network. Of course they may have changed the cartridge during production. Service data is dated 1/5/1966 for the RP40 and 1/1/1967 for the RP50 supplement. Scan attached. John.

Mine was the same .Even when new the sound was not that good [its probably the worse recorplayer bush ever put out]but once the cartridge was changed to the Acos the sound quality was much better .The bass and treble controls were much more responsive and the volume was increased .As Edward said .It may be the wrong cart but its been working well since 1972. these days i use it mainly for 78s