MusicMan

Introduction

I live in Cape Town, South Africa, and I restore vintage turntables and vintage valve (tube) amplifiers.  I also build valve phono pre-amps, pre-amplifiers and power amplifiers as a hobby. Soon I will be adding a DIY (Home Brew) RF 811A linear amplifier to this list.

My daytime job (coaching and counselling) is "all in my head", so after hours I need to exhale, pour a glass of wine, roll up my sleeves and get my hands dirty. UPDATE: I am now mostly retired from my daytime job, and although I still enjoy a glass of red wine "after hours", the soldering iron is often fired up soon after breakfast!  

I love music: on vinyl, on tape, on CD and on my hard drive.  Even on the radio or TV. But, preferrably on vinyl, and reproduced by vintage vacuum tube kit. My favourite valves are EF86, ECC81, ECC33, ECC35, 76, 45, 2A3, KT66 and EL84. Oh, and 811A and 572B. 

What I Do, & What I Don't Do

I do not repair turntables or amplifiers for other people - I have barely enough time to work on my own projects.  If you are looking for that, I can direct you to someone in Cape Town or in Johannesburg who is an expert in repairing turntables and/or amplifiers.

However, not all my completed projects can stay (says the Boss) so some of them have to find new homes.  If you see something you like, let me know. However, nowadays there are not many left I am willing to let go.

I very occasionally buy in old - working or broken - turntables, as I sometimes need a new project, or spare parts for one of my current projects. If you have anything to sell, please let me know.  Please note that I am not interested in gramophones and radiograms, nor in Garrard SP25's, Philips, Dual, B&O, Ion and Crosley turntables.

I am currently very interested in buying in old "broken" audio valve amplifiers; to be either restored, repaired (for my own use) or become parts donors for other projects. Please note that I am just a "poor pensioner" so I would not be interrested in buying your R50,000 Sansui AU-111 amp (however much I would like to own one!). 

I do not sell nor carry stock of any amplifier or turntable parts - no stylii, cartridges, belts, lids, hinges or anything else.  I buy them as I need them, from suppliers in SA, the US, the UK and Europe. I can probably tell you where to get what you need, though, so do ask.

I do not buy/work on/sell solid state amplifiers, tape decks, tuners or speakers.  Again, I can direct you to a reputable dealer and/or technician, so do ask.

I do not sell records (I do buy a lot, though!).  I buy from the many great record stores in Cape Town, as well as some of the Facebook sellers.

What I sell

I do sell some of the turntables I have restored. But only after they have been completely restored, tested and listened to for a few months. I do wish I could keep them all, but I just can't. UPDATE: Currently I only have a few (rather on the expensive side) turntables left for sale.

I do sell MusicMan Gold - this is the modern equivalent of Mobil Velocity 6 oil - as was used in Linn Sondek LP12 main bearing - and I use it in the main bearing of every turntable that I refurbish (unless it is a grease bearing - then I use Herschell Heavy Duty Industrial Grease).

I do sell MusicMan Poly's - these are 40 micron round-bottomed anti-static inner sleeves for 12" records. If you love them, put them in a Poly! I do not sell outer sleeves, but I can tell you where to get them at a good price! *SOLD OUT*

I do sell MusicMan Magic - this is a great and affordable LP cleaning liquid, based on the London Jazz Collector's recipe, for use in RCM's (I personally use a VPI 16.5), SpinClean machines as well as for the manual cleaning of records. Works a charm!

I do sell MusicMan Blue - these are small pre-packaged containers of Blue-tack for stylus cleaning.

I do sell MusicMan White - These are small pre-packaged containers of Magic Eraser for stylus cleaning. 

Contact Me

You can call me on 0834684790, or email me at jmvanzyl@gmail.com.

You can also leave a message on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/musicmanvinyl/

I am happy to have an in-person one hour conversation regarding turntables and music and answer all your questions - call me to make an appointment, and bring a decent bottle of red wine with you.

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