The Three Muses repeating gramophone

[chunnybh]

The only thing I know about this gramophone is that it was featured in The Gramophone Tests of 1924 and did very well.
I am in the process of renovating it so the repeat mechanism will work. It works off an Eveready 6V battery.
The tonearm bounces between two switches which can be adjusted for different records. The main switch is attached to the turntable stop brake, when off it makes a contact.
Under the tonearm and attached to it, is a pin with a slot which I thought might be for a spring as there is an eye-hook close by. That is until I found a weight under the turntable. I assume the weight was attached to a string which went through the eye-hook and was then attached to the tonearm pin causing the tonearm to return to start position.
There is an auto-stop break on one side, when the tonearm touches it, it lifts up and stops the turntable. There are two other screws near by with nothing attached. Is there something missing here?
At present the tonearm is too low or the motor is too high as the soundbox raising mechanism touches the turntable
Does anyone have a working example of this gramophone?. Any advice appreciated.



Thanks: Chunny

[Phonoboy]

Could the missing part be a manual brake?

[chunnybh]

Could the missing part be a manual brake?

I don't think so. It already has a manual brake which is wired up as a switch and a tipping lever break as in the earlier picture, which would only work with 12"records.
I have managed to get it working. The whole contraption is quite an engineering feat. Setting it up to work correctly must have been a nightmare, balancing the weight so it returns the tonearm to rest position without causing too much drag on the needle, even setting the needle just so, is not so easy.
The process:
1. Set the clamp switches to the start and end of the record
2. Release the manual brake which releases the turntable and also switches on the power
3. The record plays to the end where the box under the tonearm hits the end solenoid switch which sends power to the lifting solenoid in the box on the tonearm, triggering the rod which lifts the soundbox. The weight hanging on the tonearm pin pulls back the tonearm to start position. The box hits the start switch which cuts the power. The weight of the soundbox on the rod pushes the rod back in the solenoid. The soundbox lowers and the record repeats.
I wonder why the makers went to all the bother and expense to repeat the one record, very strange.

[estott]

I think the repetition aspect was more of a bragging point than anything else, but it could be of some use for dancing.

[Phonoboy]

Complicated little thing isn't it, all the same I'd love to play with it.
Have fun.

[chunnybh]

Once this gramophone is set it is surprisingly easy to use. I wonder if there were special repeat records made for dancing?. It will repeat the record 4 times before it needs to be wound up again.
Here is a youtube video of it in action.
https://youtu.be/rAst50fyVLI

[soundgen]

A REPEATING GRAMOPHONES LTD `THE THREE GRACES` MODEL Z3 MAHOGANY TABLE was sold recently at Greenslade Taylor Hunt , although described as Three Graces it was a Three Muses gramophone no doubt it will be offered to Chunny at more than £40 in due course !

[epigramophone]

What a pity the auctioneers got the make wrong. This saleroom is not far from me, and had I known it was in fact a Three Muses I might have gone there to bid.

[chunnybh]

I believe the company who made The Three Muses were called Repeating Gramophones Ltd. This second one (Z3) does not look like it repeats.
I've been missing the obvious. The repeat mechanism can repeat any part of a record. Very useful for playing records for learning; languages, music & dance. The Three Muses, Duh!

[soundgen]

I believe the company who made The Three Muses were called Repeating Gramophones Ltd. This second one (Z3) does not look like it repeats.
I've been missing the obvious. The repeat mechanism can repeat any part of a record. Very useful for playing records for learning; languages, music & dance. The Three Muses, Duh!

no it doesn't repeat but it was made by The Repeating Gramophones Ltd , perhaps it did once !