Re: A free Grafonola--or at least I think it is. Help?
Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2018 7:01 pm
I'm pretty sure that started out as one of the "assembled" gramophones produced for the UK market in the late 1920s through the early 1930s. The cabinets were made in the UK, and fitted with imported components, normally Swiss-made. There's a typical example, the "Supergrand," shown in this post -- http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... 4&start=90
I'd guess that at some point, the original sound box and tonearm were replaced. I don't know about the motor, but the horn, itself, may be original. I used to own one of these, housed in a simpler, albeit more cheaply made Art-Deco style cabinet, and it came with a horn that looks to be identical to the one inside your cabinet--essentially, half a bifurcated horn.
From the standpoint of sound quality, the one I had actually wasn't too bad. I remember that it had a pretty nice treble and mid-range, much like a good quality portable model, but no match whatsoever for the similar size smaller cabinet name brand models produced by Victor, Columbia, etc..
BTW, is that an Underwood typewriter? If so, I used to have the exact same model. I bought it for $12 in 1972, and it saw me through high school as well as the first year of college. (My nephew now has it, and it still works, but needs a new or refurbished platen, which I understand a do-it-yourselfer can do -- https://www.instructables.com/id/Renewi ... er-platen/ )
OrthoFan
I'd guess that at some point, the original sound box and tonearm were replaced. I don't know about the motor, but the horn, itself, may be original. I used to own one of these, housed in a simpler, albeit more cheaply made Art-Deco style cabinet, and it came with a horn that looks to be identical to the one inside your cabinet--essentially, half a bifurcated horn.
From the standpoint of sound quality, the one I had actually wasn't too bad. I remember that it had a pretty nice treble and mid-range, much like a good quality portable model, but no match whatsoever for the similar size smaller cabinet name brand models produced by Victor, Columbia, etc..
BTW, is that an Underwood typewriter? If so, I used to have the exact same model. I bought it for $12 in 1972, and it saw me through high school as well as the first year of college. (My nephew now has it, and it still works, but needs a new or refurbished platen, which I understand a do-it-yourselfer can do -- https://www.instructables.com/id/Renewi ... er-platen/ )
OrthoFan