What a Steal! Columbia AG Graphophone for $399.00

[phonoman-antique]

I totally love the detailing on this machine.
Its really unusual.The price seems low but considering it might be very
difficult to get cylinders to play on this machine that limits the price,
I would guess?Also the broken part hard to replace.
But I certainly would love to own this At $399.Yes.

[MTPhono]

Only a real Die-Harder would most likely buy a Concert format machine.

Not among the collectors I know. Many of them have at least one. I've owned 2 AGs along with 25 original cylinders, but sold them off some years ago. A clean original concert cylinder played on a properly restored and adjusted machine/reproducer with a large horn will blow your socks off compared to the same selection on standard diameter brown wax. The much higher surface speed of a 5" gives much greater volume and sound quality. The only problem with owning one of these machines is the cost of cylinders which will put a serious dent in your wallet.

Jim

Totally agreed - Concert machines are wonderful and nearly every collector I know has at least one. It is too bad that records are so expensive and fragile, but luckily we now have the opportunity to buy new indestructible Concert records from Vulcan and others.

Scott

[flashpanblue]

Way back in 1980 I was at the Union Phonograph show and was talking to larry Donley. I told him I was looking for a Columbia 5" Concert machine when he repied that he had one in the back that he might sell. It was a first model Columbia HG and I paid his asking price of $900. That was still a lot of money back then but it was a little less than the going rate for the machine at the time. Several years later I sold the machine to a friend and have regretted it ever since. One of those machines in definatley on my future wish list!!
Pete

[edisonphonoworks]

I am working on a Columbia AG or HG maybe someone can tell what it is. It needs the following; lower bed plate casting,mandrel and shaft and feed screw drive gear on the mandrel shaft (all other feed screw parts are there),motor mount scres speed knob, reproducer and crank. The motor is all there but when you crank it regular nothing happens, but if you hold the spring barrels from turning, and turn the crank it will wind up and run, the springs do not appear to be broken though, they look good, perhaps one is wound wrong. I have not much experience with Columbia machines, only worked on maybe 15 of them, mostly little eagles, a BF, BK, AJ,AH and some Grafanolas. I mostly work on Edison and Victor machines. The carriage was all there, however had some pot metal problems, and is being repaired by Jean-Paul Agnard. No lid, but do not need one really. I want to use it to record 5" records as I plan on making 5" blanks and records. The decorations on the upper casting are very nice, and the cabinet is pretty good too.

[Lucius1958]

Without the bedplate, one can't really tell whether it's a first-style HG or an AG….

Even then, it would be difficult without the patent plate: the earliest AGs would have been indistinguishable from the early HG. It wasn't until they changed the bedplate from nickeled steel to aluminum (first nickeled, then painted black)that one could tell the difference without question….

Bill