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Hi, everyone. I picked this up recently -- it came out of a barn, really -- and I'm trying to determine a) if this is a Columbia BII or a Columbia 60H; and b) if this reproducer is original to the machine. If it's not, does anyone have a picture of what a correct reproducer would look like? Thanks!

That is a Columbia BII. My reproducer is different, but I think there were a few reproducers used on the BII. The stock reproducer was a #6. My machine is a bit strange, but I have seen this gold plated reproducer on others, (mine may have been a special order with the gold plated reproducer and dust ring, polished brass elbow, black back bracket and huge, polished brass horn). I have no reason to doubt that your machine is correct. Good luck with your restoration. It is a very nice machine.

Thanks! I thought it might be, since the back bracket and tone arm look exactly the same as the ones on my BI. How can you tell the difference between this and the 60H? And do you know if the reproducer is correct?

It's a BII and the reproducer is correct. I believe the 60H was the later incarnation of this machine, that used Grafonola parts.

This is an all original BII. The reproducer is correct on this. The fact that this has stayed in a barn all these years, unmolested, makes it all original. There are some variations of the reproducer. Some had mica diaphragms, others had aluminum ones like yours. some had cover plates, and others like yours do not. The 60H used the motor and bedplate as a Grafonola Model 50. The tab in the back of the bedplate is where the tone arm attached to. Also, the tone arm is an upside down Grafonola one. The reproducer is the No. 6 Grafonola one.
Harvey kravitz

Amazing barn find... Show us some pics in the future after the many hours of restoration. Tom B

Just curious, what part of the country was that barn in? The decal looks surprisingly good. Nice find.

How can you tell the difference between this and the 60H?

The 60H is easily identified because it has a Grafonola type tone arm. The tone arm is pot metal and almost identical to the tone arms found on many Grafonolas. I believe the "60H" stands for $60 Horn type Grafonola. So yes there were Grafonolas with outside horns! If we ever have a phono nerd game show, that would be a good question.

Your machine is a nice find and I believe your reproducer is one of a few that were correct for your BII.

Jerry Blais

tomb wrote:Amazing barn find... Show us some pics in the future after the many hours of restoration. Tom B

Spotting that BI with the wooden horn at the auction recently (see: http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... =2&t=38773) reminded me that I have a BII with a different wooden horn in the barn awaiting restoration, and also that I haven't undertaken said restoration yet because, frankly, I find it daunting (check out the photos at the start of this thread to see just what I'm up against). I never did attach photos of the horn, but here they are now. (I've never seen another one quite like it; were these made for Columbia? Anyone know by whom? Is it larger than the wooden horn with that BI in the other thread?) As you can see, it has a small hole in it, and is also missing one little...I don't know what you would call it. I have circled it in red in the last picture. I know this can be done, even done well, but probably not by me, which means $$$. Then there's the hardware, which needs...I don't know what. Will anything short of re-plating clean it up?

It's been so long I can't remember exactly what I paid for this, but I'm starting to think I should either get to work on restoring it or put it up on Ebay. What do you think it should fetch in its current condition? And how much should it be worth restored? As everyone here always says, you need to factor that into your calculus, along with restoration costs like parts, labor, etc. Not that I would ever sell it if I did restore it, but my kids might want to someday, and I wouldn't want to leave them a $1000 machine that I'd sunk $3000 into...

P.S. Strange that this is the only BII I've ever come across, when BI's seem to be everywhere. (And for the record, that's no slight against my much-loved BI with its gorgeous, iconic nickel-plated horn.) Did they not make very many BII's, comparitively? Are Columbia's production figures available anywhere?

These horns were supplied to Columbia as original equipment by the Wooden Phonograph Horn Company of Syracuse, N.Y.

George P.