Edison London Upright - fixed up on the cheap

[Jwb88]

According to George Frow's The Edison Disc Phonographs and the Diamond Discs, 44,533 London Uprights were produced.

I highly recommend getting Frow's book. It's honestly my favorite book on antique phonographs and made me fall in love with the wild and wacky world of Edison discs again (after abandoning them from having had a trouble prone A-80 as my first Edison disc phonograph. That model is a pain in the a$$). Frow covers every single model as well as information on development, the history, recording, artists, records--a ton of stuff. It is a little vague sometimes, perhaps necessarily so, but overall it's a fantastic book. I go back to it often.

I also highly recommend this model (LU-37). The horn is small (the 100 size, which can also be found in the A-100, the Chalet, the London Console, etc). But if you have a small space, this is the way to go. It'll fit just about anywhere, and it has great record storage. No more finding a huge deep table or stand to put a table model on! And you should be able to find one cheap. Of course, if you can house a larger model, the larger horns sound better, technically. But I like the direct, unmuffled sound this thing has. It's a good intro machine to say the least.

[Phonofreak]

That restoration/transformation was fantastic. I'm glad to see a machine like this thoroughly restored. Sometimes these were trashed. Great save.
Harvey Kravitz

[GregVTLA]

I’m definitly going to look out for a LU model, I’m glad the production totally was pretty high. I’d love to get into Edison disc machines, but space is a bit of an issue. Yours looks super fantastic!

[Lucius1958]

According to George Frow's The Edison Disc Phonographs and the Diamond Discs, 44,533 London Uprights were produced.

I highly recommend getting Frow's book. It's honestly my favorite book on antique phonographs and made me fall in love with the wild and wacky world of Edison discs again (after abandoning them from having had a trouble prone A-80 as my first Edison disc phonograph. That model is a pain in the a$$). Frow covers every single model as well as information on development, the history, recording, artists, records--a ton of stuff. It is a little vague sometimes, perhaps necessarily so, but overall it's a fantastic book. I go back to it often.

I also highly recommend this model (LU-37). The horn is small (the 100 size, which can also be found in the A-100, the Chalet, the London Console, etc). But if you have a small space, this is the way to go. It'll fit just about anywhere, and it has great record storage. No more finding a huge deep table or stand to put a table model on! And you should be able to find one cheap. Of course, if you can house a larger model, the larger horns sound better, technically. But I like the direct, unmuffled sound this thing has. It's a good intro machine to say the least.

Yep: my first DD machine was an A-80 as well. Between digging for the set screw on the turntable pulley, having to turn the machine upside down to regulate the horn height, and trying to keep the belt from slipping, I had my hands full.

Bill

[Jwb88]

Yep: my first DD machine was an A-80 as well. Between digging for the set screw on the turntable pulley, having to turn the machine upside down to regulate the horn height, and trying to keep the belt from slipping, I had my hands full.

Bill

YES! I'm glad I'm not alone in that experience! I remember I sold it on craigslist or ebay years ago. I didn't ask much because I really didn't care for it. It still sounded wobbly to me with that damn belt. I *think* I sold it to a well known collector who shall remain nameless because I'm not sure. Anyway, he came to pick it up and I played it and I said, "That's about the best it's able to sound for me, hopefully you can get it working better!" He looked at me funny and said, "Sounds good to me!"(in hindsight, I think maybe he knew that this model could only be expected to do so much). Because of that I stayed away from Edison disc machines for years, thinking that was optimal performance. Thank god I was lured back in with some better machines, they've been my favorite format for a few years now.

[Rod]

Very interesting read! Love your job of restoring your machine! It has inspired me to salvage and restore my Lh 37 that I bought cheap at an antique mall yesterday. I bought it just for the reproducer for my C-250, but now see its potential as the motor does work and the stylus has great sound on my C-250.

[Jwb88]

Glad to see I inspired somebody!

I still have this machine near my desk where it is played fairly often and it's still one of my favorites. Yours honestly looks like it has a little more potential than mine did at the start. It still needs a lot of loving care (and probably mostly cleaning), but the cabinet looks pretty sound. Mine was warped, legs separating at joints (which were filled with dirt and gunk), and had veneer bubbling on the side, back, and lid. Whatever the issues: take it slow, and don't be afraid of working around some flaws; it might not seem so bad once everything else gets in order.

I wish you luck! I predict it will be a very fun and satisfying project.

[EdiBrunsVic]

Yes, these phonographs vary with their condition. I have an LU-37 in decent shape and would consider selling it or trading it for a Brunswick Phonograph. I had a listing in the Yankee Trader for while but there was no interest.

Again, you did well with the restoration and it is good to see that other projects are in progress too.

[Inigo]

Wow! Very nice job. I'm not sure with wood work... If I were I could restore a tatty French la voix de son maître model 127 of mine... Motor and sound system don't have secrets to me, I actually made this machine sound very warm and beautiful. But the wood... Uh! I cannot do the wonders you did to your London. I don't know how, neither have the patience and skill (and tools and knowledge) to make it more presentable. In mine veneers also warped and falling apart, and even a damp ambient had caused severe misadjustments between the veneers and the wood below. I glued the veneers again in place, and had to cut away the borders of some veneers that were protruding out of place. Still, some undulations can be observed under flush light... It's a pity.

[gsphonos]

Great job! I don't know how I missed seeing this when you first posted it. The London Upright was my first diamond disc machine! I got it from Pat Jones in about 1997. I was visiting his store, and a very young couple came in and sold it to him while I was there. Pat brought the reproducer and grill inside, and left the machine on the curb. It had termites! I enquired as to how much, and before long I walked out with the machine AND the grill and reproducer. I had one record with it. I believe it was "He laid away a suit of gray to wear the Union Blue," and it was played over, and over, and over again as I got the thing up and running. I still like the song, by the way! It had bad termite damage on the bottom cabinet trim, and I crudely replaced that (no where near the skill level that you have!), and sprayed the heck out of one leg that had termite tunnels in it. I then brought that machine in my house and used it for a couple of years until I got a baby console diamond disc player. Since this had the termite damage, I really wanted to sell this machine off. I kept the reproducer, and traded or sold the machine to Scott Corbett, as he had an LU that he had got from Knott's Berry Farm, but didn't have a grill. Mine was in nice shape! I don't remember what I got from him! Anyway, some time later, our friend Nestor Guzman wound up with the machine, less a grill. He sold it at a garage sale, at his house, for like $100 as a project, to a new collector. That machine really made the rounds! If I hadn't been there the day it came in to Pat's shop, it would have hit the dumpster. Maybe I will run in to that machine again some day? It really was a great little player, and introduced me to diamond disc records, which I love to this day!!!

Mike Sorter