The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Some readers of the Expert Junior thread may not be familiar with the Meltrope soundboxes mentioned by Orchosol. These soundboxes are highly regarded by UK collectors and deserve a thread of their own.

Meltrope soundboxes were manufactured by Amplifiers Limited of Billet Road, Walthamstow, London E17. Their main feature of interest is the "Meltrope back", which comprises a soft rubber collar and a compression ring to achieve an air tight connection to the tonearm.

This feature was adopted by both EMG and Expert, and it is not unusual to find a Meltrope on an EMG or an Expert machine which has lost it's original soundbox.

Gramophone manufacturuers placing a large order could have their own names engraved on the front mask, so you may find a Meltrope with any name from Antoria to Selecta appearing on it. After World War Two, Decca adopted the design for their remaining acoustic machines.

The following pictures show one of the first and one of the last. On the left is a Meltrope 1 of about 1929, and on the right is a Decca made as late as 1957. The Decca has it's compression ring removed to show the rubber collar.

they are indeed very good soundboxes!
i have a meltrope 3 soundbox which i found on a columbia 112A portable gramophone for £25 at a local market a wile ago!, i bought it purely for the soundbox!
it is the best soundbox i can currently afford!, unfortunately, the rubber collar on mine has hardened a bit with age, i have been meaning to get a new one someday

I also have a Meltrope III, and obtained a new rubber collar for it from Keith Badman.

His contact details and a summary of his repair services can be found on Howard Hope's website. I am not sure whether Keith has his own website, but I have not yet managed to find it.

I would love a Meltrope to play with but this is the next best thing. Interesting posts! Here are two Meltrope ads I scanned from my Gramophone hoard. They're both from 1928 I believe. Interesting that Decca cribbed the Meltrope design.
I'm surprised at how reasonably priced they were: 12/6 was about $ 2.62 at the exchange rate of 1928. HMV was selling certain single records for 12/6 in 1928 (The old Patti sides for example)

Jim

Did Decca crib the design or did they just use Meltropes with their name on them?

One of mine, with a different carton.

Orchorsol wrote:One of mine, with a different carton.

do those boxes turn up often on their own?, ive just been storing mine in a small metal box

kirtley2012 wrote:

Orchorsol wrote:One of mine, with a different carton.

do those boxes turn up often on their own?, ive just been storing mine in a small metal box

Not often in my experience. I saw one empty box on Ebay last year.

Here's a leaflet supplied with a Meltrope I:

Did Decca crib the design or did they just use Meltropes with their name on them?

After WWII, DECCA actually purchased Meltrope and therefore they owned the design and not surprisingly used it on on their otherwise terrible post War portables.

THESE SOUNDBOXES MUST HAVE BEEN THE BEST VALUE OF ALL. WELL MADE FOR 12/6d IN 1930. I HAVE ALWAYS MARVELLED AT THE QUALITY OF SOUND THAT THEY GIVE. IT IS NO WONDER THAT THEY SURVIVED FOR MANY YEARS, AND AS STEVE SAID, WERE BOUGHT OUT BY DECCA LATER ON. THE MELTROPE BOX THAT I WOULD LIKE TO OWN MOST OF ALL IS THE ONE WITH A CHUCK ARRANGEMENT, INSTEAD OF A NEEDLE SCREW. I HAVE SEEN THEM IN PHOTOGRAPHS, BUT NEVER OWNED ONE. MAYBE ONE DAY.....?