My newest toy—Pathé Concert 20

[drh]

Last night and, to a lesser degree, tonight I've been enjoying a new member of the phono phamily: a Pathé Concert Model 20 open-horn machine. Phorum--uh, forum member kendphono overhauled it for me (thanks, Ken!), and it sounds really wonderful. With the right disc, LOUD, too. At long last, I have a proper machine for playing my 14" Pathé discs, and what a pleasure not to be standing nervously over a different-branded player with adapter waiting to jump and grab the tonearm if (when) it starts to skate. That straight arm does seem to track Pathé's wide, shallow grooves much better than an offset arm, like a Victor arm with adapter, manages to do.

The horn is German, not original to the machine, but of the same period and appropriate to it. To be honest, I prefer the "cygnet style" of this horn to one that would stick straight out into the room, and as noted it makes a lovely sound. I've commandeered my grandma's sewing table, formerly supporting my Victor V, for a stand; it could have been made for the Pathé, or vice-versa; the table top is exactly the same width as the machine's base and only about ¼" deeper. The Victor now lives on a rather austere side table, painted black, that to be honest probably suits its lines better.

Ken added a lower fitting for the strut between the upper and lower halve of the horn; that was missing, and it's needful to support the heavy upper portion, which otherwise tends to overstress the joints in the bend. He also fabricated a piece that was missing in the lever start mechanism--as a device, the lever thing is something of a Rube Goldberg contraption, but it does its job. Pathé is always different! He also refurbished the reproducer, which had a full set of completely dead original gaskets; cleaned and lubricated the motor; and polished some of the metalwork, which was heavily tarnished. Luckily, the spring grease apparently had already been replaced recently enough that it was still good, sparing us the necessity of removing that powerful Concert grade spring. Net result: a machine that sings and one happy phonograph owner.

Forthwith, some photos (the record is a 14" disc for scale):

[PeterF]

Really super. Congratulations!

[Hoodoo]

Beautiful machine. From reproducer to the mouth of the horn looks to be four feet or more.

[TinfoilPhono]

Wow. What a serious beauty. And if that's a 14" disc, obviously it's a very imposing machine! Congratulations on a seriously beautiful and unusual machine.

[emgcr]

Congratulations ! These instruments sound pretty good. You are now also set up for the largest 20 inch (50 cm) discs. Do you happen to have any ?

[Inigo]

I once found three of them in Madrid, which I acquired for a London friend collector of opera 78s. They were big and heavy! Never saw another one, though...
Pathé records sound very well and clear. Sometimes I play my small box of them in the only machine I can play them, an Aeolian Vocalion consolette, and I'm marveled how natural some of them sound, specially the opera ones.

[CarlosV]

Very nice machine, congratulations! Just be careful with the interface of the horn: the ball is pot metal (zamac for Europeans), really thin and can crack under the weight of the horn if it is not well balanced and exerts force on the sides of the connecting tube.

[fran604g]

A real beauty, congratulations!

Fran

[drh]

Congratulations ! These instruments sound pretty good. You are now also set up for the largest 20 inch (50 cm) discs. Do you happen to have any ?

I wish! I know the 20-inch discs exist, but I've never seen one. To be honest, I don't think Pathé ever sold them in the United States, and I shudder to think what would be involved in shipping one across the Atlantic. Indeed, it's a bit of a mystery how this machine would have made its way here; as far as I can tell, Pathé's domestic production never included an outside-horn machine, mainly variations on the same modest, straight-sided "half-cabinet upright" design, and that horn would have been awkward, to put it mildly.

[drh]

Very nice machine, congratulations! Just be careful with the interface of the horn: the ball is pot metal (zamac for Europeans), really thin and can crack under the weight of the horn if it is not well balanced and exerts force on the sides of the connecting tube.

Thanks for the warning. I wonder if the cygnet-style horn might be a good choice in that regard, as it would balance the weight more down in the center than twisting around an axis at the rear?