Columbia BKT with 2/4 min?
-
- Victor III
- Posts: 548
- Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2009 12:54 am
- Location: The BRONX / Yankee Stadium
Columbia BKT with 2/4 min?
Is it standard to have two and four minute options on a BKT? I just picked one up and it has the switch, but do I need two reproducers? Never had a BKT. Thanks!
- Attachments
-
- IMAG0541.jpg (117.47 KiB) Viewed 1693 times
-
- Victor Monarch Special
- Posts: 8515
- Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:25 am
- Personal Text: Stop for a visit when in Oregon.
- Location: Albany, Oregon
Re: Columbia BKT with 2/4 min?
I think the BKT is more commonly found as a two minute only player but the 2&4 shows up as well. I would imagine that you would need two reproducers but I've heard people comment about Columbia using a stylus that's in between in size for use with both two and four minute cylinders. I've also heard that it does neither type very well. I would appreciate other comments. Jerry
-
- Victor III
- Posts: 548
- Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2009 12:54 am
- Location: The BRONX / Yankee Stadium
Re: Columbia BKT with 2/4 min?
My suspicion was just one reproducer, because the reproducer is held in with two screws. You would have to get a screwdriver each time to change. I did try it out with both two and four, but the whole machine needs a good oiling and retightening here and there before I can tell if its really working right.
- phonogfp
- Victor Monarch Special
- Posts: 7397
- Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 5:08 pm
- Personal Text: "If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will." - A. Lincoln
- Location: New York's Finger Lakes
Re: Columbia BKT with 2/4 min?
I think Jerry's right about the single "in between" reproducer.
George P.
George P.
-
- Victor II
- Posts: 393
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2009 5:03 pm
Re: Columbia BKT with 2/4 min?
Well, George, I don't think it was an "in between" reproducer, it was a 4-minute. An intermediate stylus size would not have worked for the 4 minute records, anyway. A too-large stylus playing a typically overcut (no land between the grooves) vertical recording is likely to cause echo at the best and skip grooves at the worst. Unlike the case with lateral recordings, a smaller stylus works pefectly well playing the wider groove of a vertical recording, so long as it doesn't cause excess wear. A proper vertical playback stylus sits on the bottom of the groove, not on the sidewalls as with lateral records. Columbia was selling Albany Indestructible 2 and 4 minute celluloid records by this time, both of which could be played with the smaller 4 minute stylus. Too bad if you couldn't play your Edison wax records on the Columbia machine, the answer was simple - buy new Columbia celluloid records!
Collecting moss, radios and phonos in the mountains of WNC.
-
- Victor IV
- Posts: 1140
- Joined: Sat Aug 01, 2009 5:17 pm
- Location: Can see Canada from Attic Window
Re: Columbia BKT with 2/4 min?
Check my question about my BK's reproducer. ChuckA posted a pic: http://myvintagetv.com/posts/col4min.jpg
-
- Victor III
- Posts: 548
- Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2009 12:54 am
- Location: The BRONX / Yankee Stadium
Re: Columbia BKT with 2/4 min?
My reproducer is identical. I cleaned the whole thing just now and am trying to get the belt tension right but its operational now. Thanks for the tip about only using celluloid cylinders and no wax ones!
-
- Victor III
- Posts: 548
- Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2009 12:54 am
- Location: The BRONX / Yankee Stadium
Re: Columbia BKT with 2/4 min?
By the way, the sound is pretty measly. I am sure if there were new gaskets and a snug leather belt it would be better, but as of now its not very loud.
-
- Victor III
- Posts: 548
- Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2009 12:54 am
- Location: The BRONX / Yankee Stadium
Re: Columbia BKT with 2/4 min?
Now I am curious, is this a BKT or a BQ? It has the horizontal carriage.
- Valecnik
- Victor VI
- Posts: 3829
- Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 3:28 pm
- Personal Text: Edison Records - Close your eyes and see if the artist does not actually seem to be before you.
- Location: Česká Republika
- Contact:
Re: Columbia BKT with 2/4 min?
US,USlakeside wrote:Now I am curious, is this a BKT or a BQ? It has the horizontal carriage.
If you have a horizontal carriage it's probably a BQ. The motors and cases were otherwise identical as far as I know. Some pics of a BQ here. http://www.bojo.cz/phonograph/columbia.html