Panatrope 15-8 find

[VanEpsFan1914]

I know I haven't finished my Edison Home yet but I figured there should be a Panatrope in my life so that's what happened--I got a nice 15-8.

The top looks like the surface of the moon and I needed a bit of black tape to fit the reproducer more snugly to the arm but it was in working order! The only bad things are, the motor has some gear noise, unusually for a Brunswick; there's a tiny bit of pot-metal deterioration on the soundbox but I think it will be salvageable.

This is a fun machine and I love the American walnut cabinet. It even had the original grill cloth & turntable felt. There is some deterioration throughout but the brass tonearm has the wonderfully patchy oxidized bronze finish and between that, the ochre-colored felt, golden grill cloth, and contrasting walnut veneers, this is just a nice little machine with a lot of understated elegance.

My favorite feature other than the big Panatrope horn was the record bin under the lid: it looks like something out of a late-1920s changer and gives a very modern feel to this ancient machine. I will be refinishing the top eventually with some of the grain-filler left over from my Edison Home and with some nitrocellulose lacquer, and will gradually get it up to code--but in the meantime I'm just happy to have found a Panatrope cabinet I could afford. Besides, I've never had a decent Orthophonic-style cabinet model, and with my addiction to 1940s classical boxed sets it was time to get a nice machine to compliment my Viva-Tonal portable.

For those curious, it was forty dollars well spent. Not sure what year it is; can't find it in the Wakeman book. Still a good one.

[epigramophone]

I thought that the bin under the lid was where owners kept their booze during Prohibition .

[gramophone-georg]

I thought that the bin under the lid was where owners kept their booze during Prohibition .

Maybe some "Crazy Rhythm"

"What's the use of Prohibition
You produce the same condition
Crazy Rhythm, I've gone crazy too!"

NICE machine- likely 1926-27.

[BillH_NJ]

Congratulations on the find! I’m still lookng and waiting for a Panatrope to join my Credenzas, Sonora Philharmonic, and Viva-Tonal. I do have a Panatrope 42 changer than belonged to my wife’s godmother, but that is quite a different animal and it is not working right now in any case. Yours looks like a great project.

Bill

[OrthoFan]

.... Not sure what year it is; can't find it in the Wakeman book. Still a good one.

I use the Firefox browser to open all PDF files now, which makes searching for specific text a lot easier.

I did a search of the book, and was able to spot two written references:

Page 132: " In July a small console acoustic Panatrope was introduced—the Model 15-8—priced for only $150.00.(200)"

Page: 370: "15-8 $150.00 (Introduced) (9/15/1928)"

...along with an illustration which appears on Page 244:

(Please note this image is taken from a copyrighted source and is posted here for informational purposes only.)

HTH,
OrthoFan

[CharliePhono]

Charles, congratulations! Always nice to see another Panatrope. I have never seen one like that; it's lovely. Of course, once working properly, you'll be amazed at its ability to reproduce electrically-recorded discs. One of the things I like about my Seville (and I'm sure will be true of yours) is that they also are very good at reproducing acoustically-recorded discs. I use mine for both. That spruce horn and impossibly long tonearm constitute a great conduit for sound. Enjoy and maybe at some point favor us with a video of it in action.

~ CharlieP

[VanEpsFan1914]

Thanks y'all!

It was a pretty good find I think. You should have seen the looks the cop gave me when he saw me driving around with it upside down on the roof of my old rattletrap car. A furniture blanket, a bath towel, a couple straps, and a piece of string to shut the two doors made it moveable--I just got in and out the driver's side window like the Dukes of Hazzard and was able to drive around just fine, keeping it below forty miles an hour.

--Oliver-- It may have something stashed in it yet. I moved and now have a bathtub of my own--a pity if someone didn't make a bit of gin in it.

--George-- I love that song Crazy Rhythm! Haven't got it on record any more but it is fun. If you're impressed, that impresses me--considering you've got a taste for exceptional phonographs.

--Bill -- That sounds like a great collection of post-1925 acoustic machines, especially the Sonora Philharmonic; you really don't find those often at all. Thanks for your kind words; it's most certainly a project but I tend to save rough machines generally instead of nicer ones I can't afford. Good luck fixing the electric Panatrope changer.

--OrthoFan-- Your reading comprehension is a lot better than mine was; I got distracted in Wakeman's colorful descritpive history and missed the full-color advertisement for my new machine. I guess it's a 1928 model then. The ad makes it sound like it's a phonograph & a half--Certainly helps identify the wood. Walnut should be fun to work on; never had a walnut phonograph but I do have a rather chewed-up walnut radio.

--Charlie P. -- Glad you got a kick out of it; I've never seen this kind before either! There are not a lot of pictures of these out there. I don't know if they're harder to find, or if collectors aren't big on messing with console cabinets like this. Either way it's right here in preservation and I plan to hang on to this one for a long, long time. Got a lot of records to play on it.

Anyway the plan is I may end up trying to fix this one very, very slowly, but if I can figure out how to make a video of the restoration I shall. It's typically unrestored and seems rough. This is the first post-'25 floor model I've gotten hold of. I love the horns in the old Panatropes--these machines are as nice to look at as they are to listen to.

Unfortunately every time I've found a Panatrope for fairly cheap the cabinet was usually heavily water-damaged, but this time around I said "all right, why not" and snagged it. You know, it was listed on Facebook as just "Antique record player," and one look at the tone arm told me exactly what it was. Didn't know what model, but knew what it was vaguely enough to get interested.

It will look nice after restoration; I just hope the reproducer is repairable.

Charles F.

[dzavracky]

I am glad you ended up getting it! I like the way it looks.

Best of look fixing up the top!

Cheers,

David

[JerryVan]

Thanks y'all!


It will look nice after restoration; I just hope the reproducer is repairable.

Charles F.

Charles,

Let me know how you fare with the reproducer. I may have some parts. Not 100% certian of their condition however. I do know that the diaphragm is toast, but the rest of it might be okay.

Pictures of yours???

[VanEpsFan1914]

Thanks Jerry for the heads-up on possible spares.

I know on mine the diaphragm, mask, needle bar, etc., are excellent but I am not sure about getting the back plate out. It would be great if there were new back plates made for these things considering Panatropes are a highly regarded phonograph.

There were a couple needles still in it so I was able to play it a little--the sound is very quiet but I'd been told by David that Panatropes can be very quiet with soft tone needles.

Do you all think that this could be taken apart, in the condition it's in? Haven't got the spanner right now to do it but it looks better than some pot metal reproducers.