The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

George Paul should be able to shed light on this little scam...er...device . This ad is taken from the The Literary Digest for April 13 , 1912. The title of the magazine makes it sound like a journal of fiction but actually it was the Time Magazine of it's era.
Be that as it may...the device appears to be a series of tubes inserted at the base of the horn. I suppose the Morse Brothers are implying that the pipes are tuned to resonate with various frequencies. If it's as small as I think it is it would have no effect whatsoever.
Jim

LSG, I found mine in the "U" tube of my mahogany Victor 5. At first I thought it was a bug nest. To my surprise it was these wooden tubes of different sizes with a brass band at the other end. I never tried to see if it made any change in the sound. I can't recall ever seeing one for sale. Can anyone else??.

I've seen two or three on eBay over the past 10 years. Most recently I saw one about a year and a half ago. Can't remember what they sold for though.

Hey Scott long time no talk.... . Thanks for telling me you have seen others. I know there is one in the second Tim & George book. The one in there I think was for a cylinder machine to go inside the rubber horn connector. I would say that this too is the same diameter. They were only a 1.00 when new....????. WOW!!!, I'm sure there not much more now . I think you could make your own. I should put it in and see if it really does something (other then muffle the sound)or not. I remember seeing one inside a Clarke/Johnson reproducer in the Reiss book. Funny, in that picture it too looks like a bug nest...... . Someone just put it inside the throat of the reproducer.

Who knows: being wood, it might have absorbed some of the high-frequency hiss (along with a good portion of the volume).....

As for the Reiss book, weren't those straws in the Clark-Johnson reproducer? They probably predated this little gimmick....

The tiny tubes in the Morse Clarifier are made of paper.

I too have seen a few on eBay over the years - - I think that's where I got mine. They don't go for much as I recall, maybe $10-$15.

George P.

George, that's right....they are a paper like material that look like tiny straws. Up close they look like solid tubes.

Geesh if i saw that in a machine i got at first i think it was a bees nest or wasps nest? looks a little like one. I dont see how this could change the tone though?

I knew you folks would know. I suspect that by constricting the passage it might have attenuated the high frequencies and cut a bit of the surface noise.
JRT

According to PHP, the 'Morse Clarifier' was patented by Frank Morse over a two year period between 1910-1912. Those wishing the nitty-gritty details may view US Pat. 1,014,841. It was made and sold in MN if I recall by Frank and his brother for $1 retail. The tapered ends of the "plurality of nested tubes" (pressed paper or straws) were installed internally facing away from the reproducer.

Allen
http://www.phonobooks.com