Stripped screw in Colibri winding gear.

[Marco Gilardetti]

And here comes the much awaited video!!!

I'm very disappointed with the audio, though: Windows Movie Maker literally destroyed it! I thought it was the camera microphone at first, so I've even spent a lot of hours re-recording, dubbing and syncing the movie with a better audio track, but whatever you do Windows Movie Maker just shreds and trashes it.

Should anyone want to listen to the actual soundtrack not grinded by WMM just ask: I have a separate audio track.

Enjoy!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDfufrROAU0[/youtube]

[Mr Grumpy]

I'll have to watch it when I get home tonight (no speakers at work!).
If you want to imbed the video next time just do what you did on your second attempt...

(Double-click the video above or click this link to go to the video on YouTube.)

But remove the 's' in 'https'

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDfufrROAU0[/youtube]

[Mr Grumpy]

Great work with the machine, there's something about it that really appeals to me.
I think its the almost perfect little cube shape when it's closed and the "Colibri'
on the reproducer (it makes me think of Calabria, my mother's birthplace).

Incredible work with that video as well, I have to try my hand at editing
my Youtube videos that way.

I use the exact same needle tin around my house as well!

[Marco Gilardetti]

Thanks a lot, I appreciate it! It's indeed a very nice little machine, and I agree that most of its charm among collectors probably comes from the very simple but yet very fancy graphics of the soundbox. I also appreciate that the tonearm is a true (although collapsible) tonearm, and not a simple metal bar with a soundbox hanging on top as sometimes happens with ultra-portables. There are others machines as small or smaller than this one, but this is the most appealing of all in my humble opinion.

Just to entertain my friends and guests, lately I'm showing it to them *closed* and nobody can guess what it actually is. Knowing that I'm a classic photographer, all of them say that it's a vintage camera in the end, although somehing tells them that it's not actually a camera. Everybody is really charmed and fascinated when I show them how it is set up and how it can actually play a record.

It's funny what you wrote about Calabria, as the word Colibri is read with the accent on the final vowel so it sounds completely different: cala'bria - colibri'.

Concerning video editing: well, thanks again, I appreciate it! But I strongly suggest you to verify *before* doing some intense editing that your Movie Maker version is one of the most recent ones that allow some control not only in the final video quality but on sound quality as well. The versions up to Windows XP service pack 2 will just shred the sound and trash it, literally. Also avoid the recent personation of that software named "Live Movie Maker"... That's a horrible step back and you really don't want to have anything to do with it. Best of all would be if you'll use some simple third-party free software that perform the same task. I'm sure there are many.

Thanks also for the hint on the link, I've edited my post. Oddly enough the first (broken) link was the strict syntax of official BBcode. The second (also broken) was the syntax suggested for phpBB fora. I was quite amazed that both didn't work as they were available as buttons in the edit page, but decided to leave both hoping that a moderator would see them and correct my post.

[Marco Gilardetti]

Should anyone like to hear how this gramophone actually sounds like, this file is the actual recording made with a quality microphone and appropriate sampling. I'm sorry that Movie Maker made such a mess over sound, that doesn't really do justice to this machine and its feeble and shallow but still quite good sound.

You really don't want to hear your gramphone through over-compressed, ultra-lossy sound files after having spent hours on rebuilding the soundbox' gaskets!

[Henry]

Wow, Marco, bravissimo! Your sound box rebuild sounds flawless,with no distortion, buzzing, or rattling, and that little machine puts out a strong sound indeed! There is no variation in turntable speed; the pitch remains steady throughout. Congratulations on your persistence in successfully completing this challenging restoration!

As for the recording, I have a special interest in the opening and closing soli, which I'm pretty sure are trombone con sordino. If so, that guy has a fabulous high register. I really can't decide whether the final solo is a trumpet, it goes so high. (I am a retired symphony trombonist, so I'm more than a little bit embarrassed here!)

Anyway, thanks for all your efforts in bringing this project to a successful conclusion!

Henry

[Marco Gilardetti]

Thanks a lot, Henry!

This little machine has indeed a very well regulated speed. Better than some very reputable portables that I own. I haven't tried it with a "twelve incher" yet but I have to: I think it might play it up to the end.

Congrats on your career as a musician, I wish I could also play brass! I think that in this track it is Aimé Barelli himself who plays the soli. He is usually potrayed with what appears to me as a standard trumpet. Actually perhaps a bit oversized trumpet. But of course you'll be the judge:

[Henry]

Yes, that's definitely a standard trumpet! So much for my ear Thanks for the correction!

[Marco Gilardetti]

Well, you actually wrote that it sounded like a trombone, but it must have been a trumpet as it went so high in pitch... You were right, in the end!

Also, I agree that it's not the usual sound of a trumpet with sordino, but somewhat different. That was probably the distinctive touch of Aimé Barelli, his signature...

That's a very nice French standard, anyway, isn't it? I like it very much.