Are cheap gramophones worth buying ?

[poodling around]

Well, I think so !

It does depend on your personal standards of course !

Anyway, here is one I purchased for around £ 30 - and I think it is great fun and sounds okay.

So, in my view, "yes" they are worth it ........... so go and rescue a few and give them a good home !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnI3u4J8nrA

(Oh, the clicking and clunking is the camera lens re-positioning and the loose wooden floor-boards !).

[JerryVan]

When I began collecting, I bought cheap gramophones. I must admit, the hobby was more fun in those days, so I understand your enthusiasm for your new find.

[Steve]

When I began collecting, I bought cheap gramophones. I must admit, the hobby was more fun in those days, so I understand your enthusiasm for your new find.

In hindsight, I think I bought relatively expensive "cheap" gramophones in the early days: off-brand or run-of-the-mill HMV stuff no one was particularly fighting for but somehow never quite qualifying as "cheap". I think the question relates more to the poor condition or stuff otherwise deemed undesirable by most collectors and in all honestly, I don't think they're worth it, especially now with a less than buoyant market, unless you can use a part from them which is otherwise unavailable elsewhere like the soundbox or winding handle.

I've seen skips loaded with these items which no one has bought at auction. The worst "offenders" being cabinet gramophones for the most part.

[poodling around]

When I began collecting, I bought cheap gramophones. I must admit, the hobby was more fun in those days, so I understand your enthusiasm for your new find.

Interesting.

I suppose that I am happy with my gramophone collection and am finding it fun to explore what there is on the cheap side.

[poodling around]

When I began collecting, I bought cheap gramophones. I must admit, the hobby was more fun in those days, so I understand your enthusiasm for your new find.

In hindsight, I think I bought relatively expensive "cheap" gramophones in the early days: off-brand or run-of-the-mill HMV stuff no one was particularly fighting for but somehow never quite qualifying as "cheap". I think the question relates more to the poor condition or stuff otherwise deemed undesirable by most collectors and in all honestly, I don't think they're worth it, especially now with a less than buoyant market, unless you can use a part from them which is otherwise unavailable elsewhere like the soundbox or winding handle.

I've seen skips loaded with these items which no one has bought at auction. The worst "offenders" being cabinet gramophones for the most part.

Yes ! When you say '... poor condition or stuff otherwise deemed undesirable by most ..' you are absolutely correct !

[Inigo]

But to turn those poor machines to the playable/good condition is one of the most attractive parts of this hobby. Isn't it? There's only one thing I cannot suffer: bad design gramophones.
But those humble off-brand machines that happen to have a good motor, tonearm and pseudo-exponential horns, which finally make them perform acceptably enough, those are great fun to bring sharing to life! And if the price has been cheap, there is yet more punch!
I still keep my first gramophone, a cheap generic portable branded Diana, I believe it's Italian. Hardware is Thornes, so good quality. The main drawbacks are three: misaligned tonearm (bad geometric design), a major air leak in the tonearm base (bad tonearm design), and a bad pseudo-exponential horn, a copy of hmv101's, but too wide too soon, which makes it have a hard resonance peak, not funny to play.
I acquired a different Thorens/Paillard tonearm, much better design, and I'm planning to rescue this machine from oblivion, but use it for experiments, trying to improve it by means of slight modifications here and there... or use its parts to build a new machine from scratch.

[gramophone-georg]

When I began collecting, I bought cheap gramophones. I must admit, the hobby was more fun in those days, so I understand your enthusiasm for your new find.

Interesting.

I suppose that I am happy with my gramophone collection and am finding it fun to explore what there is on the cheap side.

And that is ALL that matters. Period.

[CarlosV]

So, in my view, "yes" they are worth it ........... so go and rescue a few and give them a good home !

I share your view, especially concerning unbranded or obscure machines. Normally they sell for low prices and sometimes they are worthwhile, with some different characteristic from the better known brands.

[Phono48]

At £30 you can't really go wrong. The motor and soundbox are worth more than that. But more importantly, you like it, which is all that matters.

Barry

[Inigo]

Hey... and this oak veneered case should look magnificent when repaired and properly waxed...