Phonographs I would love too own, but can't afford

[PeanutTheRabbit]

I purchased my very clean early Victor I for $425

[Edisonfan]

Would love to own a coin op phonograph like Columbia one, but the prices are too high.

[Steve]

Humm, in no particular order:

AN HMV Melba, complete with original matching base. Come to think of it, this might be #1. An over-the-top machine.

Clay

Well, that would probably be my first choice from what I don't already have but seeing as I live in the UK (where they were originally made and sold) and can count on one finger the total number I've seen in 32 years, I'm doubting it'll ever happen for me. You might be a whole lot luckier.

[Starkton]

[quote=Steve post_id=346624 time=1720454402 user_id=192]
[quote=FloridaClay post_id=203203 time=1518538032 user_id=1151]
Humm, in no particular order:

AN HMV Melba, complete with original matching base. Come to think of it, this might be #1. An over-the-top machine.

Clay
[/quote]

Well, that would probably be my first choice from what I don't already have but seeing as I live in the UK (where they were originally made and sold) and can count on one finger the total number I've seen in 32 years, I'm doubting it'll ever happen for me. You might be a whole lot luckier.
[/quote]

Which English factory is supposed to have built the Melba and its pedestal?

[epigramophone]

After over 60 years collecting I already have most of the machines which I ever wanted to own. The few which are still on my wanted list are almost unattainable, not through lack of money but through lack of availabilty. They are :

A Seymour Superphone. I only know of one in existence.
An EMG Mk.VII. The survivors can be numbered in single figures.
The Italian and Spanish versions of the HMV102. I have seen one "La Voce del Padrone" 102 for sale in the UK, which had an overpainted case and a ridiculous price. I have yet to see a "La Voz de su Amo" 102 for sale anywhere.

Space is also a consideration for most of us. Many cabinet gramophones which were expensive to buy when new are now almost unsaleable, and few people have the space to take advantage of their low prices and build a collection of them. Of course money can buy space, but at our age my wife and I don't want to move house, and we have already extended once. The UK planning authorities do not look kindly on applications to extend extensions.

[gramophone-georg]

Cool old thread!
I will still get the Vic 6 someday, although I haven't seen the Eduardo cabinets available for years.

George,

I’ve been selling the “Eduardo cabinets” for years. I have one left, and he will not be making any more. You can see it on this web page: [url https://www.musicaltreasuresofmiami.com/6j-victor [/url] and further details here: https://www.musicaltreasuresofmiami.com/6l-cabinets

The story behind these cabinets is that about 15 years ago, Charley Hummel took two different V6 cabinets to Peru for Eduardo to copy. After a few years, Charley stopped selling the cabinets and with his permission I assumed the business. Getting them built and imported was a long and arduous process, and not for the faint of heart. COVID put an end to Eduardo’s ability to have them built as several of his craftsmen either died or left for parts unknown. Eduardo is an absolute perfectionist and will not tolerate sub-standard workmanship, hence he has given up on resuming their manufacture.

Raphael

Well, that's a shame. I remember seeing the phono cabinets and record cabinets from Peru on eBay- a LONG time ago. That was what got me thinking... I could create a NEW Vic 6 with those. Buy a basket case 6 with a clapped out cabinet, rebuild and replate everything on the works, and drop it into a new Eduardo phono cabinet over an Eduardo record cabinet with a new mahogany spearpoint as the cherry on top!

It's very true that the pandemic and its aftermath certainly killed a lot of businesses for sure. There are probably at least 15 classic Porsche, Mercedes, and VW suppliers that I thought would go on forever that closed or the owners passed. There are 3 local businesses- on a parts CHAIN- as well as a local paint supplier I dealt with frequently that are all gone now. So it is with the phono world as well, and Covid really kicked Peru's behind, unfortunately. Glad Eduardo survived, and I certainly understand his- and your- positions on this. I knew you took over the wooden horns but was not aware you were also importing the cabinets!

I must say, however, that the big Parlophon I got from you in 2020- that I never, ever expected to see the likes of ever again- is quite a good consolation prize.

[ColoradoPhonograf]

Well,

I've been following the topic over time. Just trust your instincts and trade up as you can. I've always been a budget collector, with a gracious wife who understands. Gradually through buying and trading good somewhat common items, year after year and parts and good connections you can upgrade.

Good hunting wishes to all,
ColoradoPhonograf

[Lah Ca]

I would like a nice internal exponential-ish horn machine with a great reproducer sound box. It isn't that I can't afford such a machine. It is more that I don't have physical room for one. And curiously, I generally find the cabinets that these later machines live in less stylistically attractive than simpler earlier machines.

And having heard a fellow CAPS members' EMG machine, I wouldn't mind having one of those. But .... I am not likely to find one, nor am I likely to be able to afford one if I did find it, and I still wouldn't have space for it.

[JerryVan]

I would like a nice internal exponential-ish horn machine with a great reproducer sound box. It isn't that I can't afford such a machine. It is more that I don't have physical room for one. And curiously, I generally find the cabinets that these later machines live in less stylistically attractive than simpler earlier machines.

And having heard a fellow CAPS members' EMG machine, I wouldn't mind having one of those. But .... I am not likely to find one, nor am I likely to be able to afford one if I did find it, and I still wouldn't have space for it.

A Victor Orthophonic 8-12, or an 8-9, is a fairly compact machine. The 8-12 are fairly common, but finding one with a decent finish is a trick.

[JerryVan]

There is "can't afford" and then there's "don't want to spend that much money". In the end, it's all about the same.

So, my spending limits, whatever the reason, have kept me from owning an Edison Class M and a Columbia GG. Years ago, I passed on a GG at a Stanton's Auction. It went for a price that I would have paid, but I had another item in my sites that day and my checkbook wouldn't stretch for both. I have really not had the chance to buy another one since.

If we could buy all that we wanted, with no spending limits, what fun would that be? In our collecting, we would have nothing else to aspire to and to hope for, and no excitement in tracking down a desired machine, at a price that fits. In my current collection, I have machines that I never thought I could afford, (nothing earth shaking mind you), but with patience and some good luck, I was able to find them and add them to the collection. Those finds were fun and made the hunt, and the hobby, all the more exciting.