The prized piece of YOUR collection

[kirtley2012]

i thought this would be a interesting topic, what is your favorite, rarest, prized piece etc of your collection?.
to get the ball rolling, mine would have to be my hmv 31, a very rare machine that i am very fortunate to own! however, the horn was badly re-painted in the past so i am going to have to re-paint it properly
Alex

[Brad]

I'll jump in Alex. Nice HMV by the way.

I have always said that my favorite machine is my next one, but I have slowed the hunt down and am developing a renewed appreciation for my existing machines.

My offering is not especially rare (I think) but it is an unusual machine with various evidences suggesting an interesting history.

As near as I can tell it is a prototype diamond disc A-(or B)250. The modem tag does not have a model number stamped in and the serial number starts with the letter "X". (The antiques roadshow side of me wants to place this as one of the prototypes Edison had made up to show his cabinet makers that the existing Amberola 1A cabinets could be used for Diamond discs. , in reality, it probably is just an employee special for old stock parts).

Anyway, it is special to me and one that I will keep to the end.

(It was discussed last year in this thread http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... f=2&t=6166

[OrthoSean]

Hands down, mine's my EMG Mk IX that I bought from a member here who found it in the wild. I love this machine and I don't regret a single thing about it, I've put a TON of work into tweaking things since I bought it and the motor has just finished being rewired after it stripped it fibre gear then fried (the insulation on the wiring literally cooked).

Here's a link to a Facebook video I made of it just days after I got it and a shot of it the night I got it.

https://www.facebook.com/video/video.ph ... 4055173933

[rizbone]

I have to go with my Grafonola deluxe. I have to admit I use it more as a music box, but it doubles as a pretty good record player. I managed to get to the antique store one day after a small child spun the turntable and stripped the fiber gear, so I got a pretty good discount.

[WDC]

Let's throw in my Columbia Type N Bijou cylinder machine. It's also not an extremely rare one, but what makes it special to me because of the three years it took me to complete it with the matching gutta percha reproducer, recorder and horn.

The 20" brass horn is made of much heavier sheet metal than later bell shaped horns. I just love the simple non-ornate and straight shape of the early Columbia cases.

The crane is a later 1903 but its rectangular arm corresponds perfectly to the funnel shape of the horn.

[Steve]

It's a very difficult one this, Alex, but for now I'm going with my Pathé 'E'

[doublemike]

It's a very difficult one this, Alex, but for now I'm going with my Pathé 'E'

Steve, your Pathé is WONDERFUL! A very beautiful piece of art, for me.

[kirtley2012]

everyone.
you all have beautiful machines, keep em' coming
since i prefer cylinder machines slightly more than gramophones i have to say my favorite by far is the columbia N

brad, thanks for the compliment on the hmv, your edison DD machine is very nice, i will have
to find one someday or possibly just the reproducer to adapt my hmv 31 to play them

ortho sean, very nice! as you know, among the best gramophones around, i own a mk 1X horn that i am making a base unit for! you should try to get the horn fixed, a horn that isnt sagged is in my opinion much more visually appealing

rizbone, that is a very strange machine, i have never seen one before and i have never before seen a machine to be used as a music box and a gramophone in the same unit!, it took me a while staring at the photo to realise you replace the turntable with a disc to play as a musicbox!

WDC, i LOVE your machine, i will add that to the top of my wish list, how much would one of these cost? both one of these machines and horns, do you have any video's of it?

steve, that is one of, if not THE best Pathé machine i have ever seen, it is in pristene condition!
Alex

[Steve]

Thanks doublemike and Alex!

Yes, that is one of the things I really like about the Pathé, apart from it being 'elaborate' and decorative, the fact that it has never been touched or tinkered with from new. And it is 104-6 years old.

Oh yeah, and the fact that it is a rarity with that lid with the dome shaped top. Why didn't other manufacturers think to add a lid? Was it because Pathé had previously made cylinder machines with enclosed cases that they simply thought to carry the idea through to disc machines?

Whatever, I like it.

[HisMastersVoice]

My favorite machine would have to be the 8-35. While it isn't terribly rare (though hard to obtain), it's my best sounding machine and is in near-perfect condition. It has the complete original album set, original turntable leather, and I just think it's beautiful both aesthetically and acoustically. This one won't be on the market again for another 70 years or so

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