Edison Standard E Horn Question

[mattrx]

I recently purchased an Edison Standard E with the original Blue morning glory horn. What I have read on other sites said that the paint is rarely in good shape on these. I am relatively new to this, and would like some opinions/advice. The inside of the horn is in good shape, with only a few small chips. The outside condition is not as good, should I repaint the outside and leave the inside alone, or should I leave it alone entirely. Opinions? Also, if I should repaint the outside, has anyone done this and what paint did they use?

Also, in order to attach the horn using this crane (supposedly original), I had to use a rubber tube approximately 6 inches long. This seemed odd to me, but maybe it should not be. I would think the original horn should attach without this length of hose.

Thank you,

Matt

[Jerry B.]

If it were mine, I would leave it alone. It looks very nice and when it is on display, you really only see the inside. And actually, the outside is not bad. I say this from the perspective of someone that has done a fair amount of restoration work. A totally repainted horn always looks like a repainted horn. It would be really really hard to match the outside to the inside. About the only horn repaints that I have been satisfied, are the repainting of the body of a black and brass Victor horn. Your blue Edison horn is unusual and looks very nice "as is" in my opinion. Jerry Blais

[Jerry B.]

If you used a short length of fine chain from the crane to the horn, would that allow you to shorten your rubber connection? Jerry

[phonojim]

Congratulations on a great find. I would do nothing to that horn. It is in great condition and anything you do would diminish its value both historically and economically. The length of connector tubing does seem excessive. I have a similar crane setup on a Home which uses a 3 inch length of tubing and about 5 inches of chain between the crane and the ring on the horn. Even three inches of tubing is longer than I want as even that much sags a little bit. These cranes can be adjusted in several ways, but you have to work with them to get the "hang" of it.
Will try to upload some pictures of my setup tonight.

Jim

[mattrx]

Jerry,

Thank you for the advice. I tried a small chain and shorter tube. The tension created pulls the reproducer forward/up and off the cylinder. I will keep playing with this. It was suggested that the Standard E was originally designed for a cygnet horn, but this one has not been drilled for the back bracket, and what I read on one site was that the blue horn is original only with the standard E.

Do you have a good suggestion on what to use to clean the outside of the horn. I am afraid of damaging/removing more paint.

Thanks,
Matt

[rizbone]

I would leave the horn alone. In addition to adding some chain to hang the horn you may want to look for an aftermarket part to change the angle. One that shows up on e-bay quite frequently is a tiz-it. This allows the rubber to be shortened as it doesn't have to make a sharp turn to connect the horn to the reproducer.

[Andersun]

Matt,

1. I would definitely keep the horn the way it is. It is beautiful inside and out!

2. As somebody mentioned earlier, the machine setup was designed for the cygnet horn (top mount), not a horizontal front mount. To use it as it is, you need to have a connection that will allow for easy rotation between the connector and reproducer on a horizontal plane. That Tiz-It in the previous picture should work if the connection is easily rotatable on the reproducer.

You should also have some chain on the crane to give some more flexibility of the complete system (crane-horn-reproducer).

Your crane might be an older reproduction or was designed for a larger horn. It looks like it cannot adjust towards and away from the machine to give you a better fit without having a long rubber connection. 6 inches of tubing seems very excessive but won't hinder any sound quality.

If it was me, I would find a different crane that can adjust better. If that crane is a reproduction, then I would cut some of the top rod off to custom fit.

Steve

[Valecnik]

I agree with most here. I'd recommend not to do anything with the horn except listen to it and occasionally dust it lightly.

[phonohound]

Hi Matt;

The Standard E was the only Edison phonograph supplied with the blue flower-painted morning glory horn. This model originally came with a large-eye, slanted carrier arm, (not vertically above the mandrel) and a model N reproducer. It was not originally designed to be used with a Cygnet horn. This doesn't mean the ownwer couldn't have upgraded it if they wanted to.

I would leave your horn as is for the reasons the other members have stated, but if you wanted to reduce the stress on the reproducer carriage, you may want to replace it with an angled carriage. It may be tough to find the correct large-diameter carriage as the E was the only Edison model to offer this.

Scott

[Jerry B.]

I believe the same blue horn was offered with a Fireside, perhaps in a mail order combination. It seems like too much horn but I've read this somewhere. Jerry