New guy

[52089]

The second I just recently bought. It is an Edison DD C250 in Mahogany. It has the round medallion inside stating that it is a "Laboratory Model". It has the Duncan stop with what appears to be an original battery (long dead of course). It came with the record duster, a small glass jar of Edison grease and a thing that looks like a guitar pick made of felt. I have no idea what that is. We got 37 records with it. It has the two pull out drawers for records and it has all the numbered cardboard dividers and the drawer index cards which are filled out and match the records. There are approximately a dozen original record sleeves as well. Also got the original key, owners manual and a catalog of records (reproductions) available which is dated 1916. Paid $320.00 at an antique shop. I did not get a 78 reproducer with it though which brings me to my questions. Did those always come with both reproducers or was that an option? The Edison plays well but seems a little subdued and not as clear and loud as those I hear on Youtube. Who is the best and most reliable at rebuilding Edison reproducers, or, where can I get a good quality kit to do it myself? Thanks for any help and I hope to enjoy this hobby, as well as collecting and restoring vintage radios, for years to come.

FYI, all of the machines with the large horn and double spring were "laboratory models".

Congrats to you for knowing what a Duncan stop is - you've clearly been doing your homework!

A 78 (lateral cut) adapter was never sold with a Diamond Disc machine. Edison made an adapter briefly, then realized he would sell far more records if he didn't sell an adapter. Many other companies sold adapters and you'll find many threads about them on this board. Edison repros are not difficult to rebuild. Mostly just cleaning a bit, and replacing gaskets and the diaphragm. One thing you should definitely check is whether your stylus is still good. Allow the stylus to play in the blank area at the end of a record for a while, then check the record. You should not see any signs of wear. If you see that the stylus is making marks, stop using that stylus so that you don't destroy your records.

Good luck with your addiction, and welcome to "group therapy"!

[Mr Grumpy]

Welcome!!

I'm new here as well, only a few months. Beautiful machines you have there!

[pughphonos]

Hi, Groundhog74. Nice Chippendale! I owned one for several years, and sounds like our stories are very similar. Mine only cost a tad over $300 as well. When someone helped me carry it I could hear something knocking around--and sure enough it had an old battery rolling around, to supply the electric stop. Mine also had the thin markers for the record storage. Oak veneer.

I let mine go a year ago to trade "down" (to a nice Sheraton S-19) as I wanted to free up a bit of space--but I exchanged the Chippendale's double-spring motor with the Sheraton's single-spring motor so that I could retain the same play-back capacity (and, yes, I did alert the fellow who bought the Chippendale to this motor exchange--he was cool with it).

Just when you think you are "done" with your collecting, you get a bright idea to upgrade, trade, supplement, etc. It's all fine, and you've found a very nice "enabling" group here.


Ralph

[VintageTechnologies]

Good luck with the Duncan stop. My friend bought a William & Mary upright that has a Duncan stop and a period battery. We installed a fresh battery and had fun playing with it, but, despite cleaning all electrical contacts, it was not very reliable at 1.5 volts. The slightest resistance anywhere will sufficiently block 1.5 volts, apparently. We got better results at 6 volts. I think the mechanical stop was a much smarter idea!

[Valecnik]

Welcome new guy!

Your C250 with the related goodies looks very nice. A few comments on that:

- Show us a picture of the “guitar pic” thing. At least I would be curious to know more about it.
- That Duncan will probably work with a new dry cell but the machine works fine without it as you’ve probably figured out.
- Definitely get the reproducer rebuilt. You will like the result. It surely needs gaskets and may need a diaphragm and/or a stylus. I’ve used Steve Medved for all of the above as he specializes in Edison reproducer repair. There are others that do very good work too. George Volema was already mentioned as one of them.
- What a nice plus to have the dividers, numbered with 37 records that match
o For the ones still in their original jackets, you can get plastic sleeves that fit over them from Bags Unlimited to protect them. You can cut the corners of the plastic sleeves so they fit perfectly over the original sleeve and into the drawer. You can also trim the tops so the plastic rises just over the sleeve. (Make sure to get the larger size bags, 10 ⅝” versus 10 ¼, I think).
o For the ones that do not have sleeves, you can get nice antique green sleeves, also from Bags Unlimited. The smaller sized plastic sleeves fit nicely over these antique green ones if you want but the sleeves are sturdy enough that it’s really not necessary.
o In the above described configuration you can safely store the records acquired with the machine in the matching slot, if you like, without damaging the original sleeves when you pull them out, although the unsleeved records are pretty well protected by the cardboard dividers too. (just a suggestion)
o I used this approach with my A250. You can see the result here on the below link to my website. Click on the link and look for the Oak A250.

In summary, welcome to the forum and enjoy!

[Groundhog74]

Really appreciate all the responses. Valecnik...I'll try to get a photo of the guitar pic thingy sometime soon. I'm inclined to believe it's just that, as rizbone suggested. I'll also try to include a photo of the Cheney. Don't use the computer much at home since I spend all day at work on it. After we accumulate a few more records which have some "livelier" music, as opposed to the marches and church music which composes 90% of what I got, I may pursue getting the reproducer rebuilt. The area where we bought it is filled with Swiss immigrants and Amish. I have a German language version of "Silent Night", and a copy of "Kaiser Wilhelms March". Thinking the original owners may have been of German descent. Why else would you have those two in 1916...with WW1 going on? I'm thinking now I'll just leave the Duncan stop "as is". The battery is in good shape and not leaking, and besides, it looks cool. My wife kids me because whenever I get something like this, or another old radio, I go completely overboard researching the internet until I get as much info as possible on the item to include production numbers, copies of original advertising, diagrams, schematics, price lists etc. Whatever I can find. I have a binder full of the stuff. I guess I am an information hoarder of sorts.

[barnettrp21122]

My guess that the felt pick you mention is a ukelele pick.
If you have a dealer rebuild your reproducer with a different diaphragm, be sure to request that the original be returned. I went through an extended phase of trying different cardboard and foam offerings, and while each have some merit, they also have their faults too. Plus, the originals have a way of ending up on Ebay, sold to collectors such as myself! In my opinion the condition of the diamond stylus has as much bearing on how well a reproducer will sound after a rebuild. Your machine's nice condition may be an indication that your stylus is in good shape too.
Enjoy your new machine!
Bob

[Bruce]

Welcome to the group and a very addictive collecting hobby.

You are correct the members on this site are great, I am amazed every day at the depth of knowledge and how freely everyone shares great advice.

good luck, Bruce

[Lucius1958]

Welcome to the wonderful world of phonomania!

I'm working on a C-250 myself (just need to replace some veneer by now); and I can tell you, once you get that reproducer rebuilt, it's quite a treat! (I'm using a diaphragm made by Larry Hollenberg, btw - an excellent item).

You should also check the stylus for wear, if that hasn't yet been mentioned: a flat spot or chip can damage records pretty quickly.

You'll find the best DDs are generally either the early "transfer" discs (up to mid - 1916); or the paper labels from 1922 on - depending on condition, of course. That's not to say there's nothing good in between: some of the wartime records are surprisingly listenable if they're in excellent shape....

Good luck!

Bill