The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

JohnM wrote:wouldn't the term 'talking machine' have been dated by ca. 1919 for general public usage?

Yes, by the 20's the term Phonograph was common, but I don't know when and if there was a cut-off date- probably around the time the Victor patents expired and the smaller makes felt more free of control. How ever, my Cheney was made by the Cheney Talking Machine Co. and is so marked on a brass plate.

Thanks! I don't have a Cheney to reference.

Thank you everyone who responded to my email.
We did buy the Cheney gramophone/ phonograph. We loved it and really wanted it even tho she needs some TLC. From the catalogue you turned us on to, that was posted on this site, we found out that we have a William and Mary model Cheney. I was wondering if anyone knows when these were made? Also, what does the dial with the numbers on the side of the turntable do? And the 3 little cups are for....?
We live in LA and if anyone know who repairs these kinds of machine, we would be SO grateful. Everyone here is so knowledgeable and handy, which we are not!~
Thank you, in advance, for any light you can shed on our beautiful new / old girl.
Here are some pictures of the Cheney we bought - I hope they came out!!

Live4themusic wrote:Here are some pictures of the Cheney we bought - I hope they came out!!

Live4themusic: In order to upload images to the server, you’re going to need to use the ‘Upload attachment’ form located below the area in which you’re composing your message. Unfortunately, you can’t just drag and drop the images into the text field where you’re writing, that just inserts the location on your computer where the image is saved (and shows up as text, not an image).

I edited your post to remove those before approving the post, thinking you might want to keep your login name on your computer private. To edit one of those slightly and use me as an example, it resulted in this:

/Users/mordeth/Desktop/Cheney/CheneyWhole.JPG

If you’d like, e-mail me the images as attachments ([email protected]), and I’ll insert them into your previous post, or if you’d like to join the forum as a member, I can change your guest posts to be owned by your account so you can edit them.

Work’s been keeping me insanely busy of late, but I finally have days off this week and I’d be glad to help you.

— MordEth

Live4themusic wrote:Thank you everyone who responded to my email.
We did buy the Cheney gramophone/ phonograph. We loved it and really wanted it even tho she needs some TLC. From the catalogue you turned us on to, that was posted on this site, we found out that we have a William and Mary model Cheney. I was wondering if anyone knows when these were made? Also, what does the dial with the numbers on the side of the turntable do? And the 3 little cups are for....?
We live in LA and if anyone know who repairs these kinds of machine, we would be SO grateful. Everyone here is so knowledgeable and handy, which we are not!~
Thank you, in advance, for any light you can shed on our beautiful new / old girl.
Here are some pictures of the Cheney we bought - I hope they came out!!

The dial next to the turntable is the speed control. The little cups held steel needles which have to be changed after every one or two record sides. If you'll provide me with a mailing address I'll mail you a xerox of a Cheney operating manual. If you're concerned with privacy send me a private message through this board.

The Cheney instruction manual is also available online at the Nipperhead site that can be printed out.

http://nipperhead.com/old/cheney.htm

If you live in Los Angeles, call Scott & Denise Corbett at 909-984-9241. They live off Euclid Ave. in Ontario -- easily accesible from the 10 Fwy. They also sell needles. I would recommend having them rebuild the reproducer as well so it will sound it's best and minimize record wear. The Corbetts also have a magnificent collection beautifully displayed and an hour or two spent visiting them will go a long way toward fostering your understanding and appreciation of what you have.

The needle stiorage cups are typically arranged to hold needles of differing volumes (or 'tones') in each cup -- soft, medium, and loud, for example. The tone of a needle is determined by it's diameter -- thin needles are quieter, thick needles are louder. Usually, there is also provision made for disposal of the played needles. This almost always is a cup with some sort of lid that has a hole in it, or a bar across it, to prevent your fingers from accidentally reaching in and picking out a used needle. I never use a steel needle more than once. They are inexpensive and changing needles is part of the charm of these machines.

Your Cheney is properly called a phonograph or a talking machine, but definitely not a gramophone (in this country)!

Please tell Scott & Denise I said "Hello".

John Maeder

gramophoneshane wrote:The Cheney instruction manual is also available online at the Nipperhead site that can be printed out.

http://nipperhead.com/old/cheney.htm

This is just like mine- quicker than my mailing one!

Thank you everyone again!!
This information has been tremendous. I will absolutely print out the manual for my Cheney and I will start to refer to it as a talking machine
(as it says on the gold seal inside) or phonograph. A friend, who has collected antique radios for years, gave me 6 cards he had from going to the Rose Bowl Flea Market many years ago. Several places were out of business, but I called one fellow who lived near me and he told me too that I needed to change the needles after each playing -- Wow. I did not know that or about the 3 gold cups either. And, yes, there IS a one cup with a top and a hole in it, which must be for used needles, as you said. One of his cards was your friends, the Corbetts!

I hadn't called them because Ontario seemed a little far- but not if they're as wonderful as you describe! I've been out to Rancho Cucamonga and it's not that far really...we could bring Ms. Cheney out there. I'll call tomorrow.
That catalogue was so amazing - we have a William and Mary -- it was right there!
The front grill is broken and mended, but not well -- would you recommend we get it fixed or let it be "original."?
I just can't wait to learn more about her and really get to have her play well.

This is in reference to gramophoneshane's entry of 7 January 2010---That's true, but in the '20s, most people in the U.S. called any record player a Victrola, which drove Victor mad. I always thought that Disc Phonograph was a reasonable appelation for the early Pathés and the Edisons, because they used a cylinder-like hill-and-dale cut. Bob Ault