Is this the real Columbia Q horn?

[Phono-Phan]

From the pictures, I would think this is a reproduction horn.

[AmberolaAndy]

From the pictures, I would think this is a reproduction horn.

Oh well, it still looks better than that original beat up japanned Cone horn I currently have on it. On a positive note, I finally got my Q spinning fast enough to play black wax and celluloid 2 min records!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=d9F6vZQrrzk

https://youtube.com/watch?v=uZw4zMofCIY

There is a little warble in the audio. Probably needs the governor replaced.

[flying500]

What exactly are the telltale signs of a repro horn on the seams?
Can someone please explain. Maybe some pictures?

[JerryVan]

What exactly are the telltale signs of a repro horn on the seams?
Can someone please explain. Maybe some pictures?

This picture, borrowed from eBay, kind of shows it. The seam has a pronounced step on the side of the horn bell, while the backside of the seam, on the cone side, has only a slight ridge. It makes the largest diameter of the cone, (just behind the seam), larger that the smallest diameter of the bell, (just ahead of the seam). That mismatch is how most reproduction horns are made.

[flying500]

Thank you for the clarification, that makes sense now.
Jerry

[AmberolaAndy]

So it’s a genuine reproduction. But boy does it look aesthetically better than the horn I had on it! Not to mention way better then when I first got the thing in November 2018.

[Jerry B.]

Yes, it's come a long ways. Jerry B.

[fran604g]

Andy, have you added your Q to the questionnaire? If not, please do. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=38225

Best,
Fran

[AmberolaAndy]

Andy, have you added your Q to the questionnaire? If not, please do. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=38225

Best,
Fran

I believe I had. On the first page.

Here’s a video of it with the new horn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWlncGYtjWE

Now, I wonder how I can reduce the warble in the audio, and I wonder if it’s the governor needing a replacement or the need of a wider belt?

(BTW is one of those silver feet things for the Q expensive and hard to get?)

[pallophotophone]

Well,

The Q I gave as a gift to a friend had that same degree of flutter. The only way it could be completely eliminated was to replace all 3 weights and springs from a parts carcass.

Incidentally, I never introduced myself properly to the list, so I want to take this opportunity to hopefully address the situation.

I got started being more than avidly interested in vintage machines and records sometime in the mid 1950's when my mom and dad bought me an upright Victrola from the local Salvation Army and records for it. The machine probably cost around $2.50 and the records were a nickel. At that time, you could have virtually anything that was on the shop floor for $2.50. They bought that machine and records to try and keep me away from their records. Needless to say, it didn't work out that way.

My dad junked the machine after the mainspring broke. But my parents, relatives and bay sitter continued to buy 78's that I played on my parents 1947 RCA Victor radio/phonograph model 65U machine.

I retired last February from the Audio Archive at Syracuse University. But gave the university 48 years of my life working in the audio visual dept, video dept and last but not least the Audio Archive. I did some machine work for Prof. Walter Welch over the years and purchased Walter's EMG gramophone from his daughter after Walter had passed. I still have it. And did a conservation/restoration procedure on a North American Class M machine that I used to own. Long story...

But that's enough about me for now.

Cordially Yours,

Bob Hodge