The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

soundgen wrote: Sun May 23, 2021 1:57 am Banus Banus comes to mind !

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=31878&p=189823&hil ... us#p189823

Yes, it did to me as well. I doubt that BB made Marty's machine, and they most definitely did not make the machine in my grandparents' attic that came from Germany. I don't think BB was in the habit of using HMV 4 spring motors, either.

Of course, there's always a chance I'm wrong on all counts.

soundgen wrote: Sun May 23, 2021 1:57 am Banus Banus comes to mind !

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=31878&p=189823&hil ... us#p189823

The machine Sr. BB is working on certainly does look a lot like mine- but on the other hand the one I have seems more refined. Hmmmm.

The reason I wound up with this machine is sentimental, which always makes for a potentially bad investment. When I was a little guy, I was fascinated by a machine that my maternal grandparents had in the basement of their house in Clifton NJ. Years later, I came to realize that it was an RCA Victor 331 Duo. I now own a similar machine.

When we went on a vacation to Canton, Ohio to visit my paternal grandparents, they had a huge old house- almost a mansion, really- that was just incredible for a little kid from Brooklyn who was used to a 4 room apartment to explore. There was room after room after room- 3 levels plus an attic. Of course I discovered the Webcor Musicale in the parlor with all the 78s- and then my grandfather said he would show me something special. We went up into the attic and there it was. I was allowed to wind it up and play records to my heart's content! That was my intro to windup gramophones.

Now we all know kids embellish things, and the childish mind remembers things bigger and better than they ever were sometimes. Plus, it was going on 55 years ago now. For some inexplicable reason, next trip out a few years later, all the 78s and the gramophone were gone. Cleaned up and donated, so the story goes.

I always wondered what the hell that machine was. Always knew it was German, likely brought over in the Twenties after WW1. I described it to a lot of collectors who shook their heads and said sorry, I never saw one like that.

Then I saw this machine and it all flooded back... right down to the pinkish Parlophon picture label Schallplatten that I used to play on that machine, and that were kept with it. There were also a few 10" discs with colorful cartoonish labels that I now know were Columbia Graphophone discs that were sold to raise money for the German and Austrian Red Cross.

So... to put it mildly... WTF? Of course I couldn't tell you if the Marty machine is closer, or this one is closer to what was in the attic. I just remember generally. Did Mr. Banus- Banus fool us all, or did he copy a rare machine?

I think you are very lucky to own this machine, it really makes an impression

nostalgia wrote: Sun May 23, 2021 4:05 am I think you are very lucky to own this machine, it really makes an impression

Agree. As soon as I saw it I was pretty much floored, as it was pretty much exactly the machine I remember or a superb imitation. I have owned hundreds of windup machines over the years and I have to say that the build, fit, and finish on this is second to none, and even superior to all in some ways. The cabinet is just incredible- the solid wood is as thick or even thicker than my Victor 10-50X in places. The spring motor is larger than the Victor Vs I have had, and runs far quieter now that it is serviced and adjusted- in fact, the only hint that the turntable is running is that you can see it. It's built like a Mercedes 600 'grosser'- no expense spared. If it's a Banus Banus they were absolute master craftsmen. My understanding is that they used Garrard motors almost exclusively, though. I didn't have any clue what I'd find for a spring motor when I purchased this and was more than pleasantly surprised to find one like this:



and THAT is what inspired me to start this topic. I'd seen Lindstrom/ Parlophon machines with similar tone arms but never this motor- and the motor had what appeared to be the original grease in it as well.

Any chance of a photo please? I doubt it was made by Banana anyway.

Steve wrote: Sun May 23, 2021 1:57 pm Any chance of a photo please? I doubt it was made by Banana anyway.

9 photos on P.1. If you want photos of something else just ask. On the motor you'll just have to take my word for it. To access, the horn needs to be removed, the back bracket needs to come off, and then there are 8 screws that need to be removed to lift the board. It's not like popping a latch and lifting on this, unfortunately.

gramophone-georg wrote: Sun May 23, 2021 2:07 pm

Steve wrote: Sun May 23, 2021 1:57 pm Any chance of a photo please? I doubt it was made by Banana anyway.

9 photos on P.1. If you want photos of something else just ask. On the motor you'll just have to take my word for it. To access, the horn needs to be removed, the back bracket needs to come off, and then there are 8 screws that need to be removed to lift the board. It's not like popping a latch and lifting on this, unfortunately.

Thanks. For some reason the photos weren't showing when I scrolled through earlier.

Anyway, moving on to your machine.....the tonearm is definitely an original Lindstrom one but the elbow is different and throws the horn too high in my opinion. The Marty machine was completely genuine but had a powerful Lindstrom motor as expected.

I have an enormous Parlophone Model 9 with jewel set case. The motor has two springs but its easily twice as powerful as the Victor 4 spring. Its an absolute monster. It seems inconceivable that they would make such a grand machine as yours and only put the humble Victor 4 spring in it!

Either way your machine is fantastic and very well restored.

Steve- Mind posting some photos of your Nr. 9?

I do agree that the angle of the horn on the Marty machine seems better, but not annoyingly so. It seems that the elbow on mine is original to the horn.