The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

welshfield wrote:However, the Victrola #4 with its larger diaphragm and the needle bar set-up, was a better improvement

Even better than the Victrola 4, in my opinion, is the HMV No. 4 for clarity throughout a wider tone range. Lately I am using it for all my playing of acoustical (and early electrical recordings when I play them on my acoustical machines.) I had Steve Medved rebuild an Exhibition, No. 2, No.4 and the HMV 4, and have been switching back and forth for some time until I arrived at this opinion.
John

I agree, I think the HMV No. 4 is actually better, especially one that isn't in pot metal.

De Soto Frank wrote:I always heard that Henry Jones was busy driving ladies around in his big limousine, and always breaking-down...


How did he ever have time to invent anything ?

Did Jones break down, or was it his limo?

As for the ladies, I can think of a few (unprintable) double-entendres involving "reproducer" and "sound box," but I'm stopping right here! (I broke down....)

Just remember Henry: "It's a LEFT-hand drive and a RIGHT-hand Squeeze ! "

Aw, shucks, I always use both hands.

Don't just take my word for it, ask Billy Murray...

Ah yes, "The Little Ford Rambled Right Along." Probably the Blue Amberol I play most often. Good fun.

Clay

FloridaClay wrote:Ah yes, "The Little Ford Rambled Right Along." Probably the Blue Amberol I play most often. Good fun.

Clay

I love that song, I play it on Blue Amberol, since my copy of it on Diamond Disc has more of that surface noise from the war era pressings.

ChuckA wrote: A book you might be interested in reading is "Modern Gramophones and Electrical Reproducers". It was published in England in 1929, only one printing. The first 7 chapters are about acoustic reproducers, horns, and tonearms, chapters 8 thru 11 are about electrical reproduction and recording, speakers and amplifiers.

It is an expensive book, usually well over $100.

Chuck

I agree with Chuck's recommendation for "Modern Gramophones and Electrical Reproducers". It is THE REFERENCE for the science behind our acoustic gramophones and Percy Wilson is definitely THE MAN, in my estimation. It was a joy for me as an engineer to finally understand the science of our mechanical music machines, from the tip of the needle to the mouth of the horn. Here is an excerpt from the opening paragraph on Wilson's Sound-Boxes chapter:

"[circa 1929] In its main features the gramophone sound-box has remained unaltered for over thirty years. But only during the last few years has anyone had more than a vague notion of the functions of the various parts. ....the one which was developed [over the previous 30 years of trial and error] happens to correspond closely with that which modern theory shows to be desireable"

David

Thanks for the endorsement, I look forward to seeing the book. I looked on JStor and found a couple of contemporary articles, "The gramophone and the mechanical recording and reproduction of musical sounds" Lovell N.Reddie, Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, 56:2894, 633-649 (May 8 1908) and "The gramophone: Its past, its present: its future" Compton Mackenzie. Proceedings of the Musical Association, 51st session, 1924-1925, 97-119. The first one talks a bit about the auxetophone among others, and the second compares various reproducers and makes of photographs, and talks about the strengths and weaknesses of recordings. Both pretty interesting.