What got you started in the hobby?

[fran604g]

This guy hand delivered two of his and Tim's books, in the dead of winter; a little like a country doctor treating a sick patient.

Fran

[Marco Gilardetti]

A plausible theory, Marco. It may well have merit. For my own part, while I'm not certain of anything in this transitory realm, I'm rather fond of the maxim that there is but one, possibly two profoundly pleasurable and awakening experiences in life. And the remainder of our adulthood is an attempt to recapture that feeling.
Of course, one must not discount a natural affinity for fine objects, from a mechanical and aesthetic standpoint. How I marveled over the first seemingly moribund tabletop victor I discovered in my grandfather's carriage barn near his vintage sportscars. How eagerly I wound the phonograph, set a needle and played a Paul Whiteman 78. Then settled down into the spartan, yet comfortably masculine cockpit of his '24 Bentley. All this when I was but 8.

Agree. Indeed I can affirm that having owned that portable as a kid made me a different person under all aspects. It is no exaggeration.

Even today, it is always amazing to detect and re-discover how my parents are constantly surprised by the fact that I still dig gramophones and radios and those fleeting hobbies that I will quickly get tired of. I almost can't believe how they did and do fail to acknowledge that it wasn't a momentary whim, but the fondness of a lifetime instead.

Oh, well.

[phonogfp]

This guy hand delivered two of his and Tim's books, in the dead of winter; a little like a country doctor treating a sick patient.

Fran

Oh no you don't! I'm blameless - - You were already a sick puppy when I delivered those books!

George P.

[mikejk]

This guy hand delivered two of his and Tim's books, in the dead of winter; a little like a country doctor treating a sick patient.

Fran

Oh no you don't! I'm blameless - - You were already a sick puppy when I delivered those books!

George P.

George,

I am not feeling well. I think I need a delivery.
Mike

[VintageTechnologies]

I'm rather fond of the maxim that there is but one, possibly two profoundly pleasurable and awakening experiences in life. And the remainder of our adulthood is an attempt to recapture that feeling.

Interesting. That was the theme of "Citizen Kane" - a successful man tries to recapture the boyhood pleasure of a simple sled.

[bigshot]

For me, it was the music that got me started. I think I am quite different than most phonograph collectors. I don't have all that much interest in the machines themselves, just how they sound. I am an avid music collector from all eras, and I noticed that some music sounded MUCH better on contemporary playback equipment. I think the first thing that I noticed that with was hearing an early Capitol Sinatra record on a 50s era console. When I got into 78s, I wondered if the thin, shrill transfers I was hearing on CD might not be the way the music sounded on a Victrola, so I bought a VV-2-65 on eBay to find out. It blew me away for early electrical records, so I got a VV-X to play acoustics on. That was even better sounding for the older records... so much better than the CDs. I did my research to find the absolute best sounding phonograph possible, and settled on the Brunswick Cortez. It would be nice to have a external horn machine with a nice wood horn for show, but I am totally satisfied with the sound of the Cortez for just about everything.

[Chuck]

"Fawn Eyes, Played by the Edison Symphony Orchestra"

[AmberolaAndy]

Unlike most people here. It wasn’t any family members that got me in this hobby. When I was a kid in the 90s and early 2000s nobody I knew personally had a wind up phonograph let alone anything that played LPs or 45s! (Back then I think people looked at records the way we look at VHS tapes today.) I think it was seeing them in museums, learning about them in school, Reading and seeing pictures of them in books, seeing them in movies and TV, and pictures of them on the internet is what got me interested. I got my first phonograph, an off brand portable and 78s in 2008. And I’ve been hooked ever since!

[audiophile102]

My friend Roger Merenkov runs a business near my home. One day I stopped in for a visit and found that Roger had purchased a horde from an estate sale of all kinds of interesting phonographs. I have always loved antiques so I looked at all of them and asked many questions. The one machine that caught my eye was a Sonora Invincible. I didn't know anything at that time about windup phonographs, but the quality of the cabinet demanded my attention. I bought the Sonora for my birthday and I have enjoyed it ever since. I didn't know anything about the music from the 78 era, but Roger turned me on to the hot jazz records he had.

My wife was with me when we visited Roger's business and the machine that caught her eye was an Edison A250 on oak. I thought it was interesting, but at the time I was smitten by the Invincible. We returned to Roger's business a few days later and purchased the A250. Over time I really learned to appreciate the Edison almost as much as the Sonora. Mostly because of the Golden Gate Orchestra records I purchased.

I would like to buy MORE machines, but the ones I fancy don't come on the market often or are VERY expensive. In any event, I'm in this hobby for keeps thanks to Roger. Here are photos of my machines.

http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... =2&t=21672
http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... =2&t=22625

[Lucius1958]

Again, I will repeat my 'origin story':

I have a distant memory of my grandmother demonstrating a toy, hand-wind gramophone to my brother and me: it was not an antique, but a plastic replica (I remember it as being red). The rest, I cannot put into any exact timeline; but here goes: I was given one of those 'Famous Inventors' (or whatever they were called) version of a wax cylinder phonograph, and tried unsuccessfully to get it to work. I also took an interest in the family albums of 78s, and listened to them on our stereo, or on a little portable. Also, some family friends had a Victrola which fascinated me (it might have been a VV-XI, but I'm not sure): I remember seeing a Diamond Disc among their 78s, and wanted to play it; but they demonstrated that it wasn't compatible.

My obsession grew when I was given some old Hathaway & Bowers catalogs: I salivated over the music machines shown therein, and started pestering my parents for a phonograph like one of those in the catalog.

Finally, when I was in middle school, or the equivalent thereof, I was finally given an Amberola 30 as a birthday present.

The rest is history.

Bill