EMG Gramophone - Beyond All Hope?

[emgcr]

btw Graham, your video camera appears to have audio AGC (automatic gain control) enabled (maybe there's no option to disable this?) and the microphone sits near overload most of the time. While it's impossible to capture the true sound of a gramophone in a room and reproduce it using a hi-fi, you can get a lot closer with a decent microphone and manually setting the recording level so there's no "pumping" due to the AGC.

Very many thanks for this comment and, as is probably painfully obvious, I have little to no knowledge as to what goes on inside these wonderful small modern cameras. I shall look for settings but, as with all these things, trying to understand the instructions requires at least one PhD. I may need help from an expert ! I should very much like to make better recoedings but time is always against me if I am to get on with the restoration (and the rest of life) !

[emgcr]

Here are some workshop photos of the horn mounted on an ex-Lumière/HMV base unit. I am trying carefully to investigate and record full details of every aspect before beginning the restoration as the unusual condition allows many normally hidden construction methods to be seen and evaluated. I shall report in due course.

[kirtley2012]

That was once and will be a wonderful horn!
I love those lumiere emgcr bases!, I think I. Prefer the look of them over the original tabletop emg base units!, very nice!!

[Steve]

Graham, I rather like the 'organic' look it has at present (I'm serious!) AND it sounds as good as any EMG with it. I'd be tempted to simply leave it as is, enjoy it and simply spray the paper leaf green so it looks like a tree trunk that has become overgrown with ivy or something. It'd be a shame to restore it and undo all that wonderful 'patina'!

[emgcr]

Steve, I absolutely know what you mean and in many respects completely agree with you. It is a powerful piece of art in its present form isn't it rather like the Bugatti that was fished out of the Swiss lake ? It really is quite a dilemma ! The sound is good but nothing like the quality of that put out by the new horns although the reverse seems to be suggested via YouTube. What to do.....???

[chunnybh]

Great pictures.
I can understand not restoring it if there were lots of these about. How many oversize horns are know to exist?. I know of 5.
In it's present stage it's going to fall apart, so you are going to have to do some restoring. Perhaps don't re-paper it. It seems almost all there so I'm sure simply put back together will be enough. Miraculously there doesn't even seem to be a droop.
One step at a time. Sweet!

[Orchorsol]

Pleistocene indeed.
Good one Graham!

[kirtley2012]

Pleistocene indeed.
Good one Graham!

what is Pleistocene???, schools just don't teach me enough

[emgcr]

The following four links show videos of the Krakenhorn in action---three recordings by Jussi Björling and one by Reinhardt & Grappelly. I have made these so that it will always be possible to see exactly how an EMG Oversize horn can sound when partially destroyed.

The microphone is sufficiently sensitive to pick up direct soundbox frequencies as the camera circulates the gramophone case. In one recording (Che gelida manina) this unwanted sound is excluded by closure of the lid but I think it is interesting and instructive to compare the two modes. It is also worth noting that YouTube has added quite a lot of reverb’ which some listeners find attractive---including me. It is also relevant to point out that the room is a workshop with a hard concrete floor. In all four videos the camera/microphone is closer to the horn outlet than in my normal videos which are filmed in the sitting room---volume is clearly louder in the workshop.

Krakenhorn links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQaGEcVdLFY "Questa O Quella" Björling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5THFt4BW9A4 "Di' tu se fedele...." Björling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojs88ChMdag "Che gelida manina" Björling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4bI4TpSxBc "Ain't misbehavin'" Reinhardt & Grappelly



I have made videos of the same four records on the EMG in the sitting room for comparative purposes in the same order.

Fibre-glass Oversize links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChHCk5O--Sg "Questa O Quella" Björling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKjQ1U7luO4 "Di' tu se fedele...." Björling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_a_e5n-coU "Che gelida manina" Björling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDuW34lAyzM "Ain't misbehavin'" Reinhardt & Grappelly

[chunnybh]

Can we have all 4 recordings with the fibre-glass horn on the same gramophone in the workshop. That would make it a fairer comparison as both will have the same acoustics and Youtube limitations.