The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

As im sure ive brought up several times,, i have been building a gramophone but i am stuck with building a internal conduit to expand from the hmv 511 tonearm to the horn spigot, the thing i was wondering is does the conduit have to expand if i use a expanding gilbert tonearm because if it doesnt then i can just use simple pvc pipe to make the conduit!

Does anyone know if this will work?, i cant install the tonearm umtill i know for sure!

Only yesterday I was listening to a friend's home made gramophone, which uses a variety of HMV components.

Into a Model 14 cabinet he has installed a 157 horn, a No.32 motor and a small bore 1925-27 pattern tonearm. The final connection between the horn and the tonearm consists of the tapering spout of an old galvanised watering can, and no I have not made this up!

Using an early Meltrope, the sound quality is rather good.

If I had known that this topic was coming I would have taken some pictures to post, even though they might have upset the purists.

Good luck with your project, and let us all see the results when you have finished it.

Alex, PVC pipe will work fine, it just wont give optimal performance without a taper. Then again, without the correct taper, you wont get optimal performance either.
The first horn machine I ever owned was a frankenphone made from an HMV 122, with a small bore swan-neck arm, no.4 soundbox & an Edison 8 panel horn mounted on the motor board. It had a simple PVC pipe conduit connecting the two, and it actually sounded great.
I think the important thing to remember is to keep the non-tapered part of the sound path as short as possible.

epigramophone wrote:Only yesterday I was listening to a friend's home made gramophone, which uses a variety of HMV components....The final connection between the horn and the tonearm consists of the tapering spout of an old galvanised watering can, and no I have not made this up!

Oh, no! What happened to the flowers and veggies?

I have to admit that his garden does not look good....

The PVC connection should do just fine.

Thanks guys, i am trying to get the best sound quality possible, i am using the best possible parts (emg horn, garrard motor, hmv 511 tonearm etc) so i want it to at least come close to a emg, i think i will do some experiments with the pvc tubing and see how it goes!

Yesterday fellow forum member Thorneedle and I visited Graham Rankin (EMGCR), where as always we had a most entertaining and educational time. You will never hear 78's better played than on one of Graham's machines.

We all wish you well with your current project.

He' s an insperational man isnt he!, i hope to one day meet him and his gramophones in person!