The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hey all. Time for another "repurposing" question. This has to do with those tone arm adapters that were made back in the 1910s that enabled one to play non-Edison records on an Edison disc machine. I see there are a couple available on e-bay right now (am bidding on them; if others of you are too, that's of course all OK--it's all fair game).

My question is: for those of you who have experience of these kinds of adapters, how well do they work? I'm not talking the quality of reproduction; reproducer repairs are another matter. Rather, how well do these adapters permit the Edison tone-arm to track the non-Edison records? I'm assuming that while playing non-Edison records one would have the tone arm DISENGAGED from the feed screw mechanism and therefore the record grooves themselves would have to pull the heavy Edison tone arm and horn assembly.
OR is it possible to engage the Edison tone arm drive? I'd think that would not be advisable as the grooves of Edison and non-Edison discs are probably of different widths.

Please advise, ye wise ones.

Ralph

I think the Kent adapter is one of the better options.

For most any of them, you should have the Edison mechanism dropped down so the elbow of the Edison horn roughly tracks the groove. The reproducers have some flexibility to move laterally to right and left to, in order to compensate for the different speed at which the steel needle tracks the groove. Someone here must have some instructions for a Kent or Orotone they could post?

I have one of the adapters, although not a Kent. I am not sure of the make because there is no maker's ID on it anywhere. Mine does not require any modification to the feed. Because it swivels laterally it compensates automatically and the difference in number of groves per inch is irrelevant. It works quite well. Looking at the pictures of the Kent it looks like it works on the same principle.

Clay

Valecnik, Florida Clay, and Gramophoneshane, thanks all so very much!!! These Kent adapters certainly sound worth spending some money on. Thanks for explaining all the details about how these do permit the normal operation of the Edison tone arm without compromising the grooves of the non-Edison disks.

Sounds like you guys already have yours; now I just have to hold off all the rest.

Ralph

Edison adapters like this, be them Kent, Sterling, Orotones etc are not at all hard to find. I've built up quite a few of them just from machines I've picked up and some strays along the way. I'll agree that the Kents are among the nicest, but I have one Orotone that can also rotate to play Pathé's which opens up another world entirely as well as a Sterling, which does the same. I like the Sterling better, it's made of very sturdy pot metal, but it has a reproducer between the size of a Victrola #2 and #4 (closer to a 4) that really packs a punch on both laterals and verticals when properly rebuilt.

Sean

Here is a link to a thread concerning how to use these adapters http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... it=kentone

(I still haven't tried my Kentone)

I think the best possible combination for playing lateral cuts on an Edison would be a Kent arm with a Victrola no. 4 reproducer but I've never tried it. Anyone else have an opinion on that?

pughphonos wrote:
Sounds like you guys already have yours; now I just have to hold off all the rest.

Ralph

Well, I don't; but now you've got me intrigued......

Be intrigued, Mr. Lucius Centaur. Go ahead and bid on whatever you want. This string has introduced me to so many ways to obtain and modify these adapters that I'm cool.

I WAS wondering if the original Kent reproducer was any good. Glad it can be replaced with a Victor No 4 if one wants.

Ralph

pughphonos wrote:

I WAS wondering if the original Kent reproducer was any good.

I would rate a "good" restored Kentone as being pretty much in line with an Exhibition. As long as there's no swelling or warping of the pot metal body, what little they may lack in needle bar pivots, is made up for by the larger diaphragm. They're not brilliant when it comes to electrical recordings, but then neither is an Exhibition.