The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Just brought home a Brunswick Seville. I was pleasantly surprised to find out it sounds really great! This reproducer is about the best I've heard. This must surely be Brunswicks answer to the Orthophonic and Viva-Tonal soundboxes c.1925 or so.

You can watch and listen to it play on YouTube at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s49tcHIVL2k

The acoustics in my storage area aren't the best, but it still sounds good.

Anyway, I'm very happy! Got it off Craigslist for $75 and I don't have to rebuild anything, it seems to be working great!

CDB

$75 is almost free. Glad you got it! That soundbox is almost identical to the ones on Brunswick's awesome Portable Panatrope; I think they are superior to Victor's and Columbia's.

I've had the portable for many years & did nothing but clean & oil it, but on a whim I carefully opened the reproducer and found that there was just enough warpage to cause an air leak. I taped crocus paper to a pane of glass & flattened each surface so they would perfectly match. Result was an even more outstanding portable phono.

Your Seville sounds great!

Sounds good.

Is the lid gone, or just set aside for the moment? Just curious.

Clay

You have a nice looking and sounding machine. I can only imagine what it sounds like with the lid closed, it sounds like an electrically amplified machine. Maybe its my ears, your machine sounds superior to the Orthophonic and Viva-tonal machines.

What kind of needle are you using? Loud, Soft or Medium?

FloridaClay wrote:Sounds good.

Is the lid gone, or just set aside for the moment? Just curious.

Clay

This is my 'workshop'. I take the lids off when I transport them to the 'shop', makes it easier to take the motors in and out and also helps to facilite refurbishing the cabinets. When I'm happy with the machine, I'll put it back on.

CDB

Victrolacollector wrote: What kind of needle are you using? Loud, Soft or Medium?

Loud, which is way to loud for the 'workshop' on this machine.

Beautiful machine! That bright work looks factory-new. And the sound is fabulous! I'm very jealous.

A question: is that needle angle normal on this Brunswick? It looks to me like it's almost vertical. I know on my XI the recommended tracking angle is 60º IIRC, and that's determined by design (when the sound box pin is properly engaged in the slot in the goose neck).

CDBPDX wrote:

FloridaClay wrote:Sounds good.

Is the lid gone, or just set aside for the moment? Just curious.

Clay

This is my 'workshop'. I take the lids off when I transport them to the 'shop', makes it easier to take the motors in and out and also helps to facilite refurbishing the cabinets. When I'm happy with the machine, I'll put it back on.

CDB

I thought something like that might be the case. Congrats on a great buy!

Clay

Henry wrote:Beautiful machine! That bright work looks factory-new. And the sound is fabulous! I'm very jealous.

A question: is that needle angle normal on this Brunswick? It looks to me like it's almost vertical. I know on my XI the recommended tracking angle is 60º IIRC, and that's determined by design (when the sound box pin is properly engaged in the slot in the goose neck).

I must correct myself on the question; I was referring to what I thought I saw on YouTube, when I should have looked at the photo in the first OP post. There the angle looks OK.

I have a stray Brunswick reproducer which has a large collar; do these mount on a big rubber washer, or is it metal-to-metal ? I bought it as a spare for my portable, but found it doesn't match its tonearm.