The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Me thinks, a new thread on George Overstall is overdue.
Where is the George Overstall gramophone? Good question, perhaps a search can be done on the forum, was the reply from Alastair Murray. He said there was a picture of it in a copy of the Hillandale News and that it might be somewhere in France.
Picture is from the back cover of issue 51, October 1969. A detailed article within on how the gramophone was built by S.G. Overstall. (What's the S stand for?)
Alastair also kindly sent me a few pictures of some Overstall items to share on the forum.

The great Overstall instrument is indeed in France in very sympathetic hands. I have emailed the current owner and invited him to join us. Watch this space, hopefully.....................

Neat! Looks as if it has a Garrard 301 or 401 turntable in it?

Sean

OrthoSean wrote:Neat! Looks as if it has a Garrard 301 or 401 turntable in it?

Sean

Goldring Lenco 88. As good as a 301 IMHO - the platter is even more massive, for one thing.

Good morning from France.

I received yesterday an email from a friend in Hampshire (EMGER) concerning the whereabouts of the 'Overstall' gramophone, and can confirm that I am the keeper. I acquired it from Frank James some 15 years ago, who had been using it for demonstration in his shop in Blaenavon Gwent; this was to be a replacement for my EMG Mk.X oversize, which I had been obliged to sell for financial reasons.
I have not yet had time to take photographs for this forum, but will do so if anyone is interested. A few measurement/details. The horn measures 28.5inches x 28.5 inches at the bell, and is roughly 8ft 8inches in total length(including tone-arm). It has as is rightly observed a Lenco 88 turntable.
I learnt from Frank that the calculation for the horn was the work of students at the University of Warwick, in or around 1947. It is constructed of fine plywood, with angle aluminium framing....the whole being finished in gloss paint. It remains exactly as it was built

clipper wrote:I have not yet had time to take photographs for this forum, but will do so if anyone is interested.

Yes please !

Good morning once again from France....a further update on the Overstall.
As a result of the interest shown, I fitted a new motor, and got the machine up and running, and at the same time photographed the inner workings.
These, with a great deal of difficulty, I have attempted to post on line, and they seem to have arrived in a somewhat chaotic order...also I find that one is limited to ten images, so will have to have to send the final pics another time.
I was asked for some approx. measurements, so: The case which is built of solid 1" thick mahogany, and started life as a Victorian shop counter measures 26.5"/67cm long, 15.75"/40cm deep, and 12"/30cm high.
The horn, as you will see, is mounted on a separate block, which is secured to the case by three cabinet bolts, and as is shown in another pic George Overstall's attention to detail was such that he fitted a blanking plate,for such times when the horn was removed to prevent any foreign matter getting into the lowerpart of the horn.All three sections fit together seamlessly, and are a tribute to his skill in woodworking.
The tone-arm appears to be of parallel bore, and there are several 'swans necks' each of which alters the tracking considerably.These attachements lock solidly in position, and all movement both virtically and rotationally comes from the EMG base.
I have played a good many record, since the overhaul, and it performs very well...most noticeable is it's reproduction in the lower frequency range.
More anon.

A couple more photos of the Overstall.

Fantastic, exciting and intriguing to see this - many thanks indeed!

Two things that we think we know are important to the accurate amplification of sound are the use of exponentially tapered tone-arms and smooth circular horns without odd wave reflections arising from straight edges, "flat" spots and unequal travel distances from centre to edge. I'm astonished that this machine appears to ignore both principles? Why wasn't the horn circular? Also, if this was made in the 1950's, wasn't acoustic amplification dead at the time? If so, what was the purpose of it? It's certainly intriguing but not very pretty to look at!

How does it compare to the little Expert machine...Minor, Junior?