The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

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That's a very cool machine. And with that reproducer it will definitely beat most other stand-up phonographs. Also love the blue Columbia series, too bad that they didn't make so many of them.

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Eric, If you get time post a YouTube video or an mp3. I for one would like to hear that beauty!

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Thanks for sharing! Sounds and looks good! It looks like you have the wrong crank in the video but the right one in the pictures?

wow!! that is one great sounding suitcase portable, and a wonderful early Mills Bros. recording on Brunswick to boot!! They actually did that same song when they guest starred on an early Betty Boop cartoon short in the early 1930's.

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1926CredenzaOwner wrote:I’ve heard people say that the RB Columbias wear faster than the VT Columbias, but I haven’t noticed. Besides, wasn’t Columbia bought out by ARC right before they started producing these RBs? Anyway, not too many records from the Depression era survive today… its just nice to have the few that I do.

It does seem like most of the few RB Columbias I have are in poorer condition than Columbias before and after that period. I chalk some of that up to the fact that since those records appeared during the Depression, fewer records were bought then by the public, and those they bought got played more than records before and after. On either side of the Depression records got fewer plays, as the public bought new records more frequently.

I notice on some of my RBs where bits of the playing surfaces are actually chipped out of the record, revealing the paper layer underneath!



Within the year before they were introduced, Columbia changed the size of their records to conform to the standard sizes from the other labels. They had been exactly 10 and 12 inches as opposed to the 9 ⅞" and 11 ⅞" of Victor and everyone else. I wonder if they had also made the playing surfaces a little thinner on the RB discs? However, the RB discs overall are no thinner than the records made before or after them.

The RBs were introduced in December 1932, and produced into 1936. ARC didn't buy Columbia until 1934.