The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I bought an early Victrola VI a couple of years ago and it had this reproducer. It says "Violin Spruce" on the face of the diaphragm. Underneath that is a signature which appears to read MDians. Does this make sense to anyone? Perhaps a violinist at the time? Under the needle bar is an image of a violin followed by "Patented Oct 10 ????". I thought the use of violin spruce was probably a gimmick. I recently tried it on a Victor II and the sound was comparable to the Exhibition. The body is pot metal so I've made no attempt to replace the gaskets.

I would appreciate your comments.

Do you have a gimmick reproducer to share?

Jerry Blais

This sound box was manufactured by The Diaphragm Company, 5005 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio. We show one of these with its original box on page 136 of Antique Phonograph Accessories & Contraptions.

Considering the thinness of the spruce diaphragm, this sound box must have been subject to changes in humidity. Guitars (whose sound boards are much thicker) sound differently in humid vs. dry weather (unless in climate-controlled environments, of course), and must be carefully monitored in the spring when indoor air becomes more humid. The entire guitar will expand, causing the tuning to go sharp, and if left in this condition under greater string tension, damage can result. I imagine this spruce diaphragm may have sounded somewhat "tubby" in the summer and more brilliant in the winter.

It's an interesting gimmick, though.

George P.

I've never seen one of these in the flesh, but I recall them turning on on eBay from time to time. There are ads for them in the Talking Machine World, I'm sure. If nobody beats me to it, I will search my archives tomorrow after work and see if I can find one and post it here. I've always wondered what a rebuilt one would sound like, but I suspect probably not much better than anything else.

Sean

One ad for dealers, one for the public. Check out that article on chickens + strychnine. Yummo.

Ah, great, thanks for the ads, Edisone! I knew I'd seen one in the TMW at some point.

Sean

I wonder if the wooden reproducer disc is tapered thinner towards the edges, as with violin tops and piano sound-boards ?

I too have one to share. This is an "Add-A-Tone" reproducer. No markings to indicate manufacturer. It has a removable aluminum horn which rotates over a limited range. It's output is quite shrill compared to the large horn I've installed on this Vic 2. By positioning my ears just right between the two horns, I sense there is a noticeable difference in tones (lower ones from the larger horn, higher ones from the small horn) and phasing which gives a pseudo sense of stereo. Further away, the two sources blend to a single sound source which to me does seem to have a slightly fuller range. Russie and Lori Ofria

De Soto Frank wrote:I wonder if the wooden reproducer disc is tapered thinner towards the edges, as with violin tops and piano sound-boards ?

And violas! Everyone leave us out!

Edisone wrote: Check out that article on chickens + strychnine. Yummo.

Why am I suddenly hearing Tom Lehrer in my head?

Bill

Found this ad as well: