The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I need a model H reproducer to play four minute cylinders, I already have a C, should I keep looking for an H or should I sell the C and buy an O or a K, my two minute records are black wax,and the four minutes are blue amberols and one wax amberol. How much should I expect to pay for a model H, K, or O reproducer?

The cheapest way out for you is just to buy an "H" as you already have a "C".

Rich Gordon

First, be sure your machine will play both 2 and 4 minute cylinders. Earlier machines only play 2 minutes cylinders.

An O reproducer fits the large carriage opening; the C, H, and K fit the small carriage. If your machine accepts a C without any kind of adapter, it will not accept an O.

Since you have a C already, I would personally tell you to find an H to play your 4 minute records. The drawback of the K (and the similar S with the larger diaphragm) is that the 2 and 4 minute links are connected, which reduces the clearance between the reproducer and the record. That means if the record is warped or uneven, there's a small chance that the unused stylus bar can contact the record and damage it.

As far as prices go, an H is somewhere around $100, a K typically $200, and an O costs $300+ for the pot metal version and significantly more for the brass version. Of course, like anything else, this depends on condition, whether they are rebuilt or not, whether you are buying from a dealer, a collector, or Craigslist, etc.

Thanks for the information,my machine is a Standard model D with 2-4 gearing. I will keep looking for an H then.

As I said, that's the way to go.

Rich Gordon

At the time the D series of machines were sold, the K reproducer came, as standard equipment, with the least expensive Edisons, the Gem and the Fireside. The better machines, the Standard, Home, Triumph, and Idealia, were sold with both the C and H as standard equipment. The prior advice suggesting an H reproducer is good advice. I bet you could scare on up quickly with an ad in the Trader section. I'd suggest you hold out for a steel bodied H and not a pot metal one. Jerry Blais