The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Always wanted one, but now's not the time, money or space...

Looks like it would clean up nicely... and if it goes for that opening bid, cheapest I've ever seen one go for...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0358463944

Wow, someone got a deal. I'm not a big fan of Columbia machines, but I've always liked the way these look. A friend of mine has one in excellent shape and it's a real looker!

Sean

Columbia machines have performance problems but that machine is ALL about looks- Wow!

That looks indeed like a great shot. I find Columbia generally more exciting than others as they always tried to implement the very latest improvements. A well restored Columbia should not have any more performance problems than a Victor or an Edison. This piano looks really cute.

The performance problems are mostly in the tone arm. Until the late 20's Columbia didn't use and sort of bearing in their tone arms and relied on a friction fit- so either it's loose and the sound leaks or more often it's tight and the groove takes a beating pushing the arm across the record- getting the fitting just right is tricky and could have been avoided if they'd spent a little more and used bearings. Other than that they're fine machines with good motors and often interesting features.

Thank you for the details, I wasn't aware of that problemm. The machines I have come by were all in real nice working condition. Of course, that's indeed at least a potential problem.