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So then, he two gramophones I'm currently working with are dual reproducer models from the mid to late teens. To be clear now, can I play any 78 on these or should I stick to shellac from the period when they were made? It's my understanding that the heavy reproducer arm will prevent proper play of later discs.

What types of phonographs are you referring to? Brunswick? Pathé?

I find that sticking to shellac records of the period tends to work best. Some later shellac records seem to do o.k. however. Red label Columbias are pretty tough. Depends some on the make of your phonograph, as alluded to above, as some do better than others with the greater volumes and frequency ranges of later recordings.

I think Alastair said they were Bush and Lane models, meaning they have the Duo-Vox Reproducer. Doesn't that play other formats like Brunswick Ultonas?

Make sure the thing is turned to the right side with the steel needle in lateral position.

(Alastair if all this sounds too complicated, don't give up! I almost burnt my first Victrola for fire wood, as it was so aggravating to fix and I had no clue what I was doing. Now I am collecting the things!)

If you have a diamond point stylus you can theoretically play Edison Diamond Discs. However, I have yet to find one of they styli that didn't mark the records, so I don't recommend using them.

The Bush and Lane Duo Vox machines I have work quite well. I think that they might have been in the hands of pf a collector or enthusiast before me. The reproducer gaskets are supple and working. A little oil was required, but otherwise I've had few problems. I wasn't quite going into this hobby blind.

What prompted the question is the fact that, with some discs and no matter how I've wound the handle, the machine will start to play inexplicably slowly.

AlastairMorley wrote:What prompted the question is the fact that, with some discs and no matter how I've wound the handle, the machine will start to play inexplicably slowly.

Are you saying that they start out at the normal speed and abruptly slow down, as if the tonearm is dragging the record?

It might help if you list a few of the records that are doing this -- Label, Title, Number stamped on record.

OrthoFan

OrthoFan wrote:

AlastairMorley wrote:What prompted the question is the fact that, with some discs and no matter how I've wound the handle, the machine will start to play inexplicably slowly.

Are you saying that they start out at the normal speed and abruptly slow down, as if the tonearm is dragging the record?

It might help if you list a few of the records that are doing this -- Label, Title, Number stamped on record.

OrthoFan

Yes, that's exactly what's happening. The only record I've been testing this machine with is a Decca Personality Series 78 featuring Lee Dixon with the Oklahoma Male Chorus and Orchestra under the direction of Jay Blackton. It was the only record in the cabinet when I acquired it and I am using it for test purposes. I imagine, though, that it's simply too late a product for this machine to play it.

This may be entirely irrelevant, but I shall mention it notwithstanding: – In the days when I used an HMV 101 portable (obviously a less sophisticated machine than Alastair's) to play all my records, I would sometimes find that the machine would lose speed whenever the record came to a loud passage. The cure was not to tinker with the machine (which had a new mainspring) but to clean the record; invariably the problem then disappeared. I use spray furniture-polish on shellac records of all ages; I know this method is not universally approved, but I have followed it for more than forty years without meeting with any evil consequences.

Oliver Mundy.

Menophanes wrote:This may be entirely irrelevant, but I shall mention it notwithstanding: – In the days when I used an HMV 101 portable (obviously a less sophisticated machine than Alastair's) to play all my records, I would sometimes find that the machine would lose speed whenever the record came to a loud passage. The cure was not to tinker with the machine (which had a new mainspring) but to clean the record; invariably the problem then disappeared. I use spray furniture-polish on shellac records of all ages; I know this method is not universally approved, but I have followed it for more than forty years without meeting with any evil consequences.

Oliver Mundy.

Definitely relevant and worth mentioning, but rather than a spray furniture polish containing wax I use a multi surface polish intended for man made surfaces such as kitchen worktops.

Like Oliver I have been using this method successfully for years with no side effects whatsoever. It is even safe to use on record labels and improves the appearance of faded examples considerably. The first playing after treatment, using a soft tone steel needle, usually ends with a ball of gunk around the needle point. Better there than stuck in the record grooves.