Update on my C250!

[Williameledge]

Progress report....I got her moved into my office today! Not an uber rare machine but I’m excited to start learning how to operate these wonderful old machines.!
Overall it’s a good looking machine but it does show some crazing on the finish and honest wear for a 104 year old. She does play but the turntable is a little slower than it should be. I downloaded an old Diamond Disc repair manual today so I hope to get this fixed soon. I have about thirty diamond discs to clean and I’ll post further updates as I go.

[travisgreyfox]

These are such classy machines. Be sure to not use water when cleaning your diamond discs, as this can permanently ruin them. Using denatured alcohol works great, just keep it away from the label area.


Thanks for sharing your new machine, and I am looking forward to the updates.

[audiophile102]

Edison diamond disks can be divided into three categories. 1. Black etched label, which are the earliest and in my opinion only of historic interest. 2. White paper label, which is where all the best jazz records are found and 3.The 5200 series of the white paper label records which were electrically recorded and therefore have the best fidelity. The cabinet might look better if it was cleaned with Gojo hand cleaner. Do a search on this site for tips on how to clean the cabinet. The lubricants that were used back when your C250 was made gum up over time. You might get away with using a good machine oil in the right spots. I play my A250 every day and it gives me great pleasure. Enjoy!

[drh]

Edison diamond disks can be divided into three categories. 1. Black etched label, which are the earliest and in my opinion only of historic interest. 2. White paper label, which is where all the best jazz records are found and 3.The 5200 series of the white paper label records which were electrically recorded and therefore have the best fidelity. The cabinet might look better if it was cleaned with Gojo hand cleaner. Do a search on this site for tips on how to clean the cabinet. The lubricants that were used back when your C250 was made gum up over time. You might get away with using a good machine oil in the right spots. I play my A250 every day and it gives me great pleasure. Enjoy!

Perhaps true if you are collecting only jazz/popular. For the classical and operatic material, the etched labels often are of a good deal more than historical interest.

[drh]

Progress report....I got her moved into my office today! Not an uber rare machine but I’m excited to start learning how to operate these wonderful old machines.!
Overall it’s a good looking machine but it does show some crazing on the finish and honest wear for a 104 year old. She does play but the turntable is a little slower than it should be. I downloaded an old Diamond Disc repair manual today so I hope to get this fixed soon. I have about thirty diamond discs to clean and I’ll post further updates as I go.

That looks a lot nicer than the C-250 that started my adventure in Edison discs. Well done!

That crazing of the finish, by the way, isn't really crazing of the finish at all; it's accumulated furniture polish, cooking fumes, cigarette smoke, etc. of ages, and the nice original finish still lurks underneath all that gunk if you can clean it off. Which can be done. If you want to do that, you can get plenty of advice here on the forum.

[Jwb88]

Great machine!

I find a lot of my favorite discs are etched labels, especially the early ones (pre-WWI). They often sound crisper to me, and vocals of this period can have that uncanny effect where it sounds like someone actually singing in the room.

They're just a pain to try to read what's on them, LOL.

I have several paper label pressings that sound muddy / lack clarity, but then the surface noise is usually lower on paper labels, so maybe it's a trade-off.

Most important thing is to only play discs in good condition with no cracks/flaws to preserve the diamond stylus point.

[larryh]

[quote="Jwb88"]Great machine!

I find a lot of my favorite discs are etched labels, especially the early ones (pre-WWI). They often sound crisper to me, and vocals of this period can have that uncanny effect where it sounds like someone actually singing in the room.

They're just a pain to try to read what's on them, LOL.

I have several paper label pressings that sound muddy / lack clarity, but then the surface noise is usually lower on paper labels, so maybe it's a trade-off.

Most important thing is to only play discs in good condition with no cracks/flaws to preserve the diamond stylus point.[/quote


I find that oddly the earlier paper labels have a more aggravating surface than many of the early etched, which if in good condition ( which is a bit rare), can be nearly silent. Only the late acoustic/ electrical records seem to have that quality of surface. There is a period which I am going to try and figure out when it was, where the sufaces of the later designed black label records are quite acceptable . I have a 50766 record here now I am putting up on you tube and the surfaces is quite good. But many are awful and sometimes the surface simply overwhelms even a good artist. I tired to record a few violinst on the black labels where the scratch was so bad I gave up. But that doesn't mean that lurking somewhere in the history of black labels after the etched early era there aren't some worth while surfaces with great music on them.