The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

*Click on photos to view in correct orientation*

Last tuesday this showed up after a long wait and I was very happy to finally see it, its an EMG slope case Xa from around 1936, this one used to reside in the Gramophone Emporium in Edinburgh, long painted with a gold horn, later overpainted black and partially taken back, the paint job really looked horrific, so since it arrived I've been starting the repair process, I've stripped the paint off of the inside of the horn to reveal the original paper, there was some shoddy repairs with huge pieces of newspaper glued over top of the original paper with wood glue to hide the smallest bit of damage, this took some removing and has caused some tearing, this will later be further repaired and the torn parts painted to blend in to the rest of the paper, still have the outside of the horn to strip.
The case exterior was very nicely refinished by the previous owner.

It came with a 4 Spring EMG soundbox that needs rebuilt as well as an EMG strobe which is surely a rare accessory, it sounds good so far, still needs some work, but the motor is running steady and it's starting to settle into its new home!
As a side project I needed a good stand/ record cupboard for the new arrival, so I found this cabinet more or less across the road, it used to be an off brand gramophone called 'the conqueror' the horn and other guts were long gone but the veneers were so nice and the claw and ball feet I had to have it for a stand, I removed the lid and transferred the lid top down, it's dimensions are just about perfect for the EMG
Don't know if it's safe to have EMGs and Experts together, I feel they might start to fight in the night...
Here it is in action.

[youtubehd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeLSeOVVERg[/youtubehd]

Congratulations. I am glad the Xa found a good home. I'm sure you'll have it in tip-top shape soon.

Well done Alex.
That Xa was the very first EMG I saw and heard in person. It was always being played whenever I visited and then sometime in the 90's it disappeared.
If I remember correctly, the Emporium was only open on Wednesdays and Saturday mornings. When the shop closed on a Saturday, you could follow one of the staff to a "secret" building somewhere in Edinburgh. Then to a really dark and dank basement choc-a-block with 78's. I remember taking a friend along and he had to leave almost immediately as the damp set off his asthma. I emerged half an hour later clutching a pile of white, mold covered acetates.
Here's one on my Youtube channel. Never did find out who this was.
https://youtu.be/HXVD7-GnfvY

Did you pay much for it, if I'm allowed to ask...? How I envy you, that have these machines all around. In Spain I've only known of one expert junior so far, which one forum member living in the South of Spain sold some months ago. But the price was 4000€, too much for my budget (married....). Then there was another EMG in France, which was also commented in the forum, but this was sold very fast, as members reported.
I'm very happy with a huge HMV 194 which sounds marvelous, but the gramophone bug bits me, and I wish I'd be lucky to discover one of such machines here around, ignored and unknown, just to be able to acquire it at a low price and unearth it from Oblivion. But given the years these were made, when Spain was in great poor state after our civil war, only rich people being able to acquire a gramophone, it is unlikely that any of them would know about one small niche of British connoisseur gramophone market, and buy one... I believe here people in mid thirties used portables, and the wealthy ones acquired radiograms, not acoustic machines. It's curious how small Spanish market must have been, common people not having the budget to spend in surplus luxury articles as records and gramophones. Only wealthy people could buy those. Yet the antiques market today is flooded with Spanish made 78s of all eras, if you know where to look for them. But these high-end gramophones are very scarce.

Chunny, I've listened to your acetate and apart from the absurd (funny) lyrics, the song and the performance are a little marvel. I'd the song was indeed a Leslie Sarony product, this tells about his mastery in music. Kind of a beautiful and very inspired melody and good orchestration, but with a silly song. It tells a lot about Sarony's musical artistry, humourous spirit and runaway imagination! Very very nice! Thanks!

Congratulations again Alex. It's curious that several grand instruments have emerged in such a short time! It's really good to see your progress - you've worked wonders already from the hideous mess the horn surface was when you first had it delivered a few days ago. It's definitely found the right hands. Possibly EMGs and Experts are like fine musical instruments, "they find you" rather than the other way round! Also it's fascinating to see that horn part way through the restoration, showing so clearly how the paper layers were laid.

Well done also with that cabinet - very beautiful, perfect for the job, and a great conversion job.

Well done Alex---a great deal of hard work and you are definitely getting there---looking good ! The modified stand is stunning and the veneers very beautiful---what a joy. The sound is excellent. This instrument has definitely found the right home.

Congratulations, Alex! I also own and enjoy an Expert and and ENG (difference is that the lid of my EMG is straight rectangular, not cut at an angle like yours), although they are not near each other like in your arrangement. The cabinet is a nice match, as well.

AZ* wrote:Congratulations. I am glad the Xa found a good home. I'm sure you'll have it in tip-top shape soon.

Cheers!, I sure hope so, some experimentation has suggested that there is the original paper beneath the outside paint too so it's a long road still ahead

chunnybh wrote:Well done Alex.
That Xa was the very first EMG I saw and heard in person. It was always being played whenever I visited and then sometime in the 90's it disappeared.
If I remember correctly, the Emporium was only open on Wednesdays and Saturday mornings. When the shop closed on a Saturday, you could follow one of the staff to a "secret" building somewhere in Edinburgh. Then to a really dark and dank basement choc-a-block with 78's. I remember taking a friend along and he had to leave almost immediately as the damp set off his asthma. I emerged half an hour later clutching a pile of white, mold covered acetates.
Here's one on my Youtube channel. Never did find out who this was.
https://youtu.be/HXVD7-GnfvY

Very interesting to hear Chunny!, I've tried to get in touch with the Emporium to find out some more history behind it but I'm yet to hear back.
I wish it was still around, never did get the chance to go and see it, the world and my record collection needs more strange places like it!
I'd heard that acetate before, it's of course, very funny, but also rather well done, I wonder if it was done for a radio station?

Inigo wrote:Did you pay much for it, if I'm allowed to ask...? How I envy you, that have these machines all around. In Spain I've only known of one expert junior so far, which one forum member living in the South of Spain sold some months ago. But the price was 4000€, too much for my budget (married....). Then there was another EMG in France, which was also commented in the forum, but this was sold very fast, as members reported.
I'm very happy with a huge HMV 194 which sounds marvelous, but the gramophone bug bits me, and I wish I'd be lucky to discover one of such machines here around, ignored and unknown, just to be able to acquire it at a low price and unearth it from Oblivion. But given the years these were made, when Spain was in great poor state after our civil war, only rich people being able to acquire a gramophone, it is unlikely that any of them would know about one small niche of British connoisseur gramophone market, and buy one... I believe here people in mid thirties used portables, and the wealthy ones acquired radiograms, not acoustic machines. It's curious how small Spanish market must have been, common people not having the budget to spend in surplus luxury articles as records and gramophones. Only wealthy people could buy those. Yet the antiques market today is flooded with Spanish made 78s of all eras, if you know where to look for them. But these high-end gramophones are very scarce.

They are certainly hard to find. I got a very good deal on this one as I'd already bought the Expert Junior from the same guy, these ones were both in the same collection, the collector passed away a couple of years ago so all his machines got sold off by his partner, I got these two, it sat in a well known gramophone auction a while ago, but it failed to make the £3,000 reserve, mainly because of the horiffic state the horn was in, I paid quite a bit less.
As Andy said, these machines, despite their size have a way of sitting beneath the radar and then eventually they have a way of finding you.

Orchorsol wrote:Congratulations again Alex. It's curious that several grand instruments have emerged in such a short time! It's really good to see your progress - you've worked wonders already from the hideous mess the horn surface was when you first had it delivered a few days ago. It's definitely found the right hands. Possibly EMGs and Experts are like fine musical instruments, "they find you" rather than the other way round! Also it's fascinating to see that horn part way through the restoration, showing so clearly how the paper layers were laid.

Well done also with that cabinet - very beautiful, perfect for the job, and a great conversion job.

Thanks Andy, it is unusual but great, makes you wonder what's still sitting in a loft or dusty storeroom waiting to be found!, yes the horn does at least look passable now, the stipping of the outside will be a long process to tackle later.
It's certainly possible, this one took an unusual route to get to me but it's here now, and I'm very glad it is, the Expert I'm convinced found me, it came from a random question to a collector friend asking if he knew of any EMG or Expert for sale, who then put me in touch with the partner of the previous owner of these two ,the EMG bug has been biting hard ever since

emgcr wrote:Well done Alex---a great deal of hard work and you are definitely getting there---looking good ! The modified stand is stunning and the veneers very beautiful---what a joy. The sound is excellent. This instrument has definitely found the right home.

Thanks Graham, it's great working on these machines and bringing them back to their former glory, the same thrill I get from restoring the rare vintage guitars, great satisfaction

CarlosV wrote:Congratulations, Alex! I also own and enjoy an Expert and and ENG (difference is that the lid of my EMG is straight rectangular, not cut at an angle like yours), although they are not near each other like in your arrangement. The cabinet is a nice match, as well.

Thanks Carlos

I'm wanting a more 'regular' case example in the future, an Xb or an oversize with a great deal of luck, but this one is great, and very rare! I've seen a great many of the EMG and Expert machines now and they never cease to amaze and fascinate me!