The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hello all.

I am looking into a Sonora phonograph and was unsure if the ‘extra’ tone arm end is for playing vertical cut records or just something that was picked up over the years? The device is bottom left of the cabinet next to the brake trip arm in the picture below.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

I think it is the vertical adapter like on a Silvertone, most Sonora's have a rotating tonearm but maybe this model predates that design. (I do know their earliest feed-screw machines had an adapter.)

I know the wooden tone arm Sonoras had separate attachments for playing verticals; but I'm not certain about this one.

- Bill

I can't give you any insight into the attachment for the tone arm, but I will say that the oak Sonora is quite a beauty and I hope you can get more pictures to post on the forum.

Thank you all for your help. I am beginning to believe that the tone arm end is just something that has been picked up over the years because it does not look like it would work with the angle.

Here are some more pictures.

That one must have been stored out of the weather to have stayed so shiny all these years. Got to love the beauty of an oak cabinet.

No, it’s a real Sonora part, to allow vertical-cut play.

Surely somebody out there has an old Sonora manual that explains it. I forget, and without seeing it up close I can’t give any help.

Pull the reproducer and look at everything, and I bet you will be able to figure it out. The object is to have the plane of the diaphragm perpendicular to the direction of the grooves, rather than parallel.

PeterF wrote:No, it’s a real Sonora part, to allow vertical-cut play.

Surely somebody out there has an old Sonora manual that explains it. I forget, and without seeing it up close I can’t give any help.

Pull the reproducer and look at everything, and I bet you will be able to figure it out. The object is to have the plane of the diaphragm perpendicular to the direction of the grooves, rather than parallel.

It certainly looks like it would work to my eye - I second the suggestion to play around with it. Some closer pictures of the components may help

It is genuine, the universal swivel arm was a later design. Just pull out the end of the arm