The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

With all that's gone on for me lately I don't really need a project (how about I finish some of the others, like the Home or the Gem?) but I had traded for an old Standard disc talking machine that came up for a ridiculously low price. It was a part purchase, part barter. Forum acquaintance/friend/accomplice dzavracky had gone down & picked it up, and I traded a 1949 Smith-Corona typewriter and some payment for the machine. This all happened when gasoline was not at five dollars a gallon.

So eventually the other day or so I was passing back down south and popped over and picked up the Standard Talking Machine. Not a bad little phonograph but the more I looked at it these last days I think it has some interesting things about it. It's suffering from a rather bad rebuild--the rubber is shot, the tubing is all the Exhibition size, and the diaphragm is damaged and cracking. So it doesn't sound great. I will be redoing that and a few other things to spruce it back up. Whoever worked on it did so a long time ago.

The horn is a repaint of a horn that probably came off an old BI originally. It seems bigger than the ones I've seen on Standards before, and measures to 18.5" across the bell. I don't think it is the correct horn but then this machine does not have the original, correct turntable on it any more either. It's got one that is either off a late machine or that has been turned down to match a conventional Victor or Columbia record.

With the Analyzing reproducer and the BN style horn on it, it's the Standard that sounds like the BN that it isn't. So here's a picture comparing the Standard with an old BN.

It seems like a cobble to me.

It does seem like a bit of one to me as well, almost like a hint of a Frankenphone that used a mix of Columbia and Standard components.

I think I can put it to rights. The prior "repairman" did not do too great of a job. An original Standard turntable shouldn't cost much if I want to go back to the old large-spindle type, and of course I can rebuild the reproducer for a few dollars. Swapping the horn should be doable. I have no doubt I could put $160-$190 into this and build a freshened-up Standard Talking Machine that would be a lot closer to the original specifications.

The motor thumps and bumps during playback so I have to get that spring out of it anyway. It's not a bad machine--I've repaired far worse!--but it is hardly something I would consider worthy of displaying as a fine antique. Not sure what to do with the horn. I could put it on my BN and replace the charming but incorrect painted horn on it now (or I can keep enjoying the BN as a tastefully customized restoration.)

The biggest phonograph question I have is, what to do with the perfectly good but paintless Searchlight Horn in the car? But anyway I will figure these guys out in a bit. Any thoughts on whether to revert this to the original Standard configuration, or to leave it as a more usable machine with conventional records?