The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hello to all, been a while since my last post. (Sounds like confession!)
This past weekend, I had the good fortune to obtain an Edison Schubert locally, that was on Craigslist. The drive wasn't too bad, only an hr from me and the storm that was predicted that morning fizzled out. The machine originally belonged to her mother-in-law and was later inherited by her now deceased husband
There were 8 DDs with the machine, 6 being electrically recorded and the other 2 were late 5100 series. There was also a tone arm and sound box for lateral recordings but unfortunately, it was made of pot metal and had disintegrated.
The machine hadn't been used for many years so the motor had to be completely gone through as well as the Reproducer, as it was frozen from old lubrication at the swivel. The cork gaskets, which are typically found in the New Standard (Edisonic) And Dance Reproducers, were fine and the machine now plays fantastic. The new horn design coupled with the Edisonic Reproducer makes for a very loud machine as compared to my C-19 using the same type of Reproducer.
The cabinet is very sound with no veneer missing but is very finely alligatored and dull. I don't think Go-Jo will do anything except clean any dirt or old wax and I will have to decide as to whether the cabinet gets refinished or not. The only question I have is the door pulls, they are not what is usually found by pics but are a black bakelite and look ok until I can find original replacements.
I have long desired either a Schubert or Beethoven Edisonic machine but they seldom turn up, and never seem to be within driving distance!
Does anyone know what the "CLT" before the serial number stands for? The few Schuberts I've seen all had this lettering. I know the Beethoven used "BN" prefacing the serial number which makes sense but this has me stumped.
Update on the CLT designation. I have been told this referred to the abbreviation of "Consolette" which had crossed my mind but as Victor had a machine with that plaque I wondered if the Edison Co. would have risked yet another law suit at this late stage.

Bill

Ha! Since it's confession time... I bought a Schubert that was missing one knob and the remaining one was loose and in the cabinet. About a week later, I was sitting in another boring meeting at work and saw on the Credenza in the front, two small metal knobs that I thought would look good on the Schubert. I went to Lowe's that night and bought a replacement pair for 97 cents, got to work the next morning early as usual, and swapped them out. They turned out to look pretty good so are still on the Schubert. No-one at work has ever noticed the switch as far as I know.

Steve (It takes a thief)

There is a Credenza at work?! Where do you work?? (or do you mean "credenza," as in a generic piece of furniture?)

Not a Victor Credenza, just a piece of furniture with a potted plant on it in a conference room- and now 2 replacement knobs on the doors..

My office is the only one that I know of that has phono/radio stuff in it.

Excellent ...and in nice condition, too! Welcome to the Edisonic club. Congrats on finding one locally in the wild.

Shameless plug of my own machine:

[youtubehd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugTDl9ZPU6M[/youtubehd]

Steve, you had me going on that credenza thing too! I haven't thought of a credenza as anything but a phonograph for most of my life. definition: Credenza - a certain high-end phonograph introduced by Victor in 1925 which can be used to blow the socks off your friends when they hear it for the first time, especially if playing the scroll of Stars and Stripes Forever by Sousa's Band.

Jim

cre·den·za   /krɪˈdɛnzə/
[kri-den-zuh]

–noun
1. Also, credence. a sideboard or buffet, especially one without legs.
2. a closed cabinet for papers, office supplies, etc., often of desk height and matching the other furniture in an executive's office.

Yes, we phono-enthusiasts do tend to define things a bit differently from the rest of the world!! It still makes me happy to walk by the conference room where I obtained my now-Schubert knobs and see the replacements still proudly doing their job... Now how weird is that?!?

Steve- think I'll go home and hug my VICTOR Credenza!!

schweg wrote:Ha! Since it's confession time... I bought a Schubert that was missing one knob and the remaining one was loose and in the cabinet. About a week later, I was sitting in another boring meeting at work and saw on the Credenza in the front, two small metal knobs that I thought would look good on the Schubert. I went to Lowe's that night and bought a replacement pair for 97 cents, got to work the next morning early as usual, and swapped them out. They turned out to look pretty good so are still on the Schubert. No-one at work has ever noticed the switch as far as I know.

Steve (It takes a thief)

Steve, or should I say Alexander Mundy? (LOL, I remember that show with R. Wagner)Was the stray knob you found in the machine wooden, or metal? The few machines I've seen on the boards all had replaced knobs although from period pics, they appear to be wooden.
BTW, your company wouldn't have a 2nd conference room w/credenza, would it? (wink-wink)

Bill

It's a wood knob but has a screw attached so I guess the glue drying out on a dowel and it falling off is not viable. Maybe someone tightened it too much and it split or they needed a knob for something else.

Here's a pic to compare: new knob on left, original wood one on the right. Not too bad I thought, besides the meeting was really boring.

and yes, I scouted around a little for other similar knobs but no luck. Getting caught snooping around on other floors is not a great idea at my company..

Steve,

Thanks for the reference pic. That is a real close match, good enough for me for the time being although the bakelite knobs I could have lived with if need be. There's a Home Depot right down the street (no surprise there) which I'll check out today.
BTW, I hope you realize my last comment in my previous post was made in jest!

Bill