The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hello all,
I am new to the world of talking machines and just found this great site. I just acquired a Brunswick model 210 and I
am trying to learn as much as possible about it. One concern I have is that I will damage records by improperly setting the
needle or counter weight to the wrong position/angle. can anyone offer tips or maybe even a link to the user manual ?
I attached a picture, as I do not now how to identify the type of tonearm and reproducer it has. (It is not the much talked about 2
sided ultona reproducer)

Thanks !

This should tell you everything you need to know about the tonearm & reproducer.

http://www.nipperhead.com/old/brult.htm

Excellent, thanks for the reply.

I sold the Ultona I once owned because that head always seemed to tear up my records. I think it's too heavy (even when the counter-weight is moved all the way back) and the tone arm doesn't have ball-bearing support like a Victor. Edison Disc machines actually had gearing for a mechanical power-assist such that the stylus never had to pull the tone-arm along. I have to say I think Edison had it all figured out and designed his machines such that record wear was greatly reduced when compared to any other type of acoustic phonograph.

Anyway, I never find Edison Disc records that I like. His taste in music did not align with my own.

As someone new to the hobby, I suggest you purchase a Victor Orthophonic product and have the soundbox rebuilt by an experienced hand. The Victor Orthophonic machines are the most enjoyable crank-wound music experience I've ever had in my years of collecting. I've found a Victor 4-7 and Victor Revere on Craigslist at very reasonable prices. I purchased my Credenza (again from Craigslist) for $300 and after a little elbow grease it turned out beautifully.

Damon
St. Louis, MO

Ampico66 wrote:Anyway, I never find Edison Disc records that I like. His taste in music did not align with my own.

As someone new to the hobby, I suggest you purchase a Victor Orthophonic product and have the soundbox rebuilt by an experienced hand. The Victor Orthophonic machines are the most enjoyable crank-wound music experience I've ever had in my years of collecting. I've found a Victor 4-7 and Victor Revere on Craigslist at very reasonable prices. I purchased my Credenza (again from Craigslist) for $300 and after a little elbow grease it turned out beautifully.

Damon
St. Louis, MO

It took me almost a decade to find a decent assortment of Edison records that I like, and some of them did not come cheap, especially the electric recordings. There's some great stuff out there, though, and they can sound astounding with an Edisonic reproducer.

I agree with you completely on the Victor orthophonic machines. From the Credenza, to the Grenada, to the 4-3, Borgia II, 10-50, etc., I've heard a lot of them, and they all sound really good. Which, if you get another Victor orthophonic, hold out for the 8-35. It utilizes a much better-designed steel horn and sounds AMAZING. The Credenza sounds really good, but the 8-35 simply sounds AMAZING. It's the best bang for your buck.

I found a BEAUTIFUL dark oak HMV 202 locally, but it had been gutted. What a shame! All the way from England, just to be destroyed in Illinois... I'd love an 8-35. Eventually I suppose I'll find one.

Damon

Regarding the tearing up of DDs with an Ultona head, I recall when I bought my first Brunswick, it was a Mod. 117 with an Ultona soundbox. I checked the diamond stylus and it appeared to be unused so I adjusted the arm & weight according to Brunswick's instructions and played my first DD on it. Almost immediately, it began to dig into the condensite so I stopped the record. I looked again at the record and the set-up on the tonearm/soundbox assembly and neither appeared to have issues. I played the disc on an Edison and it played fine in the non-damaged groove area.
I contacted R.J. Wakeman, who is considered an authority on Brunswicks, and explained to him what happened. He was gracious enough to reply and explained that the screw at the top of the tonearm had to be properly adjusted or damage to the record would occur.
Using the now damaged disc (It was "I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen" so no big deal)I fiddled around with that screw and finally got it to play w/o any more issues. After that, I never had any recurring issues with it although nothing of great expense was ever played on that machine!

Bill

The reproducer does feel very heavy, although I don't have the experience to compare it to anything else. From reading through 'The Compleat Talking Machine', it looks like the tone arm on the brunswick would be subject to damage a record because of the lack of offset.

Great info on the screw at the top of the tone arm, and thanks for the orthophonic advice. I plan on a victrola purchase, once I understand more and can make a better informed purchase with regard to price but also to which of the many machines are the best sounding.