The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hi everyone. I'm new to phonographs and still figuring things out.

Currently in a long car ride to Indianapolis and my friend suggested signing up for an account here. I think I set up everything in my profile.

I don't actually have a phonograph, but we moved from Nevada to Michigan a couple weeks ago and I found a box of phonograph cylinders in while we were cleaning out the cellar.

There's a couple of Gold Moulded ones and a couple Amberol ones, but the Amberol ones are all broken. Should I keep the boxes at least? I know nothing about phonographs by the way, so if anyone has any resources or anything that would be helpful I'd like to take a look.

Thanks!

madelineshui wrote: Fri Jul 04, 2025 2:00 pm Hi everyone. I'm new to phonographs and still figuring things out.

Currently in a long car ride to Indianapolis and my friend suggested signing up for an account here. I think I set up everything in my profile.

I don't actually have a phonograph, but we moved from Nevada to Michigan a couple weeks ago and I found a box of phonograph cylinders in while we were cleaning out the cellar.

There's a couple of Gold Moulded ones and a couple Amberol ones, but the Amberol ones are all broken. Should I keep the boxes at least? I know nothing about phonographs by the way, so if anyone has any resources or anything that would be helpful I'd like to take a look.

Thanks!

To use a phonograph, you should wind it up first, put the cylinder on the mandrel, put the horn onto the reproducer, and then listen to the music. Also, you should keep the boxes just in case you get more cylinders so that you can store them all. Found this out the hard way.

Okay. Thank you. I don't have a phonograph yet but I'm hoping to find one soon.

There's 3 Gold Moulded and 2 Amberol cylinders.

Welcome to the hobby!

As already noted, hang onto the boxes. If you'd like a primer on Edison phonographs, I wrote a couple of articles on the subject, starting here: https://www.tnt-audio.com/vintage/ediso ... rs1_e.html

I'm sure one or another of our members will be along shortly to refer you to resources offered by the Antique Phonograph Society; they, too, will be worth your time. Here's my advice about time: take yours, and enjoy the voyage. There's a lot to discover, and you can have a lot of fun along the way. Again, welcome!

Thank you!

I'm not sure what to do with the cylinders lol- but they're cool.

It says I have to buy a membership for the Antique Phonograph Society.

It says I have to buy a membership for the Antique Phonograph Society.

If you want to access all areas of the site and receive the quarterly publications, then "yes" you need to be a paid member. But, you can browse the forum and ask questions for free.

Ah I see! But why not just use this forum?

The Antique Phonograph Society offers a number of free articles on its website. Here's the first page of the contents:

https://www.antiquephono.org/#/collection/1

Here's the second page of the available free articles:

https://www.antiquephono.org/#/collection/2

For someone who knows nothing about antique phonographs, I recommend the following free articles first:

"What is an Antique Phonographs"
"Collecting Antique Phonographs"
"Encountering Antique Phonographs"

Once you have an antique phonograph, this one will be very helpful:

"Basic Antique Phonograph Operational Tips"

The Antique Phonograph Society also maintains the APS Forum, which is similar to this one:

https://forum.antiquephono.org/

Finally, the Antique Phonograph Society offers sponsored memberships to young people, and have given away many antique phonographs to beginners. If you're interested in learning more, just send a message via the "Contact Us" section at the bottom of the APS home page:

https://www.antiquephono.org/#/

Have fun learning!

George P.

Thank you!! Very kind of you to provide.

I'm going to check where I found the cylinders to see if there is anything else there.

How do I try for a sponsored application?

Hello and welcome! If you're looking for a first machine may I make a Suggestion? The Edison Standard model D plays both 2 and 4 minute records and are very reliable machines that fit in a small area.