Brunswick Machines

[Victor78]

Hello all,

There is a lot of good information about Victor machines, weather it be on the net, or in books and so forth. Ive never really found much information on Brunswick machines unless I missed something somewhere. Ive got two BW machines at this point, one of them being a Y0 I believe (it's outside in the to do area) and the other one I have is an upright, model 210. It's a simple machine, but sounds darn nice! I rebuilt the Altona reproducer the other night, and wow, does it sound good now Anyway, Im wondering if anyone has a model 212 upright, can you provide any information about it, or even a few pics? Is this model a fancier one, or was this a 'common' machine as well. Im not sure how many different models there were for Brunswick, so If anyone can point me in a direction, Id be greatfull. At this point, I only have 2 of the phono books that are out there, Looking for the Dog, and The Complete Talking Machine. I plan to add to the library as much as I can as time go's along. Any pics of a 212 for me to look at would greatly be appreciated.

Once again, thank you for creating the new hangout, It's great!

Jim

[phonophan79]

I think Brunswick's are spectacular. I had to get rid of mine for space reasons, but I absolutely loved it.

Tim Gracyk has a few pages about Brunswick...
http://www.gracyk.com/brunswick.shtml
http://www.gracyk.com/early.shtml

[larryh]

By far my favorite machines although I couldn't tell you the number of mine.. I will go look and check it out. All I know is that after 50 years of collecting many brands I have found nothing in the steel needle class of machines that sounds better overall. Some might seem louder or even crisper perhaps but in careful listening which is my thing, none seem to bring out as many tonal sounds in the records as brunswick.

That said, as some of you know I have had a several year run of listening to Edison Disc machines. They have a louder, but nearly harsher projection of sound. A classical piece on brunswick will seem more mellow or blended in tones and lack a bit of that separation of instruments and realism that Edison has. But as far as everyday listening, its still a treat to the ear to hear the brunswick and if I had to choose between the two, I would still hold on to the brunswick over the edison.

[Neophone]

Jim,

I think VTMCo. is the aberration in the bunch. It seems to be the only one of the bunch which kept most of it's records long enough for collectors to get at it. I'd guess Edison is second. I have two Brunswick portables. Two very different machines quality-wise. A 101 and 106 (IIRC). The 101 is by far the superior machine. It's the older of the two.

Regards,
John

[Victor78]

Thanks for the info so far guys. I was thinking it may be a stretch to find some pics of that particular machine. Im wondering though, maybe someone has one of the owners manuals, or even a copy that could be scanned, that would be a help as well. If not, thats the way it is.

When I got the 210, I didnt know what to expect, as I was pretty new, and bought it because it was dirt cheap, had records and so forth. But after cleaning it and doing a few minor repairs, I started to listen to it, and then a bit closer, and I couldn't believe the warm sound I was hearing, it's pretty nice on the ears. After I rebuild the repro, I pulled out Guy Lombardo "Get out those old records" and I was amazed how clear that sounded. Either way, Im pleased with it, but am after some info on the 212 and will keep looking.

By the way, I really like the new theme colors - keep up the great work!

Jim

[Neophone]

Jim,

How's this for a start: Brunswick Ultona Reproducer manual From the old Nipperhead pages.

Regards,
John

[Amberola 1-A]

If you want to know a bit about your Brunnie, you can contact Robert Wakeman [email protected] He is a very gracious man and will give you the info you require about your machine. When I bought my 117, I contacted him and he answered immediately.

Bill

[Victor78]

Thanks for that link John, my 210 came with an original of that reproducer manual, but it's always nice to have an electronic copy just in case

Bill, thank you too for the contact for Robert, I will be sure to drop him a note with a few questions. I think I read the two pages from Tims website a while back, it may have been posted on 'another board' at one time if I remember correctly. Could have been after I got my first Brunswick that I found Tims pages, but thanks for the info!

On a side note, anyone have a quick fix for the Ultona, that is a bit sloppy in the standard 78 record position? Both of the ones I have kinda lean to one side, and just in that position it seems to be worn. Im assuming it's because thats probably where it was used most often? The other positions are firm, and are not allowed to rock.

[Irene]

Figured this may be a long shot since last post was in 2009. I recently came onto the internet to try to get some information on a particular Brunswick machine.We came by it through a friend and it looked pretty old and little did i know it actually worked. So it was given to us because it was literally about to be thrown out. It is a Brunswick Phonograph Model Number 212 it has more numbers on it but no idea what it means. I guess i am on here in hopes of someone to be able to tell me what i have in my living room since it is hard to find information. And of course if it is worth anything today.

[Irene52]

Well i am responding to this post in a long shot since last post on this subject was clearly in 2009. I have recently came across a Brunswick Model 212, I got it from a friend who was about to toss it out. I took it not knowing if it worked or anything about the condition it was in. Come to find out after getting it home and messing with it for a bit my husband got it to play a few records. It came with some records well alittle more than a few works good, sounds good. everything seemed to work great on it. Now i guess i am here because i want to find some information about it because i just dont know much about this item. I did some research and i found every model but the 212 not sure why so does anyone have any information on it?? or can help me figure out where i could find some.