Brunswick panatrope

[MissMittens]

lol No, she gets bored with hers whereas I can't seem to find one I like. When I do I'll keep it

Makes sense.......I don't know why she says she's old though, she's still a baby. You both are, you're not even 30 yet. Remember? 50 is the new 30 :lol:

At least I'm telling myself that........

 

[MissMittens]

Woah, I'm "Practically Family" now.....missed that. Wonder where the point of no return was? lol

 

[rue]

Makes sense.......I don't know why she says she's old though, she's still a baby. You both are, you're not even 30 yet. Remember? 50 is the new 30 :lol:

At least I'm telling myself that........

Goofball.... I'm 41. I WISH I was under 30 lol

Back to our regularly scheduled program

 

[MissMittens]

Goofball.... I'm 41. I WISH I was under 30 lol

Look in a mirror, you'll be 14 :eusa_clap

I was going to say something really smart at first, but decided against it. You make it so easy for double-entendres

 

[vitanola]

So, what date would you put on this one?
Thank you for the information

It is quite unlikely that the machine is one of the few 1925 examples. A quick snapshot of the amplifier will enable me to tell whether the machine was early (1926) or late (1927) production.

The model number on the little round Brunswick tag in the record compartment would be helpful, too. P-10 machines date to '25 or '26' whilst P-11 machines are 1927 models.

Burnswick dealers offered bveru liberal trade-in allowances on these expensive machines. It is quite possible that your family purchased an earlier "Ultona" Brunswick phonograph in 1922 and subsequently traded it in on the machine which you now posess. These little details often get muddled tHrough years f family stories.'

 

[Fletch]

If I'm going to have a machine that plays records I'm going to buy records for it. How odd that someone wouldn't use the machine for it's intended purpose [huh]

Oh, they do. They just don't give a wet slap what records they play.

Admittedly, if you're as into rare 78s as I once was, you would hardly ever put a clean copy on a period machine. That's what modern turntables are for...and rough copies of good platters (we all have a few "downgrades" on the shelves).

 

[rue]

It is quite unlikely that the machine is one of the few 1925 examples. A quick snapshot of the amplifier will enable me to tell whether the machine was early (1926) or late (1927) production.

The model number on the little round Brunswick tag in the record compartment would be helpful, too. P-10 machines date to '25 or '26' whilst P-11 machines are 1927 models.

Burnswick dealers offered bveru liberal trade-in allowances on these expensive machines. It is quite possible that your family purchased an earlier "Ultona" Brunswick phonograph in 1922 and subsequently traded it in on the machine which you now posess. These little details often get muddled tHrough years f family stories.'

Oh my goodness... I looked at the Brunswick tag and it's a P-10. This is good right?? The model # is 115048. I can take a picture of it and the amplifier if you need it.

 

[rue]

Oh, they do. They just don't give a wet slap what records they play.

Admittedly, if you're as into rare 78s as I once was, you would hardly ever put a clean copy on a period machine. That's what modern turntables are for...and rough copies of good platters (we all have a few "downgrades" on the shelves).

Well, I can't say that I'm into them as much as I'm looking for a great selection in which to listen to. I don't think I'll be investing in clean copy collectables, if that's what you mean. I just want to enjoy as my great grandparents would have

 

[LizzieMaine]

You'd want to pick up records from the era of the machine itself for best results -- they stand up better to a heavy pickup than later recordings would. It's never a good idea, for example, to play postwar 78s on a 1920s phonograph.

 

[rue]

You'd want to pick up records from the era of the machine itself for best results -- they stand up better to a heavy pickup than later recordings would. It's never a good idea, for example, to play postwar 78s on a 1920s phonograph.

Oh okay. What years should I look for?

 

[LizzieMaine]

Anything between 1900 and 1931 or so should be fine. Later records might sound OK, but they'll wear a lot faster, especially cheaper labels like Decca.

Be careful also not to try and play vertical-cut records like Edison or Pathe -- these types require a whole different type of arm.

 

[rue]

Anything between 1900 and 1931 or so should be fine. Later records might sound OK, but they'll wear a lot faster, especially cheaper labels like Decca.

Be careful also not to try and play vertical-cut records like Edison or Pathe -- these types require a whole different type of arm.

I'm writing all of this down, so when I look for music I'll know what to get, so thank you so much.

I hope you don't mind me asking, but is it the same for all machines of this type? What I mean is, if I get some sort of Phonograph for when the lights go out, should I only buy period music?

 

[LizzieMaine]

It's a pretty good guideline to go by. Records made after WW2 were intended for machines with much lighter pickups, and the heavier weight of an acoustic or early-electric phonograph would wear them out much faster -- and they wouldn't sound that good while they were wearing out. That's not to say people didn't play their records on whatever machine they had around -- but that's also why so many records turn up today with their grooves worn to a fine grey powder.

(I had an acoustic kiddie portable when I was little, and ground many a record away to dust in just such a fashion.)

You'll also want to change the needle after every play -- steel needles are cheap, even today, and are a lot cheaper than records.

 

[rue]

It's a pretty good guideline to go by. Records made after WW2 were intended for machines with much lighter pickups, and the heavier weight of an acoustic or early-electric phonograph would wear them out much faster -- and they wouldn't sound that good while they were wearing out. That's not to say people didn't play their records on whatever machine they had around -- but that's also why so many records turn up today with their grooves worn to a fine grey powder.

(I had an acoustic kiddie portable when I was little, and ground many a record away to dust in just such a fashion.)

You'll also want to change the needle after every play -- steel needles are cheap, even today, and are a lot cheaper than records.

That makes complete sense and it's a good thing you said something or I would have been ruining all sorts of records.

I'm curious what your portable looked like.

Do the needles come in a package like say toothpicks?

 

[LizzieMaine]

Needles come in a little envelope -- usually 100 to a pack. You can get them here.

My kiddie phono wasn't much to look at -- one of those little leatherette-covered suitcase models that you used to see everywhere. It had an electric motor for the turntable, but the arm was acoustic, so it had a big heavy reproducer on the end of it which used steel needles, which we used to get by the pack at the drug store. My sister got custody of it after I outgrew it, and it didn't last long in her hands....

 

[rue]

Needles come in a little envelope -- usually 100 to a pack. You can get them here.

My kiddie phono wasn't much to look at -- one of those little leatherette-covered suitcase models that you used to see everywhere. It had an electric motor for the turntable, but the arm was acoustic, so it had a big heavy reproducer on the end of it which used steel needles, which we used to get by the pack at the drug store. My sister got custody of it after I outgrew it, and it didn't last long in her hands....

I've seen those packs before.... maybe when my mother had it in her house, I don't know, but thank you for the link.

You know, sometimes, things that aren't worth looking at to some can be the most wonderful thing to look at to those that have a memory attached. I'm sorry it didn't fair well in your sister's hands.

Oh and thank you very much Lizzie for your expertise

 

[Cousin Hepcat]

SO glad you're going to get this fixed.

That's the only way to save these from ending up getting gutted by some genius at some point, is to restore them to working condition. Fletch is right, early electrics get totally disrespected.

So... Thanks!

- CH

 

[Fletch]

Yes Cuz, I'm wondering how much of an oddball-among-oddballs vitanola is that he knew all about the Panatropes...maybe he's owned one or two.

There is (or was) an email listserv called Electrola for just such machines. Maybe Liz knows about it.

 

[martinsantos]

About the weight of the stylus in gramophones in 20s... Once I readed (The Gramophone Handbook, by Percy Wilson) that the recomended weight was 5 to 5 1/2 oz!!

 

[Fletch]

That would be the whole tonearm, no?

5oz works out to about 140g. Today's tonearms - which are counterweighted - put a force of less than 5g on the disc surface.