' LIKE '…. Love the stories everyone. Jan On 2012-08-02, at 2:50 AM, john robles wrote:
> Great story, Andrew! I am loving reading all these histories! > John Robles > > > > > ________________________________ > From: Andrew Baron <[email protected]> > To: Antique Phonograph List <[email protected]> > Sent: Wed, August 1, 2012 9:09:01 PM > Subject: Re: [Phono-L] How it Started > > Great to hear everyone's stories. Here's mine. > > I've had an affinity for history, machines and the phonograph for as long as > I > can remember, and recall creating a paper model of an upright phonograph > before > I ever had a real one. I also remember standing in utter awe, in the Edison > Winter Home and Museum in Fort Myers (now the Edison-Ford estates), gazing at > the wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling display of cylinder players sprouting > morning > glory horns in such profusion that it looked like a massive, enchanted > garden. > I have to admit reaching out to touch some of the uprights and consoles > there, > lined up behind velvet barrier rails, just so I could feel the history. > > In 1974 when I was 12 my family moved, and within bike-riding distance of our > new home was a restaurant called "Flynn's Dixie Ribs". For ambience, it was > decorated with old relics, including Singer sewing machines and several > mostly > 1920s phonographs. I don't recall if they were for sale, but my first > phonograph, a "Berg-Artone" portable, was procured from there. The > management > was very kind, letting me tinker with the machines in the off hours, and it > was > there that I got my first hands-on phonograph mechanism education. I recall > that I paid for the Berg-Artone with a fine Morgan silver dollar and $5.00 > hard-earned from mowing ten lawns in the Florida heat. That portable had a > broken mainspring, a punctured, wrinkled aluminum diaphragm and a dangling > needle chuck. You might say that the management got the better end of the > deal, > but for me it was a major coup to get the solid makings of a viable machine. > I > got two records with it; a tired copy of Jimmie Lunceford's "R > hythm is Our Business" on Decca, and "Till We Meet Again" (paired with "Have > a > Smile") on Victor. > > > First I sorted out the reproducer and for a time I just spun the records by > finger-on-the-label, enthralled at how so much sound could come out of a > purely > mechanical device. I was already into electronics and had built some kits > and a > little transistorized amplifier, so discovering that acoustic reproduction > could > yield such bold volume and detail was a revelation. I also learned that the > motor's centrifugal governor worked quite well to regulate my hand-driving of > the platter, and that in its own right was an education. Eventually I got > brave, liberated the mainspring and repaired it, and from that point forward > the > Berg-Artone was capable of playing records without human intervention, once > set > in motion. Well-meaning adults would ask how I knew what to do, which I > always > thought was some kind of trick question. It never occurred to me that they > wouldn't necessarily know a lot more than I did about that sort of thing. > > For needles, I used whatever was in the little spring-lidded needle cup and > found that the pointy ones sounded better than the blunted ones, and resulted > in > less black powdery buildup on the needle tip. After that, I scrounged > through > the needle bins of the other phonographs in the restaurant, weeding out the > obviously worn ones. In search of more, an experiment of cutting the heads > off > of little brads from the local hardware store yielded poor results, but added > to > my evolving education. I remember the great moment when at a hi-fi store, I > found several new blister packs of 25 needles for 25 cents each, and bought > them > all. They must have been old stock then, as none further appeared to replace > them. > > The big event when I was 13, was the acquisition from the same restaurant, of > a > "Cecilian Melophonic" upright model; something of an Orthophonic wannabe, but > in > fine condition with attractive burl overlay accents. I derived hours of > pleasure listening to that machine and its comparatively full-bodied tone. > The > record I played most often on it was a cornet solo of Carry Me Back to Ole > Virginny on a blue-label Columbia. It had a mournful quality, and a > perceived > richness that seemed to also carry me back in time. The performer's name > remains embedded in my memory; Nellie Hoone Wetmore. Guess I was an odd kid. > > At 14 I worked for a time at a low-level antique store cleaning up things in > the > back, and arranged to trade my time for a tantalizing Edison Home with a > brightly repainted red MG horn. With heavy heart I terminated my employment > when they sold this treasure to a cash buyer. Later that year came the next > milestone, when I managed to buy my first Edison phonograph, a near-mint > BC-34 > console, from a phonograph enthusiast named Mark Stark whom I met at the > Miami > Tropicaire Flea Market. Two weeks prior, Mark had sold me some Diamond Disc > records, but I quickly realized I was doing them harm, attempting play with a > steel needle. Mark had the BC-34 across the back end of his pickup truck > when I > bought the records. The following week I went back, and running through the > aisles soon found Mark and his pickup truck, but no BC-34. He told me that > he > just hadn't brought it out that day. I don't recall what I did to raise the > $135.00 for that machine, but it must have taxed every > > horse-trading avenue I had at the time. I used to collect coins, and it's > likely I turned in some of the collection. The big bonus for me, however, > was > going to Mark's house to pick up the machine (with much arm-twisting of my > new-driver older brother). There, my host provided us with a guided tour of > his > phonograph collection. My eyes must have been big as saucers, and my ears > standing at attention to pick up every sound. > > My first cylinder phonograph finally came to hand about two years later > around > 1978, courtesy of Les Goldberg at his store "Everything Audio". This shop > was > clear across the city, a harrowing drive on three expressways to the unknown > treasures that lay at the other end of the journey. Everything Audio > inspired > me endlessly with the restored radios, phonographs and occasional Jukebox in > its > little front showroom, while Les toiled in back, dealing with the day-to-day > life of TV and tape player repair, and unappreciative consumer-customers. In > his showroom, however, he had seemingly endless piles of 78's standing > precariously tall and at an affordable fifty cents each, and I would spend > hours > sifting through these, hobbling out in the early afternoon with bent knees > and > numb legs, to get sustenance from the burger joint next door. The rest of > the > afternoon would be spent sorting the records into the "can live without", > "maybe" and "have to have" piles. A glance inside my wa > llet would often dictate the final cull, though. One day Les gave me the > unexpected, golden opportunity to take my pick of one of two non-functional > Edison Home phonographs, in exchange for returning one to him working and > salable. > > > These were my phonograph beginnings. I've loved the mechanics of it, getting > to > know the artists and records, reading the histories and enjoying the simple, > aesthetic pleasure of seeing the machines. As time goes on and I mature, I > find > myself feeling less possessive about the machines, and spending far more time > thinking about the generosity and support of the people I've met over the > years > through this passion, one of whom continues to be a prized mentor, and others > whose wisdom I've been privileged to dip into with a dedicated question now > and > then about a particular machine. > > My phonograph collection these days numbers a dozen machines, which in the > rush > of life tend to fade into the woodwork when left alone, but shine forth when > interest from other, and sometimes younger people gives them an added reason > to > be played. In roughly chronological order they are: > > An early Edison banner Triumph improved for performance with a 2/4 setup, a > prized Medved-rebuilt O-reproducer and Gfell Music Master horn; a Victor Type > E > front mount (Monarch Junior), a Zonophone Grand Opera, Edisons: maroon Gem > and > Home model D's, early A-250, a Victrola XVIII, a Brunswick 17 with the > dual-diaphragm Ultona, an Amberola 50, a Kameraphone & Thorens Excelda, and > an > electric-motored Victor Orthophonic Credenza. > > Andrew Baron > Santa Fe > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > http://phono-l.org > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > http://phono-l.org _______________________________________________ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.org
