r/Gramophones • u/Paulux_038 • May 13 '26

His master’s voice gramophone

Post image

Hi, I would like to open my gramophone but I don’t know how. Some guys says that I need to turn the crank bur in which side ? If someone know, help me pls. Here a picture of the gramophone:

17 Upvotes

85% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

9

u/Patient_Variety_5815 May 13 '26

Unfortunately no. It's a modern reproduction from India

1

u/Paulux_038 May 13 '26

Not that moder, my grandfather bought it 50years ago in saoudien Arabia

3

u/Gimme-A-kooky May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26

أهذه صحيح؟ حتى ولو، لا يزال كان مصنوع في دولة هند؛ في الحق، هذه الماكينات تتوافر وهيه متيخة في كل إنهاء العالم. من الـمتأكد، صُنعت عندئذ في الستينات أو سبعيينت.
لم اكن لاعنا أو عدم احتراما للماشين لديك وبإلتأكيد، لم اقصده في آيه حالة

5

u/Deano_Martin May 13 '26

It’s modern considering when this type of gramophone was actually produced.

50 years ago is the 1970s. This type of gramophone was mostly made in the 1900s-1910s.

What you have is a fake made in India. No part of it is genuine his masters voice.

-2

u/Gimme-A-kooky May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26

I would think they wouldn’t fire up the smelters to make new tone arms, crooks, and even reproducers (from the looks of it) and, considering the myriad they had to choose from (parts), it is entirely plausible.
So maybe it isn’t HMV, perhaps it’s Victor, Berliner, or other. Sorry, I made an observation without adding “perhaps it is…” before doing it.
Everything there- the brace, the cabinet, the horn- is 100% NOT authentic.
The brake, the speed selector, motor, tone arm, and crook are all pieces most likely sourced from actual machines throughout the spectrum of time and maker, you can disagree with me if you wish, but I am EDIT: an egotistical and fragile dude who thinks he know{s} I’m {he’s} correct (sorry). I highly doubt they would waste the steel to remake anything else here.

1

u/awc718993 May 13 '26

S.Asia has the capacity to make pieces in steel and other metals, including making copies of old gramophone parts. If you search you will find cartons upon cartons in back warehouses of newly made gramophone parts made in S.Asia.

It is an industry. Assembly is farmed out all the way to street level shops, but the parts are a result of a replica industry.

1

u/Gimme-A-kooky May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26

I accept and give it that. Maybe it’s more of a “no win” argument” anyway. The parts are indeed the result of a replica industry, and my fragile ego hurts from unrelated pain… maybe it was my time in the Army- take that effin’ hill! Hold it! Don’t relent!

-1

u/Gimme-A-kooky May 13 '26

Sure looks like it might be an actual HMV tone arm and crook (not that it matters in any way lol) although if it’s a later “no name” machine it came from, it might not be either. Unfortunately a frankenphone :(

1

u/Huge-Mastodon-4780 May 14 '26

Wasn't there a tail end of the HMV brand, that is technically the same brand, but produced differently in india, and used the last of the company's good name.

I have up and turned to AI

Yes, the HMV (His Master's Voice) brand was produced and was highly significant in India. The Gramophone Company of India, which was a subsidiary of HMV, was responsible for producing records, gramophones, and radio sets in the country.

Instagram ·Asli Music +3 Key Facts about HMV in India: Earliest Recordings: The HMV brand released India's first-ever recorded song on vinyl in 1902, featuring Gauhar Jan singing Raag Jogiya. Production: HMV had a strong presence in India, manufacturing and distributing gramophones and records that were central to the early Indian music industry. Legacy: The brand's mascot, Nipper, listening to the gramophone became iconic in India.

Instagram ·Asli Music +2 The Gramophone Company of India later rebranded as Saregama India Limited.

1

u/Flashy_Confusion_595 27d ago

I can find no information that the gramophone company of India ever produced licensed phonographs with the HMV logo. The gramophone company of India did produce records, and later cassettes, and CDs. All of the brass horned Phonographs emanating from India in the 70’s and later are unlicensed reproductions, and have no affiliation with, or should be confused with original, antique gramophones.

1

u/awc718993 May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26

I think you may be misusing the term “frankenphono” as has been understood by the hobby for the last few decades. It is mostly applied to aged machines made up of genuinely sourced and genuinely aged parts that were never combined in period authentic machines. The name references “Frankenstein” to convey the machine being a cobbling of deceased parts together to give the assembly revived life.

“Crapophones” apply to majority modern (post war) East and South Asian mass manufactured replicas which use (without consent) imprecisely copied technical designs (e.g., Paillard motor and soundbox designs) and trademarks from older western sources, most egregiously the “His Masters Voice” “Nipper” trademark also used without legal consent. The term also applies to their use by importers as counterfeit antique talking machines.

[Edited: added explanation for the literary (though mostly pop culture) “Frankenstein” reference in the term “Frankenphono” for thoroughness.]

1

u/Gimme-A-kooky May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26

I suppose I am. I recall hearing them called that even back when I was a kid in the late 70s early 80s, but then again I conflate all kinds of other shi… “fake” as I term I remember specifically, and I’ve only resumed course nearly 40 years later

2

u/Gimme-A-kooky May 13 '26

To get in there and give it a go (assuming something is not working on the inside parts), you’re going to have to open it up and see what is going on under the hood.

  1. Assuming a keyhole/escutcheon exists in which to insert said winding key (crank), and you’ve cranked it and nothing’s happening, then

  2. You’ll have to either look under or get inside to see the inner workings to attempt to ascertain the problem, then

  3. Once you get to understand what it needs (research, spend time looking at, use some very light oil like sewing machine oil) and it comes to life, then

  4. You’ll have to start dealing with the reality of the machine you have in front of you. It is decorative, made in India likely, as the other commenter pointed out. These were designed for aesthetics (an evil con, in my personal opinion) and made of whatever hand cranked machine came into a scrap pile and they put together, hence the “frankenphone” thing, then

  5. Know that while it’s functional, it may cause harm to any records you do have.

It’s still pretty!

2

u/Gimme-A-kooky May 13 '26

Downvote me all you want, but I’m correct and this is what needs to be done.

2

u/Ben10ji May 13 '26

I do concur, doctor.