Version française
(moins complète)
Version: January 28, 2023

 

The Phonograph Makers' Pages

are intended as a meeting ground and a source of inspiration for all makers of modern phonographs, i.e. cylinder players that give an electric output. What I am trying to do on these pages is to present different attempts at solving this technological challenge, with images and descriptions. As you will see when browsing through the entries, no two phonographs are alike, in fact they are very different, an expression of the creativity of their respective makers, from the simplest,

... the Brooks player, a common tone arm, still on its gramophone, with a common cartridge playing the cylinder on an old phonograph, to ... ... the Poliak player, an optomechanical universal player for discs and cylinders alike, working with literally any turntable, and using laser light.

When starting my search for modern phonographs, I didn't think I would find as many as I now present on this site, and I know for a fact that there are several more out there.

I invite all those of you readers who own or have made your own modern phonograph to participate in the small and exclusive community of Phonograph makers of the world listed below and presented on separate pages on this site. Never mind the elegance or lack of it of your device, what counts in the end is if it will play a cylinder and give an electric output. Just drop me a line (and an image) and I will present it here.

If you want an alert when a new player is published here, you may register this page with a monitoring service, such as Watch That Page.

Christer Hamp 
Stockholm, Sweden

Phonograph makers of the world

Optical readout

Takashi Nakamura Laser positioning Sapporo, Japan
William A. Penn High-tech table top Syracuse, New York
Vyacheslav Petrov Trembling prism Kiev, Ukraine
Juraj Poliak The lightest touch Lausanne, Switzerland

 

Axial movement

  Charles Adams-Randall Switched-on sound London, England
Julien Anton Rolling free Béziers, France
Roger Arnhoff Tobias Mo i Rana, Norway
Yuri Bernikov Ediphone Po-russki Amherst, Massachusetts
Marek Bohac DJ's player Prague, Czech Republic
Geoffrey I Brown Heavy duty Window Rock, Arizona
Norman Bruderhofer Passive high-rise Berlin, Germany
Henri Chamoux Most elaborate Cachan, France
François Dussaud Volume control France
Jean-Marc Fontaine Experimental player Paris, France
Jean-Luc Fradet Modern additions Deols, France
Gérard Frappé Old style Clamart, France
Ian Gilmour Standard D box Canberra, Australia
Frederick I. Granger The wax lathe Quebec, Canada
Christer Hamp Plastic assembly Stockholm, Sweden
Keith Harrison Home and Standard construction Suffolk, England
Keith Harrison Stepping Home Suffolk, England
Trevor Hill Rugged home-brew Melbourne, Australia
Jeff Howe Overseas wreck Canterbury, England
Tohru Ifukube Attaché case player Japan
Francis Jeannin Clockwork phonograph Arles, France
Franz Lechleitner The inverted grip Vienna, Austria
Franz Lechleitner Double disc Vienna, Austria
Eliot B. Levin Stand-up player Hertfordshire, England
John Levin Low pressure Los Angeles, California
Richard Levine Edison in a box Keene, New Hampshire
Rob Lomas Direct tracking Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Royston Maybery A machinist's phonograph Ontario, Canada
Mercadier The iron whisper France
Alfred Meurer Convertible electric Fachingen, Germany
José Navia Floating on air Vilagarcía, Spain
James Nichols Big wheel rolling Paris, France
Edwin Olson Very low cost player St. Charles, Missouri
Joe Pengelly Moving mandrel Plymouth, England
Christian Pillet Full mobility Marseille, France
David Pittock Black elegance Cambridge, England
Peter Posthumus Player of African wax England
Lionel Risler Studio player Paris, France
Joe Roeder Scavenger's phonograph Seattle, Washington
Augustus Rosenberg Earplug for the deaf London, England
Art Shifrin Air delivery U.S.A.
Gerd Stanke Inside out Berlin, Germany
Lloyd Stickells Low inertia arm England
Ben Teo Scratching plastic Kulai, Malaysia
Adrian Tuddenham Wow killer Bath, England
Unknown Pathé update France

 

Reproducers for Edison phonographs

Benjamin Canaday Wood and crystal Oceanside, California
John Lasher The sugar loaf Broken Hill, Australia
Peter Liebert Minimal interference Wayne, Pennsylvania
Jeff Link Airplug Rickmansworth, England
Rob Lomas Piezo pickup Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Rob Lomas Plug-and-play Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Tom Owen The stiff neck Colonia, New Jersey
John Petty Jew's harp reproducer North Carolina
Adrian Sykes Bakelite wonder St. Albans, England
Robert Vincent First transfer New York, New York
Unknown Backward earphone Canada
Unknown The black barrel Canada
Unknown DIY Edison U.S.A.
Unknown Swinging iron Richardson, Texas

 

Pivoting arm

Jelle Attema Ball bearing Haarlem, Netherlands
Tim Brooks The simplest way Greenwich, Connecticut
Walter Bruch Upturned turntable Germany
Norman Bruderhofer A basic setup Berlin, Germany
Jan Derogee 3D printed piezo Haarlem, the Netherlands
Nilson Evilásio Educational longarm Santa Maria-RS, Brazil
Bruno Garnier Office chair bearing Sorbo Ocagnano, France
Oliver R. Graham The wooden arm Westerly, Rhode Island
Christer Hamp Abandoned project Stockholm, Sweden
Stig Hansson Solid engineering Gällö, Sweden
Rob Lomas Poor man's phonograph Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Rob Lomas The short arm Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Glenn Sage The long arm Portland, Oregon
Jack Towers The standard player U.S.A.

 

Hints for phonograph makers

How to make a two-minute stylus by Henri Chamoux
A borosilicate glass stylus by Jan Derogee
Stroboscope making by Christer Hamp
Styli for electric cylinder phonographs by Rob Lomas
Technical requirements for transfer and processing by Alfred Meurer
Principles of cylinder playing by Christian Pillet

 

Recording phonographs

Marek Bohac Pumping wax Prague, Czech Republic
Shawn Borri The loud recorder La Moille, Illinois
Joshua Horn Linear tinfoil U.S.A.
Flo Kaufmann Rolling beer Solothurn, Switzerland
Rob Lomas Child's play Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Rob Lomas The cutting shack Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Donald W. Matteson Original tinfoil U.S.A.
Kathleen Morimoto Rough recorder U.S.A.
Albert Noble The Edikow Midlands, England
Christian Pillet Carving wax Marseille, France

Archaeoacoustics

 
Archaeoacoustics - pipe dream or possibility? by Christer Hamp
An archaeoacoustic player by Christer Hamp
The brittle sound of ceramics by Mendel Kleiner and Paul Åström

 

Contact

If you wish to comment on the contents of this site, or to participate with a description of your own cylinder player, just drop me a line:

 
E-mail