Learning what I can

[als]

I'm recently retired and now have a little time to spend finding out more about my Edison.  My parents purchased it around 1970.  On the metal plate, I see LU-37 and SM-8562.  On the cabinet, "Cabinet Factory #18".  The instruction book has "Form No. 15230-80M-10-20" on the first page.  It is in working condition, but I figure it is good to identify some resources should something go wrong.  

I've looked over a bunch of recent posts here and elsewhere on-line.  Looks like it is perhaps from the early 1920's.  

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[jps32016]

You'll see a posting from me under Reproducer repair. There's a book by George Frow - The Edison Disc Phonograph which is THE authoritative work on the machine. From the teens to the mid 20s no other acoustic phonograph could compare, but it was expensive. If the reproducer has a good diamond point and diaphragm, and the records in good shape the frequency response is amazing. One way to tell a good record is the surface noise is almost inaudible. A bad diamond will chew up records and costs about $150 to replace, and an old stiffened diaphragm runs into some $ as well but there are services that do this. Edison even tried a long play disc that was too fragile and bombed, and supposedly fiddled with the idea of stereo with a hopelessly impractical machine. Small dance bands, female singers and tenors recorded especially well in the acoustic era, and Edison's engineers were topnotch. Enjoy your find!