by Joe_DS »
Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:36 am
While there were innovations and improvements throughout the development of the phonograph/gramophone, I don't think that "planned obsolescence" was part of the overall game plan of any of the manufacturers. (The phrase, itself, apparently dates from 1932.)
Keep in mind, during the fist decades of recorded technology there were numerous improvements by Edison, Columbia, and Victor -- the three principle manufacturers of record players and records -- until about the teens, when their patents began to expire. Some "older technologies" such as cylinder records, were improved even after disc records gained most of the market share.
In the case of Edison, as improvements were introduced, owners of existing phonographs could often buy kits to accommodate them. For instance, the owner of an Edison phonograph designed to play two minute wax cylinder records could buy a kit (gears, reproducer, etc.) that would allow him to play four minute wax cylinders, and later, the celluloid coated Amberol four minute cylinders. Of course, sound quality could be upgraded by purchasing larger and better designed horns for the outside horn Edison models. Even after Edison introduced his version of the disc record -- the Edison Diamond Disc -- and a line of new phonographs to play them on, he continued to support the owners of cylinder phonographs by offering both records and machines until the Phonograph division of the company was closed in 1929.
As for the disc "talking machine" manufacturers and record producers, the technology really didn't change that much, save for a gradual improvement in sound quality from the the time of their introduction in the late 1800s, until about 1925, when electrical recording was perfected. There were, of course, two types of flat disc records made during this period -- those with a lateral (sideways) cut which would play on Victor or Columbia machines using a steel needle, and those with a vertical cut that played on Pathe' phonographs using a sapphire ball tipped stylus. Edison's Diamond Discs were all vertical cut, and used a diamond stylus. Starting in the teens, when the patents began to expire, many if not most of the off brand phonograph manufacturers produced machines that would play all types of records, such as Brunswick, Sonora, Silvertone (Sears), etc. Owners of Edison Diamond Disc Phonographs could buy adapters that would allow them to play standard lateral or needle-cut records on their machines.
By the time electrical recording hit the market, the lateral cut "78" had pretty much taken over, and most record producers, except for Edison, had switched. But while the new Victor Orthophonic or Columbia Viva-Tonal or Brunswick "Light Ray" records were all electrically recorded using microphones and amplifiers in place of recording horns, they could ALL be played on any of the earlier models produced during the acoustic recording era. It's true that listeners were not getting the most out of the new records, but they still played okay. Along this line, people who wished to "upgrade" their equipment could buy newer style tonearms and sound boxes from third party suppliers. I've seen a few pre-1925 Victrolas equipped with these aftermarket tonearms and sound boxes, which, unfortunately, were normally made out of pot metal which deteriorates over time. (Fortunately, for those who want to put a Victrola back into "original" condition, authentic Victor Victrola parts are easy to come by via eBay, etc.)
New recorded formats such as the LP (33 1/3) microgroove and 45 rpm records came out in the late 1940s, and later in the late 1950s, stereophonic records. Even then, some owners of higher end units could upgrade their equipment with up to date turntables to play these records.
What obsolescence occurred seems to have had more to do with changing public tastes in style. For instance, during the teens, "period style" phonograph console or "lowboy" cabinets became the rage, and the older style upright Victrolas were considered passe', even though they remained in production. The large cabinet models designed to "harmonize" with the home's interior remained popular throughout the mid to later 1960s, when component systems took over.
JDS
I'm now beginning to wonder if that's what I found - an aftermarket adapter. The washer fused inside the tonearm I suspect is pot metal meeting pot metal (and "never the twain shall part" 
). It makes me wonder what reproducer it was an adapter for, a Viva-Tonal or clone?
