"Hinky Dinky Parlay Voo"- THE TWO GILBERTS played on a Regal portable gramophone

Regal No.G8273, played on an Australian made Regal portable gramophone. The case is English oak with Thorens components & single spring motor. The spring in this one is getting tied & needs replacing, as it's not holding full power towards the end of play.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• gramophone
• Regal
• Australia
• Two
• Gilberts

[IdontneedanIpod]

Holy I have the exact same model except it has black veneer. the spring in mine worked for a few weeks until it died. How old is it?

[gramophoneshane]

@IdontneedanIpod I think mines 1926/27 because it's branded Regal Australia, but Edison Bell had the same model in their catalogue in 1921/22. It appears they were made in Switzerland by Thorens and sold to any company who wanted them with that companies logo attached. New springs are easy to get. What country are you in?

[IdontneedanIpod]

@gramophoneshane I'm from Adelaide, South Australia.The age seems right because my aunt who gave me this, is 89 years old and she remembers her father bringing this home when she was very young. This was the first thing I had to play 78's on so i played it a lot.

Do you think this is a good quality phonograph? I'm am new to collecting and don't know what's what,( I'm only thirteen.)

[gramophoneshane]

@IdontneedanIpod Actually, these are considered a poor quality gramy by most collectors. Mainly because they have a very small single spring motor by Thorens of Switzerland. "Serious collectors" tend to stick to big brand names like HMV and Edison, but I find that a bit boring lol. I've been buying mostly off-brand machines for the last couple years to add a bit of variety, but some of them are actually extremely good quality & sound great. These Regals would probably be considered..... Cont

[gramophoneshane]

@gramophoneshane Cont... a bit more collectible than say a "Pal Portable" (which uses the same motor) because it's an unusual design because of the front flap. Unfortunately the horn design on these let them down, and anything recorded after about 1932 wont sound very good. The best portable ever made was the HMV 102. You can play 78s from the 1950s and they sound fantastic, but they're getting expensive. The HMV 101 is a good one too & cheaper. I was 13 when I started collecting too :).

[odeliagardens]

was Regal, the gramophone manufacturer, related to Columbia's Regal/Regal-Zonophone label? Or is it a completely different company not aligned with Columbia/EMI.

[gramophoneshane]

@odeliagardens Regal was Columbias cheap label, & Zonophone was HMV's cheap label from before WWI, and when EMI was formed, the 2 labels became Regal Zonophone. Columbia opened up Australias first recording studio & pressing plant in Sydney in 1926, and it now appears that this machine was bought complete from Thorens in Switzerland, & badged a Regal-probably around the time the studios came into being. A slightly different version of this machine was also sold by Edison Bell in UK.

[afterlee]

@VanWhistler I have Ever So Goosey!

[afterlee]

@gramophoneshane Regal Zonophone initially only issued Salvation Army records - strange to think it would end up with The Move, Joe Cocker, Tyrannosaurus Rex etc. on its roster!

[VanWhistler]

I've got "Eat More Fruit" by these on a 78 speed record.

[Eddy2730]

Do you know when this number was recorded?