Incredible Opera Phonograph Restoration Leaves Entire Shop emotional | The Repair Shop

Tim’s incredible restoration of this vintage opera phonograph leaves both the owners and restorers emotional when it begins to play.
From Season 4 Episode 12.
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[@manny3655]

I’m a Yank, from over the pond, so please don’t judge me too harshly. I believe this is the third video I’ve seen from you wondering people. As a (very) amateur restoration buff, nothing puts a smile on someone’s face (or mine for that matter) as when a sentimental piece is thought lost to garbage bin, but is miraculously saved to its former glory for future generations to enjoy, learn and not forget. I just subscribed, as your videos are not only heartwarming when we need it most, but harken to the days when life was just a little slow and simpler. Thank you for this… Cheers from America

[@PlanetEarth3141]

This made me very emotional. I remember the first time I learned about these machines from the time before I was born. I grew up with am radios, then fm. As a child I fell in love with the art of story telling, oral history and mythology. So, I used to love old movies, old books and listening to old people born in the 1800s tell of life they used to know. I used my imagination to put myself in there circumstances and pretend I was there in their story. That's how I saw in old silent movies these wonderful music playing machines before radio was common, TVs were invented or phones. I've always wanted to own one and play music on one. If I had one I'd sit next to a fireplace, smoke a pipe and imagine it's not almost year 2023, but the year Edison invented the gramophone, the telegraph and no one owned an automobile.

[@shirleylangton7967]

I wish so much that there were places around here that did those types of repairs. It is time to stop trashing all our history. To have these items from the past is such a learning experience and the skills should not be forgotten.

[@QueenCityHistory]

I have a gramophone from 1904 and there is NOTHING like listening to an old record on one.

[@Nothing-zw3yd]

My grandfather had several Edison amberol cylinders. He was very protective of them, but didn't have anything to play them on. When he passed away, our uncle showed up and disappeared with them. My uncle died recently, he sold them.

[@goldenagenut]

Wow, that horn looks beautiful!

[@georginashanti4605]

Wow, what a labour of love! I love the team work that goes into restoring a treasure like this. I always learn something from this show. Compare this to an iPod or cd player (no comparison). This thing is just magical... I wish they still made things like this, something that has soul and character and isn't necessarily mass produced.

[@garyslentzii2796]

I miss not being able to see the new shows here in the US, please bring it back 🇺🇲

[@robleary3353]

Lovely that the skills are still around to bring a lovely bit of kit like this back to life!. 🙂

[@annstrahlendorf2879]

Aside from the fact, you are all experts in your respective field’s , you all come off as beautiful people 🌹 LOVE WATCHING ♥️

[@deetleskeet]

I love when they collaborate.

[@littlejourney3178]

Its like going back to old era for me..giving me chills.. especially when i close my eyes hearing the sound going out from it..amazing

[@alistairsandilands1358]

Absolutely horrendous! What a shame. A beautiful, rare machine destroyed!

[@lisathomas1622]

Lovely. My Auntie’s Mom had one of these in a beautiful wooden cabinet. It was a lot of fun listening to them when I could convince her too put it on.

[@40spinup]

Went to the museum that houses The Repair Shop this past weekend, to say I was surprised any very annoyed was an understatement. They have all the signs, books and trinkets to sell but your not actually allowed to go near the building or even take a picture. Please bare in mind it is December so not a lot of visitors while we have this cold snap but to not even be allowed to take a picture of the building was in my eyes miss selling. We enjoyed our visit nether the less BUT we went there to see the Repair Shop. No doubt there will some tiny small print somewhere stating all this but we feel this was naughty really.

[@t97e53]

Can't help but smile!

[@4cats1porcupine]

This is such a great channel, thank you!

[@mikehillman8115]

To bring history back to life with tears 😢😢

[@Beardedexpat7614]

Such skill to do this work. To see the reaction is heart warming. ❤️

[@janinemiller5890]

Wow! So beautiful..... they ought to keep a box of tissues on the counter though.

[@Kevin-yi8fd]

I have seen this a few times and i cant believe how the repair shop destroyed a lovely machine like that if it was mine i would be horrified.

[@sneaks01]

Beautiful work!!

[@simka08]

Wonderful.

[@baughlentz]

As always you’ve done it again. So satisfying and sooooo good 👍. Cheerio Ah Will you bring a tear to my eye as you enjoy the reactions from Mom.

[@Igmus]

The way the lady is holding the cylinder is so scary... I've seen a video of a dude dropping it and the record shattering. The way she held it looked unsafe.

[@Troupee-Lennon]

A Fantastic Restoration on the Edison Opera Horn Will kirk done a great job and now looks really well love the grain and Tim done a superb service and new speed dial and painted the new speed numbers great to see it working Time Capsule to another era her Dad Gilbert would be so proud looking down . Tim repaired my Edison Red Gem Outstanding. Troupee. 👌👍😄

[@Mechsounds]

This Opera was ruined not restored. Its true value has now been halved by a clueless dealer.

[@leafforever9174]

Wonderful🙏

[@oneshotme]

Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up

[@TerryMcKean]

The refinishing of the horn and repainting the speed dial, etc, was definitely beautiful work, but at the end the Opera still had the issue of high fluttery variations in the speed.

[@jeepy8067]

Agreed I was wondering what caused it and it didn't really sound any different

[@chrisshimizu308]

likely that’s the recording itself - listening to old recordings that have been digitalized sound very similar, with that extremely (i think beautiful) warbly effect. i’m sure there’s something that could be done to the record itself, but i’d be too scared to try, honestly.

[@Mechsounds]

@@chrisshimizu308 I guarantee the recording will be 100% OK. The man that supervised the poor restoration is at fault. There are many videos about this segment on the Opera job on youtube. Notice he is not on the show anymore.

[@jerryvan6709]

The flutter is caused by a broken cushion spring. It's a small piece of spring wire that drives the flywheel. When missing or broken, the Opera will still play, but very poorly. The "restoration" of the phonograph was something of a disaster. Not at all in keeping with the Repair Shop's excellent record.

[@daviddazer2425]

@@jerryvan6709 You beat me to it, Jerry!

[@littlebaby1309]

awesome

[@silasfatchett7380]

The singer sounds like Peter Sellers' Bluebottle!

[@dawnbowra8885]

Bless the technology. Awesome restoration.

[@donnarogers7732]

I love how Will ,so Young and Brilliantly talented Appreciates Every Project whether he works on it or Not. I would Love to meet you Will. You remind me of a young late husband. God Bless ,Keep Learning and honeing your Craft. Much love to all at The Repair Shop in the UK, D❤🤍💙🇬🇧✌️🙏

[@origamigirl95]

Beautiful.

[@thehauntedradiogram4976]

Absolute travesty, they wrecked it!

[@jerryvan6709]

You are 100% correct!

[@fardcannon4340]

Song is called "take a pair of sparkling eyes"

[@eaccristo]

Magnificent

[@HaggisCat1]

As with all the negative comments here, I agree with them, sounds awful and they destroyed the horn by removing the original finish, it just needed cleaning up. It's running too fast and has inconsistent speed, the woman even comments about the inconsistent speed. The reproducer also needs a rebuild as well, but I would not trust it to the people at The Repair Shop. 🙁

[@jean-paul7251]

They have wrecked it!!

[@crcoghill]

I love that as soon as i said her father would be over the moon at how good it looks now, she goes and says it herself! Swear this is my first time watching.🤣

[@peteleoni9665]

The next time you fix something, it would be a great idea to fix it. Those had nowhere near that amount of flutter. You all are proud???

[@TheSocialGamer]

How are you able to show this show on your channel. Are you a partner to bbc or the repair shop?

[@gregorydsouza1330]

👍👍👍👍

[@AgentOFChaos_00]

i would love to see my mechanics restore this piece of vintage machine

[@jeeprod1]

Add to the list the number of people who cannot fix a bad governor.The parts a widely available. You could see it was wobbly when they had a close up of it running. I almost did not want to watch because they spent all their damn time working on the pointer and the horn.. What a shame, the Opera was the high point of cylinder technology, and they sound wonderful. It is a pity when an incompetent repair person does not recognize this.

[@Deadman7782]

The view to like ratio is a sad sight... Step it up folks!

[@zuur303]

These people complaining about the warble have no idea of the limitations of technology of the time. This isn't streaming.

[@Mechsounds]

A properly restored machine including the reproducer will not have "warble". Granted we are talking 100+ years when this tech was around but the restoration work is not up to the mark. The wooden horn for instance was ruined (under instruction from the supposed expert.) The value was severely reduced. There are other videos about this job on here.

[@jerryvan6709]

You have absolutely no idea what a well restored Edison Opera sounds like! I own several and trust me, none sound as horrible as this one!

[@daviddazer2425]

You sound like every antique dealer trying to sell a poorly functioning antique phonograph. Nobody would have bought them if they sounded this bad.

[@capers72424]

@@daviddazer2425 if there was no better alternative, they would… and later purely for sentiment.

[@daviddazer2425]

@@capers72424 I think you missed my point. Antique phonographs do not sound bad when properly restored.

[@maryrafuse3851]

Good cosmetic work but the motor must be taken appart cleaned, the spring fixed if needed, and lubricated. Please note when repairing radios capasitors and resistors must be replaced or the repair won't last.

[@ghostrider511000]

for the age of the gramophone I don't think it had radios capacitor's and resistors it is not an electrical piece

[@jensschmidt]

Nothing electrical in there... just springs wound up by a crank.

[@sockpuppets7256]

100% mechanical

[@glennriquito381]

Looks very nice. I don't mean to be a killjoy, but the flutter in the sound is HORRIBLE! Why was that overlooked?

[@charlescalvert8647]

As amazing as the thing looks it sounds absolutely horrible!! The mechanical motor is a disaster and the reproducer that picks up the sounds is absolutely trashed. It should sound absolutely crystal clear and full, open sound, as if someone was singing in person. Making it look great doesn't mean it's been restored, the mechanical functions and sound capabilities must he done, otherwise it's ruins recordings and degrades the condition of the unrestored parts. Honestly someone should be ashamed at this job. It's a phonograph, its primary purpose is sound after all.

[@SMGJohn]

I have heard an Edison before that was properly restored, there were no wobbles, the music was perfectly in tune of course it sounded tiny duo to the nature of the record and how it was made, but a proper sounding Edison should not sound like this, they did a poor job, I am glad the woman was moved but her dad would not been impressed I can tell them this much.

[@RonLH]

It sounds awful. That warble is not right. Get it back and fix it!

[@karinritter8638]

"What would your father think if he could see this?" Lets hope and pray that he doesn´t see this from heaven. As a collector, he would die a second time right on the spot.

[@minikit3142]

Was it meant to sound like that?

[@jensschmidt]

Actually, yes. Or rather, that was the best sound recording possible back then. Nowadays, recordings are made using a microphone, where the sound waves hit a diaphragm that vibrates, moving a magnet near a coil and therefore changing the current and recording electrically. Back then, recordings were made by musicians and singers actually playing into a kind of reverse gramophone, also vibrating a membrane with their sound waves. But then, instead of producing varying currents, the membrane actually vibrated a small needle the scratched the sound into the disc or cylinder. No electrics needed. The downside: Barely any low frequencies are heard, which is why early recordings always have a very high pitch and sound kind of squeaky. In my collection, I have 78 rpm recordings from 1922 that were recorded that way, and later recordings from the mid-1920s onwards actually state on the label that they were in fact "electrically recorded."

[@minikit3142]

@@jensschmidt thank you for the great information.

[@jensschmidt]

@@minikit3142 Anytime. Granted, it is a bit wobbly, which could be improved by making sure the drum rotates more evenly. But the quality of the recording would be the same nonetheless.

[@karinritter8638]

Well, the saphire seems to be in a bad condition too. I own this model myself & it sounds about a 100 times better than this one in the video. Even a well serviced Edison GEM can sound better than this.

[@burmesecolourneedles4680]

No, *absolutely* not. These guys were utterly clueless and should have consulted a real expert or collector. Absolute travesty.

[@karinritter8638]

Well... they ruined it. Not only with that horrible copper pointer, which can easily be removed - but above all with the bad painting of the speedometer. If you absolutely have to destroy the patina, you can simply order a true-to-the-original decal, which is available online. The worst part, however, is the irreversible destruction of the original Music Master horn and the ruining of the same with the new lacquer. And then these !?x&%4§°!!! even glued the thing in place instead of screwing it down like the original! It should only be mentioned in passing that they neither repaired the trembling nor the obviously misaligned or damaged reproducer. Ultimately, one has to say: Luckily. Because they could have ruined even more by "fixing" the reproducer or the gears .

[@Phono-fun]

Any true phonograph collector knows they ruined this machine.

[@darrickmalloy6909]

How?

[@RadioParanormaliumPL]

@@darrickmalloy6909 Looks like we'll never know.

[@garymattscheck9066]

I think my friend Tim Fabrizio would've done a MUCH better job!For instance,the singer would've sounded like a Chipmunk!

[@garymattscheck9066]

The warble on that Opera is atrocious!

[@josiahdittman9365]

@@RadioParanormaliumPL Because they sanded the original finish on the Edison music master horn when there was nothing wrong with it and all they needed to fix it was to glue the bell on to the neck of the horn its supposed to have a dark mahogany finish on it.And it still has wow a flutter when they play it.

[@garymattscheck9066]

If that were my Phonograph I would NOT be satisfied with the job.And,that warble is atrocious!I wouldn't enjoy it with the warble!

[@michaelvaladez6570]

I agree it very oh slightly of..a minor adjustment but it's not going to sound crystal clear, it's a cylinder.

[@kristoffermangila]

And that's why flat disks won over cylinders - better sound quality, and larger song capacity.

[@jerryvan6709]

@@michaelvaladez6570 Yes, it IS going to sound crystal celar when a knowledgeable restorer eventually works on it!

[@phonotical]

That is a revolting finish, utter butchery, NOT what it should have looked like in the least, her father would be livid

[@LyneisFilm]

It looks good, but sounds terrible. My restoration sounds way better. Restoration- Edison Fireside Phonograph (1911) plays again. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jWKmeYCGl9OKZ8k

[@rareblues78daddy]

Oh, my God. That was painful to watch. They ruined that Opera. Too bad, because the original finish was not _that_ bad. I hope her Father _wasn't_ looking down on this, 'cause he would be _pissed._

[@bajayeb1090]

bullshit brain & heart

[@garymattscheck9066]

My friend Tim Fabrizio would've done a MUCH better job with that Opera than this so called "expert"Tim wouldn't have made the singer on the Blue Amberol sound like one of the Chipmunks!And,that warble is horrible!