EXPERT Senior in custom cabinet. C.1932

There are only two know pictures of this Expert model. It appears in an advert in ‘The Gramophone’ magazine October 1933 (custom made for a man in South Africa) and in the 1932 book ‘GRAMOPHONES Acoustic and Radio Compiled by G. WILSON’. Illustration: Page 45.( You can download the book here) They could be the same gramophone but I suspect there were at least two of these made in this cabinet design.

Excerpt from Page 54: "Another form of radio-gramophone has just been produced in which a large external horn can be used to reproduce records by the ordinary sound-box, or the horn can be utilised as a loud speaker by interposing a moving coil unit in the acoustic system and switching on the radio set contained in the cabinet (see Fig. 19). In addition to the tone-arm and sound-box, a pick-up is fitted and thus one has the choice of either radio and the electrical or acoustic reproduction of records, and the speaker is high up in the room"

From what I can summarise, to play acoustic records you would have to remove the horn and the moving coil speaker, then return the horn. A bit inconvenient.

The Garrard 201A Induction Motor that is currently fitted could been the original one fitted. It was one of the electric motors of choice for Expert. There are no signs of a spring motor.

The radio in the illustration looks like a Cossor Empire Melody Maker (1931), which was designed to have a pickup attached, which would suggest it had its own built in amplifier. It was available as a kit model so would have been perfect for this situation. A transformer was needed as the unit was DC powered.

The electric tone arm looks like the Meltrope electric tonearm advertised first in 1931.

Expert had only just started producing electrical reproducers and radios, so I suspect Dave Phillips simply used the best available off-the-shelf parts to create the electrical system in the gramophone. The Radio and pickup were readily available and new in 1931.

The unique Moving Coil unit was made by Expert especially to fit the Expert Senior horn. Rare as hens teeth it's discussed here at this gramophone forum with excellent pics.

This example:

• Reputed to have been the one made especially for a South African customer. There is no proof, just hearsay.
• Missing the moving coil speaker, if it ever had one?
• The gramophone has been altered several times in the past. Each incarnation has left it’s signs.
• The Garrard 201A Induction Motor (33⅓ + 78 rpm) could be the original motor but is currently mounted on a piece of hardboard to cover the original chopped motor-board.
• The original motor-board shows signs of two electric tonearms been fitted. The original motor was at some point replaced with a Garrard 301 transcription turntable with its unique fitting template. I imagine the Meltrope tonearm was replaced with two modern(1960’s) lightweight tonearms as was common with the Garrard 301.
• Physically the gramophone has been through the wars. I’m told it has survived a flood and been dragged about on its side. The battle scars are clearly visible in the pictures.
• The gramophone has simply been cleaned, the motor rewired for safety and the soundbox re-built. No major renovation work has been done. Structurally it is in sound and stable condition.
• Please contact me if you have an Expert Moving Coil unit for sale.
• YOUTUBE video here.