At what point should you clean it before trying to sell it?

[OrthoFan]

Good Lord, these things are everywhere now. Here's another.
http://cgi.ebay.com/vintage-rca-victor- ... 240%3A1318

Pardon me if this is a common machine, but I wasn't familiar with it and see three this week...
Scott

According to available information, about 38,000 were produced; SEE: http://www.victor-victrola.com/1-70.htm

These actually do turn up quite often. I've seen about a dozen in person over the past three decades, along with about 50 or more since eBay started up--all in various states of disrepair. As noted, the the major problems involve the pot metal components-- the sound box and the tonearm's back bracket--and for some reason, the finish, which seemed to have a propensity for getting scratched and dinged. (Along that line, I've never seen one with a grille-cloth that wasn't torn, or at least, stained.)

If I were given the choice for a Victor tabletop model from the "Orthophonic era," I'd opt for a VV-1-90 tabletop model -- http://www.victor-victrola.com/1-90.htm -- which was a true Orthophonic Victrola equipped with a folded horn:



Unfortunately, I've only spotted about a dozen on eBay and one in the flesh that was for sale in the Washington DC area where I lived some 25 years ago. (I've never seen one in the San Francisco area.)

Still, while the 1-70 can't compete with the sound quality of the smaller Orthophonic Victrolas, it does have a nice, mellow tone, with even a hint of bass, providing a properly restored #4 sound box is used.

[MordEth]

Good Lord, these things are everywhere now. Here's another.

Scooter,

The one you found seems like the best deal of the three. Ortho_Fan raised a number of good points, and if I were hunting for a table-top model, I’d probably look for the VV-1-90, also, although the pre-Orthophonic machines can sound quite good with a № 4 Sound-Box.

— MordEth

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eBay Item #280332581906

Vintage RCA Victor Victrola VV-1-70 Phonograph Unusual

Current bid: US $93.99 (3 bids)
Shipping: US $21.00 (UPS Ground)
End time: Apr-17-09 12:45:42 PDT (1 day 12 hours)
Item location: Shippensburg, PA
Seller: valoppe13 (37)
Feedback: 100% positive

Nice old RCA Victor VV-1-70 windup phonograph...they only made 38,000 of these units, with a serial no. of 16,000 it easily dates it 1928..works great all parts are original and working..as shown original cloth has a few tears...unusual walnut art deco style cabinet with curly maple panels...the top has a few digs and scratches..I’ve sold hundreds of older models, never had this model...