The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I have taken on another machine rescue, a 1928 Victrola VV-4-3. I have a few questions, as I try to get it working properly. First, it came with a beat up mustard colored 12 inch platter. I can't assume it's the original, so is that the proper color? The pot metal tone arm bracket is broken, and I'm investigating getting one from JAS. The autobrake system is a complete mess, and I can't even figure out how it's supposed to work. The cabinet itself is intact, and not too bad, grill cloth is in place, and the motor runs smoothly and well. It has one cabinet knob, looks to me like a repro VV-IX knob. Can't seem to find a picture of what the genuine knobs are supposed to look like.

So there we have it. I really like the size of the machine, having turned down a few chances to buy a Credenza, and not wanting to deal with the size and weight of one of those, this seemed like a chance worth taking, particularly since it was cheap. I also have a nice 1925 brass Orthophonic soundbox languishing on my HMV-102 portable. I could happily return the 5b soundbox to that one and place the brass ortho on this Consolette, once I get the problems solved.

Anyone have any ideas about any of these issues? I'm posting a few pictures.

Thanks very much.

The turntable sounds correct. Your auto brake is all there- just way out of orientation. Hopefully someone can post a pic of what it ought to look like. Pretty certain the door knob is correct as well. Yes, JAS is the source for the tone arm bracket. Do you have a reproducer?

These are fantastic little machines. Great sound.

gramophone-georg wrote:The turntable sounds correct. Your auto brake is all there- just way out of orientation. Hopefully someone can post a pic of what it ought to look like. Pretty certain the door knob is correct as well. Yes, JAS is the source for the tone arm bracket. Do you have a reproducer?

These are fantastic little machines. Great sound.

Yes! I have a nice brass Orthophonic reproducer.

Thanks---

Jim

Notice the long pin that comes down from the middle of the tonearm. That pin should be between the two long "fingers" on the autobrake - the ones pointing left in your picture.

As the record plays, the "fingers" cause a mechanism to line up that will trip the brake when the tonearm is moved back towards the outside of the record. That only occurs when playing records with an eccentric runoff groove.

Personally, I don't think the device is particularly useful, so I leave mine disengaged. Your machine should work fine with the brake in this position, as long as nothing is scraping against any part of the turntable.

The door knobs are a dark color. You should be able to find pics somewhere on the board...

Ron Sitko also has the correct back bracket. He tends to be a few bucks cheaper than JAS for this part.

The mustard color is correct for the turntable. The door pulls, on this particular model, I believe, are of the "antique bronze" variety. I have a 4-3 and they are truly amazing little machines. I sealed the tone chamber/horn on mine and it made a huge difference in the sound reproduction. Good luck with yours; you'll have fun with it!

52089 wrote:Notice the long pin that comes down from the middle of the tonearm. That pin should be between the two long "fingers" on the autobrake - the ones pointing left in your picture.

As the record plays, the "fingers" cause a mechanism to line up that will trip the brake when the tonearm is moved back towards the outside of the record. That only occurs when playing records with an eccentric runoff groove.

Personally, I don't think the device is particularly useful, so I leave mine disengaged. Your machine should work fine with the brake in this position, as long as nothing is scraping against any part of the turntable.

The door knobs are a dark color. You should be able to find pics somewhere on the board...

Ron Sitko also has the correct back bracket. He tends to be a few bucks cheaper than JAS for this part.

I find the stop to be useful on rare occasions- mostly if I'm at a distance & want to preserve some spring power, but I also leave it disengaged- I've found that I get much longer wear from a fiber needle if it doesn't have the brake drag.

Looks just like the one I looked at in Jersey a couple of weeks ago listed on the FB Marketplace !!

estott wrote:

52089 wrote:Notice the long pin that comes down from the middle of the tonearm. That pin should be between the two long "fingers" on the autobrake - the ones pointing left in your picture.

As the record plays, the "fingers" cause a mechanism to line up that will trip the brake when the tonearm is moved back towards the outside of the record. That only occurs when playing records with an eccentric runoff groove.

Personally, I don't think the device is particularly useful, so I leave mine disengaged. Your machine should work fine with the brake in this position, as long as nothing is scraping against any part of the turntable.

The door knobs are a dark color. You should be able to find pics somewhere on the board...

Ron Sitko also has the correct back bracket. He tends to be a few bucks cheaper than JAS for this part.

I find the stop to be useful on rare occasions- mostly if I'm at a distance & want to preserve some spring power, but I also leave it disengaged- I've found that I get much longer wear from a fiber needle if it doesn't have the brake drag.

When you don't use the autobrake, how do you get it to stop? Seems like there is no normal brake in this system if you don't engage the autobrake.

briankeith wrote:Looks just like the one I looked at in Jersey a couple of weeks ago listed on the FB Marketplace !!

Probably not the same one, but anything's possible. This one has been sitting in an antique store for about a month and came from Maryland.

Columbia78 wrote:
When you don't use the autobrake, how do you get it to stop? Seems like there is no normal brake in this system if you don't engage the autobrake.

There is a manual brake lever in the 1:00 position of the turntable- I see it in your picture