List of Japan made Victor/Victrolas

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VanEpsFan1914
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Re: List of Japan made Victor/Victrolas

Post by VanEpsFan1914 »

I would be willing to bet that many of these machines are actually produced in the United States and shipped over to Japan by collectors; it would be nice to see the data plates of some of them and figure out which was which.

Now that tiny portable is the closest Victor I have ever seen to a cameraphone! Thanks for posting it.

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nostalgia
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Re: List of Japan made Victor/Victrolas

Post by nostalgia »

Yes, I have no chance to check it myself, but I also would believe that the more expensive/exclusive models listed, are models that in the later decades very well may have been imported from the USA, and later on been put of for sale. I guess this could be an interesting, (and time consuming) work, for the dedicated Victor/Victrola collector/ gramophone geek;) :geek:
I was able to find this photo, with some additional information, and it give good hints on the production of (some) Victor/Victrolas in Japan. But as you say VanEpsFan, without seeing the data plate it is a difficult task....I am leaving it all to decide for you Victor/Victrola collectors;) Feel free to discuss this for as long as you want, I do not have the knowledge to take part in that discussion, but will love to watch it from a bird's view:)
Below is the translated descripton/photo I referred to above here...

Update:
I also found a photo of nameplate for a tabletop (serial number removed by owner for privacy reasons), and copy of an old leaflet and a nice trademark photo
Attachments
logo.jpg
logo.jpg (124.48 KiB) Viewed 1374 times
VV1-80 (Japan JI-80)JVC.jpg
VV1-80 (Japan JI-80)JVC.jpg (31.76 KiB) Viewed 1375 times
j1_35_plate.jpg
j1_35_plate.jpg (89.63 KiB) Viewed 1375 times
Victor VV1-90(2).png

gramophoneshane
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Re: List of Japan made Victor/Victrolas

Post by gramophoneshane »

VanEpsFan1914 wrote:

Now that tiny portable is the closest Victor I have ever seen to a cameraphone! Thanks for posting it.
I could very well be wrong, but I have my doubts it was made by JVC.
The trademark decal under the lid looks completely different to any of the other Japanese Victor's, although if the picture was able to be enlarged clearly it might tell a different story.
Had they referred to it as a Victrola, then it could have been someone using it as a generic term for gramophone/phonograph as some people do in USA, but as the accompanying text calls it a Victor portable, I suppose I can't blame the terminology or translation.

Does anyone recognise the soundbox or similarities to Victor or RCA counterparts?

Maybe one-day a Japanese collector will follow in the footsteps of people like George Paul and Christopher Proudfoot, and publish a book on Japanese models from the various active companies there who made accoustic machines.
Let's hope!



The thing I find most interesting is that so many machines appear to be pretty much the same, like the 1-90 in the post above.
The main thing that seems to change are the number of pillars in the grille design on many, although the same grilles are repeated on various models too.
In reality the difference between those that appear the same is probably things like the number of springs, size of the turntable and perhaps the size of the cabinets, but unfortunately those things aren't easy to judge from the photos.
Most of the table models appear to have an orthophonic style soundbox, although a couple look similar to the No.4, but the ts difficult to be sure with many photos.

It certainly shows that a wider range of portable and table models were available in Japan, and a variety of uprights and console styles like Victor and HMV made, had no place in the homes and decor of most Japanese people.
That certainly seems to be true judging by the large number of portable and table models shown in this, and the Japanese Columbia thread, and the shier lack of uprights by comparison to ours. There does appear to be some Credenza type machines, but not being a Victor guy I don't know if some are imports from America, or if any Japanese models varied in size similar to HMVs 163, 193/4 & 202/3.

JVC must have relied heavily on technical diffences between its models to make sales with so many outwardly appearing the same.
I think Victor and HMV were more about using aesthetics for sales, with both companies often using the same internal components in a variety of cabinets, and the difference you paid was purely cosmetic with no practical advantage.

AmberolaAndy
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Re: List of Japan made Victor/Victrolas

Post by AmberolaAndy »

Really dumb question but was this the part of the company that eventually became the company that invented VHS tapes?

gramophoneshane
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Re: List of Japan made Victor/Victrolas

Post by gramophoneshane »

AmberolaAndy wrote:Really dumb question but was this the part of the company that eventually became the company that invented VHS tapes?
Yes, it's the same company. JVC.

soundgen
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Re: List of Japan made Victor/Victrolas

Post by soundgen »

gramophoneshane wrote:
VanEpsFan1914 wrote:

Now that tiny portable is the closest Victor I have ever seen to a cameraphone! Thanks for posting it.
I could very well be wrong, but I have my doubts it was made by JVC.
The trademark decal under the lid looks completely different to any of the other Japanese Victor's, although if the picture was able to be enlarged clearly it might tell a different story.


It's a Russian miniature portable

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=31323&hilit=Russian+Portable

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fran604g
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Re: List of Japan made Victor/Victrolas

Post by fran604g »

This is a wonderful guide and resource for posterity. Thank you for your contribution to the community!

Cheers,
Fran
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nostalgia
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Re: List of Japan made Victor/Victrolas

Post by nostalgia »

I agree with Soundgen, the minuature portable seem to have the exact same logo as the one in the thread found by Soundgen. This seems to be an error in the original Japanese listing. Do we agree that I remove this item from the list, to keep the list as correct as possible?

gramophoneshane
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Re: List of Japan made Victor/Victrolas

Post by gramophoneshane »

nostalgia wrote:. This seems to be an error in the original Japanese listing. Do we agree that I remove this item from the list, to keep the list as correct as possible?
Seeing as nobody else has responded, my vote is yes, remove it.
Its not Japanese nor a Victor, so it seems pretty pointless leaving the pic and text there imo.
I'd repost the picture in the other thread as a second example, so it's still here on the board for future reference.

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nostalgia
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Re: List of Japan made Victor/Victrolas

Post by nostalgia »

I have removed the portable, and will repost the picture in the thread Soundgen pointed to.
Don't hesitate to comment, comments and recommendations is what makes our world go around in here:)
Very likely some of the bigger Victor/Victrola floor models also were made in USA, but it is VERY difficult to know where
to draw the line at the time of writing this, so for the time being, I let them stay listed, until someone with confidence
can say that any of them should be removed.

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