Victor 0

[SonnyPhono]

I just bought a Victor table top today and don't know too much about it. I thought it was a Victor 0 at first due to the horn. But the brake and speed control look like that on a Victor I. Could anyone help out with this one? Does anybody have one of these? If so, what are your thoughts?

Here is the one I bought. It has a refinished horn. (obviously) But everything else is original and in good shape.

[schweg]

The Victor 0 has a mahogany case. Looks like yours is oak so is more likely a Victor I but with the tonearm and horn from a 0.

Steve

[SonnyPhono]

Is there a chance this is a type Z? I am not so sure about the Vic I anymore. The crank is too close to the front of the cabinet for it to be a Vic I. Also, the ID plate is on the left side of the phonograph when facing it, where as the pictures I found of Vic I's it is on the front of the cabinet.

I know that the Victor Z was referred to as the Victor I when it had a tapering tonearm. Could this be a Victor Z?

[estott]

According to Victor-Victrola the Type 0 can have an Oak case:
http://www.victor-victrola.com/Victor%20O.htm

[FellowCollector]

That sure looks like an early Victor I cabinet to me. The Victor O cabinets were a bit more plain - at least the ones I've seen. This one has the later Victor backmount with slip-in elbow which I've never seen factory supplied for an early case Victor I. I have five Victor I's and only one has the slip-in elbow and that Vic-I has the late style cabinet. As far as the possibility of being a Victor Z, the only Z's I've seen are front mount. Very late Z's may have been equipped with the rear mounted tonearm assembly but I would never expect a Victor Z to have a factory equipped slip-in backmount and elbow. Best, Doug

[schweg]

Sonny- So at the risk of asking the obvious, what does it say on the ID tag? The 0 I have is in mahogany, I didn't realize they were ever produced in oak (good info Estott). The Victor I I have does have the ID tag on the left side. It is serial #41024.

Steve

[SonnyPhono]

Great question, Schweg! I will be able to read the tag tomorrow. I won this with an absentee bid. It was at auction about 15 minutes from my house but I couldn't make it to the auction yesterday. I didn't want to regret not going or wonder "what if?" so I put a very low absentee bid. It looked ok from the picture and so I bid according to what I could see in the picture. I didn't think I would win it, but was just taking a shot in case nobody wanted it. I got an email telling me I was the high bidder and could pick it up Monday. I was very surprised considering how low my absentee bid was. At any rate, I will be able to check tomorrow and will know for sure.

I did a lot of research yesterday and found a few things. I think the biggest thing is that the cabinet looks identical to a type Z. In the Look For The Dog book, the cabinets shown for the Vic I and the Vic 0 are different than the one I bought. The difference is in the bottom trim. Mine has identical trim to the Type Z shown in the book. But the parts on mine resemble a Vic O. The book says that the early Type Z had a plate that needed removed to attach the taper arm. Also, the Vic O was introduced to replace the Type Z. So is there a chance this was an unused Type Z cabinet that the factory used for an early Vic O. It looks like a perfect mix of the two and has a low serial number, #6862. Were there any transition models from the Type Z to the Vic O or were they completely separate from each other making this a compilation of parts from different machines?

[Jerry B.]

The Vic O has a cabinet stained to look like mahogany but it's a cheaper wood. I don't believe it was ever offered in oak. The Vic I was made for many years so the crank could be in several positions based on the motor. The Vic Z was a front mount machine and shared the same cabinet and motor as the Vic I made at the same time. Either the Vic I, O, and Z should have a metal ID tag.

[Jerry B.]

The Vic Z was offered for a brief time compared to the Vic I and it was a way to offer a low priced machine to the public. The Z's that I am familiar with have a tapered underside of the turntable and the brake rubbed on the underside of the turntable but I don't know if this is true for all Z's. The metal tag about removing the plate meant that the cabinet could be shared with the I or Z. I'll bet a chocolate malt at Union that when you see the ID tag, it will indicate it's a Vic I.

[Zeppy]

A hodgepodge perhaps? The backbracket and done arm appear to be from a Victor O (you can see the wishbone type support on the sides of the tapertube at the backbracket, which as far as I know was only used on the Victor O). I don't think the case is a Victor 0 for a few reasons. First, according the the Victor Data book, the 0s didn't have bullet braker, but rather the Round plate. The on the 0 was imitation mahagony. So if the machine was refinished, you couldn't tell. Also the VDB has all of the data plates on the 0 on the side that would be directly facing us on this machine.

Don't think it was a Z for a couple of reasons...the Z was pretty much a Vic 1 with a front mount tone arm. Also the Z, like the earliest Vic 1s had an 8" turntable with the beveled edge, and a round plate brake (this version, oddly enough isn't listed in the Victor Data Book, but I own one, and have seen many of them, so they exist). I'm guessing the next version of the Vic 1 (the first listed by the Victor Databook). It had the identical case as the first version, which looks like your case, and the dataplate would be the side facing away from us. So my guess is you have a case of Vic 1, tone arm, horn, elbow and backbracket of a Vic 0, and the winding key from an early Victrola IV or VI (the one's too long for a Vic 1).