Got A New Victrola in The House...

[SignatureSeriesOwner]

Nothing really special, a simple, unrestored VV 1-5. The pictures make it look WAY worse than it is. I'll try and take some better pics of it tomorrow. The entire tone arm and 95% of the soundbox looks as shiny as a restored bumper on one of Detroit's finest.

The case needs some help....any resources for new material there? The cloth covered wood inside looks good, except for a small area or two.


As far as the Victrola #4 reproducer goes...do they make rebuild kits for it? Do #2 gaskets work in it?

It works very well. It was very noisy (picture WWI battlefield in France) when I got it, but some 3-N-1 oil on all exposed gears make it run as quiet as a mouse now.




What would a good one of these run? I don't plan on selling now, but I want to know if it's worth investing a new case covering, etc in. It's not very valuable, I know. I'm thinking what? $125 if it was in good shape? I feel $30 for a working phonograph is a good deal. I could get that for the #4 by itself, if I wanted to.

[SonnyPhono]

I agree...$30 isn't bad for a working phonograph provided you have a place for it. (Says my wife!)

Thanks for sharing!

[OrthoFan]

Haven't tracked these lately, so I don't know about current prices. I sold the one I had about 23 years ago for $100.

Somewhere along the line, the original mahogany stained motor-board was replaced on the one you bought. (Don't know about the motor, but your crank isn't original to this model either.)

From victor-victrola.com

This larger photo which appears in this post string -- http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... f=2&t=2443 --
also shows the correct needle-cup, with holder for Victor Tungs-Tone needles, and the simple knob-type speed regulator.

VV-1-5.JPG (39.66 KiB) Viewed 1630 times

On the plus side, you have a BRASS early Victor #4 sound box, so you'll never have to worry about pot metal problems with that. This means you'll be able to change out the gaskets, etc., if need be. I've seen that type of sound box, alone, sell for about $100.00+.

Nice find.

[SignatureSeriesOwner]

Well, the motor must not be original either, then. It looks like a Victrola motor...and has "Junior" stamped into the bottom of it. However, I highly doubt it came from a Victor Jr. Then again, I've never seen a Victor Jr. motor, so it's possible. The turntable is only 9" in diameter, if that makes a difference.


Does anyone know what the motorboard and such may have come from?


The #4 is definitely good news. Does anyone know where I can get a rebuild kit for it?

[Kirkwood]

That motor board looks suspiciously like it came from a Birch, Silvertone or other later portable phono. Looking at the back edge of the motor board, near the tonearm, it looks like a larger board was cut to fit---it's not "finished".

[OrthoFan]

...The #4 is definitely good news. Does anyone know where I can get a rebuild kit for it?

I don't know of any specific supplier to recommend. There are varying opinions about the #4 gaskets currently available -- SEE: http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... f=2&t=1745 -- and some feel that they are too firm or hard to allow proper movement of the diaphragm.

As noted in the above link, and based on what I've been told by a few collectors, the hollow tube gaskets used for the Exhibition sound box do the best job.

Interestingly, the gaskets in the #4 sound box that came with the 1-5 I used to own were still very soft, and I never had to replace them. It was the sound box's needle pivot that was constantly giving me trouble. I'd get the adjustment just right, so the needle bar moved back and forth freely, with no sideways shake or movement, and then it would loosen up after a few weeks. In order to track correctly, the needle bar should move as freely as possible in the direction required to track the lateral groove--toward and and away from the center of the diaphragm. If the needle bar has even slight movement opposite this--or sideways--it can cause distortion.

[SignatureSeriesOwner]

I only have one complaint about the #4, really.

There is a lot of distortion on middle-upper-to-higher notes. It can be a 1902 Opera record, or a 1925 Jazz record. Just a very harsh distorted tone. I don't know if that's bad gaskets, or perhaps the needle bar needs resealing? It plays all the other notes surprisingly well.

Some new pics, after cleaning the case:

[frenchmarky]

I have two #4 reproducers, the first had no gaskets so I just used the white tubular kind on both sides. I think it was the skinnier size of tubing, the fatter size will end up being too tight. It sounds good but yeah it probably doesn't provide as much disc movement as the original one-piece gasket.

My other #4 has the original gasket, and it is soft, bendable and uncracked. BUT I noticed that after I buttoned the box back up and did a pressure test by blowing on it, it would leak a little air when the air was going in one direction (not the other though.) As if the disc was a little too loose within the gasket. So I added a correct-sized paper gasket I had laying around from a different soundbox, on top of the old gasket, before closing it back up. Just to put a little more pressure on the gasket. That sealed it up 100%. Dunno if anyone else has some other methods for better sealing of the mica disc to the original old gaskets, like putting in some sealant or something (?) It is probably just due to the rubber not being quite so soft as when it was new. I was surprised that the original gasket and disc were in excellent shape after all these years. Course it could have been rebuilt with new parts by somebody 50 years ago ; )