Victrola 8-35 (1928) forgotten son of Credenza?

marcapra · Post by **marcapra** » Sat Nov 09, 2013 4:34 pm

When I bought my Victrola 8-35 years ago, it was standing side by side with a Victrola Credenza. The seller and I played record after record on both machines and we both agreed that the 8-35 had the superior sound, especially in its bright treble. This is understandable in that the 8-35 has a massive metal horn that would shock you if you ever took the grille cover off and looked at it. This is no average looking horn by a long shot! When I heard people talking about how good their Credenza's sound, I wonder how many of them have ever heard an 8-35? Of course there are about ten Credenzas to every one 8-35. They made about 100,000 Credenzas counting the 8-30s and the electric motor models. They made about 10,000 8-35's counting the hand crank and electric models. Mine is the hand-crank model and I read that this is the last full-size hand crank phonograph made by Victor. Have there ever been any real comparisons of these two models?

Post by **alang** » Sat Nov 09, 2013 4:58 pm

That is a beautiful machine, especially with the record albums. Looks very distinguished, like it belongs in a library.
Congratulations
Andreas

estott · Post by **estott** » Sat Nov 09, 2013 8:41 pm

That is a first rate machine, and you are SO fortunate to have the albums

De Soto Frank · Post by **De Soto Frank** » Sat Nov 09, 2013 9:15 pm

estott wrote:That is a first rate machine, and you are SO fortunate to have the albums

Here-here !

marcapra · Post by **marcapra** » Sat Nov 09, 2013 11:53 pm

Having good albums wasn't just fortune. It came with just three good Victor 10" albums. It took years of searching to get a complete set in good condition.

Jerry B. · Post by **Jerry B.** » Sun Nov 10, 2013 12:01 am

Very impressive machine. Just don't ask me to help move it! Jerry

Cody K · Post by **Cody K** » Sun Nov 10, 2013 12:26 am

I don't think the 8-35 is forgotten as much as it's just lesser known -- as you say, there are ten Credenzas for every 8-35 that turns up. So, it's quite likely that many fewer people have even heard of the 8-35 than have actually heard a Credenza in action.

In terms of style, the 8-35 wins hands down, in my book. It's lower than a Credenza, and that alone makes it more "modern" in appearance than the hulking Big C. The width, combined with the book-alike record storage lend it an air of the upper-crust that the Credenza has too, though in a different way. The Credenza looks like (or tries to look like) old money; the 8-35 looks like a young Wall Street upstart, setting up in Scarsdale (a minute before the crash).

I haven't had the privilege of comparing the two models side-by-side, and I don't imagine I ever will. But given the reviews of the 8-35's sound, and its less ponderous appearance, I think I might well choose the 8-35 over the Credenza.

Still and all, an 8-35 that's lost its "books" is much diminished as far as visual attractiveness goes. The albums are so much a part of its look, moreso than with any other phonograph I know of. Without them, it's kind of a weird hybrid of bookcase and phonograph, unlike the Credenza, which is just a gigantic monolith, records stored in it or not. I imagine that, once "obsolete", 8-35s that had lost their books -- and their looks -- were more likely to end up in the dump than a Credenza, which, as we see all the time, were repurposed for some pretty sketchy uses. That, and the fact there were fewer 8-35s in the first place, probably combine to make the 8-35 more scarce than forgotten.

You've got a beautiful, remarkable machine, in fine condition, and it's good to know it's safe in good hands. And major congratulations for having managed to assemble a full set of albums for it -- that's dedication!

gemering · Post by **gemering** » Sun Nov 10, 2013 11:19 am

Awesome Machine!!!!

Garret · Post by **Garret** » Sun Nov 10, 2013 11:56 am

Very beautiful piece. In my opinion, this is probably one of the best-sounding American phonographs made. It's also very large and heavy.

Yamaphone · Post by **Yamaphone** » Sun Nov 10, 2013 4:07 pm

It just so happens that I presently have a Victrola 835 with the horn out of the cabinet. With currant discussion about this machine, I thought it might be of interest to some members to see some photos of this horn, as it really is difficult to see it when in the cabinet.
Also, I tried to measure the length of this horn. With the tone arm (which I think adds about 12") the length comes to about 72". The opening measures 21" x 25".
Dan Z.