The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

If it's the VV-50 you got from me Gary, it has a rebuilt #2 on it....and yes, it's LOUD! It shouldn't rattle at all, though. If there's a problem, please let me know and I'll adjust the reproducer for you.

Sean

It's the needles. Use extra soft tone, as fine as a hair. Changing needles is the only way to control volume on these things.

Sean,

Yes, it's yours, and I absolutely love it! It just always takes me by surprise after I've been playing the XIV, and then put something on the VV-50. I guess it didn't make sense to me that something with a smaller horn could be that much louder. And I've only been using loud needles, I've ordered some soft, we'll see what happens.
All the machines I bought from you are wonderful, they all have a spot in my house.

GaryLC wrote:Sean,

Yes, it's yours, and I absolutely love it! It just always takes me by surprise after I've been playing the XIV, and then put something on the VV-50. I guess it didn't make sense to me that something with a smaller horn could be that much louder. And I've only been using loud needles, I've ordered some soft, we'll see what happens.
All the machines I bought from you are wonderful, they all have a spot in my house.

Two weekends ago I set up my VV-50 up in the far corner of our kitchen, granite counter tops, wooden cabinets and ceramic tile floor. I removed the no. 2 reproducer that came with it and substituted a no. 4 (rebuilt by Orthosean)and used soft tone needles to play a couple dozen records. Placement of the machine combined with the great acoustics of the room made for a very nice listening experience. Loud needles would have been way too much.

The VV-50 puts out an amazing volume, even with rebuilt reproducer. I used it to play the wedding march at my daughter's outdoor wedding earlier this year and you could hear it loud and clear all over the place. Indoors you definitely have to use soft tone needles. Extra Soft would be even better, but I haven't found anyone who still makes and sells those. Does anyone know a good source for new Extra Soft needles?
Thanks
Andreas

Andreas, You're lucky. My daughters would have shot me if I had brought a Victrola anywhere near their weddings.

Jim

I have a VV-50, the later one, and it is loud. It rivals my Victor V with oak spear tip horn. I use rebuilt No. 2 reproducers on each of them, and both are loud. I'm really amazed with the horn technology of the VV 50 horn. At a glance, it really doesn't look like much, but it is loud. I like the later VV 50. I like the built in needle cups and the record holder in the lid.
Harvey Kravitz

phonojim wrote:Andreas, You're lucky. My daughters would have shot me if I had brought a Victrola anywhere near their weddings.

Jim

Yes, I guess I am lucky in that all my kids (15, 23, 25 years) think my phonographs are quite cool, even though they don't understand why I need so many. They even like some of the 78 music, mostly the jazz, swing, boogie woogie etc. My teenage son even said he would like to inherit a phonograph at some point, just not all of them.
Even my son in law wanted the VV-50 at his wedding, I think because it's different from what everone else does. Of course, an external horn machine would have been even more fun, but I did not have one yet at that time.
Andreas

I found that my VV-50 rattles too, but not due to the reproducer. My VV-50 is SO loud that it actually vibrates the crank snap prongs, they act like annoying little tuning forks at the right pitch. I found that if I remove the crank and snap it in when playing this stops, since the crank keeps the prongs from vibrating. -Anybody else notice this with their VV-50?

For the VV-50 I stick a small rolled up hand towel in the horn when I want to lower the volum, just as you would with the external horn phonographs. This works great for me, and makes the neighbores happy too.

I think Ortho_Fan really hit the nail on the head. The electric discs contain a lot more information than the acoustics for which the 50 was designed. That being said, even with well-recorded acoustic discs, the 50 is a loud machine. The number 2 reproducer and the internal horn/curved lid combination project quite a lot of volume. These machines were made to be played outdoors at picnics and even taken on sea voyages. The 50 is quite a versatile machine that packs quite a punch, making me wonder why collectors refer to it as "humble".