The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Victrola-Monkey wrote:I don’t personally see and serial#/date info for the VV2-55 on the Victor-Victrola website but according to Baumbach’s book “Victor Data Book”, yours was made in the first year of the three years these were made (1928-1930).

Hi Mark,

That Victor site is great, but very old school so a bit un-intuitive to navigate. Below is the direct link to what they have to say about the 2-55's ... which ain't much I'm afraid.

Victrola Monkey has given the best indication of the date via going directly to a paper resource.

http://www.victor-victrola.com/2-55.htm

burke wrote: Victrola Monkey has given the best indication of the date via going directly to a paper resource.

I was able to narrow down the production date a little further. According the the Victor Data Book, the lowest serial number for the 2-55 was 501, and 143,684 units were shipped from the factory by year-end 1928.

Adding 501 to the number of units produced indicated in the book's quarterly production chart -- 45,486/second quarter 1928; 59,308/third quarter 1928; 38,890/fourth quarter 1928 -- would indicate that the OP's model was shipped from the factory during the fourth quarter of 1928.

HTH,
OrthoFan

audiophile102 wrote:

MarkH wrote:I took a few pictures of the vv 2-55...I'm hoping to understand what type of gold coating is on my machine.

How best should I restore the gold bits? I'd like to do it correctly. To me, it almost looks like a rattle can spray paint - but it's 90 years old (so I'm guessing not).

Your a motor cycle / car guy so you might appreciate that the original paint, even worn and faded is only original once. As an antique collector I want to see a clean well running machine. When someone decides to strip and refinish an antique, the value is diminished. Many instances require refinishing / painting, because the finish is completely worn away or severely damaged. My advise to you is to leave the gold parts alone and learn to appreciate the history of the machine. It's your ancestors hands repeatedly touching the tone arm that wore down parts of the gold color. That's kinda cool.

Thanks for your advice. I do believe I'll keep it original after thinking more about it.

Mark

OrthoFan wrote:

MarkH wrote:........How best should I restore the gold bits? I'd like to do it correctly. To me, it almost looks like a rattle can spray paint - but it's 90 years old (so I'm guessing not).
Thanks,
Mark

I'm not sure how the gold was applied, though one collector told me, years ago, that they used a gold wash. If you want the gold parts to look pretty, without repainting, etc., you might try "Rub N Buff" -- https://www.amaco.com/t/mixed-media/met ... rub-n-buff -- colored wax. I used this on a Credenza tonearm several years ago, and it did a nice job of masking the worn spots. The nice thing is, the original (worn) finish will remain intact.


OrthoFan

Interesting idea! I might consider playing around with the stuff.

Thanks!
Mark

Thanks to a number of you narrowing the date of manufacture! OrthoFan - amazing getting down to the approximate quarter of 1928, thank you!

I talked with my Mom (79 years old) over Christmas, and she said she never remembered them playing it (I misspoke in my original post). She said by the time she was born 1940, they had upgraded to a newer (non-portable) record player. She did recall playing some of the records I now have though (on the newer machine).

My aunt passed away a year ago (she was 16 years older than my mom) - I wish I could've found this phonograph sooner and asked her about it. I'm certain she would've had some neat info. So the early personal history of this 2-55 seems to have died with her.

Mark

I have the same exact machine. Mine makes a knocking noise when it gets to a certain speed. I want to do a complete tear down but I did hear that they often used rivets in certain places instead of screws.

I am most nervous about taking the spring apart and I've never done this before, but there are videos on youtube that show how it is done. Please keep us up to date on what you do with this.

I ordered the small bearings and gaskets for the Orthophonic reproducer from a seller on ebay and there are quite a few steps involved in refurbishing those, but it seems doable to me.

Best,

Jonas

Jeb98 wrote:

I ordered the small bearings and gaskets for the Orthophonic reproducer from a seller on ebay and there are quite a few steps involved in refurbishing those, but it seems doable to me.

Best,

Jonas

Hi Jonas,

You mention that there are quite a few steps to refurb the reproducer. Do you have access to instructions or a step-by-step guide by chance? I'd be interested in reading more about it.

Thanks,
Mark

https://web.archive.org/web/20180806174 ... honic.html

http://www.restore-a-gram.co.uk/hmv-no- ... 4589510400

There are a few descriptions of how to do it. Good luck. I would also check eBay for the parts. One seller hasn’t the flange, bearing balls, and gaskets.

Hi guys,

Is my VV 2-55 soundbox a No 5? And is a soundbox the same thing as a reproducer (that is, the round unit that holds the record needle that has a diaphragm)? Why are soundboxes named Number 1, Number 2,..., No 5? At first, I was thinking a "soundbox" was the area where the sound was pumped into...like a subwoofer box, but I think I'm wrong with that assumption.

I'm still struggling a bit with all the terms; and I'm sorry if this question is so basic to you all, but I really appreciate this forum in helping a new guy!

And thanks to Jeb98 for the links!

Mark

The reproducer is the same as the soundbox. Soundbox is a term that gets used to talk about disc phonograph reproducers for some reason. Not sure why but you'll have to find someone who's studied the history of these old things even more closely and ask them for the skinny.

But I know the Orthophonic isn't a No. 5. It's very similar because the No. 5 is based on the Orthophonic. The OSB (Not Oriented Strand Board but Orthophonic Sound Box) is an American product from Victor Talking Machine, who built the 2-55. The No. 5 is built by His Master's Voice, the Gramophone Company, a British concern that had the same trademark as Victor and many similar machine designs (both HMV & Victor machines of the early 1900s and 1910s have Exhibition sound boxes, for example. They're pretty easy to work on which is why a lot of them are still knocking around. Both my Victors--a horn model and a cabinet Victrola--have Exhibitions. Not a lot of variety, but they're very serviceable.)

The closest thing to the subwoofer box on these old phonographs is the cabinet, and in the case of your 2-55 portable, the lid, which acts as a resonator and sound reflector. You ought to have something nice and potent when you're all finished!