The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

There is a Credenza not far from Memphis for sale. The asking price is $500. It appears to be an earlier one, but with 4 doors, unsupported tone arm. All the feet are there. Seller says some small amount of veneer separation on the lower right side near the back. No records, or record albums. Is it worth the asking price or near it? I have a VV 8-12 that I paid $250 for a couple of years ago, but the back bracket needed to be replaced as did the reproducer.

Thoughts??

Matt

http://northmiss.craigslist.org/atq/4001874785.html

I re-posted this in the Yankee trader section thinking that area might be more appropriate.

I've got a Credenza , and a VV 8-12 as well....the 8-12 is my go-to machine..It gets 80% of the playing , while the Credenza gets played once in a blue moon...Since they both have excellent sound , the deciding aspect for me is the lid....the air dampered lid on the Credenza takes a while to close , while the spring loaded lid on the 8-12 opens and closes in an instant...and I don't realy trust those air dampers not to fail causing the lid to come crashing down with Tiny Parham on the turn table...

personaly I would be all over it in a New York minute but I am in Dallas,Texas.
I would trade my 8-9 for it.

Jerry

Here is my quandary. I do not have room for both the Credenza and the 8-12. I will not put my wife through forcing another phonograph in the dining room.... So the choice is to keep the 8-12 I have and let the Credenza go, or sell the 8-12 and get the Credenza. There were fewer 8-12's made than the Credenza and the style of the 8-12 is appealing to me. The Credenza will need some minor work and probably a rebuild of the repro. So, unless the price on the Credenza is really good, or the sound is much better, then I cannot see buying it. I was looking for advice from collectors who had owned both and Whoopinola has given me that. Thank you very much.

Any others want to weigh in?

I would probably offer him 3 or 4 bills for it depending on condition and how it sounded. These big floor models are getting a lot harder to sell. Buyers are always saying "I just don't have any room for it" or "I'll have to ask my wife", both of which mean "No".

A good Credenza is always going to bring more than the average floor model. Not all by any means, but some recent eBay completed sales have been north of $1,000. If this is a decent example, $500 is a good price.

Clay

For whatever it is worth, when serviced the Credenza lid closing dampers work like a charm and are an elegant feature people who see mine like to watch.

The dampers on mine did not work when I bought it, but then I found Victor's owner's manual advice about putting a bit of oil in the top of the tubes. Bingo! Now they are flawless. (About half a thimble full of good machine oil will do it.)

And the chance of them failing suddenly (as opposed to slowly as the internal seals dry out) is remote given their design and the fact that they are a pair.

Clay

My advise is stick with what you know...the 8-12 is working great, because you have worked out all the bugs...The Credenza is an unknown quantity , with all the usual problems , and some a complete surprise...It sounds like space is a major factor in your decision , and the Credenza has a much larger visual presence in the room , even though it is only ½ in wider , and 4 in deeper , it feels much larger...The air lid supports are a novelty at first , but if you play a lot of records , the 5 seconds that it takes the lid to completely close and cover the record noise will become a greater aggrivation...at least it did to me

Love the 45 rpm record on the turntable.

I've had both, and the Credenza is the more desirable machine in my opinion.

The Credenza will sound better than the 8-12, though that is a subjective thing.

That Credenza cabinet looks good, but the cloth is damaged and the reproducer will need to be rebuilt or replaced. In today's market this is a $300 or less machine- it was a $500 machine about 10 years ago. If you like the 8-12 then stick with it.