The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

This forum does not have a spot to say "Hi", so I thought I'd make one here.

I found this forum a few days ago, looked through a few pages and thought it would be a nice place to join.

I am not a collector, I only have one. It is a 1913 Victrola VV XI floor. It is in some real dark grainy oak, it is not shiny but more of a matte finish. I'm not sure what it would be called. All in all, for an un-restored 100 year old phonograph, I think it is in great shape. The only thing I have done to it was to replace the gasket between the sound box and tube, and re-grease the motors. Well I did clean it up, polished the nickel tube and cleaned 100 years of crud off the sound box.

I was, and still am, truly amazed at how well it plays, the sound quality, and the volume that is produced.

As far as I can tell the only thing missing is the lid support and the lid lock key. I have a feeling someone tried to shut the lid without unhooking the support, bent it to all heck, and took it off so the lid would open and close. Who knows what happened to the lid key. As to damage, some of the veneer is lifting/bubbling, and some of it has been broken off the bottom sides.

I doubt I will be able to offer any real knowledge to the group, but I hope I can learn a lot.

Welcome to the forum. This is a great place to learn about your new phonograph. There are lots of helpful tips about the correct way to make repairs that I have found very helpful. You said you are not a collector but all of the collectors on this site started out with that one "first" phonograph. Careful, they seem to multiply like rabbits.

Yes, welcome!
Your XI phono was one of the most-produced models Victor made, and parts are easy to obtain. If you want to get a lid support assembly I'd suggest you contact George Vollema. He and other dealers are very helpful!
The link:
http://www.victroladoctor.com/
Bob

Welcome to the Forum. There are many phono-nerds that will be happy to help and answer questions to help you enjoy your machine. Your VV-XI is a fine machine and more unusual than a typical mahogany example. Please post a photo if possible. Jerry Blais (Oregon)

Yes, welcome!

Everybody starts from scratch and learns over time. You can pick up a lot by following the chatter here and there are some great guys and gals on this Forum who are very generous with how-to advice. And if you really get the bug there are some excellent books we can recommend. Attending a phonograph show or two is also great for seeing what is out there and meeting some great folks.

Clay

Welcome aboard. It might be fumed oak if its oak? A good machine for your first.

I feel a fever coming on! There is no cure for it except being pennyless and even then you'll scavenge yard sales and junk shops for your next "hit"! Welcome!

I may have a lid support for this machine. How many screw holes do you have in the lid, and how far apart are the two in the motor board? If I have the correct one it's yours for postage cost.

The keys are fairly easy to find on e-bay. There are currently about 2 dozen keys on e-bay right now (V pattern in nickel), or you could look for them at flea markets.

Welcome!

I'd also love to see some pictures of it, I thought fumed oak as well when I heard your description.

I'm new to the collecting of phonographs but maybe one of our resident pros could chime in on this.
Did the XI ever come in fumed oak?
I remember reading here about a few varieties of Oak, which models had these options?

Per LFTD, they were available in Red Mahogany, English Brown Mahogany, Antique Oak, Driftwood Oak, Early English Oak, Flemish Oak, Fumed Oak, Weathered Oak, Gunmetal Oak, and (whee!) Golden Oak.

Clay