The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Maybe one of you can help me out. I’ve searched most of the obvious sites and haven’t been able to find an answer to this…

When did the VV-IV acquire a real horn (like the one on the right) as opposed to the little trapezoidal wood box “horn” on the left?

The one on the left is #24,682 and the one on the right is #398,490 (one of the last “slat-less” ones). There’s a big gap between, and I’d like to be able to narrow down the serial number of the change-over.

(Recently restored the older one and I really like it – it’s a little smaller but a LOT lighter than the one with the cast iron horn throat, and it actually sounds very nice.)

Any info on when this change occurred would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
Mark

The change was around 1917 when the A suffix appeared on the VV-IV-A, VV-VI-A, etc. Also, the motor were changed to the newer configuration.
Harvey Kravitz

Harvey I have s/n 375218 which is a VV IV a ,,, It has a wood sound box and no slats. Is that in that range. I always thought neat without the slats. Tom B

Hi Tom, The VV IV without the slats was only made for a short time. When the A suffix was dropped in 1918(?), then the VV IV went back to the slats until the end of production.
Harvey Kravitz

Thanks Harvey... Did the slats make it play better or redirect the sound?? I do not think it makes it more desirable as most people like the slats. Tom B

To be honest, I heard them both. To me, they sound the same. But then again I'm half-death . The slatless VV IV is more desirable from a collector's standpoint.
Harvey Kravitz

Thanks to Harvey & Tom for the info!

Interesting, Tom's VV-IV (375218) is slatless and has the wood box (no horn) while my slightly-later VV-IV (398490) is slatless but has the cast iron horn, so it looks like maybe the cast iron horn throat was added somewhere during the slatless period? (Which I guess is what Harvey was saying, as that happened late 1917/early 1918.)

I think some of the Victor data regarding suffixes can be confusing... my early VV-IV has a lower-case "a" after the serial number, but my later VV-IV has an upper-case "A" after the model designation. So I'm guessing the VV-IV-A is where the newer motor and cast iron horn were added... regardless of slats or not.

(Personally, I like the look of the slats. And IMO the downward firing slats on the VV-IV help in that they direct the sound down where it bounces off the table/counter/floor before reaching your ears indirectly, as opposed to the upward firing slats on many Victrolas, which direct the sound directly at your face. Louder, but also a bit harsher that way. In my humble opinion.)

Thanks again!
Mark