The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hello all.....
After speaking with a fellow member of the group, he suggested that I post a couple of photographs of my Victrola.
My model is an exhibition and is in pretty fair shape and it does play well.
I welcome any feedback!

Thank you!
Derek J Holak

You have a Victrola X with an Exhibition sound box. The sound box shows dried out front gaskets, indicating the need for a complete rebuild. When properly rebuilt, this sound box will amaze you (if you think it sounds good now, just wait!).

Welcome to the Talking Machine Forum, and congratulations on joining in on the fun!

The Victrola X (10) sold in large numbers and seems to have been a very popular machine. Like all Victrola's, they were reliable and played well. The Exhibition soundbox was supplied to many models for many years, and is easy to rebuild - with parts available from several sources. Probably that's a good place for you to begin, assuming the motor runs well. Otherwise, lubrication may likely be in order.

A website that can supply you with a great deal of historical information can be found following this link: http://www.victor-victrola.com/

Any answers to your questions and/or advice you can dream of, can be found within the membership of this forum.

Feel free to ask anything.

Best,
Fran

My very first Victrola as an identical VV-X. It has classic Victrola good looks in a nice small package. Welcome to the Forum. Jerry Blais

Thank you for sharing the photos with the forum members.

Mr. Henry, I have to say "Thank you" for the information you provided concerning the gaskets on my soundbox.
I finally figured out where that is located.
Now, I have to ask, do you know of a trusted dealer to sell me the proper gaskets?

Thank you!!

Derek J Holak

do you know of a trusted dealer to sell me the proper gaskets?

I'd suggest Ron Sitko. His contact information can be found in the "Links" section of our Forum.

Jerry Blais

If you're new to this hobby, I'd suggest you take a look at this link and decide whether an Exhibition rebuild is something you feel you can handle: https://www.nipperhead.com/old/reproducers.htm. Click on the link "Victor Exhibition."

You might want to consider sending it out for a professional rebuild, in which case we can suggest several craftsmen who supply this service.

The Victrola X, or Victrola the Tenth, was the smallest of the cabinet Victrolas. Also the cutest. I have a Victrola XIV--which is like yours but huge--and restored the thing in a month and a half. Yours is in a lot nicer shape than mine was.

One good machine, loved, played frequently, & appreciated, is a more pleasurable collectible than a marble hall full of ignored rarities. And nobody is going to say a Victrola X, with its top value of $200-$300 on a good day, is too valuable to use. Fix that thing up and let her sing out!

Few tips for using it--buy some new needles on eBay (I like Walt Sommers' from cybertigger AKA Gettysburg Antique Phonographs.) Use a new needle for each side. It seems wasteful but that's how the Victrola owners' manual says to do it. Why? He can explain with pictures on his needle ads, but basically old 78s are like musical grindstones and were designed to wear the needle tip down to fit the groove. Hey, custom styli for each individual disc? Audiophiles don't even have THAT yet!

Somebody mentioned rebuilding the reproducer. Well, you have to. Not only will it double your sound, but it will also keep from shredding your records. As the old rubber gaskets and back isolator (rubber thing holding it to the arm) harden, they lose their ability to flex and soak up vibration from the record's sound grooves. Yours lost their flex some time back in the Eisenhower administration.

You will probably want to rebuild the old motor too. Victor motors are rugged and simple to work on, so if you want to check YouTube there's a fellow on there who did a big series on rebuilding a Victor two-spring motor. Most will be similar--yours might be a hair different but that's that. Don't be afraid to slap some modern replica parts on there. Original parts are cool, but when they break, they break. I was working on a 1909 Columbia phonograph, a little BN Graph-o-phone with the red flower horn on it, and it ran poorly. So I opened it up and found that the springs had "set" or lost much of their springiness. Original they were, but they made a quick trip to the scrap-iron heap while I sent off for two brand-new springs. Now the BN purrs like a kitten and is waiting only on its horn to return from the local artiste who is filling it up with period-style painted flowers. (That's not original either but the BN had a rusty old horn that needed a splash of color.)

Check out the Victor Victrola Page www.victor-victrola.com and see what year your Victrola was built! Look up the X among the Victor products, and see where your serial number falls out of all the Victrola Xs produced.

And if you need more 78s--or maybe want to try some older music--let us know! Records from the 1910s and '20s are incredibly plentiful and we can set you up with some real classics for cheap if you want.

Glad to see someone else enjoying the simple classic pleasure of an upright Victrola! Stick around. This is a fun forum and a great hobby.

I would encourage you to have go at replacing the gaskets on your Exhibition. I believe it's a job you can do and little things like that make the machine your very own. Once you get the three screws out it's easy from there. Start with the correct size screwdriver. Jerry Blais