The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

A someone appears to be giving away a Cromwell in Long Beach. Unfortunately it also appears to be in "free shape" but all the internal parts seem to be there. If someone wants a restoration project or needs parts for an early Electrola this could be a good deal.
https://offerup.com/item/detail/1446423254

Wow. That's a machine one sees very, very rarely.

That'd be a great restoration project for somebody!edisonplayer

First Victor Electrola- they slapped this together in a hurry after Brunswick started making loads of money off their Panatropes. New technology and top dollar cabinets make for good cash, so Victor had to do a cheaper alternative (in classic Victor fashion). This is basically the same as any of the late 1925 or early 1926 Brunswick Panatropes- note the same volume control and 6" speaker. The amp doesn't look like an AP-952 to me, but it's probably something equivalent or a bit cheaper. I have heard these are prone to some pretty nasty electrical hum, but it would be a nice early example one way or another. The thing about a roached Victor compared to a Brunswick is that you can refinish a Victor a bit easier- Brunswick had these bizarre complex finishes that look amazing when preserved and are near impossible to replicate.

I believe it uses the AP-950 amplifier only used on the earliest Panotropes and Electrolas. It utilizes only 3 tubes vs the 5 of an ap952 or 997 tomcat. It uses only 1 rectifier tube for only half wave rectification. It uses the same 199 and 210 tubes for amplification. It also seems to lack a ballast tube so I wonder if it has a more narrow range of input voltage vs the later Electric phonographs.
The speaker, I believe is actually an 8 in magnetic speaker similar to an RCA model 100 speaker, not the 6 in 104 dynamic speaker used in the later Electrolas.
Unless there is more filtration for the dc power I do imagine that this amplifier has more hum than a tomcat with full wave rectification. I don't think the hum would ever be noticeable or even heard over any sort of music but of course I've never heard one in person.