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The thread Opinion: Pooley VTLA, Love it, Hate it, Don’t Really Care made me think about the flat tops I've owned. It seems like every good phono has an even better story and that's true for both Pooley VTLA's I've owned.

In the early 90's I flew to Union. When I attend any sale I try to go with an open mind and no particular agenda for purchases. I wait for a machine to speak to me. Unlike my first generation mentors I liked Victrolas and looked for really nice ones. One of my mentors made the comment to me that the only use for a Victrola was as a parts donor. Ron Haring brought a flat top to Union that year...and it spoke to me. I asked Ron for his best price and he replied that $900 would buy it. That price seemed really high so I passed. Later that day a group of us went in to the saloon at Union for a beer. A suggestion was made to get a pitcher and someone bought one then someone else bought a second. You just can't drink someone else's beer so I bought a pitcher. After enjoying several beverages the $900 price for the flat top seemed quite reasonable. The show was winding down for the day but I found Ron and paid him $900 for the machine. I had not one moment or regrets and proudly owned that machine for many years.

Fast forward to about 2010. I worked as a Journeyman for Pacific Power & Light and most of the guys in the shop knew I was a collector. A meter reader came upon a Victrola while reading his route and called me. After listening to his basic description and price of $125 I asked for the information on the ID tag. When he said "VTLA" I immediately asked if he could offer a $20 cash deposit and it was accepted. After work we drove to the sale and I fully expected to see a domed top Victrola. To my delight it was a flat top and a click or two nicer than the one in my collection. After wrestling it down to my basement I tried to think of how to thank him. He enjoyed the outdoors and hunting so I offered him a 22 pistol as thanks. He declined saying the pistol was worth several hundred dollars. I replied by saying the Victrola he found was incredible and he hit a home run for my collection and not just an ordinary home run but a World Series game winning home run. He left with a smile and the pistol.

So let's hear one of your phono stories.

Jerry B.

Jerry B. wrote: Tue Nov 01, 2022 3:50 pm The thread Opinion: Pooley VTLA, Love it, Hate it, Don’t Really Care made me think about the flat tops I've owned. It seems like every good phono has an even better story and that's true for both Pooley VTLA's I've owned.

In the early 90's I flew to Union. When I attend any sale I try to go with an open mind and no particular agenda for purchases. I wait for a machine to speak to me. Unlike my first generation mentors I liked Victrolas and looked for really nice ones. One of my mentors made the comment to me that the only use for a Victrola was as a parts donor. Ron Haring brought a flat top to Union that year...and it spoke to me. I asked Ron for his best price and he replied that $900 would buy it. That price seemed really high so I passed. Later that day a group of us went in to the saloon at Union for a beer. A suggestion was made to get a pitcher and someone bought one then someone else bought a second. You just can't drink someone else's beer so I bought a pitcher. After enjoying several beverages the $900 price for the flat top seemed quite reasonable. The show was winding down for the day but I found Ron and paid him $900 for the machine. I had not one moment or regrets and proudly owned that machine for many years.

Fast forward to about 2010. I worked as a Journeyman for Pacific Power & Light and most of the guys in the shop knew I was a collector. A meter reader came upon a Victrola while reading his route and called me. After listening to his basic description and price of $125 I asked for the information on the ID tag. When he said "VTLA" I immediately asked if he could offer a $20 cash deposit and it was accepted. After work we drove to the sale and I fully expected to see a domed top Victrola. To my delight it was a flat top and a click or two nicer than the one in my collection. After wrestling it down to my basement I tried to think of how to thank him. He enjoyed the outdoors and hunting so I offered him a 22 pistol as thanks. He declined saying the pistol was worth several hundred dollars. I replied by saying the Victrola he found was incredible and he hit a home run for my collection and not just an ordinary home run but a World Series game winning home run. He left with a smile and the pistol.

So let's hear one of your phono stories.

Jerry B.

'After enjoying several beverages the $900 price for the flat top seemed quite reasonable'

't was near the beginning of year 2000, while browsing in a Spanish site for collectors, I watched a mahogany HMV 194 for 900€. It seemed impossible to me. I wanted a 202 or 203, but a 194 was good also. But that price... I searched in the web and saw that it's price then was well above 3000€, even reaching 5000€!!! I wrote the man and told him the real price he could ask for. Tried to convince him that he could raise the price and do a good business, for the machine was beautiful and very good, very special, and rare. While chatting with him, I learned many things about it, also looking through the web... Finally he told me that this was the price he paid for it, and he didn't want except to get rid of it, for it was not his collecting field. Meanwhile I showed it to my wife, and incredibly she told me to buy it, listening me when I said that this was my dream machine... So she pushed me and I bought it on line. That same Saturday, I went for it in my car, a 500 mile round trip. He was so kind to help me disassembling the soundbox and motorboard, putting all in my car. it fitted miraculously, as I owned then a Volvo 440, medium berlina not very big, but had the possibility of laying off the back seats, and had an enormous back door... I went home with the machine and three record albums he threw into the lot. Since then it has been the Queen of my collection and my preferred daily player. I restored it carefully, as the soundbox was pot metal 5a, badly jammed, but I managed to cut the front ring, grind down everything, and restored the sound to a marvel. With time I disassembled it completely until the last screw, and restored everything. The motor was very difficult to clean and regrease, but in some months, everything was cleaned, restored and properly adjusted. The lacquer finish had been striped off, si I ended sanding down completely the cabinet and finishing it in wax, which isn't original, but gives it a very beautiful natural tone. Anyway, I wanted to keep it, and never put it for sale.
This machine has given me and my family and friends hundreds of hours of pleasure, and still I marvel at how good any record sounds there. With time I learned (thanks to Francis James) to make my own bamboo needles, and playing records with them on that machine has been an unique experience.

That is a great story Jerry, you never know what is going to come your way. I have a lot of phono stories, the quirky ways we sometimes come across machines is half the fun of collecting them.
Here is one of my favorite stories, one Saturday afternoon about 25 years ago my next door neighbor who knew I was a phonograph collector knocked on my door, I greeted him and ask how he was doing etc. then he asked me if I had a horn for an Edison coin operated machine, somewhat puzzled I ask him to repeat the question, he said his dad just bought an Edison coin operated machine and needed a horn for it, my heart rate and blood pressure increased exponentially, trying to remain somewhat calm I ask where dear old dad was today, his dad had a booth at a local antique shop was there and he had just spoke to him. As soon as my neighbor, not just any neighbor but my next-door neighbor left, I high tailed it down to the small antique mall where his dad had a booth, looked him up and ask him what phonograph he needed the horn for, he said I've got it out in the van just bought it yesterday in a small town in the middle of Missouri, so I nervously followed him out to his van, He popped the hatch and there set an Edison Manhattan. It took some sweet talking because he had already decided he was going to keep it but eventually (two weeks later) it was mine and we have had it ever since. Let's hear some more phono stories. Larry

I have several stories about finding machines etc. but my favorite one regards finding a beautiful Amberola III and about 100 Blue Amberol cylinders on craigslist. Needless to say, I quickly called about it and made arrangements to see it the following morning.I hastily jotted down the address and drove off to see it. When I got to the address, I immediately realized that something was wrong. The place looked like an abandoned house, partially boarded up with no apparent way to get in. I tried to call the owner but later found out that she had turned off her phone knowing that I would soon be there. My wife, being a kindergarten teacher, was very familiar with the habit of children flipping digits in a number when writing it down. The number I wrote down was like 3782. I had nothing to lose so I tried 3872. Needless to say, she was right and I was able to acquire the machine. BTW, she periodically reminds me of this.
Dan Z.

About a year ago I started a small business of my own fixing up phonographs locally here in Knoxville. I really enjoyed meeting new people and watching their faces light up when the phonograph they have owned for YEARS was playing music for them for the first time. I had this one customer, she brought me a Vic XVII. It was a very nice machine, and I spent a long time on it making sure it was all working properly. About a week or so later she came back to pick it up and was ecstatic to hear it play for the first time. She was very excited to bring it back to the victorian house she was restoring. Well fast forward a month or so, and she is up in Chicago buying a chandelier from someone on facebook. Turns out the seller's father passed away and she needed help selling his phonograph collection. She remembered that I had restored her Victrola and sent me a message with photos of the collection. He had some nice machines, but what really caught my eye in the photos was the halfround Herzog cabinet. I immediately asked about it, and at the price the lady was asking for it I sent her the money immediately. (it was also completely full of blue amberols). Well now came the real issue. I just bought a cabinet in Chicago and I live in knoxville. How am I going to get it down here? As it turns out she had travel plans down through Nashville about a month later. Which also happened to be the day a buddy of mine was going to be leaving Nashville and driving to Knoxville. Once the details were arranged, she dropped it off at his front porch, he loaded it in his car and drove to Knoxville with it. I only had to drive about 30 mins to pick up the cabinet.

It was early May of 2015, and I was totally oblivious of the hobby that would soon become a big part of my life. Roger Merenkov had purchased the entire estate of a phonograph collector from the Austin area of Chicago. I dropped by is shop and found antique phonographs all around the business. When I first saw the nearly flawless Sonora Invincible in the middle of the shop, I was gob smacked. I had a birthday coming up and I told my wife that I knew what I wanted. She came to the shop to see for herself, and her eye fell upon an Edison A250. I really wasn't keen on owning two antique phonographs, but we ended up taking them both home. I grew to love 1920's jazz played on those two machines. Now I enjoy the A250 just as much as the Sonora. My interest in the hobby continued to grow thanks in no small part to his web site. I purchased two more machines on craigs list since those heady days of 2015. I'm always on the lookout for great jazz records and handsome upright phonographs. Recently, Roger Merenkov gave me a Perfection Reproducer which was missing the attachment for diamond disk machines. I rebuilt the reproducer with Roger's assistance and mounted it on my Sonora Invincible. The results were nothing short of amazing. The full dynamic range of sound was improved giving my record collection a new clarity.

An very elderly gentleman (70+) near my home town was getting married but his new soon to be wife told him all the antiques had to go before she would move in. The house was packed with clocks, music boxes, radios, gramophones and 2 old cars in the garage. Everything you could imagine. I spent the better part of the morning reminiscing about each item with him. He really didn’t want to sell anything and the price reflected that, outrageously high. Still I was polite but I couldn’t buy anything because of the high prices. As I was leaving, I noticed a mint condition Edison Maroon Gem being used as a door stop at the front door. How much is that I asked. “Oh, you can have that for free, my father took it apart and never put it back together.” Every screw and part was inside, I put it together and bought a horn from Charlie Hummel. It was one of the nicest Gems I have ever seen.
Whenever collectors talk about their best deals, I think of this story.
Blain

Jerry B. wrote: Tue Nov 01, 2022 3:50 pm The thread Opinion: Pooley VTLA, Love it, Hate it, Don’t Really Care made me think about the flat tops I've owned. It seems like every good phono has an even better story and that's true for both Pooley VTLA's I've owned.

In the early 90's I flew to Union. When I attend any sale I try to go with an open mind and no particular agenda for purchases. I wait for a machine to speak to me. Unlike my first generation mentors I liked Victrolas and looked for really nice ones. One of my mentors made the comment to me that the only use for a Victrola was as a parts donor. Ron Haring brought a flat top to Union that year...and it spoke to me. I asked Ron for his best price and he replied that $900 would buy it. That price seemed really high so I passed. Later that day a group of us went in to the saloon at Union for a beer. A suggestion was made to get a pitcher and someone bought one then someone else bought a second. You just can't drink someone else's beer so I bought a pitcher. After enjoying several beverages the $900 price for the flat top seemed quite reasonable. The show was winding down for the day but I found Ron and paid him $900 for the machine. I had not one moment or regrets and proudly owned that machine for many years.

Fast forward to about 2010. I worked as a Journeyman for Pacific Power & Light and most of the guys in the shop knew I was a collector. A meter reader came upon a Victrola while reading his route and called me. After listening to his basic description and price of $125 I asked for the information on the ID tag. When he said "VTLA" I immediately asked if he could offer a $20 cash deposit and it was accepted. After work we drove to the sale and I fully expected to see a domed top Victrola. To my delight it was a flat top and a click or two nicer than the one in my collection. After wrestling it down to my basement I tried to think of how to thank him. He enjoyed the outdoors and hunting so I offered him a 22 pistol as thanks. He declined saying the pistol was worth several hundred dollars. I replied by saying the Victrola he found was incredible and he hit a home run for my collection and not just an ordinary home run but a World Series game winning home run. He left with a smile and the pistol.

So let's hear one of your phono stories.

Jerry B.

So did ya ever sell the $900 VTLA?

My best stories would be more about the journey after the machines came home. My most interesting would probably be my “pull start” Canadian Berliner.

As far as acquisition stories go, that would probably be my 3 foot tall, three footed Nipper. He was advertised on Facebook Marketplace. No price, just best offer, which is something that I normally don’t respond to.

I wrote to the seller and told him that in its current condition, (left lower leg, left paw and half of the left ear were missing, the right paw and ankle were badly broken as were both rear paws. He had many breaks, chips and scuffs and he had served as a home to mice or squirrels). I told him that I wouldn’t offer him more than $200.00. I also sent before and after pictures of an 11” Nipper that I had restored.

He wrote back and told me that my offer was not the highest, (not even close), but that it was mine if I wanted it. The Nipper had belonged to his father and he wanted to be sure that it would be restored and enjoyed. I made the 5 hour round trip the next day. Because of drying times between layers, Nipper’s recovery took a few months. The seller was very happy to see the result and Nipper is enjoyed daily. Gotta love Nipper.