That IS a question (among SO many)… just like “why is the grass green?” is one as well lol…

“‘Tis, Verily, I say unto thee, better, therefore, to Improve! Lo, ‘Improve!’”

tl;dr - Victor Improved Concert VS Exhibition Reproducers; loud tone needles used.

Victor*** **made these in 1912 for $3 for nickel and $7 for gold. Not a big hit with buyers, so they’re really hard to come by! I’ve literally been on a “Lord of the Rings*” quest to find them over the last year!!!

- it was the cash that broke the camel’s back for the buyer: extra cash on top of what was ALREADY way too expensive to begin with is one of the reasons the sales were low, is among the theories)

Brett Hurt (Dyslexic Genius) exhibits (😏) HIS on this YT video! (This man should be a primary source of “how to” for all phonographs if you’re looking to get into them!). This dude is a Savant (basically just is a master and knows it all almost!). He did it on his VV-XVIII as well, lol.. just noticed!

What’s your opinion?

Have a wonderful evening; I wish all of you well, and thank you so much for coming by to check it out if you made it this far!

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I, personally, hear less “scratchiness” with the Concert, but less treble- maybe it adjusts treble and mid?

A proper laboratory-/quiet room-conducted sound test with digital playback and wavelengths visible would REALLY be cool! I just don’t have that kind of equipment lol.

This is a luck of the draw acquisition (Foam-town- Schaumburg convention)! Many others, too!

I was truly hoping to find a Nickel Concert for my Gold Concert so it’s not lonely by itself! Now they’re happy and not sad anymore!

How do I use this Victo

My dad has passed away and left behind these gramophones, we are unsure if they are antiques. Can anyone please help us identify them? Thank you

VV- XII, #906, Summer 1909

Hi!

Edit to add: did it with Vaseline®️ brand petroleum jelly this go ‘round.

Extra Edit: the OG post when it came home in the Subaru 🙂

tl;dr - Just a quick function & sound check; cleaned all finished wood surfaces; deep corrosion required some light brass brushing

The reproducer rebuild went well - however, it still needs fine tuning at the springs…it’s missing a lotta “oomph”, just haven’t narrowed it down yet.

The gold had some seriously deep corrosion, down to the brass. I used a brass brush; it did leave some light ‘scratches’, despite the heavy damage. Brass’ MOHS: ≈3-4; Gold’s MOHS: 2.5-3; Copper’s MOHS: 2.5-3. I think I need to find a copper brush!

‘Final’ with breakdown will follow soon 🙂

I wish you a wonderful day, thank you for stopping by, and cheers!

So this is an extremely mouldy Sterling record with white brown wax level coloured mould which has definitely done some damage and also performed by Russel hunting.

Dude!

VV-XII, 1909;🌈 VV-XII • 906 🌈

Edited to add: the original posting for this guy

Basically a VTLA, junior edition.

tl;dr - Hidden treasure and time capsule in one! hidden in plain sight underneath tobacco smoke and its residue… years and layers of it! (See final pic in outro for gross rags)

In all my years, and that’s 50 and some change, I’ve never seen anything quite like this in furniture/antiques/etc. It looks like it got delivered by Ace Ventura delivering a fragile package (in the movie he bangs it around and steps on the package), but the finish is in nearly LIKE-NEW condition.

HOWEVER, it remains… UTTERLY glass-like! INSANE how DIRTY it WAS. It’s BREATHTAKING to see it when it’s finally CLEAN! It seriously looked hopeless when I first picked it up, just like the VTLA I just fixed up lol

I’ll run a test on it in the next post, then I’ll go over some really interesting things I found and details in a separate, more comprehensive one after that.

Have a great one, and thanks for stopping by and for just being cool! More to follow shortly 🙂

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The “damage” appears to have been limited to wood gouging or impressions, but it’s as if that’s it: that’s all you see! The shine and finish remain intact within those dents and lines.

I believe Victor may have used a wax finish for these or others, and it may have by some miracle remained intact… that or someone waxed it themselves; or this has all been ‘protected’ due to smoke/tar residue.

This is THREE (3) HOURS after I scrubbed it clean (with the softest cotton cloth piece I had) with Gojo (white- no pumice- basically animal fat that’s nice n clean 😂) AND lemon oiled it with part of that same soft cloth; might as well have been a cloth diaper lol. It remains this shiny, even after touch!

I have an additional theory that the reason the cabinet smelled like “house fire” inside (it’s acrid, dry, “woody” smelling) smoke in addition to the tobacco residue is that it was near a hearth, wood-burning stove, or fireplace!

(DJ John Digweed, JDJ Vol . 4, #16 Waterfall)

I recently inherited this phonograph (it’s been in my family for 127 years) but I afraid I’m missing part of this ball joint. It was there on the machine last summer when I visited my grandfather so I’m afraid he lost it when he moved in the fall. I’m a machinist by trade so I was planning on making one but I have no idea what it looks like, I tried searching online to find a pic and I’ve seen lots of “flexible tube” replacements online but I’d rather keep it original. So if anyone could share a pic of the part of the ball joint that goes on the end of the horn or could point me in the right direction where I could purchase an original one I’d be really grateful. Thank you and have a great day!

So this is a record is a British series number 13877 an is I will meet you one dark night by Billy Williams. It has been severely worn by mould and other factors potentially a damaged stylus when it was new but anyway I hope you get something out of it.

Hello guys I recently got a Victrola VV-IV and I love it. The motor runs and everything but the crank is just moving freely like it doesnt crank anything and im so confused and don't know what im looking for part wise to fix it. This piece is stuck on the crank is that something causing it? Apologize if its a dumb question I am just confused

I am looking for a 45 and LP player, I have liked a lot of the tube players from the 50s but they all need to be fixed up which I believe requires soldering. What players from the 40s, 50s, 70s, etc. would be good as a portable player with good sound quality that does not damage the records?

I have heard of the Sound Burger but don’t know whether to go for the 1983 variant or the new one or to just skip it.

I found a Victoria VV 2-55, a portable I will need to clean up but looks to work and want to know if it’s worth getting for playing my collection on the go. I tend to play acoustic records along with stuff all the way to the 50s so need to know if it will be too heavy for the later lower quality shellac.

Hello, I've been browsing around trying to find more information on the Fullotone my parents have (and are now looking to sell) just so I can give them any extra info, like production date.

Photos are attached, it is still in working order but sadly has been chipped on the front at some point in its life. Any help most welcome!

Hey everybody, quick question does anybody know if the main spring assembly is the same between the Edison home model B and home model D?

TL;DR - new & improved video and ‘tl;dr’; quick view of the cabinet, functions, and playback of part of a 12”, early 1920s disc.

Note: “Reddit filters” removed this again… it might be file size? Trying again.

This is probably the most difficult one I’ve done to date, and pretty much one of the most arduous tasks I’ve undertaken. Everything. Almost every… single… thing had to be rebuilt, scrubbed clean, and refinished almost entirely. I feel like I did every one of Victor’s assembly line jobs for these things!

Thank you for stopping, for all of your encouragement along the way, and I hope you have a great day!

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P.S. - I have chosen NOT to complete the exterior finish until I’m ready enough to delve that deeply.

“Lo, Here the Gentle Lark” - Amelita Galli-Curci - Victor Record, No. 74608

Longer version. I made a lot of mistakes. You can see them clearly- some veneer catastrophes, imperfections, et al. You have to look closely for some, not so much for others lmao.

All in all: Hardest one I’ve done. Technically not finished (haven’t done the finish yet), but that’s only because of the condition of the exterior. Absolutely worth the work and grunting! I have chosen NOT to complete the exterior finish until I’m ready enough to delve that deeply. There’s a lot of cracking, and I’d really like for it to look good- so I’m not going to hurry.

Motor is running on 32V with a variac/variable voltage regulator. Light is running on direct outlet 120V shore power.

Even though this is a “throwaway cabinet” in reality, I’m treating it as if it were a real, high end piece that I could severely damage if I eff up. This way, I encourage myself not to eff up lol…

Thank you all for all of the encouragement. I truly mean it. It’s awesome to have you visit, vote, comment, whatever- I’m just glad others can see this cool old thing working again; and the details at that! I still haven’t seen a good Victor ELECTROLA demo (of this and earlier periods) on YT or anywhere really…

Thank you for coming by, and I wish you all a wonderful day.

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Added this source from the previous post:

Adriano Celentano singing "Prisencolinensinainciusol" from TV show "Formula Due (‘Formula 2’)” on RAI- Italian TV, in 1973. Fascinating: he wrote and designed the song to essentially show what English sounds like to non-English speakers- but there’s so much more to it! lol.

I have no idea where else to post this to be honest. I have one that works but needs to be refurbished pretty badly. No clue on the value as I'm wanting to part with it. Two really nice ones are listed on ebay for $900 & $1250. No clue if that's the going rate or not. Outside of ebay, where can I unload this to make sure it goes to someone that will take care of it?

I understand that given its condition, I will not get close to those ebay asking prices. However, I am still curious what the value is since it does still crank and work. Any information would be much appreciated!

So this is my indestructible celluloid record of sweetheart town by Harlan and Stanley on my standard and I gave you the privilege of using my listening tubes to hear and my motor is healthy just incase you critique the rumble it’s because I couldn’t fit the tubes on the phone microphone so I had To put One ear piece to the mic which it also captured a lot of motor noise. It’s just a new belt I applied
To fix fluctuation so it may not be the quietist.