A look at early and late Victor Victrola VV-IX machines

[@audiophile1024]

I own a 1916 IX that came with a matching Pooley record cabinet. It has a frame that wraps around the feet. Great video.

[@Rockisland1903]

I have had a few of that style cabinet, one of them is near me as I type. The IX was a very popular machine, and so were the aftermarket cabinets made for them. Why owners didn't just select the XI floor model to start with is a mystery as the cost of IX and cabinet would likely have been close to or less than the XI, Victors most popular Victrola.

[@TKELCH]

Loved that excellent presentation! Thank-You!

[@drummingkiwi8766]

I'm 17 and a about 2 months ago I purchased my first machine which is a 1919 VV-IX in oak which I got (fully functional) for $150. I have probably listened to it for around 10 hours given the number of needles I've gone through!

[@Rockisland1903]

I have the same year oak IX in with my IX collection. Oak is a bit harder to find as mahogany was the finish most chose back in that era. Have you rebuilt the reproducer or had it rebuilt? New gaskets, needle bar straightened and adjusted? If not then you are not doing your records any favors unless the previous owner did it already If the reproducer gaskets appear hard, cracked and dirty then likely they are original. Night and day, that is the sound quality difference between not rebuilt and rebuilt reproducers. Has the motor been properly cleaned, and lubricated, including removal of the two mainsprings from their barrels for cleaning and new grease? Doing this will extend the life of the motors moving parts, eliminate any thump and bump noises while playing, and bring it back to 1919 spec. There are people who will do this work for you if you don't want to tackle it yourself. George Vollema at Great Lakes antique phonograph being one, but there are others if you want to shop it around to get the best price. Average record is about four minutes long if it's a 10" so ten hours is a lot of play time. Enough that you are duplicating what would have been a common amount of use back in 1919 when this was the new toy that had never been experienced before by whoever first bought it. These machines were hugely expensive, equivalent to today's Apple i14 expensive, or even more so for some models. Most people who bought them used them whenever they could until the novelty wore off in five or ten years. Money did not come easy to the people of 1919, when they spent it they demanded the most bang for their buck, and Victor delivered that. The Victrola of 1919 was the highest quality USA made phonograph of it's time, it was built to last the ages even if the folks at Victor didn't realize that some of their machines would do just that. Take care of it, keep it maintained, and your grandchildren will one day be playing it.

[@drummingkiwi8766]

@@Rockisland1903 Thanks for all the great advice! Currently I have not had the reproducer rebuilt yet, however I fully intend to do so as soon as I have the money. Interesting enough though, the reproducer on mine appears to have been replaced at some point (my guess is early to mid 1930’s) with an RCA R-151t ‘portable’ reproducer. Although it still plays and sounds nice, my plan is eventually to have the RCA one replaced with a rebuilt no.2. The motor is a similar story. While it seems to work quite well at the moment with only an occasional rumble, I fully plan to have it cleaned and serviced as soon as I save enough money. From what I was able to learn from the couple I purchased it from, it belonged to the husbands father who had it sitting in his living room for decades so I’m not sure it has been serviced in a very long time. Especially as this guys father was an antiquer and not a phonograph collector specifically. I’ll most likely be able to send it in around August after I’ve been working my summer job for awhile and I have enough to cover the costs for a full servicing and regreasing. And thanks for the recommendation of George Vollema! I’ll definitely check him out.

[@Lucius1958]

Nice! The first machine I bought with my own money was a 1916 VV-IX in oak: I paid about $70 for it, around 50 years ago.

[@Rockisland1903]

$70 was still real money in '72, I have a 1920 VV-IX in oak, as well as a 1915 that someone took sandpaper to. Mahogany was the wood of choice for most IX buyers so oak machines can be harder to find today.

[@jhonwask]

I like the 1911 cabinet better, but with the 1920 tonearm, which is nicer and sounds much better. To me, the Exhibition sounds fuller although not as loud as the Nr. 2. A Nr. 4 would really round out the sound. The earlier spring motors are noisier than then the later models. They are, however, just as easily serviced. I actually did a complete refinish job on a VV-X because it had water damage plus burn marks and glass rings. It was really nice until my one cat decided to dig into it. LOL. Thanks for the comparison.

[@williamfess862]

Wonderful machines! A very informative presentation. Thank you.

[@johngore5127]

Have a model made in 1915. Still like it.

[@oliverw3646]

In what ways do the tone arm supports/bases differ between first year and later models? Thank you.

[@Rockisland1903]

1911-1912 VV-IX's had wooden baffle horns built inside the cabinet with the motor exposed in the middle of it. The tonearm support for these years is pressed steel, and does not yet use ball bearings. In 1913 there would be many upgrades to the IX, isolated cast horn, cast tonearm support with ball bearings, the motors would be changed a bit and stay that way until mid 1917 when the "improved" motors came out with the single spring barrel containing both mainsprings. No more bullet brake, and there were changes to the entire cabinet structure with the new style horn. Outwardly the cabinet would look similar to the earlier years until 1915 when the cabinet would get the "feet". While both tonearm supports are pressed steel in 1911-1912 they are not the same under the wood, one extends down a bit more to connect with the wood horn than the other. The support would change again in late 1917 -1918 with the introduction of the fat tonearm, and by 1921 the Victrola No2 replaces the Exhibition reproducer from the factory. Since 1919 the No2 could be had as an upgrade on any IX.

[@oliverw3646]

@@Rockisland1903 Many thanks for the detailed explanation; I appreciate it. Fascinating!

[@Phono-fun]

Doesn’t the Bee need a BusyBee?😆

[@Rockisland1903]

Surprising to see them out given it was 51 F out this afternoon.

[@Lucius1958]

Probably tried to find one, discovered they were too rare, and settled for a Victrola instead.

[@ACOGJESUSSCOPES]

Love those machines! Do you have parts for a VV-35 you can afford to part ways with?

[@Rockisland1903]

I can sell you an entire VV-35 if you want, I also have parts. Let me know on the email what you need. [e-mail]

[@ACOGJESUSSCOPES]

Will email you this afternoon with a list. Thanks in advance!

[@donniecampbell8503]

@@Rockisland1903 how do you get it to stay playing, because mine is a 1920 just like the one you have here in the video. I cannot keep it running. What am i doin wrong?

[@Rockisland1903]

The IX in the video has been fully serviced by me, it's motor was removed, spring taken out, everything cleaned and put back with new lubrication, the reproducer was rebuilt with new gaskets and diaphragm, the tonearm disassembled and cleaned up. The turntable speed control was set so when it's set to 78 that is the actual speed. These are all things that must be done to a machine that is over a century old and has probably spent 70-80 years in storage. Old grease turns solid, rubber gaskets turn to rock and crack. The machines you see me playing in the videos unless I mention otherwise have all been serviced so they play like they did when new. Sometimes machines found at flea markets, or on eBay will say they are serviced, in my experience they rarely are, they are just wiped down, with the motor given a quick hose down with WD-40. If you haven't serviced the motor and reproducer yourself, or paid someone to do it then I am not surprised it's not working well. Badly worn records will also slow up or even stop a machine. Weak mainsprings can also account for it, I don't see that often with the large set of springs the IX uses, but it is possible.