Victor Victrola 11th VV-XI 1920 first look
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- Опубликовано: 5 сен 2024
- Original machine in one family 101 years with some original accessories, and even records. This is how nice it is before I even wipe off the dust, still needs full motor service that it will get this weekend.
Wow, what a find, what a beautiful machine. Pristine condition for 101 years old. And the records in such great shape. Fiber needles too. Even with the early record stops, it was enjoyable to watch this video. Can’t wait for more after your motor/springs/sound box work.
Hello Paul, I should get to the motor this weekend, and I am working on the soundbox rebuild now. The No2 that is on there is from my supply, and was rebuilt years back. I should have more records for you soon.
Marvellous gramophone! Thank you🎉!
A You Tuber a few years ago did a six part video detailing a complete take-down of the Victrola XI like this one. I bookmarked that series, very informative indeed.
This and the companion tabletop IX would be a good machine to do a series like that, this is your basic Victrola, and the most commonly found machine due to it's huge production numbers.
@@RockIsland1913 nice machine
The earlier VictrolaXI had a Exhibition sound-box, and a rotary speed regulator there was more fancy carving in the wood. This was replaced in about 1921 when the XI became the model 90, the wood work was not intricately carved and lost the feet but got legs was not as big from front to back, the tone arm was shorter too the speed regulator was like the one on this machine. Victor introduced a new improved motor in the spring of 1918 also which this has.
The war put a hold on many innovations Victor had in the works, once the war contracts ended it was like the floodgates opened.
What a beautiful find! I have this similar VVXI model from 1913 (was my grandmother's) but in mahogany.
My mom had one of these. She bought it from the estate sale of one of my great-aunts, after the older woman passed away.
Mom's victrola looked almost like yours, except hers had a decorative grille at the front of the speaker box, rather than a door. But it also had the lid, and the record storage space, and the turntable area looked exactly the same. And she had several of those old, thick records, too-though I'm not sure if any of the paper jackets was in as good a shape as yours, lol.
I was around 14 or so when she got it, and I'm just going to be totally honest, I hated the thing, lol. The sound of the old music and long-dead voices, especially when the damn thing wound down, and the music slowed and ground to a stop, just creeped me right the heck out. She put it in the basement, and I had to walk right by it to go to my bedroom, which was also down there. That thing gave me the willies so bad, especially in the dark, that I had to cover it with a sheet, lol!
Listening to yours gave me that same unnerving feeling, even now as an adult. BUT, it unlocked a memory of my childhood, and memories related to that time. Memories that made me smile.
And, as an adult, I can absolutely appreciate the beauty and workmanship of a piece like that, and how awesome it is to find something that old, in that good a condition. I can definitely agree with the importance of preserving pieces of history like this, especially as time goes on, and they become rarer and harder to find. And I can most definitely understand your passion and excitement for it.
I'm glad this old beauty is in the responsible hands of someone who will give it the care, love, and appreciation it deserves.
I'm happy for you, and happy you have it. 😊
By the sound of it, your mother had an Edison diamond disc player. Edison diamond discs are a very thick record and they would have that fabric covering the horn opening in the front. Hallmark of an actual Victrola by the Victor talking machine company was the doors two small doors that cover the horn opening. These were a form of volume control, and they were a patented Victor design, you will see the decorative grills and fabric covers on most of the larger machines built by companies other than Victor or Columbia, which had its own sort of in the form of louvers. The so-called offbrands like the machines sold by Sears under the Silverton brand would have these decorative grills in place of the doors.
@@Rockisland1903 wow, thanks for the reply! Especially considering this video is 2 years old!
I guess I was using "victrola" the same way people use kleenex band-aid today, as a term that was once a name brand, but that is eventually used for all items of that type. And I guess I was wrong, lol.
As for Mom's player, I really have no idea. (And, though I know she had it until I was about 20 or 25, I have no idea what happened to it after that.) Like I said, I didn't even like looking at it, lol. Edison does seem to ring a vague bell. But I could be completely wrong.
In any case, I will take your word for it, as you are obviously very knowledgeable on the subject, and I believe you would know better than I, even without ever having seen it, lol!
Again, thank you for your super smart reply. I really enjoyed reading it, and I learned some very cool info from it. Plus, I "nerd out" on my own passions often, so it's really awesome to see someone else do the same, because I know what you're feeling.
Oh, and BTW, again, not taking away from the lovely antique that it was, but whatever it was called, that player still creeped me out LOL!!
Well being that these machines are now 90 to 125 or so years old, depending on what they are every single one of them when it’s played, you are hearing the singing voices of the dead. Every performer from that era is gone now. While it does not concern phonographs Thomas Edison was obsessed in his later years with making a machine that could communicate with the departed. I did a couple of videos or more on a Sears silver tone a couple of years ago. There is an interesting story that I relate as to how I acquired that machine in one of the videos. It shows that you are not the only one who is creeped out by some of these old machines. It probably does not help that many of these have lids that do resemble a coffin top, many of the cabinet makers who made the early cabinets where in fact also making caskets.
@@Rockisland1903 very good points! And wow, I never thought about the resemblance to coffin tops, nor did I know the cabinet makers also made coffins. But I can totally see that! Honestly, as creepy as these machines sound to me, learning about them is absolutely fascinating! I'll look up that other video you mentioned!
I have the same model, mine was manufactured in November 1916. Its serial number is 298499g, making it the last one to use the g , before victor started with the H in its serial number.
The XI was the most popular Victrola in the company's history. If somebody mentions they saw one of the floor model Victrolas you can bet it's likely the XI, or one of it's successors the VV-80-90-100 that replaced it in 1921. This is one of four XI's I have, one nice oak from 1918, and two that are pretty much parts machines, mahogany, one so badly bug eaten it's about to collapse. As a rule I avoid the big machines as I don't have the room with six already, but this one was just too nice to leave, and Walnut, an option not often seen.
Very good
What a great find, a nice machine in Walnut! That would have cost extra in the day.
Walnut was offered late in the XI's production run and was popular. Because of the huge production numbers, this was Victors most popular machine, walnut examples aren't hard to find. This machine now lives in Gettysburg PA with Paul W. I still have a 1915 oak example that has been with me for many years plus a parts machine that is also oak, but was eaten by bugs.
According to the book "Look for the Dog", this machine became the model 90 in 1921
Sources go back and forth on it, depends on who you read. Truth of it is the 80-90, and 100 are pretty much the same machine with differences in woods offered, but same exact motor used on this XI, and no2 reproducers. I have another earlier model XI with the earlier features, and not upgraded to the No2, that one is in oak. I have an 80, and 90 sitting right next to it and the differences in cabinet design, while not huge, and obvious. Victor was trying to modernize it's product line with the new decade. That improved for 1918 motor with the single spring barrel containing both springs would be used in various machines and shows up in HMV products as well. We call the improved tone arm on the larger post 1918 machines the "fat" tonearm, this being because it is noticeably fatter than the old style arm. The speed regulator on this machine is actually showing 78 rpm when the stroboscope confirms it, I don't think I have even had one that didn't need adjustment to have the indicator needle showing the correct speed.
Hola que tal, como se regula ese tipo de freno automático?
Do you ever do business with The Antique Phonograph Supply Company, in Davenport Center, New York?, they do good work
Years ago I bought some supplies off of them, but I was doing my own work by then, I predate the internet by a number of years so when I first got started, if they existed at that time, I had no idea they were there.
i just got one-1915 Red Mahogany. Back panel is missing, one side has gouges. inside of lid has bad scratches.
109 years old, we will not look so good at 109 either. This sort of thing is typical of how many of these machines are found out in the wild.
@@Rockisland1903 Well, these gouges and the sloppy marker that i guess was meant to blend the gouges away and the awful scratches on the lid and the missing back panel are mostly lack of proper care. i understand that at one time they were disregarded as much as 8 track tapes were at one time. Any recommendation for replacing back panel to the motor area
Contact George Vollema at Great Lakes Antique Phonograph, with such a common model he should have everything that you need. 8 track tapes had a much shorter life time than 78;s and acoustic phonographs did. Even after the mid 1930's much of rural America was still off grid, you could find the old Victrola still in use well into the 1950's in some places, or even beyond. Kotton Klenser cleaner for the wood, then follow up with KK wood feeder to blend in the scratches and light areas then KK wood polish, that's all I ever do to a finish on any of my machines. Kotton Klenser products can be found online with google. There are sure to be other similar products out there that do the same thing, but I am just not familiar with them. @@lydiaahubbell8545
@@Rockisland1903 already got my Kotton Klenser and feeder-Amazon store
What are they worth? Do you have an ideal
This one in the video sold for $450. That said it started off as a clean example with no wood issues past basic cleaning, or missing parts. I then put in a full mechanical and reproducer service, this would run $250-$350 if you paid one of the professional shops to do it, and the shipping would be a deal killer. When you see it playing nice and looking clean that means I spent a minimum 20 hours on the job, sometimes more if I have to repair wood. Not having seen your machine I have no idea it's condition. I passed on at least two recently that were in OK condition for $100 each ( price dropped from $250 or so) When they are in rough condition it's fifty bucks if it has a reproducer and crank I can use on other better condition machines. Walnut machines would bring a bit more if in good shape as they are slightly harder to find
I have one of these looks exactly the same, let me know if your interested.
Victor sold over 700,000 of this model between 1911-1920. It was the company's best selling model ever. Because of this chances are when you encounter a Victrola in the wild if will be the XI, IX, VI, or IV eight times out of ten. I still have one oak IX put away, and I have passed on many due to a lack of room to store them. That and transporting these big ones isn't easy. I would suggest listing it on eBay as local pickup only, same on facebook marketplace and Craigslist.
If it ain"t broke don't fix it lol