Beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder. Sometimes, however, it is both in the eye and the ear of the beholder.
Behold! The Victor Victrola VV-IX:
Do you feel beholden?
The serial number on this particular VV-IX - 105016e - places it's production year in 1914. Literally, this machine has been through two world wars and survived to tell about it.
This machine, like the other gramophone I have, is absolutely awesome. I am absolutely amazed at the craftsmanship and workmanship that went into it, and that it could be produced - by hand - in the early 20th century before modern manufacturing techniques. And it works!
Like most other gramophones (I cannot think of any otherwise), this one works with a motor powered by a crank and a mainspring. Unfortunately (for me), this gramophone is missing its escutcheon (the piece of metal that holds the crank in place) and the crank is not the original. I will be searching for original parts.
The needles on these Victrolas were steel and were meant to be replaced after every use; disposable culture at it's finest, I guess. I have a couple dozen needles, and they're easy to come by, so replacing them won't be difficult.
The VV-IX was one of Victor's best selling Victrolas, and no wonder. It's a solid piece of work and sounds great.
Though all gramophones follow a similar design, there are some key differences between the Victrola and the Edison Diamond Disk machine. The Victrola's needle is steel, whereas the Edison needle is literally diamond (hence the name Diamond Disk). The disks are also different; Victrola designed discs spin at 78 rpm, are thinner, and were cut laterally. Edison discs spin at 80 rpm, are a quarter of an inch thick, made of shellac, and were cut vertically. In short, what this means is that the discs are only compatible with their own brand player and playing them on their competitors player will damage them (literally, the diamond tip of the Edison will rip through a Victrola disc).
Probably the biggest difference, however, is that the grooves on the Victrola discs pulled the needle along the record, whereas the grooves on the Edison discs were only responsible for holding the music; the Edison's motor moved the needle along the record. This resulted in Victrola discs wearing out more quickly.
Because I have children who play music, I thought it would be neat to have a Victrola disc of them playing. It is possible; there is a place in New York that will lathe custom Victrola discs, but good god they're expensive. As cool as it'd be, I'm not about to fork out $400 for a 4 minute record.
This is a Victrola VV-IX, or "Victrola Ninth". I happen to be Victor III in my family, so I am now on the hunt for a Victor Victrola VV-IV.
(c) All images and photographs, unless otherwise specified, are created and owned by me.
(c) Victor Wiebe
About Me
Amateur photographer. Wannabe author. Game designer. Nerd.
General all around problem-solver and creative type.
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