I have a chance for a Victrola...anyone interested please comment..

[BS Button]

Would be willing to re-sell it, possibly if anyone is interested?

[arfandbark]

I'll comment...

How beautiful is the wood? Decals intact? Most were quartersawn oak.

What shape is the horn in? Which horn is it(of course)? Some were schreechy @ high volumes.[]

They command thier own price to the right people.

Years back when I was picking a beauty was $350.00 for the tabletop.

If it's enclosed in it's own cabinet the price jumps.

[Cornwalled]

Hey Bs Button,

Since you said Victrola, I'm assuming this is a wind up one, right? Do you know the manufacturer, and if it's table mount or freestanding?

My grandmother has an Edison floorstanding one with the horn that goes underneath the turntable unit, and it still works! They haven't really had to fix much on it, other than maybe a needle at some point. She still runs it every once in a while. I think she would like someone in the family to have it when their time comes, and since I'm the only one interested in classic old audio/music equipment, that may fall to me. They sure are neat old units!

[colterphoto1]

I've got grandpa's Edison A100 here. Not high quality woodworking, but it operates and I have stack of records for it. Mostly sentimental value, but it's cool as heck to make music without electricity.

I'd say a couple to few hundred based on condition and cabinetry.

Michael

[BS Button]

It must be a doozy. Asking $600

[fini]

I've always had a hankerin' for one of them talking machines. Nobody in my family never did have one. I think they are VERY cool. I've always wondered, though, how damaging are those old needles?

[Cornwalled]

Fini,

The 78s that they made for mechanical victrolas are virtually indestructible. So much so, that it the Smithsonian is using them as an archive format for storing important recordings for all time.

Those records were designed to be played with that kind of needle.

-Jon

[colterphoto1]

I'll agree to that, they are pretty heavy duty. I have one that's a comedy record that grandpa played for years with NO STYLUS, just the mount- it still sounded okay, and the record took very little damage. You'd think they would be a lathe, but that material was extremely hard (although brittle- never drop one)

M

[pauln]

Make sure it is a real one - there are some copies coming out of India....

[Def Leper]

78's aren't "virtually indestructible," they're very easy to damage. Needles were designed to be used only once and then tossed, and came in different loudness grades. That's why you usually see at least two needle bowls (for differnet loudness grades) with a disposal cup, a capped metal cup with a small hole for dumping used needles.

Edison records are vertically vectored (diaphragm parallel to the record surface) and Victors are horizontally vectored. (diaphragm perpendicular to the surface in line with the groove.) Edison players were very high quality but didn't do well in the market because of the high cost. Later, many players were outfitted with dual reproducers that could be flipped to play both Edison and Victor disks. Edison disks are easy to tell from Victors because they are twice as thick. Generally you see several hundred to a thousand or more Victor disks on the market for each Edison.

External horn players are generally older and more valuable than newer players. Oak cabinets were usually the cheapest but seem to be very popular today. Better players had more than one motor (the metal drum with the spring inside) and very nice players often had three motors. Gold plated metal parts and fancy carved cabinets also indicate better quality units.