How wonderful that you are planning to do that for your good friends. As in the pictures, you will note that these are two separate examples of the Credenza. The first one is a later two door model and the 2nd one appears to be the earlier two door model. These differences, along with the placing of the tone arm within the cabinet (the earlier versions had the tone arm centered directly in the middle rear) and the serial number and even the type of logo on the inside lid would hold the key to the type of tone arm and reproducer you are looking for (Victor changed from a brass orthophonic reproducer to pot metal type early on in the history of the Credenza), I will let someone else chime in on at one approx. serial number that actually took place. There may also be some other subtle differences in your friend's credenza that may hold the key to what you actually need to be historically correct bringing the machine back to its once proud glory. My credenza is serial number 5108, has two doors, and the gold plated tone arm(in the middle rear), early orthophonic logo, and brass reproducer, .Good luck with your mission, and keep us informed of your progress.
Bruce ----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Wright" <[email protected]> To: "Antique Phonograph List" <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, February 09, 2007 6:12 AM Subject: [Phono-L] orthophonic/credenza question >I have some friends who found a beautifully restored Credenza in Arizona a >few years ago... Karen's eyes watered the second she saw the machine in >the antiques shop, and that was all it took to sell it to Tony. They were >very excited to share their discovery with me the next time I came to >visit, and we played records for more than an hour. While I thought it >sounded fine, it certainly didn't bowl me over the way I'd heard the >Credenza would, in all its Orthophonic splendor. It sounded like every >other wind-up I'd ever heard. > > Well, sure enough, no Orthophonic reproducer. The reproducer and tonearm > were nickel-plated Silvertone stock, as evidenced by the reproducer's > markings. I don't want to think the antiques guy farmed out the tonearm & > soundbox to pay for the cabinet restoration, but... Well anyway, the > soundbox matched the tonearm perfectly in color and finish, and I can only > surmise both would need to be replaced to restore this machine to its > former sonic glory. > > And that's where you folks come in (I hope!), with your wisdom, > experience, and guidance! I only saw Tony & Karen's phonograph once, 6 or > 7 years ago when they first brought it home, but I wanna say it's almost > exactly like this one: > http://www.lisaandmike.com/Graphics/victorcredenzaopen.jpg or this one: > http://home.earthlink.net/~bchurt/credenza.jpg. I'll ask her if it's an > 8-30 or what, but that may not even matter to what I'm trying to > accomplish here with your help. Then again, it may be very important, I > don't know. > > As a gift, I want to buy them a tonearm and reproducer that is original to > their machine, and that will blow them away sonically. I just need to > know exactly what I'm looking for. I can root through eBay with the best > of 'em, but I don't trust my own research to find the right purchase. I > have no idea how many different models of Ortho's are out there, and no > idea what variations exist in the tonearms and reproducers. I need to > have exactly the right one for their machine because they live 14 hours > away from me, and Tony will have to swap the parts out himself, something > I assure you he won't have the first clue about how to do. > > So can you help me? All I need is a few examples of what I'm looking for, > and I'll gladly take it from there. Or if any of you have what I need for > sale, I'd prefer yours over some stranger's on eBay. I also intend to > have the reproducer thoroughly inspected and totally rebuilt, if > necessary, something else I'll look to all of you for advice on. And I'll > need to know a reliable source for the best needles. I've already got a > stack of scroll-label Victors and some Viva-Tonals ready to go. > > Please let me know if there are any specifics you need to know about this > machine before pointing me in the right direction, and I'll ask her within > the hour. Thanks very much in advance to anyone and everyone with any > input to offer! > > > Best to all, > Robert > > > > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > http://phono-l.oldcrank.org
