VV 4-1 / VE 4-1 / Consolette (Export)
The
VV 4-1 was the factory-assigned designation for an early production series
of small floor model Victrolas with a newly designed cabinet, all of which
were eventually sold in Latin America. However, the designation "VV 4-1" never
appears on dataplates or other factory literature outside of parts lists.
All 4-1 machines are badged as "Consolette", but use pre-Orthophonic components.
These machines were designed and produced in early
1925 using pre-1925 standard Victrola components, and were originally
intended for US sale as a new low-priced console model. They were identified as
"Consolette" on their ID tags, and serialized beginning with '501' as usual, but were
ultimately not released
from the factory due to the collapsing sales of conventional acoustic
phonographs at that time. They were essentially deemed to be obsolete as soon as
they came off the production line, and the completed machines were stored-away
until a plan could be devised to sell them. Cabinet production for this model
continued at a brisk pace however, and Victor scrambled during the summer months
to produce a Orthophonic machine using these cabinets that could be sold in the
domestic market. Victor's engineers eventually designed a rather crude
'compromise' exponential horn which would fit into the Consolette cabinet, and
the Orthophonic tonearm was resized to fit around the smaller motorboard. By the
late fall, the company had agreed to launch the US "Consolette" Orthophonic
Victrola, and began assembling and serializing this new product. For unknown
reasons, they re-started the Orthophonic serialization at '501' presuming that these machines were a
totally new product line; meanwhile, in the back of the plant, a mountain of
pre-Orthophonic "Consolette" machines were waiting to be delivered, all with the
same name badges and duplicate serial numbers.
Eventually, the first group of Consolettes with pre-Orthophonic components were shipped to Latin America, since US markets would consider them outdated. They were designated as VV 4-1 models in the factory reference documents, but they were all badged as "Consolettes". So it can be concluded that a large batch of "Consolette" machines (with serial numbers less than 4500) were produced with duplicate serial numbers; one early production run having pre-Orthophonic components and a later production run having full Orthophonic parts. The first versions will have 'slats' in the horn opening (picture at left), and will use the older-style Victrola No. 2 tonearms and Soundboxes.
This strategy was intended to use-up the already-built and assembled non-Orthophonic Consolette models and sell them as an export-only package without having to re-badge them with new model and serial numbers. So it makes for a very confusing situation. See the VV 4-3 page for more information.
This situation may, in part, explain the rather unsatisfactory launch of the US Consolette machines in the fall of 1925. The clumsy adaptation of a very marginal 'pseudo-exponential' horn (which really is a far shot from the required form-factor needed to provide adequate impedance matching), the lack of a grille cloth or decorative wood trim to cover the gaping horn opening, the use of a small 10" turntable and single-spring motor may belie the extent of the 'panic project' to convert thousands of empty Consolette cabinets into saleable low-cost Orthophonic machines during the summer of 1925. Many of these design issues were rectified the following year with improvements which vastly improved the appeal of the US Consolette model.
The original 1925 selling price of the pre-Orthophonic Consolette was originally set at $85.00 for the US market, but the retail prices in foreign countries would have depended on the exchange rates at the time. It is not believed that any of these early non-Orthophonic Consolette models were sold in the USA. Electrical versions (VE) of this model have been reported, but none have been verified. Factory records indicate that a total of only 1,050 Victrola "Consolette" 4-1's were produced; however, based on the serial numbers of surviving examples, production volumes greater than 4,000 is probable. Some data indicates that more than 10,000 machines of this design were delivered to Central and South America. A precise correlation of serial numbers with the date of manufacture for this model is not possible, but all were certainly made in the spring of 1925.
Do you own a Victrola VV 4-1 / Export Consolette? Please take a moment and enter some basic information about your machine into the collector's database by clicking here. No personal information is required.