I love the design of many of the Victrola Record Players that are on the market right now. The compact design that many of them have, the way they can look like a suitcase and even the old school vibe some of them have is great. The fact they are usually a rather inexpensive kind of record player is great too.
I have a niece who I have converted into a vinyl lover and for Christmas two years ago I got her a brand new Victrola Record Player. The price was good and I felt it was a decent entry record player…. Plus, my sister flat out refused to let me buy her a vintage one from a thrift store even though I wanted to. So, I decided that a Victrola Record Player was the way to go to see she would really get into the hobby. She did, but the record player a little after a year needed a speed adjustment.
What Kind Of Reputation Do Victrola Record Players Have?
If you look on Amazon and let’s take the Victrola Nostalgic Classic Wood 6-in-1 Bluetooth Turntable, the Victrola 6-in-1 Bluetooth Record Player and the one I actually bought my niece, the Victrola Vintage 3-Speed Bluetooth Suitcase Turntable. What you will notice is first of all the low price, but also that these have many great reviews and a few lower ones too. This is because these are cheaper, budget priced record players and as a result, they are not made with the highest quality components. For me, these are solid starter record players for someone new to vinyl collecting to get their toes wet.
I have reviewed some Victrola record players before there is a solid one on our THE 8 BEST TURNTABLES UNDER $200 that I thought quite highly of so check that out.
Victrola Are Great For Newbies
One place I want to suggest you look at is the actual Victrola website. Now I know this may seem insulting if you are a record player enthusiast, but remember we are dealing with a brand that is more aimed at people new to the hobby. They have some basic tips here such as making sure you have the speed set right for the kind of record be it a 12- or 7-inch record. This is the first step to making sure your turntable is ok and operating right.
It is so easy if you are a big-time vinyl collector to look down your nose at the lower end Victrola record players. However, you have to remember that for some people this is a brand-new hobby and they are going in with no knowledge. In that regard, I think these are fantastic and will hopefully lead to people wanting to take the hobby more seriously in the future. Victrola is also great for those who grew up with records and want to get back into it without spending a fortune. I actually did a THE 8 BEST TURNTABLES UNDER $100 guide and on there you can see two Victrola record players that are great for people new to this hobby.
Give It A Good Clean
Before you start tinkering with anything under the hood of your record player. Make sure that it is as clean as can be. I tend to use some very gentle cleaner (the same stuff for LCD TVs) that you can get for a couple of bucks. I found a site called, Portable Music Nerd that has some other suggestions for ways to lube up the motor which might be worth taking a closer look at. Making sure your turntable is nice and clean and not all clogged up with dust is a great way to keep things moving as they should.
Fine Tuning The Speed
This is not exactly something I would suggest for a novice, but if you look at this YouTube video here, you can get an idea of how to get the speed just right so that the sound is just right. You can see how delicate he is and how he just turns the motor a quarter turn and that makes all the difference in the world. Doing a speed adjustment is not the most difficult job in the world, but I would certainly suggest you watch as many videos as you can and remember to not be too heavy handy with things as you do not want to actually damage the motor. I do not think this is a super hard job, but I can see why some people may be intimidated by it.
Check The Belt
Nope, not the one holding up your pants, but the one that is turning the turntable. I think that it is fair to say that Victrola record players do not have the highest-grade belts in the world. These can stretch over time and there is no right answer for how long this could be. Some folks can get years and years without any issue and then others are not so lucky.
You can try getting the belt back to its original size by removing it and putting it in boiling water. The idea here is that it will shrink back to its original size. Many sites such as Reverb swear by this and it is worth trying. On the other hand, if the belt is just flat out gone, perhaps it is stretched beyond recognition or even snapped! You can get replacement belts for next to nothing on places like Amazon.
Some people think that having a record player means that you have to be a bit of a tech wiz who can fix anything. While I do feel that there is a bit of maintenance that comes with being a record player enthusiast (and in all honesty that is part of the fun for me) it is not as bad as some people would have you believe.Tinkering with a Victrola record player to make sure that the speed is right and that your records are sounding as good as you want them to is not the most difficult job in the world. The people at Victrola are pretty great so I would suggest actually reaching out to them on Facebook if you ever feel really stuck and want some more “professional” help from them.
