RCA Victor 45 Victrola

The RCA Victrola 45

From RCA's 1949 Annual Report:
To the Stockholders of Radio Corporation of America (RCA)
"The year 1948 was a period of new achievements for Radio Corporation of America in every phase of radio as a science, art and industry. Progress in television was particularly outstanding. The enthusiasm of the American people for this new art has justified the years of pioneering and the investment of many millions of dollars by RCA in its development as a service to the public".

So begins a new era and the beginning of the final chapter of what I believe was the last great American phonograph- the RCA Victrola 45. The research and engineering activities at RCA labs summarized in this Report include advances in AM/FM radio, television, broadcasting and the NBC national network, telecommunications, radar, Ultrafax, electron microscope & phonographs. Phonographs?

The Annual Report contains only a few comments about the development of a completely new type of phonograph and record, combining the finest quality of record reproduction to be publicly announced early in January 1949.   Excerpts follow:

       "The new life-long record, which is less than seven inches in diameter is made of durable, lightweight vinyl plastic and plays up to five minutes and twenty seconds on each side.   The record player, which operates at 45 rpm, contains the fastest record-changing mechanism ever designed. The excellent quality and clarity of tone of the new reproducing system has been highly praised by outstanding musicians.
        There is every indication that as a significant achievement in the evolution of the phonograph it will ultimately benefit the majority of consumers as well as the entire record industry. The durable record player, together with a substantial catalogue of records, soon will be available to the public".

Contrary to what is often reported, RCA did not develop the 45 record format and player in response to Columbia's introduction of the 33.3 rpm LP. In the June 1949 issue of RCA Review, the following comes from a paper published by RCA Engineers, Carson, Burt and Reiskind. "About 17 years ago, there began a program aimed at a fundamental improvement in the reproduction of recorded music. Unhampered by any previous restrictions, attempt was made to develop an ideal method of bringing recorded music into the home. Factors of cost and convenience to the customer, playing time, record life, freedom from distortion and numerous technical considerations were established with the "ideal" being the objective. Some nine years of research and experimentation culminated in a new record playing means which, after eight more years of testing and refinement, finally emerged in a record changer and record to be discussed in this paper". Click above prototype photo.

Investors in RCA stock were some of the first to see the RCA Victor 9JY record

changer which was later called the 45J attachment. Some highlights from the Annual Report: 1948 revenues $357 million up from $314 million, earnings $24 million, dividends up to $10 million, RCA personnel count 41,791.

From RCA's 1950 Annual Report:
In 1949 when RCA was celebrating its 30th Anniversary, the company reported more outstanding progress. "Public acceptance of RCA products and services lifted sales to the highest peak in the history of the Corporation", attributed to Television's spectacular rise, development of high-definition (yes HD) color TV in field test, introduction of the RCA 45-rpm system, announcement of new 33.3 rpm LP record, and new advanced radar for national security and safety at sea and in the air. This was the year of plant expansion across the USA; the RCA Victor division alone employed 30,887 and more than 45% were women.

As the new 45-rpm system had been successfully launched during the year, the company reported "it has already won public acceptance", noting the "45" is becoming the most popular type of record on the market. By the end of 1949 these records were being manufactured at the rate of more than 25 million per year while turntables capable of playing '45's were produced by RCA at the rate of more than one million annually. It was a surprise that sales of Victrola phonographs while excellent competitively were lower than in 1948.

From Radio Age Magazine:

The April 1949 issue of RCA's Radio Age Magazine has an article written by JB Elliott, Vice President in charge of RCA Victor's Consumer Products Division. The following are some of the more interesting points: RCA expected the country's retailers would sell between 2.5 - 3.0 million instruments equipped to play RCA 45 rpm records so RCA ramped manufacturing capacity in Indianapolis (the primary plant). RCA noted that at least 29 leading manufacturers were incorporating RCA 45 rpm technology in their instruments. Nearly 12,000 dealers placed orders. Excerpts from JB Elliott's article follow:

"This system offers music free from all discernible distortion and surface noise on a small, 6⅞", non-breakable disc that plays up to 5 minutes and 20 seconds, equal to the playing time of the standard 12" record. The new disc, offering a small, standard size for all classifications of music, goes a long way toward solving the consumers' record storage problem in the home". Note RCA ads often showed 45 rpm records being stored on a standard size book shelf.

"It has an unusual new record changer- the fastest ever developed- which has been designed to eliminate the traditional problem of chipping, crackling and breaking records during changer operation. In a marked departure from most conventional systems, the drop mechanism is housed in the player's center spindle, which has been enlarged from the previous ¼" diameter to 1½".

"By centering the drop mechanism, RCA Victor found it possible to eliminate the usual outside record posts, speed up the changer cycle, simplify the changer mechanism, silence its action, reduce the overall size of the player and eliminate many costly and intricate moving parts. The new 45-rpm records have been designed with a raised shoulder between the playing area and the center rim, providing air spaces between the playing surfaces and center rim of stacked records. In most conventional systems, the record separating blades are required to force their way between the stacked records. This forcing action is often the cause of record damage. With RCA Victor's new design, the blades move into the air space provided by the raised shoulders of the records".

Single size discs for all classifications of music are featured, with the various categories identified by bright shades of color -ruby red for classical music, midnight blue for semi-classical, jet black for popular, lemon-drop yellow for children's, green grass for Western, sky blue for international and cerise for blues and rhythm.

From RCA's 1951 Annual Report:
By 1951, RCA was operating in more than 13 plants around the US but the overall company growth rate slowed. But sales of RCA Victor radios and phonographs were greater than in any pre-television era year.

RCA Victor records sold better than ever spearheaded by an expansion of new selections available on both 45 rpm and 33.3 rpm LP. As higher fidelity and truer reproduction of music developed with this new 45 rpm format developed, there was a rejuvenated public interest in classical music. New operatic records were released headed by a complete performance of La Traviata conducted by Maestro Arturo Toscanini and an all-star recording of Carmen.

From RCA's 1952 Annual Report:
RCA achieved an all-time record volume of sales in 1952. The year was marked by advances in science and engineering especially related to the development of the transistor. TV continued to expand including new domestic and international markets for TV transmitters and receivers.

The Annual Report highlights accomplishments of skilled and loyal workers who build fine products that make "RCA" the symbol of expert workmanship and dependability.

As the Truman administration 'freeze' on new TV Station construction had been lifted in 1952 , RCA achieved an impressive 16% Year over Year growth in revenues and increased the number of employees by 11%. RCA introduced the Extended Play (EP) format this year providing up to 8 minutes on each side of 45 rpm record.

RCA Annual Report 1952

Considering the cost constraints and available technology, after having rebuilt many different models of RCA Victor 45 phonographs, there is no doubt these machines were well-engineered and produced with high quality materials and workmanship.

These PhonoJack 'rebuilt' phonographs will now be reliable and dependable for another fifty years. The rebuild procedure which brings these popular phonographs back to life is described in more detail in the PhonoJack RCA Victrola Collection Section.

As time passed, some fun songs emerged, including Alley-Oop, Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Way Down Yonder in New Orleans and Please Mr. Custer, I Don't Wanna Fight all of which became Number One Hits. More fun songs followed, The Twist, Mother-in-Law, Tossin and Turnin helped sustain the 'flattish' record sales for a few years. Flat revenues and weaker profits forced RCA to give up on its reliable Victor 45 Victrola featuring conservative, classic brown bakelite cabinets in favor of a new generation of less expensive, 'cost engineered' bright plastic record changers with significantly weaker amplifiers.

These one tube wonders didn't generate enough heat/power or volume to melt or vibrate plastic, so they didn't require the strength, durability and style of bakelite. The photo to the right is actually a better quality 7EY2HH Deluxe table model with two stages of amplification and with three vacuum tubes. As these new lower cost record players were introduced, the whole industry seemed to have turned down the volume, it got quiet, very quiet.