It sure is funny how things get away from you, mostly time.
Back in the 70s I picked up an old RCA Victor 45 rpm record player at a garage sale - it would play a while, static and feedback would invade the speakers, and whatever you happened to be listening to was lost to then 25-year old technology. Rather than having the thing fixed, I tossed it (or did I give it away???). Memories fade - at any rate, out in went along with a few 45s that really didn't make any difference to me one way or the other.
Last year, in a fit of 1950s nostalgia, I went looking for one - didn't happen - these things were getting in demand again and I didn't want to shell out the cash to get something I thought might sit around gathering fodder for a can of Pledge furniture polish. Well, guess what happened?
I found one on an online auction site, and having a few bucks to spend decided to give it a go, regardless of the 24 other bidders who had driven the price up to about $69, which isn't all that much when you consider these things can fetch three or four hundred dollars. I also had one hour and 30 minutes to make my move - a great idea was hatched and I waited until one minute before the auction closed. . .it paid off and I was the proud owner of a 1950s era RCA Victor fully automatic record player. When it arrived, as I suspected, it needed some attention - it didn't have any sound and there were some issues with the reject cycle. Least of all was the electrical cord - it was frayed after many years of (dis)use and needed replaced. So, off to the audio and video specialist 25 miles away where it languished for three months while parts were tracked down, shipped, and eventually replaced. Okay, this record player doesn't have stereo soound, and these original pressing records have had some wear, but then, they're 50 years old, some older. So, needless to say I was prepared for some the effects of some wear. What a conversation piece - photos leave a lot to the imagination, but here it is in all its glory, providing some musical backdrop to our home. It was worth the wait and worth the investment.
Back in the 70s I picked up an old RCA Victor 45 rpm record player at a garage sale - it would play a while, static and feedback would invade the speakers, and whatever you happened to be listening to was lost to then 25-year old technology. Rather than having the thing fixed, I tossed it (or did I give it away???). Memories fade - at any rate, out in went along with a few 45s that really didn't make any difference to me one way or the other.
Last year, in a fit of 1950s nostalgia, I went looking for one - didn't happen - these things were getting in demand again and I didn't want to shell out the cash to get something I thought might sit around gathering fodder for a can of Pledge furniture polish. Well, guess what happened?
I found one on an online auction site, and having a few bucks to spend decided to give it a go, regardless of the 24 other bidders who had driven the price up to about $69, which isn't all that much when you consider these things can fetch three or four hundred dollars. I also had one hour and 30 minutes to make my move - a great idea was hatched and I waited until one minute before the auction closed. . .it paid off and I was the proud owner of a 1950s era RCA Victor fully automatic record player. When it arrived, as I suspected, it needed some attention - it didn't have any sound and there were some issues with the reject cycle. Least of all was the electrical cord - it was frayed after many years of (dis)use and needed replaced. So, off to the audio and video specialist 25 miles away where it languished for three months while parts were tracked down, shipped, and eventually replaced. Okay, this record player doesn't have stereo soound, and these original pressing records have had some wear, but then, they're 50 years old, some older. So, needless to say I was prepared for some the effects of some wear. What a conversation piece - photos leave a lot to the imagination, but here it is in all its glory, providing some musical backdrop to our home. It was worth the wait and worth the investment.
7 comments:
When I was a kid, I used to listen to my older brother's surf albums on his RCA record player. I remember it was a portable, wood cased unit with grey coloured bakealite tone arm and knobs.
You couldn't stack records on the spindle, but it have the small adapter that allowed one to play 45's on it.
Would you happen to have any information on this record player?
I have never seen another like it and have found no info about it on the internet.
Dean
I think the record player you're talking about could be any of a number of different models, and I had one similar to it, I just forget who makes it. I would do a Google search for vintage record players or head over to eBay. I'm sure you'll find something like it. Crosley is not making a repro of the turntable you mentioned, but it doesn't need the yellow spindles, it has an adapter you can put on the turntable. You cn find them in some of these soup to nuts catalogs that come in the mail or online. The record player I pictured and blogged about is a vintage 1950s RCA and is in perfect working condition. If you need additional information or help finding something, let me know. Take care and thanks for leaving the comments.
Thanks for the comments, Mike, but I distinctly remember the RCA logo of the dog listening to the record player on the inside of the lid (applique).
The corners of the case were radiised and the table that the controls, tone arm and platter sat on had a jeweled finish ("jeweled" as in machine turned).
The cord was a two wire affair with a small, hard, plastic plug and the same colour grey as the knobs and tone arm.
The 45 adapter was a small dome shaped piece (shallow dome) with a divit in it that had a rounded end (about the size and shape of the end of your index finger).
Both the adapter and spindle were short, so there was no way for anyone to stack records on this player.
If that helps pin-point to a particular model, or possible modelS, their mention would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again.
Mike, I don't know who you are but you ROCK!!! I have been searching online for weeks for information about the vintage 1950's era record player exactly like the one you show in the picture. The one I have works but it does not have the case. I was trying to find out what it is worth. Would you happen to have anymore details
I have video of that record player in use on my youtube account - will also be glad to send some photos I have of it and / or take some and pass them along to you.
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