[78-L] Our second phonograph

[Geoffrey Wheeler]

Thanks, Bob. Very informative! Those early phonos sound nifty. If I 
were to ever again have a windup, I would like one of those desk-size, 
custom-made Sonoras that cost as much as a Packard. As a child, I 
became acquainted with a tall Victrola windup.  As a high-school 
graduation present, my brother got a heavy electric portable 78 player 
to replace it. Don’t remember the brand. The case was wood covered with 
fabric with a speaker on the side. The turntable was stored vertically 
in an inside pocket. When I began to use the player, I weighted the 
opposite end of the tone arm to reduce tracking weight. I used several 
denominations of coins wrapped with tape. When LPs came along, I bought 
a turntable (perhaps a Philco), which I plugged into a speaker. The 
first LP I bought was the two-record Benny Goodman Carnegie Hall 
concert. I used that for years. It was replaced by a KLH setup, 
followed ay another, and then another. There was nothing wrong with any 
of the KLH’s; I could now afford multiple players in case one conked 
out. Still have ’em in their original shipping cartons.