[78-L] Our second phonograph

[Steven C. Barr]

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From: "Geoffrey Wheeler" <dialjazz at verizon.net>
> 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.
> _______________________________________________
>
"Brand" was probably RCA Victor...?! They introduced plug-in (to one's
radio) record player attachments c.1935. "Lightweight" tone arms
first appeared c. 1939-40. For a number of years (ending in 1997), my
"78 deck" was an early-sixties RCA "record player," with the cartridge
output redirected to a 1/4" jack which I redirected to the "Line In"
jack of the Sony r2r tape deck which was the centre of my "audio
system." I used to use this "record player" to play (and record) my
78's from c.1983 until 1997, I'm still trying to set up a way to copy
my 78's (using a vintage "record player) onto my computer; the
ceramic cartridge has a 1-volt output, which is also a line-level
signal...!

Steven C. Barr