Saturday 26 July 2008

Nostalgia strikes - 78rpm record player

I've always pined for the old record players that can play 33s, 45s and 78s. My old Garrard player from the 1960s could do that, together with a 16rpm speed but I haven't seen such a vinyl record before. Seven-inch 45rpm records are still common enough but not the 10-inch or the 12-inch 78rpm records. They can be found but are much harder to search for. Anyway, you'll need one of those old chunky "hi-fi" record players that can play at this speed. No modern turntable will do that. My family used to stay at Seang Tek Road in George Town until the late 1970s when we relocated to Ayer Itam. But by that time, the Garrard player was spoilt and we didn't know much about conserving it or even repairing it. My father must have sold it off to some second-hand shop. Luckily, I had the presence of mind to keep all my old 33rpm and 45rpm records. The 78rpm records somehow disappeared from my collection. This video below sure brings back some good memories of my old, discarded Garrard player. Never you mind about the sound quality. That's 78rpm "hi-fi" for you. Do look out for the last few seconds of the video to watch the automatic return of the tone-arm. It's bound to surprise you if you haven't seen it before. Here's a final video which, in particular, I'd encourage Eric to watch and listen to. He should be enjoying this historical gem!

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