1960 RCA Stereo Console rejoins the infamous couch!

[moparwash]

This was always in our living room growing up...Mom bought it new (I have to ask where from) and am glad she saved it..(and the infamous couch). The right speaker swings out, and is removable for placement elsewhere in the room and the 'V' on the front lights up when it's on. Now the living room is almost recreated. The Wash-In will have our own Corny Collins Show![this post was last edited: 3/3/2018-12:55]

 

[appliguy]

Jerry It's beautiful, it's a 1960 model.....

and I have the same unit but with a mahogany finish in my living room. My dad bought it for his dad and stepmother either for their anniversary or for Xmas 1960. Is yours just the basic record player like mine or did your mom and dad get it with the radio, tape player, and the remote control? PATRICK COFFEY

 

[moparwash]

Thanks for the info and compliment! It just has the record player. Could you post a pic of yours? Now I'll have to ask here where she bought it.

 

[appliguy]

Jerry....

Is yours just the basic record player like mine or did your mom and dad get it with the radio, tape player, and the remote control?

 

[appliguy]

I will take a picture of mine ASAP

I think that it is cool that both of our units were family pieces handed down to us...PATRICK COFFEY

 

[joeekaitis]

The knob is marked LOUDNESS, not VOLUME . . .

 

. . . and if you remember, many console stereos had a knob marked VOLUME and a switch marked LOUDNESS.

 

With the LOUDNESS switch off, the VOLUME knob raises and lowers the intensity of all frequencies equally.  With the switch on, the bass is gently boosted as you dial down the volume to compensate for the ear's diminished sensitivity to bass at lower volume.

 

I don't know why I suddenly remembered that.

 

[norgeway]

BEAUTIFUL!

My Aunt and Uncle bought one with the same turntable and controls, but a ugly American cabinet, it still plays great.

 

[twintubdexter]

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">Very nice. I'd call that cabinet "Mrs. Beasley Tasteful".</span>

 

[ea56]

Jerry

thats a beautiful RCA stereo! These old RCA console stereo’s and HiFi’s really have the richest sound. My Dad bought a new RCA HiFi in 1956, but he didn’t opt for the extra speaker cabinet for stereo sound. At that time stereo was fairly new to the public and I guess he thought that the HiFi was enough of a step up. But as recall there were two buttons over the tuner for use if you did have the stereo speaker cabinet.
Ours was a beautiful Cherry wood, Early American cabinet. The turntable looked almost identical to yours. These turntables are belt driven I believe. There is a compression ring at the base of the spindle that holds the turntable in place. If you remove this ring you should be able to lift up the turntable to see if the belt is broken. Then finding a replacement belt would be your next challenge.

I love the vintage Carol Burnett album BTW. The first album my Mom bought when we got our RCA was the orignal Broadway production of “My Fair Lady”. She was also partial to Pattie Page and Rosemary Clooney.

And we also had a huge brown sectional sofa similar to yours. My Dad got it as a barter for his legal services. He was lawyer and he frequently did barters with clients that were hard up.

I hope you will get lots of enjoyment out of your “new” RCA.

Here is an interesting aside about stereo in the early 60’s. Many people still didn’t have stereo equipment yet. The CBS station in San Francisco, KPIX used to broadcast a local afternoon show called “Dance Party”, hosted by a local TV guy, Dave Stewart, in competition with ABC’s “American Bandstand”. The CBS affiliate radio station, KCBS used to simultaneously broadcast the sound from “Dance Party”. So if you tuned your radio or HiFi to KCBS while watching “Dance Party” and placed the radio on the opposite side of your TV you could experience Stereophonic Sound. We used to get a kick out of this. I wonder if Ralph remembers this, as he grew up in the Bay Area too.
Eddie

 

[frigilux]

Beautiful RCA stereo, Jerry. Congratulations! Neighbors had one similar to yours. I thought having the 45-adaptor in a well at the front was a cool idea.

Eddie-- I'd completely forgotten about stereo simulcasts! I remember hauling the small receiver and speakers out of my bedroom and plunking them down by the TV in the den to get stereo broadcasts of TV shows. Wow, that was a blast from the past, LOL.

 

[yogitunes]

that is just too beautiful.....

 

[tolivac]

Cool RCA console Hi-fi-question-how do you shift speed on the TT-don't see a speed control.Like the idea of BD-Many Hi-fi freaks like that idea today.Also like the headshell shot on the TT tonearm.And in those days radio stations were playing around with stereo broadcasting by running one channel on their AM station and the other channel on the FM-WPGC AM/FM was doing that in those early days before multiplex stereo on FM.And-not everyone had multiplex stereo FM tuners or radios then-they did have an AM and FM sets they could use for the AM/FM stereo-and some Hi-Fi tuners made then had an AM-FM position so the AM was one channel and the FM the other.You tuned them in on the tuner.Had a McIntosh from then-sold it to a collector.

 

[ea56]

The speed selector is the dial to the right of the well were the 45 adapter sits.
Eddie

 

[moparwash]

RPM Dial

 

[tolivac]

OK-now I see the speeds on the dial and the small lever on the other side of the speed control dial to start-stop the TT.NEAT!!!Nice little TT!!