Stereo console turn table - $80 (Little Italy)

[ovrphil]

Paul(turquoisedude)- is this the brand you own or same model?

http://toronto.craigslist.ca/tor/fuo/5422000623.html

 

[tomturbomatic]

Needs Tuning

What do they think this is, a piano?

 

[ovrphil]

Maybe

if so, here's a helper:

http://www.tuningyourpiano.com/#axzz3zLr0aQFm

 

[turquoisedude]

Good eye Phil!  This one's one of the later (possibly one of the last) Clairtones from the early 1970s.  I'm still astounded that I found one the first 1967 models.  

 

'Needs tuning' probably translates to 'controls need cleaning' - again, that's all mine needed and now it works fine. 

 

[ovrphil]

Hi Paul - I had to throw out the piano tuning kit, since Tom was throwing out his sense of humor.

Does your 67(a great year, btw) have all those switches and what do they do? I'm sure the designer was a former studio recording engineer(lol). These Clairtones were Canadian made and sold only, no export to the USA ..right?

Thanks for stopping by.

 

[turquoisedude]

Phil, 

 

The switches are cool, but overkill - they just control function selections (like for AM radio, FM radio, Phono, tape, etc) and the power on/off.  Guess the 'pushbutton atomic' look was what they were aiming for!  

 

The Clairtone products were indeed made in Canada, but they were also exported to the US.  I think there was a print ad with none other than Frank Sinatra pitching for Clairtone sound systems in the early 1960s.  

 

Also, the founder of the company, Peter Munck, was an engineer and electronics designer.  The famous Project G stereo units were built by a designer named Hugh Spencer.  You nailed that one!  

 

The company failed in 1971 and Electrohome took over production for a time, then phased out the brand name altogether.  

 

 

[tomturbomatic]

All of those redundant buttons make me think of Norge Dryers with 5 settings for two heat inputs plus no heat and a one operating temperature thermostat.

 

[ovrphil]

Paul - that clinched my hunch on "overkill, maybe?". Hugh Spencer did have a unique design, though, and you can see the button-mania influence on his Clairtone G2. IN FACT, your 1967 panel is probably the closest to this G2(photo 3)..your 1967 on the left and the G2 on the right.