>From the pictures I see, and the "real wood construction with wood veneer", I don't know... I think these are probably 1/2" particle board with low grade veneer, built in a factory like so many computer desks and other Wal-Mart furniture. Crapophones are made of actual wood, at least. And of the "His Master's Voice" style crapophone that this one resembles, I don't think this one's nearly as big as a genuine phone-o-crap. They ship in a cheap corrugated cardboard box (again, like Wal-Mart furniture), so some assembly must be required! I wonder if you have to unravel the horn. Either way, unfortunately, I think the crapophones are here to stay. :-\
I'm bewildered and somehow encouraged and discouraged all together by the sudden proliferation of Newcombs, Crossleys, and this non-RCA crap from Lawton. There are all-in-one units all over eBay now that either look like 60's suitcase models (and some schoolhouse type suitcases as well -- "read along in your books, kiddies") or mid-late 50's RCA Victor Orthophonics with the big wooden lid. Some of them appear to be pretty decently made, in fact. I'm always happy when there's an increase in the market for more vinyl customers, but I wonder how many owners of these new machines just bought 'em for the kitchen counter to play the odd Bing Crosby 78 or Ray Conniff LP, using them mostly as FM radios and cd players. Who knows! If someone wants to get rich, invent a standalone 3-speed phono with mp3 conversion on the fly, an internal hard drive, and a USB connection. Instant vinyl-to-iPod, such as it would be. (They have these already, except without the internal HD and mp3 encoding. They USB up to your computer and you use the included software to do the conversion.) I'd trade it all for enough room to get a big ol' Credenza anyway. Best, Robert ----- Original Message ----- From: "john robles" <[email protected]> To: "Antique Phonograph List" <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, February 09, 2007 1:06 AM Subject: Re: [Phono-L] NOW look what they're doing.. > Actually neither do I. They are adapted crapophones though, aren't they?? > I suspect they removed the motorand found a way to suspend the turntable. > Pic isn't big enough to see clearly, but if they ARE adapted crapophones, > I would say it is a good use of bad rubbish. > John > > Robert Wright <[email protected]> wrote: > I don't mind these as much; in fact, I don't even call them crapophones. > They don't wind up, they don't use any old (and inferior) phonograph > parts, > and they really don't purport to be even remotely "authentic". It's a > stylized but modern machine with an electric turntable. If anything, I > think these do more good than harm -- no one thinks they're getting a > genuine wind-up phonograph (that ends up disappointing them vastly) when > they buy one of these, the way they might when buying a crapophone. These > stylized pieces visually stimulate phono awareness, and anything that > keeps > phonographs on the public's minds may just increase the perceived value of > the real thing (the opposite effect of a crapophone, which demeans the > value). To me, it's all about intent; one intends to suggest and celebrate > the visual style of the phonograph while the other shoddily attempts to BE > one, and fails miserably. > > I think they're kinda neat, though I bet they are indeed built like crap. > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "john robles" > To: > > Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2007 8:48 PM > Subject: [Phono-L] NOW look what they're doing.. > > >> with crapophones... >> >> http://cgi.ebay.com/Lawton-Turntable-CD-Player-Radio-RCA-Victrola-Horn_W0QQitemZ230088869607QQihZ013QQcategoryZ3283QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem >> _______________________________________________ >> Phono-L mailing list >> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org >> > > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > http://phono-l.oldcrank.org > > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > http://phono-l.oldcrank.org >
