I thought it might be fun to choose a photo at random from the many thousands I've taken over the years and see if I could dredge up a memory about it.
This one turned up. It's a Rock-Ola jukebox of the 1960s and we came across it at the Jukebox Madness Show in late 1995. Jukeboxes are hugely collectable. Even then, thirteen years ago, this jukebox was for sale at 4,250 pounds. It's the fact that it's a "visible mech" that makes it so pricey - you can see the records being selected and played. Compare that to my 1979 Rowe-Ami model that I bought in around 1992 for 250 pounds and you can see there's a bit of a difference. I've never really understood why jukebox manufacturers moved away from having visible mechanisms because it was such an obvious draw. But if you have a collection of 45s it's a great way of playing them!
Once properly restored a jukebox (I've found anyway) gives very little in the way of problems. Unlike pinballs where the game revolves around the various parts being battered to hell by the silver ball, jukeboxes don't have much in the way of internal impacts to make them go wrong. I've had mine repaired once in the sixteen years I've had it and it sounds as good today as it's always done. It would be great, however to have a visible mech in the front room wouldn't it? Perhaps one with bubbles...
No comments:
Post a Comment
All comments must be passed by moderator before appearing on this post.