I've been in the market for a turntable for a while, but I'm a little bit of a commitment-phobe. I would decide on one, and then change my mind. I've spent hours researching on the internet, and bugging my friend Matthew (who's the closest thing to a vinyl expert I know) about what to look for and avoid. I had the basics figured out, and I knew I didn't want a Crosley (they're
beautiful but can absolutely ruin your records! No thanks!), but I was just starting to look seriously into buying one. Then I ran across this beauty while thrifting with some friends a couple weekends ago:
I know, right? 1956 Magnavox. Mid-century, mustardy-gold goodness. Only a couple slight problems: I could find absolutely zero information on the quality of the turntable online, and that little red tag up there said that it needed a new belt. My brother tried to talk me into buying it, because he's really mechanically inclined, but I just wasn't sure. So I left it.
Then I kept thinking about it all week.
So last Friday, my brother and I went back to look at it again. I was even less decisive than I was the first time, even though I was in love with the console regardless of the turntable. So I left it again. But the more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that I wanted it--and so were quite a few of my friends on Instagram when I posted that picture! Haha. I figured, hey, even if the turntable isn't fixable or is just really crappy, I can always remove it and use the cabinet to keep a new turntable when I buy one. I really didn't think I'd be able to buy a little vintage end table for what I paid for this (it was a steal, you guys), much less one that I could store stuff in! So I grabbed my husband and made him go look at it with me.
This time it ended up in our living room.
My brother came over the next day to use our internet, and he brought a little wax, polished it up, and started tinkering.
Neither of us is really sure what he did exactly, but it went from running slowly to running normally!
So we enjoyed a little Steve Miller.....John Denver......Simon & Garfunkel.......Genesis (I have a bit of a soft spot for Phil Collins)....and some old Mexican love songs from a record that came with the table. It's still not at 100% just yet, but with a few more tweaks, it will definitely do for awhile! I'll probably end up upgrading the turntable eventually, but for now I'm super stoked that I can actually listen to these records I have laying around.