X-Mas Shopping In 1964 (Part 1)
- Thread starter TheRed1
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bowtie427ss
Lunatic Member
Ahhhhh yes, the pinnacle of things produced in the USA!
I was ten days old that christmas.
I was ten days old that christmas.
radioactive
tube gear fanatic
thanks for posting that thered1.:thmbsp:
Danger Boy
web troll :-)
one unit has 32 tubes in it.. that would be a small fortune by today's tube prices to replace them all 
VinylHanger
Navigaret ex ironia
I have one that is laid out like the Custom Electra VII. Only it doesn't have the Stereo mulitplexing. It is a bit older in that it used combined FM-AM broadcasts to make stereo. It sounds wonderful with local Baseball games.
TheRed1
Console Conservationist
314 days here.I was ten days old that christmas.
I was -17,193 days old that day......
Switchblade
Super Member
Wow, thanks for posting that as it sure brings back memories! That Allegro was cool. Never saw one before! 
TheRed1
Console Conservationist
I can't imagine how much the President model must have cost. You can see the figures $645-595 written on the lowly Custom Electra VII page, presumably by a salesman. That's the inflation adjusted equivalent of around $4,000 in 2006 dollars!
My parents were certainly in no position to be shopping for a Fisher back then, especially just starting out with their first child. I doubt I even cost that much in my first year.
The Rebel
Active Member
Great post !! Let me tell a short story of one our console experiences.
I remember my mother getting a second hand console that appears to be the Philharmonic IV in Italian Provincial at one point during the mid to late sixties. I remember the Fisher name . We played the mess out of that console . Well, one day after school my thuggy stepbrothers qued up a 45 copy of "The Pusher" by Steppenwolf . We all went out in the front yard rough housing and passing the football . My mom drives up from work, get's out of her car and we're like, Oh shi... It just so happened that the needle got stuck in a groove right in the middle of , you guessed it, GD the Pusherman . It was stuck perfect in the phrase GD, GD, GD, GD, GD, GD, GD... Now you gotta realize my mom was a God fearing Christian woman . She went berserk . Walked in the house, proceded to lift the tone arm , grabbed the 45 , came outside and flew it like a frisbee out into the street . All the time my oldest brother was trying to explain and stop her . We were , at least I was, being the baby and all , scared to death of that woman when she got into that state of mind . I think I was ten . It was hard to keep from splitting a gut the way it all went down though . Not wanting to show disrespect for mom, but at the same time watching everybody's reaction, especially my oldest brother's . I now can ROTFLMAO when I think back on it . Has got to be one of the funniest things that ever happened in that old house . I don't know what happened the the console , but I sure wish I had it now . Can y'all remember how you would see them out on the street for trash pickup . Man, just imagine all that real wood and all the tubes inside them . WOW !! Thanks for letting me tell an old story that makes me LMAO every time I think about it. :thmbsp:
Rebel
I remember my mother getting a second hand console that appears to be the Philharmonic IV in Italian Provincial at one point during the mid to late sixties. I remember the Fisher name . We played the mess out of that console . Well, one day after school my thuggy stepbrothers qued up a 45 copy of "The Pusher" by Steppenwolf . We all went out in the front yard rough housing and passing the football . My mom drives up from work, get's out of her car and we're like, Oh shi... It just so happened that the needle got stuck in a groove right in the middle of , you guessed it, GD the Pusherman . It was stuck perfect in the phrase GD, GD, GD, GD, GD, GD, GD... Now you gotta realize my mom was a God fearing Christian woman . She went berserk . Walked in the house, proceded to lift the tone arm , grabbed the 45 , came outside and flew it like a frisbee out into the street . All the time my oldest brother was trying to explain and stop her . We were , at least I was, being the baby and all , scared to death of that woman when she got into that state of mind . I think I was ten . It was hard to keep from splitting a gut the way it all went down though . Not wanting to show disrespect for mom, but at the same time watching everybody's reaction, especially my oldest brother's . I now can ROTFLMAO when I think back on it . Has got to be one of the funniest things that ever happened in that old house . I don't know what happened the the console , but I sure wish I had it now . Can y'all remember how you would see them out on the street for trash pickup . Man, just imagine all that real wood and all the tubes inside them . WOW !! Thanks for letting me tell an old story that makes me LMAO every time I think about it. :thmbsp:
Rebel
OneMalt
Will work for music
I have an inflation calculator. $645 in 1964 dollars = $4373.04 in 2007!
Sandy G
Retired Member
Christmas in the early-mid '60s...Going to Knoxville sometime around Thanksgiving...Gay Street, the main drag, the "Center of the Universe", all decked out in Christmas lights & decorations...The big dept stores, Miller's, General Products...Whining to get my dad to let me go to the "TV Department"...Ogling at the kewl stereos & roundie color sets...Everybody wearing suits & dresses...Women did NOT wear "slacks' in public then...Shopping all day long, eating at the S&W cafeteria, w/those olive green leather seats...Man, what a magical time...Depressing as hell to drive down Gay Street now, it's all gone....
barrynsue
Super Member
Thanks for posting this info. I have an Allegro. It is said that when JFK traveled, he took one of these along as it is fairly compact. The speakers fold out, the TT flips up although it is still fairly heavy but manageable.
Don't use it but still a very nice console, the original audiophile boombox!
Happy Holidays,
Barry
Don't use it but still a very nice console, the original audiophile boombox!
Happy Holidays,
Barry
TheRed1
Console Conservationist
Very cool bit of trivia I had not heard before. I have been trying to research the Fisher console lineup from the mid 50's thru the mid 60's and this catalog is the first non-anecdotal item I have come across. Do you know the chassis numbers of the components in your Allegro? I'd like to compile a spreadsheet eventually with year, model, price, components, etc.
Most of the information I have so far is from eBay and we all know how reliable that can be.
