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Fisher console - worth restoring?

that70sguy

that70sguy

Well-Known Member
I imagine the answer would be yes right off the bat, but wanted to see if it's better to just pull the receiver out and restore it or leave it in the console along with the Garrard turntable to restore the whole thing.

Here's the story on this one. My friend has been hangin on to a bunch of old stuff that belonged to his parents. I stopped by one day at his shop and saw this old console which intrigued my interest and just had to take a look inside. the outside is in good shape, just needs to be refinished. I opened the top lid and found a Fisher tube receiver inside along with a Garrard turntable.

The receiver is vertically orientated, as opposed to my horizontally orientated 500C, but the knobs look identical, so I figured they're pretty close as far as age is concerned.

The funny thing is when I look at the back to view the chassis, I see actually two separate chassises(sp?) with a full compliment of tubes.

So what am I looking at? Is this two mono amps inside this console?

I'm going back to pick it up tomorrow, since my friend offered it to me for $100 including three old RCA Victor tube radios. So I'll post some pics when I bring it home, but thought I'd see if there are folks out there with Fisher consoles who can share some info on these.
 
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What an amazing find.

I love that they are two mono amps.

BTW, plural for chassis is like plural for sheep . . . two chassis. But how come two sheep but four goats . . . sounds like my dowry. Just kidding.

I find I cannot restore the consoles as I have limited space, and have to be happy with just the electronic pieces by themselves.

I was wondering about those vintage Garrard turntables, were they worth anything as far as good sonics are concerned, or are they just too far behind the turntables of the 1970's and 1980's?

Cheers
 
There are a few Garrard turntables worth restoring. Most of these aren't among them. Many of them have mechanical problems. Now if it's a 301 or 401 or perhaps an A60 (correct me on this nomenclature please), then you've got something. But I think the 301 and 401 were standalones only, not sold in consoles.
 
you had to know this was coming... As far as the tubage is concerned, are you sure its a 500c or b, or maybe seperate tuner and integrated amp ??

:worthless

As far as the tubage is concerned, are you sure its a 500c or b, or maybe seperate tuner and integrated amp ?? or could it be a mono tuner-preamp with mono amp ?? interesting.
The way I look at it the fisher's are getting to be rare birds, I will always tend to keep them together if not to far gone. Then again I am a little biased for I have a really decent one myself. You should probably check out the Fsiher console thread stickied at top of page
 
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70salesguy. Go here and figure out which one it is. This is RED's page for Fisher console's. http://members.cox.net/fisherconsoles/ Middle of line on to the top usually had separate amplifiers either sitting flat on a shelf or the bottom OR bolted vertically to the back of the LEFT (facing the front) speaker housing. There should be a sheet stapled to the back of the unit withthe TUBE LAYOUT and Model # on it.

You didn't happen to notice the MODEL NAME on the DIAL PLATE, did you?

When you looked in the back, did you see, a Tuner/pre and an amplifier chassis OR a Tuner chassis, a pre-amp chassis and an amplifier chassis? I'm betting on the former with the orientation you described.

You've narrowed it down a bit when you said VERTICALLY ORIENTED Tuner. SINGLE AMP!!! It could be any one of 7 years, and one of 5-6 lines. Most common around here is a Custom Electra III, up to VIII. And then there is Red1's Commander's Console......:drool: . I'd Definately Restore it. Keep it intact, and Avery FISHER will keep your name on the good guys list.
Go to the top of the Tube forum and check out the FISHER CONSOLES thread.


AND GET SOME PICS PLEASE!!!!! MY FUTURA VI and CUSTOM ELECTRA VIII want to see what they are up against!

Larry
 
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larryderouin said:
When you looked in the back, did you see, a Tuner/pre and an amplifier chassis OR a Tuner chassis, a pre-amp chassis and an amplifier chassis? I'm betting on the former with the orientation you described.
Click to expand...

You're right, it is the former - tuner/pre chassis and amplifier chassis

larryderouin said:
You've narrowed it down a bit when you said VERTICALLY ORIENTED Tuner. SINGLE AMP!!! It could be any one of 7 years, and one of 5-6 lines. Most common around here is a Custom Electra III, up to VIII. And then there is Red1's Commander's Console......:drool:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link. From what I can gather from my short-term memory, it looks very similar to the Custom Electra V or VI (the top one pictured on each of those pages). so that would be either the 460T/460A combo (36 watts) or the 490T/490A combo (40 watts).

larryderouin said:
AND GET SOME PICS PLEASE!!!!! MY FUTURA VI and CUSTOM ELECTRA VIII want to see what they are up against!
Click to expand...

I promise to post pics tomorrow!
 
that70sguy said:
Thanks for the link. From what I can gather from my short-term memory, it looks very similar to the Custom Electra V or VI (the top one pictured on each of those pages). so that would be either the 460T/460A combo (36 watts) or the 490T/490A combo (40 watts).
Click to expand...

I'm not sure about the above mentioned models, but the Custom Electra III uses kind of an odd setup. The receiver contains the stereo tuner, stereo pre-amp, and a single channel amplifier. The outboard chassis is the other amplifier channel. Also the receiver has a 2.5 ohm output...... although it looks like the same 8 ohm speaker setup for both sides...... not sure how/why.
 
I guess we'll have to wait on pics until I can get someone to help me unload it off my pickup. That console is HEAVY!!

I do know now that it is the Custom Electra VI judging from the pics in the link in the earlier post. BTW, where does it say "Custom Electra" anyway? On the faceplate it just says Electra. It has the Garrard AT-6 turntable with a Shure cartridge.

So how would this unit compare with a 500C once it is restored?
 
Years ago, when looking for an avatar, I chose this x-ray image of the Custom Electra VI as a representative of the quintessential console:

CustomElectraVI.jpg


Congratulations, I think that is probably the nicest looking of the Custom Electra cabinets. I'm looking forward to photos. Here's the catalog image of your Fisher:

63CustomElectraVIModernA.jpg
 
Definately a different sound. Consoles to me usually sound smoother, more laid back, and I think it's partially because of the speakers. Not sure if the Electra VI has them but if it does, hook up some outer speakers and try it. 8oHm or HIGHER!! NO 4oHm speakers period! My Electra VIII (1965)49A amp puts out FISHER 50W IHF rated by FISHER. But mine is a HYBRID with a combination of 1 12AX7, 2 6HU8's, and 4 transistors for the Amplifier. The 490A is rated for 40W. It'll sound real nice. My FUTURA VI 59A has basically the same amp but with 4 more transistors and puts out 75watts IHF. This is total wattage not per channel. SO figure 10-15Watts RMS per channel for the 490A.

The WAF is usually VERY GOOD! Especially if it's easy for them to use. The AT-6 is usually a good match for the console. Replacement cartridge is probably a Pickering V15F (red). The Stanton 400V.3 is the current replacement. You can put a 500v.3 on it but you lose a bit of gain with the 500. The V15 Pickering hada VTF of 2-5gr but I run mine @ 1.5gr with no problem on the Miracords on mine. You could if you wanted to put a DUAL 1019 or 1219 in with whatever cart you wanted. But keep the Garrard to keep the console original.
 
I need a fisher 490T tuner if anyone has one they could part with - my fm section got blown out in an unfortunate incident involving a short in the amp -

Reed
 
I think FISHER used "CUSTOM ELECTRA" as a marketing ploy. I haven't seen an Electra yet that has "CUSTOM" written on it anywhere. Maybe RED1 knows.

Larry
 
larryderouin said:
I think FISHER used "CUSTOM ELECTRA" as a marketing ploy. I haven't seen an Electra yet that has "CUSTOM" written on it anywhere. Maybe RED1 knows.
Click to expand...
I do know for sure that Fisher was using it in 1960. Perhaps "CUSTOM" had lost some of its distinction after so many years of use. A friend of mine has a '66 Custom Electra which just says "ELECTRA" - no "CUSTOM" or roman numeral suffix, either. There seems to have been a trend toward less formality with Fisher's model names as the 60s progressed. I wonder what year the last truly "CUSTOM" Electra was produced - obviously sometime between '60 and '63.

Somehow the whole concept of Fisher trying to "get with it" is just wrong. I find it difficult to believe that Avery would have approved. Of course he sold the company in 1969, the roman numerals having disappeared (for the most part) by 1966. It was a bad sign.

CustomElectraIIIA.jpg


CustomElectraIIIB.jpg
 
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i was contacted by new jersey seller today. he has this one up for sale and i believe it to be a model prior to 1960. also a custom electra...
 
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TheRed1 said:
I do know for sure that Fisher was using it in 1960. Perhaps "CUSTOM" had lost some of its distinction after so many years of use. A friend of mine has a '66 Custom Electra which just says "ELECTRA" - no "CUSTOM" or roman numeral suffix, either. There seems to have been a trend toward less formality with Fisher's model names as the 60s progressed. I wonder what year the last truly "CUSTOM" Electra was produced - obviously sometime between '60 and '63.

Somehow the whole concept of Fisher trying to "get with it" is just wrong. I find it difficult to believe that Avery would have approved. Of course he sold the company in 1965 and the roman numerals disappeared (for the most part) in 1966. It was a bad sign.
Click to expand...

I stand corrected. My 65 Electra VIII doesn't say "Custom" on it anywhere. So maybe they were getting less formal and more progressive.

Thanks Red1.

Larry
 
perchdog said:
i was contacted by new jersey seller today. he has this one up for sale and i believe it to be a model prior to 1960. also a custom electra...
Click to expand...

Looks like a 1958 Normandy AKA Custom Electra 2. And looks "cherry".
 
Finally, some pics!

Well, I picked up the Fisher Electra VI today and now have some pics. The first two were taken with my cell phone and the rest were taken with my camera when I got home. I decided to take out the tuner/preamp, amp and turntable before loading it in the truck. Here's what it looks like:

Here is the front. As you can see, it's an Electra VI in the Modern cab design.

cabinet_1.jpg


Here are the components before cleanup.

cabinet_2.jpg


This pic shows the turntable. The camera phone shows a lot of contrast and make the cabinet looks in worse shape than it actually is.

cabinet_3.jpg


Here is the preamp/tuner after a bit of cleanup

preamp_1.jpg


Another shot of the preamp/tuner

preamp_2.jpg


Here is the power amp after cleanup

power_amp_1.jpg
 
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