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Portable Record Players

Davebanks

By Davebanks
in All About the SOUL

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Davebanks Regular

Davebanks

Posted
Posted

Back in the very early 70's before cassettes were commonplace and CDs were not yet invented some soulies had portable record players.

 

Anyone got any info on these devices?

 

We had one mate who had one and we took it all over the country to various clubs with just a handful of 45's.

 

On one memorable trip to the Torch we had it in the car and played Otis Smith Let her go non stop from Liverpool to Stoke, we so loved that record.

 

I know that all seems so old hat now with computers and mobile devices but back in the 60s and 70s it was so hard to hear the music we loved/craved. It made it all the more underground and mysterious.

 

Anyone got any internety links to these ancient keys to our underground world?????

 

Dave Banks

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Modernsoulsucks
Modernsoulsucks

Just strap the radiogram to the wife.   ROD

Benji
Benji

Vestax Handytrax. Got one 10 years ago. Still using it.          

Sutty
Sutty

What you need is a professional setup, such as mine for example. Not only can you play your 45s on it, it's got a built in centre adaptor that pops up, and you can tape them as well if you splash out

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Davebanks Regular

Davebanks

Posted
  • Author
Posted

ooooh that looks very high tech for what we had.

 

But I suppose I am more reminiscing about the early days of discovery of the UK soul scene we were so behind our American cousins.

Sutty Long Time

Sutty

Posted
Posted (edited)

What you need is a professional setup, such as mine for example. Not only can you play your 45s on it, it's got a built in centre adaptor that pops up, and you can tape them as well if you splash out on the tape deck. Just make sure you ask everyone in the room to be quiet while you do it and you definitely don't want anyone eating crisps within 20 feet   :shhh:  :P

 

post-3332-0-56653300-1389998053_thumb.jppost-3332-0-08588100-1389998063_thumb.jppost-3332-0-95387300-1389998072_thumb.jp

 

 

Edited by Sutty
  • Helpful 2
Pete S Veteran

Pete S

Posted
Posted

I threw a Discotron away a few months ago, was sick of seeing it in the garage, it was a wooden outer and what made it unusual was that it had a radio built in as well.  I took it apart once, there's just nothing in there.  They were made in Birmingham and took one of those huge square batteries.

Steve Plumb Veteran

Steve Plumb

Posted
Posted

I have a spare Numark battery operated portable record player which i bought new about 8 years ago as a back up to my sound burger.

 

Trouble is the sound burger has never failed since the day i bought it in 1993 (apart from replacing stylii and baterrys over the years) and i still use that all the time and the virtually unused Numark has made its way into the attic, which is a shame

 

Anyone interested in it gimme a shout

 

Cheers

Steve 

Sceneman Regular

Sceneman

Posted
Posted

i doubt that theyre many around still as you couldnt get the parts to keep em running .i had 1 in late 60s that had a slot for a 45 ,like a CD player but it broke down and couldnt be repaired and was ditched .

Guest Ivor Jones

Guest Ivor Jones

Posted
Posted

I have a spare Numark battery operated portable record player which i bought new about 8 years ago as a back up to my sound burger.

Trouble is the sound burger has never failed since the day i bought it in 1993 (apart from replacing stylii and baterrys over the years) and i still use that all the time and the virtually unused Numark has made its way into the attic, which is a shame

Anyone interested in it gimme a shout

Cheers

Steve

Hello Steve hope all is well for you mate.....

I remember when you used to do the Victoria record fairs there was a guy with load of new Soundburgers( dead stock from the 80s) .... They were really rare even then and I was kicking myself for years afterwards for not buying one.

Probably the weirdest ( and probably the best ) portable player I've seen was housed in a silver brief/flight case( like a technicians tool kit) and when the lid was opened, inside was a good quality turntable with decent speakers mounted inside the lid. Looked the business..... Had a headphone jack as well if you wanted private listening. A fella used to make them to order but they were reasonably expensive( £200 about 15 years ago)..... Good though for vinyl hunting .....

Ivor


Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

Hello Steve hope all is well for you mate.....

I remember when you used to do the Victoria record fairs there was a guy with load of new Soundburgers( dead stock from the 80s) .... They were really rare even then and I was kicking myself for years afterwards for not buying one.

Probably the weirdest ( and probably the best ) portable player I've seen was housed in a silver brief/flight case( like a technicians tool kit) and when the lid was opened, inside was a good quality turntable with decent speakers mounted inside the lid. Looked the business..... Had a headphone jack as well if you wanted private listening. A fella used to make them to order but they were reasonably expensive( £200 about 15 years ago)..... Good though for vinyl hunting .....

Ivor

 

Do you mean this type of thing

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Retro-Portable-Record-Cassette-Player-in-Carrier-Case-By-Sanyo-/261371859722?hash=item3cdafa130a

Steve Plumb Veteran

Steve Plumb

Posted
Posted

Hello Steve hope all is well for you mate.....

I remember when you used to do the Victoria record fairs there was a guy with load of new Soundburgers( dead stock from the 80s) .... They were really rare even then and I was kicking myself for years afterwards for not buying one.

Ivor

Hi Ivor

All good here mate, hope all good with you too?

That's where I got mine from all those years ago. They were £100 each which seemed a lot at the time BUT I still have it (in its box) and has been out with me ever since. I can't begin to work out how much it has repaid me over the years!

Speak soon mate

Steve

boba Veteran

boba

Posted
Posted

I bought the handitrax when it just came out, like the week it came out. I still use it, at one point it was submerged in water for two days and it still works.

 

The price has recently doubled because it has become popular with hiphop DJs to set up in the park, etc., with them.

 

Also, 

 

Mr Blue Regular

Mr Blue

Posted
Posted

I really like the Japanese Columbia GP3 player I've had for over 12 years now.   That thing just won't die.  

And believe me, it's seen a lot!    I think it's louder and more durable than most.   It looks cool, too, and you 

can hold the thing sideways and upside down and it still keeps playing.   Literally!   

  • Helpful 1
Driveller Tape Swappers Fav

Driveller

Posted
Posted

Hi,

 

My Soundburger hit the buffers about a year ago, which was a big problem, as it was pretty much inseparable from my sales box, but, I've just managed to locate this, which fills the gap perfectly:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Crosley-CR6020A-Revolution-Portable-USB-Turntable-blue-/181285496020?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Turntables&hash=item2a357524d4

 

Never thought anybody would think it worth doing this, but I'm glad they have!

 

Not sure if it quite does for playing in the car, but invaluable for the allnighter record room.  Crosley do a range of players with various levels of portability, but I believe this is the only one that can operate on battery power.

 

If you just do a search for 'Crosley' on Evilbay, I'm sure you'll get a good selection.

 

All the best,

 

Nick

  • Helpful 1
Dave Rimmer Veteran

Dave Rimmer

Posted
Posted

Hi,

 

My Soundburger hit the buffers about a year ago, which was a big problem, as it was pretty much inseparable from my sales box, but, I've just managed to locate this, which fills the gap perfectly:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Crosley-CR6020A-Revolution-Portable-USB-Turntable-blue-/181285496020?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Turntables&hash=item2a357524d4

 

Never thought anybody would think it worth doing this, but I'm glad they have!

 

Not sure if it quite does for playing in the car, but invaluable for the allnighter record room.  Crosley do a range of players with various levels of portability, but I believe this is the only one that can operate on battery power.

 

If you just do a search for 'Crosley' on Evilbay, I'm sure you'll get a good selection.

 

All the best,

 

Nick

Do these only work on battery power, or can you plug them into the mains ? It's not at all clear on Crosley's website.

Cunnie Veteran

Cunnie

Posted
Posted

Work on both mains & battery Dave. Bought some rechargable batterys for mine & never let me down. Also got a headphone socket so perfect for nighters. Can also play it through an fm radio wirelessly.

Britmusicsoulfan Long Time

Britmusicsoulfan

Posted
Posted

One of the problems with Crosley turntables is that they put terrible needles on them.  They make a dansette model that has a good cartridge.  I wouldn't put anything rareish on one.

 

I have one Numark portable I bought in 2007 that still plays well, but it won't play LPs (the motor slows down), but it does great on 45s. 

 

I broke the weight off of my USB turntable after moving it around downstairs (d'oh!), so I replaced it (for now) with a Numark USB turntable portable and have an Audio-Technica Mister Disc I bought from a chap locally.

Rick Smith Tape Swappers Fav

Rick Smith

Posted
Posted

I used to have a Discotron in the mid seventies and you dropped the record into a slot in the top.

It was pretty compact and would play without jumping even when you moved it.

Only problem was when the needle/stylus went tits up I could never find out how to replace it or where to get parts.No internet then.

It was second hand when I got it and I've never seen the like since. A great bit of kit and I'd love to have another one.

One of those things you chuck out and regret years later.

Jim G Veteran

Jim G

Posted
Posted (edited)

here you go, Bush Discassette. I bought one in 1974 and only threw it away a couple of years ago as it was rusted to hell. Used to take it with all the time and remember playing records with mates down Aycliffe town centre many a Sunday! (the video is not mine)

 

Edited by jim g
  • Helpful 1
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

here you go, Bush Discassette. I bought one in 1974 and only threw it away a couple of years ago as it was rusted to hell. Used to take it with all the time and remember playing records with mates down Aycliffe town centre many a Sunday! (the video is not mine)

 

 

Bet that does your records good phillips had an in car one in the late 50's it was so heavy so it would stop the records jumping.

 

https://vintagebus.com/gallery/image/1269.JPG


Guest manusf3a

Guest manusf3a

Posted
Posted

That's the feller; Discotrons! I've got a great photo of the Harboro skins dancing round one on a Corby estate about 7am summer Sunday morning.

There seemede to be loads of discotrons about then,there must be some left aound surely right through till when I first stopped going to all nighters you would always see them as somone else has stated they were good for playing records in the car,train,bus whatever on the way to and back from places.

Denbo Veteran

Denbo

Posted
Posted

There seemede to be loads of discotrons about then,there must be some left aound surely right through till when I first stopped going to all nighters you would always see them as somone else has stated they were good for playing records in the car,train,bus whatever on the way to and back from places.

But not very good at keeping your records in good condition. They caused a lot of damage to records as they were so heavy and cut into the grooves causing lots of hiss.

markh55 Member

markh55

Posted
Posted

This has got me thinking.

 

Had a discatron back in the 70's.

 

I left home in '76 but now have a nagging feeling that the discatron is still in my mothers loft.

 

The search is on next time I go and see the old dear.

Guest Ivor Jones

Guest Ivor Jones

Posted
Posted

 

Sorry for late reply, only just seen this. It was sort of similar to the Sanyo one you've pictured but that is a mass produced thing and the one i saw was a bespoke [ooohh…..bespoke ! ] tailor made item. From memory the turntable looked bigger for a start….

Guest manusf3a

Guest manusf3a

Posted
Posted

This has got me thinking.

 

Had a discatron back in the 70's.

 

I left home in '76 but now have a nagging feeling that the discatron is still in my mothers loft.

 

The search is on next time I go and see the old dear.

Search and please find ,Mark would like to see some photos,closest I ve seen so far to match the ones in me memory is that bush record player cassette combination but I a reasonably sure most I saw didnt have cassette players on them and just played records,anyway would love to see some pics.atbmanusf3a.

Tony A Long Time

Tony A

Posted
Posted

This one has a built in A/D convertor and it's own USB socket.

 

post-17800-0-67267300-1390417700_thumb.j

 

This vinyl player is the perfect pulse generator for picnics that turn into cosy open-air parties. It is also the perfect listening device for every dyed-in-the-wool vinyl enthusiast during extensive excavation trips at flea markets and record shops.

A tough plastic casing and the capability to operate at angles of up to 90 degrees make the Handy Trax player fit for universal use. On top of this, a stereo line-out makes hooking it up to your hi-fi system at home easy and a mini line-in jack also allows you to connect external devices such as MP3 players.

If you prefer to listen to your music digitally but own a large analogue collection, you can easily transform your vinyl into binary code via the newly integrated USB port. A transformation that results in loss of sound quality, of course…
 Vestax Handy Trax USB turntable for nothing else but vinyl.

Vestax Turntable Handy Trax USB Features:
- USB port
- Recording software “Audacity” included (for Mac and PC)
- Belt drive
- Battery operation (6 x AC12V) or mains operation (external power adaptor included).
- Inbuilt speaker (mono)
- Stereo line-out (mini jack) for connection to hi-fi systems (Aux in), DJ mixers, etc.
- Line-in (mini jack) for connection of external devices like MP3 or CD players
- Headphone line-out
- Three speed setting 33 1/3, 45, 78 rpm
- Pitch control and tone control dials
- Master level fader
- Works at angles of up to almost 90 degrees!
- Tough plastic casing with detachable cover

 

post-17800-0-43830800-1390417754.jpgpost-17800-0-94210200-1390417754.jpgpost-17800-0-59891300-1390417755.jpgpost-17800-0-05800600-1390417756.jpgpost-17800-0-74530500-1390417756.jpg

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