Fisher Consoles 1959-1965

[Goodwill_HiFi]

Nice score! :drool:

Thanks...... I don't even really know what I've purchased yet. I did see some nice Amperex tubes...... looked like EL84's. I was a little disappointed to see that the woofers only looked like 8 inchers. I anticipate dumping the cabinets. Both are pretty bad.

 

[Sam Cogley]

I Just bought a pair of Fishers tonight at the Salvation Army. One is a Philharmonic that they've had for quite some time........ I've watched the price come down. The second is a something Electra Model? III...... that they've had for over a week, by the date on the tag, but tonight was the first time I've seen it. I'll try and pick them up in the next couple of days. I like the looks of the Electra, but unfortunately both consoles are pretty beat up looking.

..........Looks like it's a 1960 Custom Electra Model III, in the modern design, but I don't recall the wood.

http://members.cox.net/fisherconsoles/CustomElectraIII.html

That Modern CEIII cabinet is very attractive.

 

[larryderouin]

I HATE to do this BUT..........:worthless


Get on the cabinets with Howards restore a finish and some 0000 steel wool. You'll be surprised at how much they will come back. Unless they were done in that high gloss CLEAR laquer finish.

Those amps weren't KILLERS. They put out at most 20-25 per. I've got a 65 Custom Elecctra that has 8's and it sounds just fine. It lacks a bit on the bass but if the old lady likes it,(it's hers) then everything is good. My personal Futura (1965) has 10's and doesn't sound much different. It's the amps. But they do sound overall very well balanced.

Anyone know where I can get a dial glass for a Custom Electra VIII??? I think a Philharmonic will fit.

Larry

 

[Negotiableterms]

Great thread! I was wondering if you could ID the console type that this set up came from.

I bought all the electronics, but they were already stripped from the console. Also, would you have a suggestion as to where I could find a Sam's for it? I'm stuck part way through the restoration.....:sigh:

I may have missed the answer to this item somewhere in this very long thread, but if not, here's one item of info:

The MPX-70 was an outboard multiplex unit that attached to a regular FM mono tuner to allow it to decode stereo. My father had one of the first Fisher consoles with the multiplex option added, and we waited for KPEN in Los Altos to begin broadcasting in stereo, which finally occurred in July of 1961. Thus, my guess is that the MPX-70 was available in 1960 through maybe 1962. By 1963 the multiplex units were built in to the tuner chassis. And that's everything I know about it, because all I have left of that unit is two little tiny surround speakers, as the console vanished into Pacific Stereo as a trade-in some time in the early 70s.

 

[larryderouin]

I may have missed the answer to this item somewhere in this very long thread, but if not, here's one item of info:

The MPX-70 was an outboard multiplex unit that attached to a regular FM mono tuner to allow it to decode stereo. My father had one of the first Fisher consoles with the multiplex option added, and we waited for KPEN in Los Altos to begin broadcasting in stereo, which finally occurred in July of 1961. Thus, my guess is that the MPX-70 was available in 1960 through maybe 1962. By 1963 the multiplex units were built in to the tuner chassis. And that's everything I know about it, because all I have left of that unit is two little tiny surround speakers, as the console vanished into Pacific Stereo as a trade-in some time in the early 70s.

More than Likely a 1962 Custom Electra V. http://members.cox.net/fisherconsoles/CustomElectraV.html

Larry

 

[visman]

Fisher Series 610 Operating Manual

I managed to get an operating manual for my Consolette 610 and matching Companion Speaker (which are in process of being restored). So I thought I would share.

This will take two postings (it's 8 pgs total).

 

[visman]

Here is the rest.

 

[jonboy55]

I'm still looking for a manual and or schematic for my Fisher Consolette 61.

Any leads would be gratefully appreciated.

Thank you.

Jon

 

[Goodwill_HiFi]

Get on the cabinets with Howards restore a finish and some 0000 steel wool. You'll be surprised at how much they will come back. Unless they were done in that high gloss CLEAR laquer finish.

Both my cabinets are gone now. It just wasn't worth trying to save them from my perspective. The Philharmonic is poorly designed from an acoustic perspective, to a lesser extent the Electra was too. They both would have needed veneer work in addition to finish work, also. I was surprised to see particle board. I thought cabinets this age would be all wood glue-ups with veneer. I did save a few pieces of solid hardwood. Unfortunately, I craked some of it.

I've got a 65 Custom Elecctra that has 8's and it sounds just fine. It lacks a bit on the bass .....

I found that it actually had 10s that fire down (Jensen P10R). It still lacked bass, Though. That particular console (The Electra) started sounding quite poorly after a short time, so I shut it off. The Philharmonic, on the other hand, sounds great. I've been using it the past couple of days. The only thing is that FM stereo doesn't work, and sometimes I think the volume might diminish after being on awhile....... I'm not sure if that's actual, or imagined. Its also a bit bass heavy...... my Altec 9864A tones that down, though. I find the Swedish speakers kind of interesting....... they were super boomy in the original cabinet. The drivers look pretty well made, Though. The 8" cones on the woofers looks almost like a cloth..... it's woven.

The tubes in the Electra look to have been partially replaced, the Philharmonic looks to have all originals...... all made in West Germany or Great Britain with Fisher labeling.

 

[Goodwill_HiFi]

I love the tuning indicator...... it's my first time seeing something like this, in operation. I have a Westinghouse tuner with a magic eye, but have never tried turning it on since it had been sitting outside in the rain.

When I first saw the Philharmonic it had all its knob covers, but they were loose. I kept watch on the console and they started to disappear, or get moved around the cabinet. I'm sure they got vacuumed up, or otherwise picked up and thrown away by workers that find random pieces of stuff all the time.

My little girl kitty.

Slide show of all the pictures I took.

http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/...audioposted/fisher tubes/?albumview=slideshow

 

[HomeBody]

I have died and gone to heaven....window shopping.
As I've taken to plunge into vintage audio equipment, I've spent hours mentally laying out how I would construct a console cabinet to at least emulate certain Fisher models that I remember and grew up with in the '60s.

thanks to everyone that contributed to this thread.
Long Live THE FISHER -

 

[analog addict]

I managed to get an operating manual for my Consolette 610 and matching Companion Speaker (which are in process of being restored). So I thought I would share.

This will take two postings (it's 8 pgs total).

I have the Fisher 610 paperwork that includes the schematics. PM me and I will scan them and send them to you via e-mail. Anyone else that wants them can have them too....:thmbsp:

 

[Stephen J]

Whats inside..

..mono ? got any pics of what type of amp this may hold? :scratch2:

 

[TheRed1]

That's either a Fisher 'Contemporary' from 1958 which has the ubiquitous R-20 mono chassis, or the much more interesting 'Contemporary II' from 1959 with the stereo-capable R-30-S chassis. I did a quick search for pictures of those chassis but came up empty-handed. Someone else might have better luck.

I think that cabinet is particularly desirable (especially the Contemporary II model which adds the possibility of adding the matching 'Stereo Companion' extension speaker - model 560) what with it's small size, modern styling, front-facing controls and most importantly - those great tambor doors. Definitely among my personal top 5 favorite Fisher consoles . . .

 

[jerryd]

Darn... I looked all through this thread and still cant find the Fisher console that used to keep me rockin' at my parents home when I was a kid. My mom won it in a contest... I think from Sears. From what I remember it was probably either very late 60's or early 70's. It used to shock me from time to time and the record player made my RUSH "all the worlds a stage" album sound magical. And because I loved that thing so much... it made me a tube junkie. That thing would get LOUD!!! :thmbsp:

 

[TheRed1]

Stephen J: Any luck?

I don't know why Google didn't find this when I first searched for the R-30-S chassis (perhaps it was just listed) but I lifted these excellent photos from Grand Canyon Tube Audio's website. Same concept as Fisher 610-ST: AM/FM tuner, STEREO pre-amp and mono PP EL-84 output. Intended to be paired with Fisher's matching 'Stereo Companion' B-channel speaker/amplifier combo housing their nifty 30-A monoblock amp chassis. The nice thing about the R-30-S is that it appears to have the normal 4-8-16 ohm transformer taps instead of the 610-ST's whacky single 2.5 ohm tap.

The Fisher R-30-S:

 

[TheRed1]

Darn... I looked all through this thread and still cant find the Fisher console that used to keep me rockin' at my parents home when I was a kid. My mom won it in a contest... I think from Sears. From what I remember it was probably either very late 60's or early 70's. It used to shock me from time to time and the record player made my RUSH "all the worlds a stage" album sound magical. And because I loved that thing so much... it made me a tube junkie. That thing would get LOUD!!! :thmbsp:

Jerry, have you tried the links to Fisher's late 60s catalogs here?

While I hate to disillusion you, I have to tell you that Fisher's last tube consoles were from 1966. All their late 60s and 70s consoles would have been completely solid-state.

 

[jerryd]

Jerry, have you tried the links to Fisher's late 60s catalogs here?

While I hate to disillusion you, I have to tell you that Fisher's last tube consoles were from 1966. All their late 60s and 70s consoles would have been completely solid-state.

Thanks for the link, although I still haven't seen the console that I used as a kid. I could be off on the years... I was a little kid, but I do remember it was tube because I robbed them for my guitar amps many years later when my parents decided it was an eye sore and set it outside for the junk man. Yikes! and if I remember correctly I also pulled out a pair of jenson speakers? maybe 12's? at that time I may have been around 15 years old. after looking at all these consoles, they start to look similar. I have seen a couple that are close and very well could be what I had. it was a long long time ago. :thmbsp: I'll have another before too long. that's one of my goals for 2010. Thanks for all the great info in this thread!

 

[jonboy55]

I have an opportunity to buy another (my third) Fisher Custom Electra II.

The owner says the turntable turns (which I could care less about) but the radio is dead and doesn't even light up.

Here is a picture of the chassis. It is supposed to have 2 EL37 tubes as the outputs but it looks to me like someone put in 6L6's. Does anyone have any opinion on this?

The cabinet is in very nice condition.

The total cost would be about $75.00.

Thank you.

Jon

 

[larryderouin]

I have an opportunity to buy another (my third) Fisher Custom Electra II.

The owner says the turntable turns (which I could care less about) but the radio is dead and doesn't even light up.

Here is a picture of the chassis. It is supposed to have 2 EL37 tubes as the outputs but it looks to me like someone put in 6L6's. Does anyone have any opinion on this?

The cabinet is in very nice condition.

The total cost would be about $75.00.

Thank you.

Jon

Jon; TDSL is showing the 6L6 as a sub for the EL-37 with different rating or performance. 6L6 is a slight bit stouter, so a bit more strain on the power supply and possibly different ratings on BIAS, plate and cathode voltages IIRC. Could be the lights are burned out? By the turntable turns, does he mean by hand or under power???

If this was completely running, I'd think hard on $75. But with it questionable, no chance on anything over $40. but that's me.

You wouldn't happen to have an extra dial face laying around somewhere would ya? Mine is cracked on the 65 Electra.

LArry