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Fisher President VIII - Gutted

MCMNovice

MCMNovice

New Member
Hi all! I'm here because I have no idea what I'm doing and want to learn more!
I am a mid century addict and when I was in the ReStore yesterday, I happened upon an amazingly elegant stereo console. It had been gutted but thought it would make a fantastic tv stand. ReStore folks loaded it up; and my husband and I pulled many muscles unloading the ungodly heavy piece from the Suburban. I love research, so I googled the name on the tag. Google lead me to you kind folks.

Yes, it's a Fisher President VIII, in modern/walnut. Yes, it's been defiled and all its electronic goodies have been mercilessly removed :'( If I even wanted to entertain piecing it back together, what am I dealing with here? I'd love to have a turntable in my console. I don't even know where to start. I know zilch about audio but I can recognize vintage high-end furniture from a mile away. How many thousands of dollars could this cost me to make whole? Is it sacrilege to piece together parts from different systems?

https://imgur.com/a/pciu7NO
pciu7NO
 
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Hard to say. The electronics in the President and all consoles were basically stock units but marked with the console name on the faceplate. Add more if you also want the correct reel to reel. Then there's speakers. They also had adjustable crossovers with the dials on the back marked "presence" and "brilliance".

Someone else will chime in. These consoles are amazing when complete and getting rarer every day. Getting it whole would be a rewarding experience...
 
Looks like a cool cabinet - was that at the local ReStore?

I think if it was me, I'd load it with good vintage pieces,
maybe not Fisher, but things that sound good and make you happy.

Pres-Cab.jpg
 
If anything is worth putting more than you could ever get back out of it... it is a Fisher President console.

Are the speakers at least in it?

There are many folks here at AK that could only dream of finding what you just did. I would love to be tasked with restoring this.

It would cost a lot, but you could do it a little at a time. Ebay would be the place, maybe here with bartertown. You could certainly put temporary pieces in it to get you making some noise right now.

Your eye deserves congratulations! You picked a Presidential prestigious piece!
 
larryderouin said:
Just now(2115/9:15pm/or for you unfortunates who can't read an analog Watch/Clock.....MICKEYS Big Hand is on the 3, and his little hand is on the 9). POPPING Nitro as I type.....WOW!
Click to expand...

That would be Chicago and North Western Railway time. If you are on Amtrak, the time is "Thursday".
 
biscuithead said:
If anything is worth putting more than you could ever get back out of it... it is a Fisher President console.

Are the speakers at least in it?

There are many folks here at AK that could only dream of finding what you just did. I would love to be tasked with restoring this.

It would cost a lot, but you could do it a little at a time. Ebay would be the place, maybe here with bartertown. You could certainly put temporary pieces in it to get you making some noise right now.

Your eye deserves congratulations! You picked a Presidential prestigious piece!
Click to expand...

I haven't had a chance to give it a closer inspection yet. I went out of town for the weekend and have been itching for some free time to open it up. I am so grateful to hear everyone's opinions about this. My husband was a little iffy on restoring it, but I think you guys convinced him that it's something worth our time and effort.
 
Brilliant move rescuing this beautiful console. All to often we see these gutted here. :oops:

There are a lot of knowledgable folks that could guide you through getting back to something close to original. Such a shame everything's gone, as others have mentioned there were some unique elements of these that aren't found on standard standalone components. That being said you certainly could get it back looking and sounding as well as it used to, albeit not quite original. You have found a real rarity there.

And a big welcome to Audkokarma! Hope you stick around and keep us filled in on your progress, it would be well worth bringing back no matter how much time you need to take.

Thanks for sharing...
 
This may be a silly question, but how do I find replacement control panels that are the same dimensions? I see them in all different shapes and sizes... What keywords should I be searching on eBay? A certain part number? Keep in mind, I KNOW NOTHING, so if you're worried about dumbing it down too much, you can't! lol
 
Really drives me nuts that people will "upcycle" consoles by gutting everything of value out of them particularly when the console they're gutting is worth significantly more than the end result.
 
OutlawSun said:
Really drives me nuts that people will "upcycle" consoles by gutting everything of value out of them particularly when the console they're gutting is worth significantly more than the end result.
Click to expand...

I can relate. I see so many "upcycled" (chalk painted) mid century furniture that absolutely destroys the value. And chalk paint is a nightmare to remove, so restoring a piece takes 10 x more effort than if they had just left it alone. I've seen pcs worth $800+ (in the mcm world) that can't be unloaded for $200 after their hack paint job.
 
MCMNovice said:
This may be a silly question, but how do I find replacement control panels that are the same dimensions? I see them in all different shapes and sizes... What keywords should I be searching on eBay? A certain part number? Keep in mind, I KNOW NOTHING, so if you're worried about dumbing it down too much, you can't! lol
Click to expand...

Per the literature that Dswanskey posted the link to, the original equipment for your console would have been:

400-CX-2 preamplifier (make sure you are sitting down when you search this and see the price)

R-200 Tuner

SA-300-B Power Amplifier

Turntable: Miracord 10

Reel to Reel: Ampex 1250

Bringing this beauty back to what it was would involve a lot of $ and extremely likely everything would also need to be serviced before being put into use.

Perhaps the best route might be to purchase a refurbished Fisher Integrated Amplifier and Tuner to fill those spots and then select your turntable of choice. If the speakers are intact then you would likely have a pretty nice sounding setup with a lot less complexity and cash outlay.

Their are quite a few folks here that can comment in more detail than I, but I would suspect that a Fisher Integrated could be mounted in the spot once occupied by the preamplifier and a Fisher Tuner place in the same spot as before.

This would at least get you up and running at a far less substantial cost and (in my humble opinion) still be a very attractive piece of furniture and great sounding audio.

Best of luck with wherever you decide to go with it...
 
Sandstrom said:
Per the literature that Dswanskey posted the link to, the original equipment for your console would have been:

400-CX-2 preamplifier (make sure you are sitting down when you search this and see the price)

R-200 Tuner

SA-300-B Power Amplifier

Turntable: Miracord 10

Reel to Reel: Ampex 1250
Click to expand...
Thanks! I looked through the literature, and was confused as to which terms meant what, so your direction clarifies things. I'll probably hold off on dropping $4k on it.... lol. I thrift shop a LOT so hopefully someday I'll come across another Fisher with the same insides. Is there a way to cross-reference other consoles that used the same equipment? Or is that not a thing?

Let's say I don't buy the exact equipment that it had.... How do I find pieces with comparable functions? If I understand correctly, I'm looking for a preamp, tuner, and power amp?
 
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