1 of 1- gopher
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Offline - From: charleston, west virginia usa
- Registered: February 8, 2019
- Posts: 380
soundwagon
i was watching pawn stars the other night, and someone brought in a soundwagon. never seen or heard of anything like it. pretty sure it was from the late 60's or turn of the 70's. looked like a miniature, toy vw bus (i think it even had the vw logo on the front). it was a freakin' record player!
instead of putting the disc on a turntable, you laid it on a flat surface and put the bus at the top of the record. the bus then somehow drove around the record to the runoff groove, playing it. beats me how it worked, but it must have been battery operated though that wasn't mentioned. since it was on tv i couldn't really tell, but i can't imagine the sound was too great, but it obviously did have some sort of speaker. also, i was so flabbergasted that i failed to notice the size of the disc they tested it on (yes, it still worked). no idea if it only played 45's or lp's, if the speed could be changed, as that wasn't mentioned either.
anybody else ever had, seen, or heard of this gizmo, or anything else like it? being that it was a vw bus, i'm guessing that it was marketed as a novelty for the hippie set as much as a toy for kids (who else i can't imagine, unless it was a vw corporate or dealer promo device) but in any case, apparently the company didn't last long and there weren't many produced according to the seller, who said he was involved with the company which manufactured the soundwagon.
Last edited by gopher (July 29, 2020 4:15 am)
- Taz
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- Posts: 266
Re: soundwagon
Yeah, I remember ‘em. They are called record runners There were several different styles, the VW van was popular at the time so they made some in that style. There were other vehicles too. Google sound wagon, you’ll find pictures and video. If you want one, there are several on ebay. I hope Pawn Stars didn’t give much for it.
- Taz
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- Posts: 266
Re: soundwagon
Found one that is just a box, has speaker and Bluetooth for $39.00
Rock out to your favorite records anywhere with RokBlok, the world's first, infinitely portable, wireless record player. RokBlok plays your vinyl by lightly riding on top of it. Listen to your tunes with its built-in speaker or wirelessly connect RokBlok to your favorite Bluetooth headphones or speakers for a bigger sound.
- gopher
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- From: charleston, west virginia usa
- Registered: February 8, 2019
- Posts: 380
Re: soundwagon
Taz wrote:
Yeah, I remember ‘em. They are called record runners There were several different styles, the VW van was popular at the time so they made some in that style. There were other vehicles too. Google sound wagon, you’ll find pictures and video. If you want one, there are several on ebay. I hope Pawn Stars didn’t give much for it.
thanks! didn't think about googling them. i did, and i found one site which also called them "vinyl killers." apparently they do not tread lightly upon grooves.
i sent some info about the wagons to a friend, who interestingly wonders whether, if you turned it around, would it play "revolution #9" in reverse at the correct speed? hmm... good question.
Last edited by gopher (July 31, 2020 2:17 am)
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Thread Starter- Taz
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- Registered: December 30, 2018
- Posts: 266
Re: soundwagon
Yeah, I remember ‘em. They are called record runners There were several different styles, the VW van was popular at the time so they made some in that style. There were other vehicles too. Google sound wagon, you’ll find pictures and video. If you want one, there are several on ebay. I hope Pawn Stars didn’t give much for it.
thanks! didn't think about googling them. i did, and i found one site which also called them "vinyl killers." apparently they do not tread lightly upon grooves.
i sent some info about the wagons to a friend, who interestingly wonders whether, if you turned it around, would it play "revolution #9" in reverse at the correct speed? hmm... good question.
Here’s a youtube video that shows the underneath. Like liberals and NASCAR drivers, it only goes left.
- It's me Karen
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- Registered: December 30, 2018
- Posts: 381
Re: soundwagon
Yeah, I remember ‘em. They are called record runners There were several different styles, the VW van was popular at the time so they made some in that style. There were other vehicles too. Google sound wagon, you’ll find pictures and video. If you want one, there are several on ebay. I hope Pawn Stars didn’t give much for it.
thanks! didn't think about googling them. i did, and i found one site which also called them "vinyl killers." apparently they do not tread lightly upon grooves.
i sent some info about the wagons to a friend, who interestingly wonders whether, if you turned it around, would it play "revolution #9" in reverse at the correct speed? hmm... good question.
Here’s a youtube video that shows the underneath. Like liberals and NASCAR drivers, it only goes left.
Insightful question about Revolution #9, and the left joke was spot on! lol