Seeburg 1000

The only reason why I know about these things is because there was a diner in my hometown that had a working one and played it the entire day.

What Is It?

The Seeburg 1000, introduced in 1959, is a device that played 16rpm vinyl records and was designed for offices, lounges, restaurants, and other places that "easy listening music" was enjoyed. The machine was basically a jukebox that did not require money to operate. Rather, it played its 28 records, front and back, continuously. These records contained at least 1000 songs, allowing for a business to have a week's worth of music that almost never repeated. Later expansion packs (such as Christmas music, Pop music updates, and other special occaisions) of records were available from Seeburg.

It was a boxy contraption, slightly smaller than a microwave oven. It contained 28 records that were spun at 16rpm. Purchasers of the Seeburg 1000 had their choice of mono or stereo models.

History

The Seeburg corporation built all sorts of jukeboxes. They also built machines that would play music, non-stop, for other industries. Consider Seeburg as a precursor to Muzak.

Eventually, Seeburg went out of business in the 1980s due to bankrupcy. Since the company had several divisions (including pinball machines), the company was split off into several divisions and sold to other companies. Today, the whole Seeburg 1000 catalog of music is available online in several formats:

Today

Evidently, there is high demand for these vintage record players. Ebay is full of people selling the device along with records and replacement parts. Also, there are several several forums that offer advice on fixing and using your Seeburg 1000 if you happen to have one.

Seeburg 1000 is a part of a series on Music

Seeburg 1000

What Is It?

History

Today

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