mellotrongirl
1961 Saba 300 Automatic 10
I'll have to upload a YouTube video of the automatic tuning in progress...amazing the way it inches along to lock in on a station and stays with it--even when it starts to drift. The magic eye doesn't even flutter, and this is most sensitive EM84 bar I've ever seen. When I first saw it come on, I thought it was flickering along to the music. A lot of 50's sets have a real drift problem...especially with the cramped SW bands. The stretched out segmentation of the Zenith T/O I have doesn't fare so bad at all, however.
What a beautiful set. The classic odors of vintage shellac, wood and lubricating oils are so aromatic; upon opening the box it was diligently packed in, the thin incense wafted through the house. A real contemporary continental design for its day nearly a half-century ago...trading the clutter of the cities and countries listing on the dialplate with more Danish style streamlining and lighter woodgrains. And to make it all full circle--this was an eBay experience actually better then the description.
I really like the action of the depression keys. Smooth and engaging, without the KA-CHUNK and the fear of a reciprocal key popping off its stem up into the air.
EXTRA! How about some SABA history?
SABA (Schwatzwalder Apparate Bau Anstalt) actually began business making cuckoo clocks and music boxes in 1839. SABA didn't begin building radios until 1923, Many of their radios were named after cities in the Black Forest, hence the flagship model was named Freiberg (the capital of Baden Wurttingberg), and others of course were Freudenstadt, Meersburg, and down the line. The company in the late 1950's also diversified into making tape recorders, television sets, consoles, and even a four channel monophonic mixer. SABA went out of business in the 1980's. This information was culled from notes via e-mail and on-line from Frank Karner and Thomas J. Wiegand.
1961 Saba 300 Automatic 10
I'll have to upload a YouTube video of the automatic tuning in progress...amazing the way it inches along to lock in on a station and stays with it--even when it starts to drift. The magic eye doesn't even flutter, and this is most sensitive EM84 bar I've ever seen. When I first saw it come on, I thought it was flickering along to the music. A lot of 50's sets have a real drift problem...especially with the cramped SW bands. The stretched out segmentation of the Zenith T/O I have doesn't fare so bad at all, however.
What a beautiful set. The classic odors of vintage shellac, wood and lubricating oils are so aromatic; upon opening the box it was diligently packed in, the thin incense wafted through the house. A real contemporary continental design for its day nearly a half-century ago...trading the clutter of the cities and countries listing on the dialplate with more Danish style streamlining and lighter woodgrains. And to make it all full circle--this was an eBay experience actually better then the description.
I really like the action of the depression keys. Smooth and engaging, without the KA-CHUNK and the fear of a reciprocal key popping off its stem up into the air.
EXTRA! How about some SABA history?
SABA (Schwatzwalder Apparate Bau Anstalt) actually began business making cuckoo clocks and music boxes in 1839. SABA didn't begin building radios until 1923, Many of their radios were named after cities in the Black Forest, hence the flagship model was named Freiberg (the capital of Baden Wurttingberg), and others of course were Freudenstadt, Meersburg, and down the line. The company in the late 1950's also diversified into making tape recorders, television sets, consoles, and even a four channel monophonic mixer. SABA went out of business in the 1980's. This information was culled from notes via e-mail and on-line from Frank Karner and Thomas J. Wiegand.