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BIG news in the little world of Mr Gosh!

I have been asked more than once what's with that third tonearm? Why did they do that? It was built when? I was recently contacted by the son of George K. Culbertson, the man who made the Fidelitone, what I call the Ancient Mix-Master. George passed away at the age 95, in December of 2011. His son Roy, was able to read him a gushing letter I wrote, thanking him for making these and telling him about using it on my radio show, and in theatres and clubs. He seemed as excited as I was for the contact, and to know that one of his machines is still in use, cherished, and draws a crowd.

Thanks to the generous nature of George's family who shared some images of old ads and an article with George himself from 1939! Here is a video with some of the images from these ads.

Click below for a PDF document of 25 images.

The Ancient Mix Master has 2 turntables and 3 tone arms. The center tone arm can play on either turntable, while each turntable's tone arm can be dropped as well. The resulting sound(s) from the Ancient Mix Master are multiple samples - 2 - from one record and one from the other. I will sometimes use either or both an ECHO PLEX and a ROLAND SPACE ECHO; both analog tape loop machines.

The pdf below is from a pamphlet from 1942. It will take you through the basic steps of making one, and what kind of music to play for a particular scene.

One of my favorite descriptions of a performance was: "This sounds like the cartoon music in my dreams." This video is from March 2012 and is a good example of the monkeyshine you can pull off when you have three arms.

Below are pictures and descriptions of the Ancient Mix Master. Thanks to Jon Nelson of Some Assembly Required for the idea of this helpful chart.

Item Description Function
A Fidelitone The Name of the particular unit. Made by the George Culbertson Co., Minneapolis, 1952.
B Micro" Input and control Microphone input jack and gain control.
C Volume and Mute controls The Black knobs are the volume control for each tone arm: Left, Center and Right. The Red buttons are supposed to mute the signal.
D Power Switch Turns on the power to the built in amplifier, motors and light.
E Motor control switches. One for each turn table, left and right.
F 45 RPM Adaptors One for each turn table, left and right.
G Speed Controls Three speeds: 33 1/3, 45, and 78 RPM. One for each turn table, left and right.
H Middle tone arm Inspired madness. Capable of playing on either turn table with or without the other tone arms.
I Power cord. Provides power once plugged in. The cord from the center of the table goes up to a small light with an on/off switch.