For the first time in nearly 20 years, Sound Leisure has created a jukebox that plays vinyl records.
The prototype vinyl Rocket will get its first showing at the Classic Car show this week at Excel, where the Digital floor-standing Rocket, New Yorker and 1015 received such a positive reaction only a few weeks ago at EAG.
Vinyl is making a spectacular comeback and figures released last year showed that sales of vinyl now make up almost ten per cent of all physical album sales. In the US sales of vinyl are up 38% but the figures are even more impressive in the UK where sales have grown by more than 56% over the past 12 months.
“It was a momentous occasion when we played a record on the prototype machine for the first time,” says Sound Leisure Managing Director Chris Black. “We are officially now the only Jukebox manufacturer in the World to be producing a vinyl Jukebox. As yet there are no prices available and production will not begin until summer, however anyone interested in one of the machines should contact Sound Leisure sales to register their interest.”
The design of the changer mechanism has been a huge task and has involved all the skill and knowledge of Sound Leisure’s in house R&D team. The new vinyl jukebox has been recreated from the cartridge up.
“This has been a project of epic proportions and we are extremely excited about the new 140 selection player mechanism,” stated Chris Black “ It is becoming increasingly difficult in this digital age to find people with the skills and knowledge to be able to recreate some of the components required to manufacture a vinyl-playing jukebox. It is a tribute to the team here in Leeds that this machine has actually become reality, we are looking forward to the summer when the machines go into production.”