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Sunday, January 23, 2011

Refugees

6 comments:

  1. If you've never gotten to use a Galaxie DeLuxe before, I think you will be very pleased with it. It's my favorite SCM of the post-Silent-Super era.

    But...does that have a 12" platen? It looks a little longer than usual, and I see two Changeable Type keytops, which were usually reserved for models with the longer carriages. The 12" model usually went by the Galaxie Twelve name, while the 10" was DeLuxe.

    Word verification: thaft: when you discover that the back end of your boat has been stolen during the night.

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  2. cool! my goodwill seems to have dried up lately. that's actually a good thing.

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  3. Yes, the Galaxie DeLuxe has a 12" platen, and all the bells and whistles. Serial number 6MLB-130282.

    The Sterling (6MSE232548H) was formerly owned by the Bartz family, as an address label retrieved from its belly tells me.

    Both machines were serviced within the last few years, to judge from the labels they bear from repair shops.

    Many of the SC's I've bought, including these, have masking tape across their back, intended to protect the machine from being scratched when you put it back into its case (a maneuver that has to be done nearly blind). But after a couple of decades, that old masking tape can be worse than scratches.

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  4. Nice finds. Those types of deals are becoming more and more rare it seems. Way to go.

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  5. I've got that Galaxie Deluxe's twin in my workshop. I don't use it often, but when I do, I like its feel.

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  6. 6ML is consistent with all three of my Galaxie Twelves plus one Classic 12. The Galaxie DeLuxes have slightly different prefixes but both are 6[x]2V.

    The two DeVille DeLuxes are K6MA, and the Galaxie Twelves are 6MLC. The DeVille is identical to the Galaxie Twelve; I think they're the same, with the DeVille being rebadged for distribution through K-Mart. I don't know why the DeVilles don't include an "L" in their prefix, as most other SCMs with 12" platens do. If we can assume that the "L" is implied, then we have a sequence of:

    6M[L]A = DeVille
    6MLB = 12" Galaxie DeLuxe
    6MLC = Galaxie Twelve
    6MLE = Classic 12

    Makes one wonder whether there is a 6MLD out there.

    The masking tape, BTW, was put on at the factory. I have a manual instructing the user to remove it as well as tape between the ribbon cover and main body. Obviously, most people left the tape on, as most of my '60s & '70s SCMs retain its petrified remains.

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