Homely Old RCA RGC37L

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by mr_fixer

At last weekend's Nashville VMBRC Radio Swap meet, I found this in a free pile. I first turned up my nose at it, but at closer inspection I noticed that it has a real wood cabinet, not pressed sawdust, not laminate over plywood but real solid maple. I got it home and a filter cap later it has a really good sound. The girlfriend hates its Americana motif. Anyone here know anything about this model, maybe the most valuable RCA ever made, worth Billions of Dollars I'd love pull one over on her to keep her quiet for a while! Logan

I don't know why your girlfriend would "hate" the Americana style of this radio's cabinet. This style of cabinet was very popular about 40 years ago (RCA's "Brindisi" 3-way console entertainment center TV/AM-FM/phono console from 1962 looked something like your radio, at least the legs did), so it must have had a following--at least back then. I have a Zenith K-731 in an Early American cabinet, and like its styling (not to mention the sound) a lot. My C-845 Zenith is in a blonde mahogany cabinet and looks/sounds great as well. These real wood cabinets are very nice additions to any home, not like the radios in plastic cabinets coming from overseas these days. My K731 Zenith sits right on top of the refrigerator in my apartment for all to see--that's how much I like the design of the cabinet. The C845 sits on the oak dresser in my bedroom because the cabinet matches the dresser's finish almost exactly. I understand there is a mahogany veneer underneath that blonde finish, but I wouldn't dream of sanding off the latter to get to the former; the match to my dresser is just too good and I like it too much.