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Can anyone shed some light on this sudden wave of tassels I've been seeing on phonograph/cabinet keys recently?
It seems. like you see more and more now . Is it a trend? Is there any meaning behind it? I can't recall seeing any machines being displayed with one in the past.

I have wondered the same thing myself. Good question.

To me, the only purpose of a tassel is to make it easier to find a dropped or misplaced key.

52089 wrote:To me, the only purpose of a tassel is to make it easier to find a dropped or misplaced key.

No, the purpose of a tassel is to please a wife who likes tassels and whose approval is needed to adorn the house with furniture that has a crank sticking out the side.

For what it's worth, the key for my C-250 has sported a tassel ever since I got it (the key, that is--an eBay purchase that came to me later than the machine) more than a decade ago. So if it's trend now, I guess I'm a trendsetter? That would be a first!

You won't see any at our home in Albany, Oregon.

We place tassels on all of our phonograph keys. It makes it easy to see from a distance that a key is missing or misplaced. Once I see an empty key hole, I know to keep my eye open for the key. Also, bright colored tassels make it easy to find the missing key, especially if it has fallen to a rug or other surface which is a similar color to the key.

I think it's because some of the machines at Jasper's have tassels and people thought it looks cool.
And yes, I have one on my VV-XVII!

Jerry B. wrote:You won't see any at our home in Albany, Oregon.

Just a matter of taste, I suppose. I've been displaying keys with tassels for over 20 years, and some of my customers in the past have been very specific that I include the tassels when shipping the item, be it a clock, music box or phonograph. My wife has to go buy them every few months to replenish the tassel inventory.

So, Jerry, I guess you'd be horrified that in my house over 100 tassels can be seen at any given time. If you ever plan a visit, we will have a Cuban Tranquilizer (aka "Mojito") to help calm your nerves.

cheers,

Raphael

Raphael's right - it's just a matter of taste. Clearly some folks like the look of tassels on phonographs. Others don't. I used to scratch my head over phonograph tassels, but so many of them have popped up that nowadays my reaction is more of amused detachment. (Why so many big red ones? Wouldn't a small black, maroon, or brown one look better?) Still, it's a reversible fashion with no harm done.

Here's a thread of a couple of years ago on the subject:
http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... ls#p169198

George P.

It's much the same as those obnoxious
"Baby On Board" signs that were on all
cars, dangling from mirrors a few short years ago.

I'll admit that the key tassles do have some
utilitarian function as a sort of prevention
against loosing the key.

However, there is also some of the "monkey see,
monkey do" influence at work here, I think.

Same deal as the very popular pose for cylinder
machine photos advertising machines for sale
that always must have the lid propped up at an angle,
resting on the top of the machine.

Every time I see that, I darn near toss my cookies!