Hasta La Ideas

Many of us born in the ’70s grew up with these Fisher-Price Record Players, which used plastic discs to play music-box-sounding analog music. I was surprised to see they had recently been re-released—and disappointed to learn the new ones aren’t the same as the old, but instead play the music electronically.

Earlier this year a UK-based tinkerer named Fred Murphy got his hands on some of the original units—you’ll see them pop up on eBay now and then—and decided to make his own records. Using a CNC mill and sheets of acrylic, Murphy successfully produced workable discs.

For his first effort, Murphy mapped Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” on one and the “Star Wars” theme on another. Have a listen:

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