How to deal with Filben maestro

[daijiiwata]

Hello everyone.
I would like to hear everyone's findings.



I have met the man who owns Filben Maestro.

I haven't finished my analysis of this Juke yet,
but is there any way to get parts, etc. if there are any missing parts damaged?

Are Filben jukes rare to begin with?

[Ron Rich]

Very rare here ! Ron Rich

[Hildegard]

Hi Daiji,

Nice to meet you here as well.
Also in Europe Filben jukeboxes are rare.

So far it was said that only 950 were built at all. Regarding our database for serial numbers it might have been about 1100.

Finding parts might be difficult.

Hildegard

[daijiiwata]

Hi Ron sensei and Hildegard sensei.

I am very happy to talk with Hildegarde sensei here as well.

Here is what I know now
(1) The nameplate has already been removed and lost. So I could not recognize the model number or even the serial number.
(2) I think it is lucky that it was spared from rust and serious metal corrosion.
(3) There seems to be a red cover (marked "Maestro") on the top, but in this Juke, it has been replaced by a silver grille-like one. I could not find a similar one on the Internet. Possibly an EVEN RARER model?

I'm a little lost after receiving both of your responses. haha
My biggest concern is missing parts. On the other hand, if it is not missing, we may be able to make progress.

I am very surprised that there was a man in Japan who had this.
The man claims that the Maestro looks like the face of an express train from the golden age of America, and that he fell in love with it and bought it.
However, he is not aware of the effect of the lighting because he has not actually turned it on.
We expect the man will be even more amazed when this project is completed.

[Hildegard]

Hi Daiji,

If the ID plate is missing, it is sad. But of course this item is not as important as other units like amp, power supply, mechanism etc. and cabinet parts.
Also that the condition itself ssems to be ok is very good.
I doubt that the silver grill-like top part was originally installed in the Filben. Maybe original red plastic with "Maestro" logo broke or got lost one day.

You are right, the design is like a locomotive. It is often said that Raymond Loewy, a famous industrial designer, designed this model. His motto was that design and function need to go hand-in-hand. But so far I - and more important THE jukebox history expert in Denmark - could never find such a proof. I even read a book about Loewy and his designs, but neither Filben nor jukeboxes were mentioned.

If parts are missing I would always check ebay.com and maybe also ebay.co.uk.
Also original parts dealer like Bill Butterfield. Place wanted ads wherever you can, because finding parts will not be easy.
If you can follow Facebook (I cannot), maybe there are owners too.

I am curious how this your project will go.

Kind regards - Hildegard

[Ron Rich]

Hi All,
Here, in the USA, if missing the ID plate, it usually means the phonograph has been stolen, at some point in time-
Ron Rich

[daijiiwata]

Thanks to both of you for your thoughtful advice.

As Hildegard sensei said, I assume it is missing regarding the red front panel.
The grille that was installed instead is moderately familiar, and if you don't know the truth, you can't tell, and it's rather cool to be honest lol.
I may therefore look for original parts, but I guess it depends on the owner's determination. I don't seem to be too unhappy with the current grille.

Ron sensei's opinion about the nameplate was very informative.
My experience so far is that I have indeed seen some Juke without the nameplate in Japan.
And unfortunately, most of the Japanese buyers are probably unaware of the true reason for the absence of the nameplate.
**Maybe the seller knows. (whisper)

For example, in the case of automobiles, there is a convention to check and scrutinize the nameplate and serial number for various reasons such as safety and smuggling, but I guess they are not so imaginative when it comes to jukeboxes.

I will continue to gather information.

[Ron Rich]

There was another "reason" for a missing ID tag--which I had forgotten about till now--
During the 50's Seeburg ( and maybe others ?) offered a "trade-in allowance" for used phono's. What was supposed to happen, was the operator would bring in an older used "complete" used phono, the Distributor was supposed to destroy it, removing the ID tag for return to Seeburg, for the allowance. I've been told, that in many cases, only the tag got returned to a distributor--
The distrib. I worked for took in all, as we had a standing sale for the"guts" --these were sold to another country as "junk"-- cabinets were destroyed here, by the purchaser. Ron Rich

[Hildegard]

Daiji, do you know how long this Filben already belongs to the owner? Maybe he knows why it is missing? An import reason maybe?
These days jukeboxes without an ID plate can be found once in a while.
Sometimes none knows the reason.
Sometimes it got lost while restoration.
Sometimes it was "forgotten" to apply after restoration - and when looking closer at this jukebox one sees that it is not original anymore (mixed up with parts from other later versions or got "re-designed" by the so called restorer or ....
Mostly in UK we saw AMIs H or I converted from 100 selction to 200 selection models. After that the ID plate doesn't fit the jukebox anylonger.

Hildegard