J.P. Seeburg began his career producing coin-operated piano players in the early 1900s. He transitioned to eight-selection jukeboxes in 1928. The company produced many successful models in the 1930s, most especially the Symphonia, the world's first light up jukebox and perhaps the most iconic jukebox ever produced. Seeburg made CD-based jukeboxes into the late 1990s, but models from the company's heyday remain a highlight among collectors.
M100A
The "Silver Age" of Seeburg jukeboxes lasted from around 1948 to 1961. The company's revolutionary M100A began the era in 1948. It featured a 100-selection mechanism when most jukeboxes were limited to 20 to 24 selections. The M100A accepted nickels, dimes and quarters and used 50 10- or 12-inch 78 RPM records. Users watched the machine's mechanism change records via a window at the top of the machine, the first of its kind. The M100B of the 1950s used the basis of the M100A's design, but played 45 RPM records.
V200N
Seeburg's 1955 V200N model jukebox played up to 200 selections. Other innovations of the V200N included a dual pricing option and a solid-state Tormat memory. Tormat memory used computer memory cores to keep track of selections that had yet to be played. It also featured musical selection categories such as Hit Tunes, Rhythm and Blues, Folk and Western, All-time Favorites and Classics and Varieties. A VL200 model in 1956 introduced different cabinet and mechanism colors and improved the reliability of the Tormat system.
LPC1
Introduced in 1962, the Seeburg LPC1 jukebox kicked off the company's console design era. This machine hid the record-changing mechanism and played Seeburg's proprietary "Little LPs" -- which played at 33 1/3 RPM -- as well as 45 RPM records. The machine used an Auto-Speed mechanism to sense which sort of record was being played and adjusted the frequency of the motor accordingly. Universal pricing became the standard for all Seeburg jukeboxes with the introduction of the LPC1. Seeburg's LPC1R had the same specifications as the LPC1, but came equipped for remote selections.
LS Series
The LS series began with the introduction of the LS1 in 1967, which utilized a new standard cabinet design. In this desk-like design, the album cover rotated every few seconds behind a clear window. The LS1 featured 160 selections and played 45 or 33 1/3 RPMs via its Auto-Speed function. 1969 saw the introduction of Seeburg's first digital jukebox, the LS3. While the machine kept the same form factor as other LS models, it introduced Seeburg's digital Microlog technology for record selection. This machine also marked a change in the LS color scheme, going to black and gray hues rather than a wood grain color.
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