Columbia GP-3C Cornelius Skelton Ape



In 1995, there was what the Japanese refer to as a ‘boom’ in the popularity of DJ’s. Many young people who had never seen vinyl before (due to the blanket saturation of CD’s) were finding a new fascination in buying and listening to music in an analogue format. This new interest in turn spawned a resurgence in the production of vinyl by some of the better informed record companies.
Seeing an opportunity here, Yoshiaki Fukushima, the founder of Vacuum Records Japan approached Nippon Columbia (Denon) who produced the Columbia GP-3 portable record player. After many discussions, Vacuum managed to convince Columbia to agree to a business partnership which would secure the future of the GP-3 and allow the more fashion conscious youth the chance to listen to music on a player with style, personality and interesting crackly mono sounds.
As a result of the outstanding success of this initial venture, 
Vacuum was able to begin work on some of their own designs. 
Initially the Cornelius Skeleton Ape model, developed with Keigo 
Oyamada (Cornelius) and Nigo founder and owner of A Bathing Ape (BAPE) which included a flexi-disc containing special unreleased tracks. This model was produced in a limited quantity of 3000, which were specifically targeted for sale in interior shops, boutiques and music shops, but not regular audio stores.
They sold out in no time and earned Vacuum high acclaim in over 
fifty magazines. Fresh off the boat, this one is no. 2909/3000. Definitely a keeper, just sharing here, because sharing is caring!






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