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Now for some really obscure shit

ToyChest_Universal_Limiter_1973Above: the TOY CHEST brand ‘Universal Limiter,’ a FET limiter produced in 1973.

Today at PS dot con: some interesting+bizarro seventies pro audio kit that caught my eye; i can find little to no reference to any of this stuff online.  Anyone?

Array_12_Monitor_1972

Above: The ARRAY Co. model 12 studio monitor of 1972, which SEEMS similar in principle to the classic BOSE 901, except that…  all of the twelve drivers in the ARRAY fire forward.  I can’t imagine what these must have sounded like but i would love to know!

ShowCo_Disco_speakers_1977Above: the Showco Pyramid model 1000 loudspeaker. 

SoundGenesis_TascamLimiters_1975And, at left: Sound Genesis Corp, which was primarily a retail operation, AFAICT, offered these buss (i am guessing?) limiters as aftermarket add-ons for the early Tascam mixing consoles!  Very interesting.  Did any one else make similar drop-in aftermarket strips for Tascam boards?  Circa 1975.

Categories
Connecticut Audio History

1973: The Mark Levinson Pre Amp

Mark_Levinson_Preamp_1973No account of CT audio-history could be complete without Mark Levinson.  Above: a 1973 advert for his first product, the LNP-2 pre amplifier.  Although it cost $9,050 (yup….) in 2013-dollars, a unit recently sold on eBay for $4500.… so not a terrible investment overall.

Click here to download (not my link…) Barry Willis’ account of the career of the CT audio legend.  It’s worth a read.  Starting with…  age 22, he built the console for Woodstock.

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Manufacturers Uncategorized

Forgotten 70s Pro Audio maker Gately Electronics

Gately_Stereo_Mixer_Briefcase_1970Above: Gately’s Stereo Briefcase Mixer circa 1970.

Gately Electronics was a Pennsylvania-based pro-audio manufacturing and importation/ distribution operation which seems to have operated between 1968 and 1975.  I often noticed adverts for their EM7 mixer in the old AES journals; the EM7 had a sort-of Pultec or maybe LANG vibe, and I was curious enough that when I found one AS-IS for $100 on eBay I went for it.  You can read my account of restoring my EM7 and its attendent EQ7 outboard equalizer accessory at this link.  The short version: it is a very well-built machine, and I was therefore surprised that Gately seems to be completely forgotten in the pro audio world.  Anyhow, I noticed that a pair of AS-IS Gately 1800 compressor cards went for an absurd amount of money on eBay last month, so I figured that maybe the world does need to know.  I therefore present: every piece of period documentation that I could find on Gately Electronics, its products, and operations.  Enjoy, and let us know if you are using any of this kit nowadays.

Gately_ProKitMixer_1972 Moms_Wholesome_Audio_Mixer_1973 Gately_ProKit_2_1974 Gately_PK6_EQ6_1972 Gately_C1616_Console_1975 Gately_ad_1974 Gately_1974_Micromixer

Above, from top to bottom: Gately ProKit 6-channel mixer (available as kit or assembled!), Gately’s Moms Wholesome Audio live PA board, Gately ProKit 2 mixer, and Gately EQ-6 and EK-6 equalizer and reverb accessories for the Pro-Kit (confused yet?).  Below that, John Yoder of Hope Recordings recommends the Gately C1616 studio console.  Next is an advert announcing Gately’s distribution of Ortofon lathes and Schoeps mics (yes please). Finally we see the Gately Micromixer, which appears to perhaps be the same as Moms Wholesome Audio Mixer?

Gately_EM7_Mixer_1969

Gately_EQ7_EQ_1969

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Gately_Em7s_1971

Gately_PEQ7_1971

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Above: the Gately EM7 and EQ7, as described in my earlier article, followed by the subsequent updated versions EM7s and PEQ7.  The PEQ7 seems to have exchanged th fixed hi-shelf control of the EQ7 for a five-frequency high bell curve EQ.  Low frequency control is presumably still a shelf-type.   I can’t find any other info on the ES-7 echo unit.

In 1974 a writer from DB (I imagine Woram or Zide; no credit is indicated) traveled to Gately’s Philadelphia-area facility.

You can download the account of their trip at this link: Gately_DB_Feb74

Gately_Factory_1974_2Gately_Factory_1974If there are any Gately alums out there, drop us a line; and if anyone out there is using any of this Gately kit, please let us know your thoughts.  I have yet to use my EM7 and EQ7 on a production, but at some point I hope to be able to do a shoot-out versus some better-known contemporary units such as API and Neve.

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From PS dot com reader J. Roberts:

“I have a Gately Prokit II that I bought from Bob Todrank back around 1976. Bob had one of the first audio businesses in Berry Hill.

The mixer still works, no repairs ever, factory wired, I think it may be something like serial # 101w, but I will have to look and see. I kept a search on ebay for Gately and finally something surfaced… an original manual for my mixer.

I like that mixer because it is simple, no eq or anything to mess up, just set levels and pan. Interesting that the headphone out has no volume control, but I bought an old pair of Koss with faders just to use with that mixer. It looks to have very high quality components.  I do not know about ICs, wondering if the ones in there are ok or should be upgraded.  Does not have the output transformer option either.  In a day or two I plan to feed a Coopersound micpre into the line ins and see what I get.  I guess I should lay down some tracks and make another classical guitar LP, as I did back around 1978. Mastered at NRP by Larry Boden. Very fun times.”

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Uncategorized

Obscure Mechanical Reverbs of the 70s

MasterRoom_reverb_1976 Quad8_RV10_Reverb_1973 Sennheiser_CV571_Reverb_1970If you’ve been reading this website for a while, you will know that I really dig old spring reverb units.  At Gold Coast Recorders we have an Orban 111b, a SoundWorkshop 242B, a a DIY’d mono tube unit based on the classic Fender tube 3-knob, and we recently added a mod’d Pioneer RS-101 stereo tube reverb to the lineup.  In addition, I use a built-out Fisher Space Expander in my lil home studio.  But there is always more out there, and ain’t that true.   Above: the Master Room series C, the Quad-8 RV-10, and the Sennheiser (!!!) CV-571.  Anyone using these units for music production these days?  Drop us a line and weigh in on ’em.

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Uncategorized

Technics ‘Professional’ Audio Line of the 1970s

Technics_Pro_intro_ad_19771977: Matsushita’s TECHNICS division announce their line of rack-mountable prosumer audio equipment.  I rarely come across this stuff; they must not have sold too many of these.  By 1979 the line consisted of the RSM-85 cassette deck, SE-9060 ‘DC-to-100k’ power amp, SH-9010 graphic EQ (with +/- one-octave center-adjust!), ST-908 Tuner, and the absurd RS-9900US cassette deck, which featured independent transport and EQ/amp chassis.

Technics_ST9038_tuner_1978 Technics_SH9010_EQ_1978 Technics_SE_9060_1977 Technics_RSM85mk2_1979 Technics_RSM85_1978 Technics_RS9900US_Tape_DeckI really, really want one of those RS-M85 tape decks.  They seem to go for about $200 on eBay (when confirmed operational).  Anyone using of these nowadays?

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Uncategorized

Neve Consoles of the 1970s

Neve_1975Neve_8014_1973 RCA_Neve_1972 Neve_Custom_Console_1971 Neve_Console_Lineup_1974 Neve_BCM_10_1970Above: Neve 8014, 8036, BCM 10, et al circa the early to mid 1970s.  Neve’s US operation  was based in Bethel CT for many years; I grew up in Bethel, but I can’t recall them sponsoring any little-league teams.

Categories
Recording Studio History

ADM Console built for Fine Recording, INC

ADR_Console_FineRecording_1970

In the account of his folk’s FINE RECORDING, INC., operation, Tom Fine mentioned the custom ADM console that was installed at the end of the 1960s.  I stumbled across a period trade-ad announcing this installation and add it here to the stack.  For the telling of the whole F.R.I. story, click here.

Categories
Early Electronic Music

1970: When Wendy Was Walter

WendyWasWalter_1970_DolbyShortly before successful composer Walter Carlos enacted a major life-change, he appeared in this advert for Dolby noise-reduction hardware.

Categories
Pro Audio Archive

When they were young: introducing a few audio classics

API_52_Intro_1970 Shure_Sm58_1970 U47_fet_introAd Urei_LA3A_intro_1970Circa 1970: The API 512, Shure SM58, Neumann FET 47, and Urei LA-3A all have got something to prove to you.

Categories
Recording Studio History

February is 70’s Month At Preservation Sound Dot Com

SpectrumStudio_SantaMonica_1977Ah the 1970s: that in-between-time which spanned the earthy-idealism and radical upheavals of the 1960s with the slick techno-consumerist-complacency of the 1980s.  Having spent most of the decade as an unfertilzed egg I can’t really offer any first-hand account, but I think we can agree that this at least holds true in the popular imagination.  Media critics often use the term ‘incoherent’ to describe the texts that come from this time period, meaning that there is often very faulty logic revealed when the binary signifiers within the texts are mapped out and correlated.  The 70s saw the ascension of Asian technology, New Hollywood, and Rock-Music-As-Industry. Rock-into-punk, soul-into-disco, and transistors into everything.

People tell me that I am obsessed with the 1970s.  Now, I am not consciously aware of any particular bias that I have towards this time period (or its cultural products), but ain’t it true that we often see ourselves very differently than others see us.  Psychologists call this The Problem Of The Differential Fit.  NEways…  Here’s some photos of 1970’s recording-studio-dreamlands to get ya started.   Man could you imagine going to work in one of these crazy, lurid dream-factories everyday?  Amazing.  The lights, colors, the mirrors, the supergraphics…   Much more to come so stay tuned.   (btw – photo attributions refer only to the image directly above the text – the other images, i have no idea).1975

Above: unknown studio circa 1970

BellSound_Hollywood_1970Above: Bell Sound Santa MonicaCapriconStudio_Macon_1974Capricorn Studio, Macon GA

Fantasy_1980Fantasy Studio, San Francisco Kendun_Records_1974 SoundWest_DanDiesgo_1980_isos

Above: Sound West San Diegostudio_dreams_1971_2 Studio_Dreams_1971 Studio_dreams_1975 Studio_Dreams_1976 Studio_Dreams_1981 StudioDreams_1971_3