Download the 4pp catalog for Technics’ top-end tape deck of the late 70s, the RS-M95:
DOWNLOAD: Technics_M95
A few months back, I was sweatin the Technics RS-M85 of the same era; turns out there was an ever finer deck on offer. Man high-end tape decks were nuts back then. And the best part is that almost none of em work anymore!!!! Truly lost to time. Hey btw we have a really exciting cassette themed video dropping in a few weeks, keep ’em peeled…
Download the original catalogs for the Technics SP-15, SP-10 mk2, SL-1015, and SL-1400 turntables:
DOWNLOAD: TechnicsTTs_1980
I’m listening to some obscure 70s vinyl on an old 1200 as I type this, and I have a very similar heavy-duty vintage JVC unit upstairs; oh the 70s and its direct-drive mania. Pretty cool to see the 1400; I had a 1700 recently that I gave to a friend; the 1400 seems to be sorta a more pro 1700? Anyone?
Download the 6pp 1980 JBL ‘Studio Monitors’ catalog:
DOWNLOAD: JBL_1980_Monitors
Models covered, with text, specs, and photos, include: JBL 4350B, 4311B, 4331B, 4343B, 4313B, 4333B, 4315B, and 4301B speakers systems.
At one point or another I think i’ve come across all of these things in various studios, offices, and edit rooms… as I type this, I am listening to Tangerine Dream’s 1975 live LP ‘RICOCHET’ on a pair of JBL 18Ti, which were their hi-end home bookshelf speaker of the same era… still sound great btw.
Below: the 4350B. And yeah it weighs 261 pounds.
Download the original sales fliers for the BGW 103 and 203 hi-fi preamps:
DOWNLOAD 103:BGW_103
DOWNLOAD 203:BGW_203
BGW was best known for their range of pro-audio power amps, which sold in pretty good numbers if the quantity of still-surviving units is any indication. I had not been aware they also made hi-fi kit. Anyone?
Download the original sales flier for Yamaha’s MC-1X and MX-1S phono cartridges c. 1979:
DOWNLOAD: YamahaMC1x
As I’ve noted before on these pages, it’s pretty absurd how many types of products Yamaha has made over the years. One of my students did a project on the company a few years back and as he reported these dudes have tried it all. For example: at present moment: I have : two Yamaha pianos, a Yamaha analog monosynth, a Yamaha receiver, three pairs of Yamaha studio monitors, and a set of Yamaha electronic drums. But I had not been aware they ever made a foray into audiophile cartridges. Anyone?
Download the original 6pp catalog for the Sony TC-K88B cassette deck c. 1979:
DOWNLOAD: Sony_TC_K88B
Man this is a beautiful piece of engineering. Sony used to kill it. Get back in the game dudes!
Download the original 4pp catalog for the Cybersonics DM-2002 LP lathe:
DOWNLOAD: Cybersonics_DM_2002
At 3’x1′, and 250lbs, perhaps ‘mini’ is not a totally accurate description… Somewhere between a ‘disc recorder’ and a full-fledged Scully or Neumann Lathe and designed for ease-of-use, the DM-2002 was intended to allow recording studios to make high-fidelity ‘test records’ as well as production masters. These things apparently used an Ortofon cutterhead and were made in very small numbers. Hoe fkkn sweet would it be to have one these around. Mixtape? How about mix record?
So you bought a Lifetime Model six (or some other ancient double-button carbon mic) on eBay; how the hell do you get sound out of it? Yr prolly gonna need one of these. A carbon mic P/S. Allows a double-button Carbon mic to hook up to any mic preamp.
And for some examples of how these crazy mics can sound… check out these earlier posts: click here for acoustic gtr and here for drum kit…
Download a pile of original sales materials and period-magazine-reviews of the DeltaLab DL-2, and early stereo ‘effects processor’:
DOWNLOAD: DeltaLab_DL2
Deltalab achieved success with their later Effectron offerings; these were simpler delay-with-modulation devices that sold in high numbers. You can download a bunch of Effectron lit at this earlier post (and check the comments there for a note from DeltaLab founder Richard DeFreitas!). I used an Effectron a ton in the studio at Uni; they are really great, fun, creative units. Nothing that you can’t do with a good delay plug-in, but having those knobs to turn does impact the user-experience in a great way that software can’t. I had not been aware of this earlier DeltaLab piece. There was also a DL5 ‘Harmonicomputer’ that I have some limited materials on; if there is enough interest I will post that as well.
Download the 40pp book/advertorial “Amplification Without Distortion,” as published by the Acme Apparatus Company of Cambridge Mass in 1925:
DOWNLOAD: Acme_AWD_1925
We haven’t run anything quite so Ye Olde for a while, so I was excited to come across this odd little item at the flea mkt recently. Acme made a few transformers and other radio-part-flotsam and this book offers fundamental advice and construction information regarding RF and AF amps. I’ve included some of the more relevant Audio Amp information below; I’m not a radio guy so I can’t comment on that stuff… At left is their A-2 audio transformer, seems like a Plate-to-Grid unit based on the specs. I think I actually have one of these around somewhere…
I actually own a few of these super fkkn old homemade radios, and they are really pretty fascinating, starting with the fact that there’s basically NOTHING in them… they don’t even have wires, everything is connected via buss bars. I also picked up a circa 1922 one-tube power amp a couple years back, eventually I’ll get around to firing it up… this is real dawn-of-a-new-age stuff here, folks, all of this gear was designed to run on batteries, cos very few people had ELECTRICITY when this book was published. Dig in….
Below, schematics for the three audio amplifiers spec’d in the book:
