Download an eight-panel catalog for the RCA “Starmaker” lineup of 1970s prosumer microphones:
DOWNLOAD: RCA_Starmaker_Mics
Not to be confused with the RCA BK-4 “Starmaker” hand-held ribbon mic of the 1950s, these later Starmakers were cheap prosumer and consumer units. Models on offer included the Starmaker 96, 97, 98, 101, 99, and 100. The top-of-the-range 96 has decent specs and useful features; gonna keep an eye out for that one.
Apparently built by a company called Programming Technologies (anyone???) and sold by Wes Dooley’s AEA firm, the Ecoplate is a well-regarded unit which has a pretty impressive frequency response for a mechanical reverb. If anyone out there is still using one of these, drop us a line with yr thoughts.
Download 8pp of sales + technical information regarding the “Master Room” XL-210 and XL-305 stereo spring reverbs manufactured in 1979 by MicMix of Dallas Texas.
DOWNLOAD:MicMix_210_305_reverbs
The 210 was the economy model. The 305 had optional balancing transformers. I regularly use a couple of other contemporary spring reverbs (Orban and Sound Workshop) but I’ve never had a MicMix unit. Anyone?
Download an 8pp 1980 sales flier from Boynton Studio, a long-running pro-audio dealer. Still in business, actually, after 60 years.
DOWNLOAD: BoyntonStudio_0980
I’d actually never heard of this company until I came across a bunch of these old fliers. They are apparently still ‘in-the-game,’ albeit as dealers of new gear only. You can see their site here. Anyhow, I thought I would offer this scan as a (potentially) interesting look back at how pro audio gear valuation has changed over the years – because I, like many engineers, still use a lot of this same kit today. The fact that there is so much used gear in the flier makes it even more interesting. Also: you could still get a new EV 667 in 1980 ??? I would not have imagined…
Download the original 4-page catalog for the EXR Exciter circa 1979:
If someone who was involved with the development of this product could please write-in and end the debate on these things: what exactly does this device do, processing wise? The catalog has an intense quasi-scientific account of human perception (going so far as mention Autism), and no real explanation of WTF this thing is actually doing besides some selective harmonic distortion addition, which jibes with my experience of similar products from Aphex. EXR dude, the ball is in yr court…fill us in…
Download about a million pages of product information regarding the complete MILAB microphone line circa 1981 (presented in two parts due to file size):
DOWNLOAD PART 1: Milab_1981_1
DOWNLOAD PART 2: Milab_1981_2
For the low low price of (no fkkn dollars), you’ll get: The MILAB 1981 catalog, price list, product sheets (some of which are quite extensive) on the DC20, DC21, DC63, DC73, DC96, MSXY-8 ETC., as well as a price list and a very confusing attempt at an explanation of what MIPOW phantom-power is (seems like normal Phantom Power except that pin 1 is +48v rather than pins 2 and 3 being +48v relative to pin 1????).
I’ve never used, seen, or, to my knowledge, heard any of these microphones; frankly, I haven’t even read these documents. It’s too hot out and i’ve had too much wine. I would imagine that they are pretty decent tho; been hunting for one on eBay for a year now, no luck yet. Something odd about Swedish products: while Swedish culture itself has a reputation in America for sex-i-ness (cemented by this classic film, BTW), Swedish products have quite the opposite affect.
Anyway, here’s some pictures of old microphones.
Above: my lil home editing setup: Apogee Mini-Me, MBox 2, Macbook, Fostex T40s, 2nd LCD display and… my HS50s (astride DIY’d platform/isolators). Oh yeah and of course the Mighty Mouse. Best time-saver ever.
How y’all doing today… srry for the lack of recent posts; been working on some pretty exciting new projects here at PS dot com that we hope to unveil soon. In the meanwhile: a tip: people often ask me for speaker recommendations, and for many years now I’ve been reco’ing the Yamaha HS50s. I bought mine at Sam Ash maybe 5 years ago for $300/pair, which seemed like a bargain at the time. Well now the price has dropped, likely in advance of a phase-out. The HS50 is a powered speaker with balanced inputs, dunno how much power but more than enough for working at home, trust me. Now, you can spend a lot more on speakers, but when yr gonna stick them on a desk, right next to a big ole LCD display, in some untreated spare bedroom: why would you? I’ve worked on literally hundreds of spots, jingles, and film and TV tracks on these suckers and I’ve never been disappointed. At the studio we have (along with Tannoys and Avantones) a Blue Sky speaker rig that cost about 10x as much, and yeah it sounds better. But… it’s also in a properly-dimensioned room with a shit-tonne of acoustic-control devices that cost a fortune in parts and time to build. Unless you take the time to really treat your listening environment, I am not convinced that you need much better desktop speakers than the HS50s.
BTW – I reco these not just for musicians/engineers, but for anyone who needs good small speakers for listening to anything – TV, music, etc. Small, well-made, reliable, accurate sound.
Download the original 20pp TWEED AUDIO catalog circa 197*:
DOWNLOAD: Tweed_Audio_Consoles
Products covered, with text, specs, and photos, include: Tweed M124 console, 12/2-4 mixer, BC82 portable mixer, C513 input module, C515 input module, C507 input, (Tweed calls the ‘Channel Amplifiers’), CL603 limiter, CL604 compressor, CL606 noise gate, SPH-2B stereo phono preamp, Tweed 6-2T and 10-4eb distribution amps.
At left: The Lady With The Tweed Mixer (not a Syd Barrett song).
Sitting here on a beautiful summer day, spacing out to Syd Barrett and Jake Holmes LPs after a long week on the road…no concept of what day it is. This will not be a particularly detailed post. TWEED is a name i’ve seen around, never come across the kit… here’s a thread from Group DIY that will fill you in. L-S-S: Scottish-made, broadcast-aimed boards and modules built by former Neve manager.
“Home Studios are one of the fastest-growing segments of the music equipment industry. The availability of (fill in the blank) is killing the low-end professional studio scene. After all, why should musicians pay $1,000 to record on someone else’s four-or-eight track system when they can purchase their own system for the same price?”
Download a 2-pp article from CIRCUS magazine, 1989, on the subject of Home Studio Recorders. Author is one R. J. Grula. (via The More Things Change ETC dept.)
DOWNLOAD: Circus_4trk_1989_0001
Stephen (r) with your author
I am very happy to announce that Stephen Kellogg’s new album BLUNDERSTONE ROOKERY is available at all music retailers today. B/R was tracked at our studio Gold Coast Recorders last autumn, and it was a wonderful project to have been a part of. You can read a new interview with Stephen about the album at American Songwriter magazine now.
