Category: Uncategorized

Heathkit Rock-Band Hardware c. 1969

Post author By chris
Post date 06/17/2011
9 Comments on Heathkit Rock-Band Hardware c. 1969

Download a five-page scan of the various guitar amps, guitars, effects, and other Rock-combo-flotsam available from Heathkit in 1969:

DOWNLOAD: Heathkit_guitar_amps_1969

Products on offer include: Heathkit Starmaker TA-16 amplifier; AKG and Shure mics and Atlas stands; TA-27 guitar amp; Harmony ‘Silhouette’ H17 electric guitar; Heathkit TA-28 “Fuzz” Booster and TA-58 headphone amp; TA-17 amplifier head and TA-17-1 speaker system; TA-38 bass amplifer (130 lbs!); and a kit version of the famous Vox Jaguar organ.

M. and I were digging through some local pawn shops last week and we spotted the above-depicted ‘Starmaker’ amplifer buried under some radial arm saws. Coincidentally enough, the price they were asking was the same $119 that it would have cost you to buy as a kit in 1969. “…in about 8-10 hours and you’ll have the best value around in a solid-state amp. Order yours now.”

Kit-built electronics were a fascinating and vital part of consumer-culture in America through the 1970s. It’s kind of liberating when you think about it: a product which parses out some (but certainly not all) of the labor from the physical materials of the product; you, the consumer, can then create the finished product from a combination of your capital (money) and your raw labor/time. I am about to do the same thing with a shed; we need someplace to put our lawnmower, and the right balance of capital/labor for my particular circumstances is a shed-kit. I have neither the money to pay someone to build a shed for me nor the free time to build a shed from a blueprint and a pile of uncut lumber; the shed kit seems like the right choice for me. At some point in America, the value of the labor required to complete a piece of consumer-electronics equipment fell below a certain point, thanks to a combination automation (robots) and cheap foreign labor. This made the Heathkit a fairly indefensible option. This affordability of foreign labor (and transportation costs…) can’t last forever though. So I have to wonder: as foreign labor prices continue to rise, will we ever see a return of the kit-option for consumer electronics in America?

Do you ever come across a Vox Jaguar and wonder why it does not work quite right? Well now we know: it could have originated as one of these kits; 91 lbs of cold solder joints and sloppy lead dress. Heathkit makes a bold claim about the capability of the above Jaguar when used in league with their TA-38 bass amp: “Here’s a combination that will produce the most mind-bending, soul-grabbing sound around.” 266 lbs, $499.00.

Tags effects pedals, guitar equipment, heathkit, organs

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Radio Show: Live 6.13.11: WPKN 89.5 FM

Post author By chris
Post date 06/14/2011
2 Comments on Radio Show: Live 6.13.11: WPKN 89.5 FM

Thanks to Steve DiCostanzo and WPKN 89.5 FM in Bridgeport CT for inviting me on-air for two hours last night to present a program that I call “The Devil in God’s House: Gospel Music themes in RockNRoll of the Nixon Era.” The show was live last night 6/13 from 10PM til midnight.

Click here to see the set list and stream the entire broadcast anytime in high-quality. It’s a two-hour show full of great music.

Tags On The Radio

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The Pilot ‘Pilotrol’ Hi Fi Preamp of the early 1950s

Post author By chris
Post date 06/02/2011
4 Comments on The Pilot ‘Pilotrol’ Hi Fi Preamp of the early 1950s

Pilot was one of the classic NYC Golden-Age Hi-Fi makers (see here for earlier coverage on PS dot com). Although the Pilotuner mono FM tuner series was their most iconic product, the Pilotrol was their flagship offering.

(image source)

The Pilotrol seems like an attempt to satisfy the most compulsive hi-fi fans; it really seems like they tried to cram as many lights, buttons, features, and knobs in there as possible. What with the excess of buttons, slant-front cabinet, and VU meter, Pilot seems to have been trying to turn the simple act of using your audio system into an experience; I see shades of ‘Mission Control,’ ‘The Cockpit,’ and maybe police radio as well in the design. Anyhow, it’s too bad this is a mono unit; otherwise I’d be looking for one…

Here’s the schematic. Nice pentode phono input. Anyhow, we can see echos of the Pilotrol and its feature-laden ilk in much hi-fi gear of the 70s – consider a typical high-end receiver of that era. Modern equivalents offer even more features, but nowadays the buttons and lights have been replaced with menus and screens. In opposition to this thread, we have the minimalist streak best exemplified by Apple and its associates. Which operating principle do you prefer? Do you want the equipment to be in the background or the foreground of your audio-listening experience? Exactly what is ‘the experience’ for you? Hearing the sounds? Or is the operation of the apparatus essential to your enjoyment? At what point will technology become so advanced and so pervasive that ‘controls’ themselves can only been seen as quaint and nostalgic? Are we there yet?

See this link for some more thoughts on the function of ‘control’ in consumer audio equipment.

Tags pilot, vintage hi-fi

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Hi-Fi in Mexico 1955

A two page article from AUDIO magazine circa 1955. Consider this article in comparison to “Japan Goes Hi Fi.” How differently these two countries have developed since these pieces were written. Both certainly became manufacturing powerhouses, but Mexico has been much less able to keep the profits from those operations in their country. I have owned plenty of audio-objects made in Mexico (Fender guitar amps come to mind) but I have personally never seen a Mexican hi-fi brand. Anyone? Also: please note: this article is presented for historical reference only; I do not endorse the political/ethnic generalizations and characterizations that author makes.

Tags vintage hi-fi

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British Broadcast Tape Recorder Circa 1935: The Marconi-Stille

Post author By chris
Post date 05/11/2011
5 Comments on British Broadcast Tape Recorder Circa 1935: The Marconi-Stille

The development of magnetic tape recording is generally credited to German scientists. It is their Magnetophone that provided the inspiration for the Ampex recorder, which was the first truly high-fidelity tape machine. From Wikipedia:

Early magnetic tape recorders were created by replacing the steel wire of a wire recorder with a thin steel tape. The first of these modified wire recorders was the Blattnerphone, created in 1929 or 1930 by the Ludwig Blattner Picture Corporation. The first practical tape recorder from AEG was the Magnetophon K1, demonstrated in Germany in 1935.

Although lesser-known, the British Broadcast industry had a similar machine in use in that same decade. The following account is given in the May 1954 issue of “Audio.”

Tags tape machines

History Uncategorized

Ham Radio, Vernacular Graphics, and Silent Keys

Post author By chris
Post date 05/02/2011
3 Comments on Ham Radio, Vernacular Graphics, and Silent Keys

(image source)

Have you ever been driving around and noticed one of these huge metal antennae towers erected beside a home?

(image source)

These are Ham Radio towers. ‘Ham Radio’ is non-commercial, amateur radio-broadcasting activity which has carried on for nearly a century all over the planet. Although by definition both amateur and non-commercial, Ham Radio is regulated by the governments of the world (including the US) and a license is required in order to participate. The plus side of the this regulation is that, unlike, say, C.B. radios, Ham Radios can be incredibly powerful and experienced operators can (with the right equipment) directly contact other like-minded enthusiasts all over the world. This actually sounds a lot like something else we’re familiar with… oh right the internet.

So much can be said about this venerable institution, and I am not person to do the explaining. So why discuss it here? Well… most common of the signals sent with Ham Radio has always been the human voice; many Hams have, and still do, carry on the tradition of designing and building their own audio equipment; and the innovations sprung from this field have played an important role in the development of audio technologies that we all use today. The importance of the technical aspects of signal transmission/reception in the Ham community cannot be overstated; in fact, most of he conversations that go on using this technology are in fact concerning the signal quality itself. A direct consequence of this importance of signal integrity is that Radio Hams would often send physical postcards, in the actual mail, to those individuals with whom they had chatted with on-air. These postcards confirmed the technical operating parameters of the radio equipment in-place when the successful conversation took place. These are called QSL cards, and they are one of the most fascinating and exciting examples of vernacular graphic design that I am aware of. E. purchased a crate of several hundred at the flea market yesterday; they all date from around 1980-1987 and they are really idiosyncratic and beautiful. Here I will present some of my favorites:

Follow the link below to continue…

Tags audio semiotics, Ham Radio

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Lafayette Microphones of the 1960s

Post author By chris
Post date 04/04/2011
3 Comments on Lafayette Microphones of the 1960s

Do any of the Top-Quality mics in the above scan look familiar?

I seem to see… an RCA BK-1A?

….a shure 777 crystal mic?

an Electrovoice 664?

…and what is this thing exactly?

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I picked up this Lafayette PA-46 for a few dollars at the Flea Market yesterday. It appeared to be unused; the odd 3-pin socket was unsoldered. I hooked it up and it works well. I wired it ‘hi-z’ and the sound is good for a 50 year old dynamic mic. The design seems to be an ‘homage’ to the contemporary Electrovoice 636. Here they are side-by-side:

…although it also seems to have connection to the earlier Altec 21b ‘coke bottle’ condensor mic:

(image source)

…and maybe the Dukane 95D as well.

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Lafayette Electronics was an importer and retailer of consumer-electronics active from the mid 1920s through the early 1980s. They were a competitor of Radio Shack and Allied electronics; when those two retail giants merged, Lafayette was squeezed out of the market. So what happened to all of the Lafayette shops? Turns out that may of them became Circuit Cities. Crazy. Anyhow, a lot of Lafayette’s merchandise in the 1960s was re-branded Japanese goods that bore a certain resemblance to US-made goods of the period. These microphones are a good example. When the Japanese designers got the ‘copy’ exactly right, it’s not that interesting… but the odd pastiches, such as the PA-46, have a certain weird-dream charm to them. Check out the complete history of Lafayette at this link.

Tags Lafayette microphones, vintage microphones

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Fostex ‘Personal’ Outboard Equipment of the 1980s

Post author By chris
Post date 02/28/2011
1 Comment on Fostex ‘Personal’ Outboard Equipment of the 1980s

Download fourteen-pages of original product information regarding FOSTEX’ “Personal Multitrack” outboard-equipment line of the 1980s:

DOWNLOAD: Fostex_Outboard_Gear_1986

Included in this download: “Echo Buss Vol II, Take 1,” a FOSTEX newsletter to pro-sumer users of the 80s. Plus 2-side product sheets for the 2050 line mixer, 3030 Graphic Equalizer, 3070 Compressor/Limiter, 3180 Reverb, and 6301 powered monitor speakers.

The 3180 offers a unique feature among line-level stereo spring reverb units: a non-adjustable 24ms pre-delay hardwired before the spring drive amp.

Interesting to note that FOSTEX makes no attempt to disguise these pieces as pro-studio equipment; they were designed and marketed specifically for use in the new ‘personal studio’ of the early 1980s, alongside such other FOSTEX offerings as the personal reel-to-reel multitrack and the FOSTEX 250 cassette four-track. See previous posts here, here and here for information on these recording devices.

The Fostex 6301 powered monitors did enjoy wider use, though; true to the photo at top, these compact 10w powered speakers did in fact experience wide use in video-facility machine rooms as basic program monitors. Many are still in use in this role.

Tags compressors, equalizers, fostex, reverb, vintage outboard gear

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Out-of-print-book report: Magnetic Recording (1948)

Post author By chris
Post date 02/10/2011
4 Comments on Out-of-print-book report: Magnetic Recording (1948)

Not sure where I came across this obscure volume. Written by one S.J. Begun, then VP and chief engineer of recording-tech pioneer Brush Development Corp, ‘Magnetic Recording’ (h.f. ‘MR’) was completed in June 1948 and published the following year by Murray Hill Books.

There is a lot of information in this 235pp volume; the best feature by far, though, is that it contains diagrams and schematics for a great number of the recording devices discussed.

Here’s a quick survey of the machines covered in MR. Most are wire recorders. Remember that tape recording was still incredibly new in 1948; wire was still the dominant format. If you have any of these machines and need to service it, seek out this book. You might find what you need. Names are beneath each image.

The original circa 1948 Ampex tape recorder, which promised an unheralded 30-15k (+/- 1db) frequency response.

The WW11-era German Magnetophone, from which the Ampex was largely derived. The Magnetophone ran at 30 ips in order to achieve its (then) excellent performance.