Above: the 1989 advert that caught my attention
I’ve said it many times, but pls let me re-iterate: as much as the content of this site may make me seem like some retro-fetish trainspotter, my investigation into all of this old kit is due to the fact that I make my living as a composer and sound engineer, and I am constantly looking for new sources of (inexpensive) inspiration. Because if you have to write and/or record three or four songs per day, the process can be either a chore or a joy, and what can make the difference is the novelty and new avenues that some ‘new’ (to you) gear can offer. Y’all know how much I love spring reverb, so when I spotted this ad for a guitar-mounted mechanical-reverb system in an ’89 ‘Guitar Player’ I searched for an old unit to buy on eBay. There were several, but they were not cheap. And then google told me that they had been re-issued by the original manufacturer! $99 plus shipping later, and a brand-new ASPRI arrived direct from dude in just a couple of days.
First of all, the packing is really spectacular, and in fact won some sort of Quebec design-award (I think it’s very fitting that this thing is from Montreal; if you’ve spent some time there I think you can see the whole kinda clever/artsy/slightly-fantastical vibe of that whole city reflected in the ASPRI).
The ASPRI mounts to any flat-top acoustic gtr in about 10 seconds. it does not contact the top of the gtr at all; just the saddle and the side; and the side is completely padded, so there really is no danger of damaging the instrument. BTW, if your saddle height is VERY high, the I’d imagine that the Aspri won’t work properly; that being said, I have yet to find a gtr that it has not worked on.
So basically what it does: it’s a box of springs that receive their exciting-energy from the motion of the strings; it does this by means of three little stainless-steel feet that effectively become the saddle of the gtr while the ASPRI is mounted. So yes there is some loss of ‘tone’ and volume, but what you get in return is a really transporting experience. Playing this thing, esp. bottleneck style, is really uncanny; it really does turn a living room into a concert hall.
There are a zillion YouTube videos of dudes demo’ing their ASPRIs, so no need to add to that fray; check ’em out if your curious. If you are a dedicated acoustic gtr player like I am, and you’re looking for a new direction, I feel like you are bound to get a couple new songs outta this thing.
To buy an aspri, visit: https://www.aspri.com
Today: just a few things that caught my eye from ’71 -’73: the ‘new’ black-cosmetic version of the Urei 1176, plus some odd bits from Soundcraftsmen and Sansui (I had no idea that they had made pro audio products), and another forgotten Quad-Eight rack device (see here for our earlier coverage of their very obscure reverb unit). Also something called the ‘OP Reverberation’ …. anyone? ,,,and a few unusual items from Martin. Wrapping it up is the annoucement ad for the original API 525C, which has become one of my favorite compressors for vocals since we got one at Gold Coast Recorders. If any of y’all are using the Martin or Quad-Eight kit, let us know!
Above: The Soundcraftsmen RP10-12 equalizer
Above: The Sansui QSE-1 Quadraphonic Encoder
Above: The Quad-Eight Variable Filter, Auto-Mix 23B compressor, EQ 312 channel EQ, and RV10 Reverb unit
Above: the Martin SLM-1020B mixer, PEQ500 rackmount program EQ, and varispeed 3B tape machine speed controller. 
