Category Archives: Manufacturers

Forgotten 70s Pro Audio maker Gately Electronics

Posted on 02/10/2013 by chris

Above: 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; … Continue reading →

Posted in Manufacturers, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Rare Tony Schwartz Interview/Profile From “Better Listening Through Hi-Fi” July 1957

Posted on 07/28/2012 by chris

Tony Schwartz is a towering figure in the worlds of audio production, advertising, and media studies.  I recently came across a very obscure, AFAIK never-before-reproduced (feel free to prove me wrong here guys…) profile on Schwartz from the July 1957 … Continue reading →

Posted in Icons, Manufacturers | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Fairchild Kit Of The Early 1960s

Posted on 02/17/2012 by chris

Above: the Fairchild 661 Auto-ten (a noise gate, apparently), 740 Lathe, 602 and 600 Conax (de-essers, apparently), 670 stereo limiter, 663 Compact console channel compressor, and 666 compressor, which wants you to know that it is emphatically NOT a vari-mu … Continue reading →

Posted in Manufacturers, Pro Audio Archive | Tagged , | 13 Comments

What’s a Fostex?

Posted on 02/20/2011 by chris

Download the 4pp circa 1984 Fostex Full Line (condensed) catalog: DOWNLOAD: Fostex1984 Fostex was the yin to Tascam’s yang in the home-recording 80s.  What does this mean?  What is the sound of 4 tracks of noise reduction with no recorded … Continue reading →

Posted in Manufacturers, Pro Audio Archive, The 4-Track | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Pilot Radio Corp Hi-Fi Line Circa 1962

Posted on 12/17/2010 by chris

Download the entire twenty-page 1962 PILOT hi-fi catalog: DOWNLOAD: Pilot_HiFi_Line_1962_Catalog Models covered include: Pilot 610, 602MA, 602SA, 654MA, and 746 receivers; Pilot Mark III, 280B, 285, and 780 FM tuners; Pilot 230, 240, 246, and 248B stereo integrated amplifiers; Pilot … Continue reading →

Posted in Antique Hi-Fi Archive, Manufacturers | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

Audio + Design Scamp Outboard Modules

Posted on 11/06/2010 by chris

Audio + Design (Also known as Audio & Design, or Audio and Design, or Audio Design Recording- hf. ADR) is a British firm that was responsible for the first FET-based limiter.  Their ‘Vocal Stressor’ dynamics processor has long been rumored … Continue reading →

Posted in Manufacturers, Pro Audio Archive | 2 Comments

The Sound of ’51

Posted on 10/02/2010 by admin

In the process of preparing tomorrow’s post, I came across these circa 1951 microphone ads.  Check em out.  Some icons here, some forgotten specimens. I have never used these BRUSH mics.  Seem like communications, rather than recording microphones. These particular … Continue reading →

Posted in Manufacturers | 1 Comment

ICON: Guild Instruments

Posted on 09/24/2010 by admin

Even if you have never played a guitar in your entire life, you are probably familiar with the Gibson and Fender guitar brands. These companies have existed for decades (a century for Gibson) and they are, at this point, American … Continue reading →

Posted in Guitar Equipment, Icons, Manufacturers | Leave a comment

Saul Marantz and The Roots of Great Design

Posted on 09/23/2010 by admin

A few years ago I bought a pile of old electronic parts from an anonymous junk dealer.  Random stuff- 5 lbs of crappy ¼” jacks,  some VU meters, a box of giant knobs, etc.  The dealer also had a box … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Icons, Manufacturers, Publications | 6 Comments