Continuing the thread from yesterday’s post: here are the 1952 issues of Magnecord, INC. Click on the link to download each issue.
Category: Magnecord
This week we’ll conclude our series of archival material courtesy of Magnecord founding partner John Boyers. John’s son D. graciously scanned every page of every available issue of the company publication “Magnecord INC,” which was published between 1950 and 1954.
If anyone out there has any issues that we are missing, please chime in and let’s figure out a way to get them online. Magnecord was a crucial developer of tape-recording and pro-audio hardware whose contributions have been largely forgotten in the modern era. I use a Magnecord PT6 at our studio Gold Coast Recorders to make the occasional ‘old-time’ recording and it’s a testament to the skill of engineers like Mr. Boyers that the machine still works great SIXTY years after it rolled out the Chicago plant.
The ‘Magnecord INC’ publications are fascinating because they reveal the dawn of the high-fidelity audio-recording age. Remember that these (and certain of the AMPEX machines of the era) were portable audio-recorders with 40hz- 15kz frequency response. These facts opened up world of possibility for audio capture. Reading through these old issue of “Magnecord INC” opens the door to a time when the world was first figuring out all of the things that could be done with a portable machine that could capture and playback sound to the near-limits of human hearing ability. Many of the then-novel tape-recording tasks described in these publications may seem mundane; but many are surprising and quite odd applications which never really caught on past a few enthusiastic early-experimenters.
Without further ado, here are the issue from 1950. More to follow tomorrow. Download and enjoy.
From the personal archive of John Boyers, founding partner of Magnecord INC, we present the complete circa 1953 Magnecord INC catalog. Click the link below to download the eight-page PDF:
DOWNLOAD: Magnecord_Catalog_Circa1953
Products covered, with text and photos, include: Magnecord PT6-A Recorder Mechanism, PT6-R line-level input amplifier and PT6-J Mic-level input/output amplifier; PT63-A three-head recorder and companion PT63-J amplifier; the full line of PT6-series accessories, including the PT6-HT ‘turnover’ panel, PT6-IM3 and PT6-IM4 microphone-level input mixers, PT6-M ten-inch reel adapter mechanism, PT6-EL continuous loop panel (really confused as to how on earth this thing works). Also includes the Magnecord PT7-A, PT7-M, PT7-C series of recorders/amplifiers, which offered slightly improved audio specs relative to the PT-6 series.
Click the ‘Magnecord’ link in the right-hand ‘Categories’ column of the homepage to see much more Magnecord coverage on PS dot com.
D. Boyers, son of Magnecord, INC founding engineer John Boyers, has once again presented Preservation Sound with an incredible collection of rare documents from this seminal pro audio manufacturer. (click here to read the previous installment)
Over the next few weeks I will work on getting all the material online. To start things off, here’s a written history of the Magnecord organization as related by J. Boyers in 1980. Boyers discussed the company’s early products leading up to the introduction of the PT-6 tape machine and the PT-63 binaural (aka Stereo) tape machine. Fascinating to learn how much trial and error was involved in these pioneering efforts. Enjoy –
Click the link below to READ ON….
Categories
Complete Magnecord System on eBay
For all the PS dot com readers who have inquired about the Magnecord tube reel-to-reel machines that I have discussed here: a complete system, including the very rare PT6-IM3 mixer unit, is available on eBay right now with a current price of $124. I have no knowledge of this specific unit or this seller. Check it out….
From the personal collection of D. Boyers, son of Magnecord founding partner John Boyers, PreservationSound is excited to be able to offer several rare documents and historical reminiscences. The Magnecord PT6 was one of the very first broadcast-quality tape recorders ever made – 1948 – and you can still find working (or repairable) examples. If you have been following this site for a while, you will know how much I like these machines. See this link and this link for some examples of recordings I have done recently with the PT6.
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PT6 Maintenance and Engineering manual:
DOWNLOAD: MagnecordPT6_MaintenanceNotes
The user-manual and schematics for the PT6 tape machine has been readily available on the internet; try this link if you need a copy. The Maintenance Notes are harder to find. Great information if you need to perform mechanical service on the unit.
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Four-page “Magnecord, INC” Company Newsletter, July 1952:
DOWNLOAD: MagnecordInc_July1952
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John Boyers was one of the founders of Magnecord. He is now 95 years of age. His son D. provides these notes regarding John’s career and contributions to recording history:
“I wouldn’t be too surprised to learn there are some (PT-6s) still in use, probably in some third-world broadcasting station somewhere. My first PT-6 was an engineering sample put together prior to the start of manufacturing. I still have it, and it still works, (although I make that claim having not tried to fire it up for 30 years!)
Dad is still with us, although he is the last survivor of the original group, at age 95… One of Dad’s favorite stories… is the time he couldn’t make payroll, but the man at the bank gave him the funds he needed because of the trusting relationship he had built with the bank.
Dad’s interest was mostly engineering. He designed the heads, experimenting with various metals and ways to make the recording gap smaller and smaller. Back then, the
heads were built one at a time, by hand. One of the handiest features of the “6” was the
ability to do instant playback head alignment with that little 4/40 screw and spring
tensioner. …I don’t remember if that was a feature of the production machines or if it was just something they built into the sample I have. Oh, here’s another story you might enjoy knowing about: Dad and one of the other guys in the shop had a brainstorm and decided to build a “binaural” (ed: Stereo) transport just for fun. They got it working and took it down to the Illinois Central train station and made a recording of a steam locomotive going by.
I remember hearing the recording, with the locomotive coming in one channel and going out the other. The binaural recorder was the hit of the audio trade show in Chicago that year. According to Dad, the crowds around the little Magnecord booth were huge and the buzz of the show was all about the unbelievable train recording. I asked Dad why they didn’t get a patent on it and he says that it wasn’t patentable. It had been done before, although not commercially, and it didn’t meet the “new and novel” requirement of patent law. I’ve often wondered if they weren’t just working with the wrong patent attorney.”
Thanks to D. for sharing this history. We will leave you today with the remainder of a set of Magnecord-Factory photos circa 1950.
Categories
Hallelujah
In recognition of the coming holiday: a solo gospel-blues arrangement of one of the greatest spiritual songs ever written. Happy Holidays.
Via Magnecord PT-6 tape machine and Tascam PE-250 large-diaphragm dynamic microphone.