Monthly Archives: November 2010

Yamaha Guitars And Guitar Amplifiers 1968

Posted on 11/30/2010 by chris

Download the entire 12-page 1968 Yamaha Guitar/Amp Catalog (USA region): DOWNLOAD: Yamaha_guitars_amps_1968_catalog Models covered in this publication: Model 150, 120, 100, 80, and 60 Classical guitars.  Model FG-110, FG-150, FG-180, FG-230 steel-string acoustic guitars.  Model SA-50, SA-30, SA-70, SA-20, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Guitar Equipment, Pro Audio Archive | 28 Comments

Sears Silvertone Sound Systems 1940

Posted on 11/29/2010 by chris

Download a 17-page scan of the 1940 Sears Silvertone sound system catalog: CLICK TO DOWNLOAD (10mb) : SearsSoundSystems1940 The PA, or Public-Address System, was still relatively new technology in 1940. It’s hard for us to imagine any of the above … Continue reading →

Posted in Pro Audio Archive, Publications | 3 Comments

Polyfusion Modular Synthesizers

Posted on 11/26/2010 by chris

Polyfusion is an electronics firm in the Buffalo, NY area which began in the mid-1970s.  According to their very outdated website, their sole standard product these days is a frequency-shifting device intended as a feedback-reducer in (presumably voice-only) PA systems. … Continue reading →

Posted in Pro Audio Archive, Synthesizers | 3 Comments

RCA microphones catalog circa 1965

Posted on 11/23/2010 by chris

Click the link below to download the entire circa 1965 RCA microphone catalog. DOWNLOAD: RCA_Circa1965_Catalog A lot of interesting pieces here.  I personally love the BK5. The BK5 is an unusually bright and aggresssive ribbon mic.  Highly recommended for…  pretty … Continue reading →

Posted in Microphones, Pro Audio Archive | 1 Comment

Where do you find all those old tubes?

Posted on 11/22/2010 by chris

When folks learn that I build and service vacuum-tube based audio equipment, some of the first questions they ask are: Is it hard to find those old tubes?  Where do you find them?  As it turns out, lots of different … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Scully 280 tape machines. Not Preserved.

Posted on 11/20/2010 by chris

Scully was one of the main US makers of professional multi-track tape machines through the 1970s.  Scully was based in our fair city of Bridgeport CT.  Wikipedia has no information on this classic manufacturer; in fact, they incorrectly identify it … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 13 Comments

Premier 88: ready to go.

Posted on 11/18/2010 by chris

After probably 14 hours of work and $200 of parts, my Premier 88 is working 100%. As I described in an earlier post, the Premier 88 is a rare and highly unusual instrument amplifier from the 1950s.  It consists of … Continue reading →

Posted in Guitar Equipment, Technical | 15 Comments

A Very Early Professional Tape Recorder – The Magnecord PT6

Posted on 11/16/2010 by chris

I recently picked up two of these Magnecord PT6 1/4″ full-track tape machines for a few bucks.  Illustrated here is one machine.  It lives in two separate rack-cases for portability. These 2 cases= one complete machine. The top case is … Continue reading →

Posted in Magnecord, Technical | 3 Comments

Weekend Update With(out) Dennis Miller

Posted on 11/14/2010 by chris

Damn that dude was funny.  Heard he became/was-always a major reactionary.  Anyhow, PS was not updated this weekend because…  this weekend was ‘open studios’ in scenic Bridgeport CT.  My shop is located in an Arts-Space building, and we opened the … Continue reading →

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ICON: Marshall Amplification

Posted on 11/12/2010 by chris

What greater visual icon for the mythic virility and power of the circa-1970 Rock-Star than the “Marshall Stack?” (web source) (web source) (web source) Jim Marshall was a drum-shop keeper in London in the mid-60′s who began cloning the 1959 … Continue reading →

Posted in Guitar Equipment, Icons, Pro Audio Archive | 3 Comments