Monthly Archives: February 2012

Communication

Posted on 02/29/2012 by chris

Today: some excerpts from a piece by C.W. Vadersen as published in the AES journal.  It’s a good thing to remember that early audio technology developed not out of the entertainment industry but from the communications industry: primarily, the telegraph.  … Continue reading →

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Capitol Records Studios Circa 1960

Posted on 02/27/2012 by chris

Above: the live room and control room of Capitol A, Los Angeles, circa late 1950′s. Capitol Records Studio A, New York, 1963. Capitol Records, like most big record companies of the fifties and sixties, had their own state-of-the-art recording studios: … Continue reading →

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Bill Putnam and United Recording, Hollywood CA

Posted on 02/26/2012 by chris

Wow what a titan Bill Putnam was.  Not only did the man create some of the greatest audio equipment ever made, equipment that is still coveted and used on major records some 50 years after it was introduced, he also … Continue reading →

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More outboard gear of the early 60′s

Posted on 02/24/2012 by chris

The Pultec range of 1961: the Pultec EQP-1S program equalizer, EQH-2 program equalizer, HLF-3C high and low pass filter set, MB-1 mic and booster amp, and Mavec micpre/EQ unit. Pultec equalizers have enjoyed fifty-plus years of popularity among recording professionals.  … Continue reading →

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Schoeps microphones of the early 1960s

Posted on 02/23/2012 by chris

Above: Schoeps mics circa 1961.  Schoeps have a deserved reputation as being the most high-fidelity of any widely-available microphones. The Schoeps CM66 circa 1961 The Schoeps M221B microphone.  I really, really need to get me a pair of Schoeps…

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A Seven-Foot-Long Microphone

Posted on 02/22/2012 by chris

Above: the Electrovoice 643 super-directional microphone of 1961.  The 643 was apparently developed by the same engineer who created the wonderful Electrovoice RE-20.  Unlike the 643, the RE-20 is still in production, and still being used everyday around the world.  … Continue reading →

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Neumann Microphones of the early 1960s

Posted on 02/21/2012 by chris

Above: the Neumann U-67 is announced.  The U67 was the ‘bridge’ between the earlier U47 and the soon-to-be-ubiquitous U-87.  Like the U-47 it is a tube mic.  A U-67 just sold on eBay for $7k, which is not too surprising. … Continue reading →

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Audio Mixing Consoles circa 1959

Posted on 02/20/2012 by chris

Langevin stereo console circa 1959 Today: from the “Audio Cyclopedia,” Howard Tremaine, 1959: a quick visual survey of professional mixing consoles in service in 1959.  A PS Dot Com reader turned me on to the “Audio Cycolopedia”; many copies of … Continue reading →

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What is an audio engineer? c. 1961

Posted on 02/19/2012 by chris

From an AES journal circa 1961.  It’s interesting to see how the meaning of ‘audio engineer’ has shifted over the past half century.  An ‘Audio Engineer’ circa 1961 would almost certainly be called a ‘tech’ or a ‘broadcast engineer’ today, … Continue reading →

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Lang Audio of the 1960s

Posted on 02/18/2012 by chris

Download the six-page circa 1965 Lang Specialized Audio Equipment Catalog: DOWNLOAD: Lang_Audio_Electronics_catalog Products covered, with photos and text description, include: Lang LRP-1B tape recorder electronics (for Ampex 300 generation machines), LTP-1A tape playback amp, LRA-1C record/playback amp, LMX-4 and LMX-5 … Continue reading →

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