Comments on: Fine Recording Inc: Pioneers in High-Fidelity Studio Recording: UPDATED – 5

By: Bruce Berman

Bruce Berman — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 06:03:39 +0000

In reply to Ed Wolfrum.

Ed, Cop did a lot of pioneering work with SSTV in the late 1950s.

His 1958 article on the subject in QST magazine is considered a classic.

73,

Bruce

By: Bruce Berman

Bruce Berman — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 05:59:55 +0000

In reply to Beth Drummond (nee Macdonald). Beth, your Dad was also an avid ham radio operator, who did much pioneering work on slow-scan television for use on the amateur radio frequency bands in the late 1950s.

By: Tom Fine

Tom Fine — Sat, 27 Sep 2025 13:05:25 +0000

In reply to Christian Cartoonist. The Fine Recording in Rochester NY had nothing to do with Fine Recording NYC. I don't think either knew about each other! There used to be a website showing pictures of the ruins of Fine Recording, Rochester, and the pile of moldy tapes from it.

By: Tom Fine

Tom Fine — Sat, 27 Sep 2025 13:04:06 +0000

In reply to Noel Webster.

That’s quite the pile of stuff! Where did it all end up?

The old mixing console with the red faders looks like the Western Electric/MGM console that came out of Sear Sound. It was originally at Fine Sound and then Fine Recording. It’s been restored and is now in use in a studio in California.

The equipment with the custom panels with the “R” emblem came out of Reeves Sound Studios. That was their emblem in the 1970s, probably earlier too.

By: Christian Cartoonist

Christian Cartoonist — Sat, 28 Jun 2025 05:22:07 +0000

Hello anyone reading this. I’m just asking to anybody reading this that this YouTube link is to an obscure garage song from the 60s that was made in Fine Recording Studios at Rochester NY and the group is called Method and their song is called Free As The Wind and I’m just wondering if anyone remembers or knows who the band was and their members and who was working with them. I’m just curious because I’m a fan of 60s teen garage songs.

https://youtu.be/K7vC3_JQpJo?si=tJl7WASlQmTAvxf9

By: Bob H

Bob H — Sat, 13 Jan 2024 06:31:08 +0000

In reply to Brian Arnold. Yes, you are right, those are indeed the Altec 612 boxes.

By: Noel Webster

Noel Webster — Mon, 08 May 2023 15:25:25 +0000

Here are pictures of the museum of sound recording with all of this inventory
https://noelwebster.com/museum-of-sound-recording-2008/

By: Thomas Chrapkiewicz

Thomas Chrapkiewicz — Sat, 18 Jun 2022 19:50:35 +0000

This trail is most interesting – and re-igniting some links in my memory of ADM (Audio Designs and Mfg.). I was (perhaps remotely in some cases)involved in projects with Artie Fields (who was a friend of Bob Bloom), Mix Place (which I had designed a number of boards for in the 80s). It would be interesting to know if anyone still around recalls the relationship(s) between Bloom, Eberenz and others – I am aware that Bloom came to Detroit to work on something for/with Fine, but I have no other details.
R,
TomC

By: haiyai2u

haiyai2u — Sat, 02 Oct 2021 22:32:38 +0000

In reply to Tom Fine. I just found this wonderful historical link. I'm a vinyl researcher and have been looking a long time for identifical of two etches. One recorded at Fine Studios, [r4145824] with an etch of B.H., and the other, [r3679414] not sure where it was recorded, but has a mastering etch of a cursive f, resembling the 'f' in fine recordings. Could you be of help?

By: Brian Arnold

Brian Arnold — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 15:41:44 +0000

This is a terrific article!
I had heard a little bit about F.R.I. before, but nothing more than it inspiring what became known as the “Beautiful Music” movement on FM radio in the ’60s and ’70s (Schulke, Bonneville, et.al.) who either licensed or commissioned the highest quality recordings possible. I worked in that business back then and remembered many tracks featuring Enoch Light, Tony Mottola, and a few other Mercury, Command, and Project 3 artists.

Besides the obvious typos already mentioned, the article also refers to the control room monitors as Altec A7, which doesn’t seem likely. Although many large studios might use one version or another of the popular Voice of the Theater for studio talk-back or auditioning, no one would install them in a control, mix-down, or mastering room, as they could never be considered ‘high fidelity’. It would be much more likely for them to be using a version of the venerable Altec “Iconic” speaker with the famous 604B Duplex driver, ubiquitous in studios around the world, and certainly a very high fidelity speaker compared to a stock VOTT. In fact, it looks like the last photo shows three Iconic 612 cabinets hanging on the wall facing the mixing console, just like in EMI’s Abbey Road or pretty much anywhere else at the time. Oh, to be a fly on THAT wall.

Thanks again for this, Tom!