urei – Preservation Sound

Studio Outboard Gear Odds & Ends ’71- ’73

chris — Wed, 17 Sep 2014 15:34:46 +0000

Today: just a few things that caught my eye from ’71 -’73: the ‘new’ black-cosmetic version of the Urei 1176, plus some odd bits from Soundcraftsmen and Sansui (I had no idea that they had made pro audio products), and another forgotten Quad-Eight rack device (see here for our earlier coverage of their very obscure reverb unit). Also something called the ‘OP Reverberation’ …. anyone? ,,,and a few unusual items from Martin. Wrapping it up is the annoucement ad for the original API 525C, which has become one of my favorite compressors for vocals since we got one at Gold Coast Recorders. If any of y’all are using the Martin or Quad-Eight kit, let us know!

Above: The Soundcraftsmen RP10-12 equalizer

Above: The Sansui QSE-1 Quadraphonic Encoder

Above: The Quad-Eight Variable Filter, Auto-Mix 23B compressor, EQ 312 channel EQ, and RV10 Reverb unit Above: the Martin SLM-1020B mixer, PEQ500 rackmount program EQ, and varispeed 3B tape machine speed controller.

Highlights from the 1970 AES Convention, Los Angeles, CA

chris — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 01:56:12 +0000

above: the GRT 500 audio-tape evaluator c. 1970

Just in case you were too-young/too-hypothetical to have attended, we are pleased to bring you highlights from the 1970 convention of the Audio Engineering Society (via ye olde DB Magazine, r.i.p.). You can download the whole shebang here…

DOWNLOAD: AES_1970_DB_mag

…and we’ve also reproduced it below for your browsing enjoyment. Products on offer at that time include: mixing consoles from Electrodyne, Gately, Quad-Eight, Spectra-sonics, Fairchild, Langevin, and Altec. Opamp labs had kits on offer as well. Tape machines include 3M, Otari ‘of Japan,’ Teac 7030, GRT 500, Norelco (Phillips) pro-51, Sony Superscope TC-850, and Ampex. Dolby’s model 360 N/R system debuted, as did the Melcor ‘all electronic’ reverb and the Urei LA-3. New microphones on offer included the Electro-voice DS-35 and the Shure SM-53.

Not Urei

chris — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 10:20:52 +0000

Above: circa 1963 announcements for the Bauer model 920 “Peak Master” (appears to be a UREI model 175) and the Teletronix LA-2, which was at some point re-branded by UREI. I feel like I have seen these Bauer pieces on eBay from time to time, but the internet is silent regarding them. Anyone? Whats the story with this piece?

When they were young: introducing a few audio classics

chris — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 17:17:29 +0000

Circa 1970: The API 512, Shure SM58, Neumann FET 47, and Urei LA-3A all have got something to prove to you.

Bill Putnam and United Recording, Hollywood CA

chris — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 20:37:18 +0000

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 designed and built (and worked in) some of the greatest recording studios ever made (the later of which were bankrolled by Frank Sinatra, among others). It’s almost impossible to think of a similar comparison today… it would be like if the same dude who coded the best plug-ins that you use every day also engineered the hit records that you hear on the radio and also owned the world’s top recording studio, which he designed himself, and which Thom Yorke paid for… anyway… amazing. Here’s the room he built in Hollywood in the late 1950s. Much more information is available all over the ‘net… you can start here…

Moving from wide to close-up in these pics above: the studios, the control room, the console, and the console preamps, all designed by Putnam. Okay so yr gonna move to a new town and build a new studio… might as well design all new recording equipment while you are at it. Putnam’s approach has inspired me deeply (on a much smaller scale…) with Gold Coast Recorders and the custom equipment that I’ve developed around my work in that room. Here’s to hoping we have (even a fraction of) his success…

P.S.: David Kulka of Studio Electronics has made twenty issues of the URC company newsletter available for free download on his website. The newsletters span the years 1964-1970 and they are an invaluable resource for anyone interested in ye olde recording studio lore…

More outboard gear of the early 60’s

chris — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:00:41 +0000

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. Much like the first several compressors released by Universal Audio/UREI, they have never really gone out of style. And if vintage Pultecs seem expensive these days (and they no doubt are…), remember that there is an inflation factor of 11x from 1961 to 2012. So the value of these pieces has more or less simply risen with inflation.

Download catalog data on the EQP 1, shown above: Pultec_EQP-1

Download catalog data on the EQH 2, shown above: Pultec_EQH

Download catalog data on the HLF, shown above: Pultec_HLF-3

The Pultec MEQ-5 and SP-3 Stereo Panner of 1962. As unlikely as it might seem, the ‘pan’ knob was, at one time, a new and novel concept.

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Ok so these are not outboard so much as inboard but you get the connection. The Langevin EQ-252A, EQ-251-A, and EQ-255 filters of 1961.

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Above: the Universal Audio 175B limiter is announced. The 175B is quite similar in operational principle to the Altec 436/8 and the Gates Sta-Level but the UA is far more sophisticated. Just a really smartly designed piece of AFAIK, it was sold like shown, with no top cover. gear. Retro Instruments currently makes a reissue of this classic piece (but with a top cover).

Above: an inexpensive studio echo unit of the early 1960s: the Telefunken Echo Mixer. It is a spring-reverb unit. Click this link for an audio demo. Apparently used by Klaus Schulze on his “Irrlicht,” which is one of my favorite records.