You may be write about the Brush Soundmirror. Alan later wrote that his tape recorder broke down after the prison recordings were made in December of 1947 and January of 1948 (these are the dates on the original tape boxes). He made other paper tapes in 1948 and 1949 and these have been on an Ampex. I don't think he'd have been daunted by size or weight, however. The aluminum disc rig that he used in the 1930s weighed 300 pounds and had to be driven around. Lomax did no stereo recording in Europe. He used a mono Magnecorder, visible in several photos taken in Spain and Italy. Stereo magnecorders might have been available by the time he left in 1958, but he did nearly all of his European field recording from 1950 to 1955, and all are definitely mono. He made no stereo recordings until the summer of 1959, when he went south with an Ampex 601-2. This machine is visible in several shots of him from this two month field trip, and it's the only tape recorder on an inventory that he submitted for insurance purposes for that trip. Both of these were still in the office when I worked there.
Matthew Barton
Library of Congress
-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tom Fine
Sent: Sunday, March 17, 2013 1:09 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] late 40s Ampex portable
Hi Bert:
Thanks for that info. In 1948, I think the _only_ portable tape machine available in the US was a Brush Soundmirror. I don't think the Ampex 200 could be put into portable cases because there were several electronics chasis under a big and deep transport. The Fairchild tape machine, which I'm pretty sure didn't go on sale until 1949, was also huge, heavy and involved several electronics chasis. The Ampex 300 was sold in "portable" massively heavy cases, one for the transport and one of the electronics (one massive chasis) and meter/audio control panel. I've seen photos of Ampex 300 machines in "portable" cases, fit into a little micro-bus/van used by Capitol Records for their earliest stereo classical recordings in the mid-50's.
My bet on Lomax, just an off-the-cuff guess really, would be Brush Soundmirror and then possibly a mono Magnecorder before moving to an Ampex 600 when they came out. A stereo Magnecorder was a logical choice for his first 2-channel recordings because I think Magnecorder was as many as 4 years ahead of Ampex with a stereo recorder. The first Magnecorders had staggered heads, whereas Ampex always made and strongly imposed on the industry the stacked heads that quickly became standard.
Lomax's tools of the trade is a very interesting topic. I'm hoping you and Matthew Barton can present some documented facts.
Meantime, for more Ampex history, see:
http://www.ilk.org/~ppk/Manuals/Ampex_Misc/Ampex_Historical_Documents.pdf
also:
http://www.ilk.org/~ppk/Manuals/Ampex_Misc/Ampex_Museum_Pictures.pdf
And for more on Emory Cook, including a look at his early 2-track stereo recording rig, see:
http://www.preservationsound.com/?p=5695
-- Tom Fine
-- Tom Fine
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bert Lyons" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, March 17, 2013 12:52 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] late 40s Ampex portable
> Tom,
>
> I know for a fact that Lomax recorded two sessions in Mississippi and Texas
> on paper tape in 1948 just after his father passed. You can hear the
> recordings here:
>
> http://research.culturalequity.org/get-audio-ix.do?ix=session&id=18&idType=collectionId&sortBy=abc
>
> He also made these jazz history recordings in 1949 on tape:
>
> http://research.culturalequity.org/get-audio-ix.do?ix=session&id=17&idType=collectionId&sortBy=abc
>
> As well as these focused recordings of the repertoire of Vera Ward Hall in
> 1949:
>
> http://research.culturalequity.org/get-audio-ix.do?ix=session&id=12&idType=collectionId&sortBy=abc
>
> I'll have to do some research (perhaps Matt Barton can chime in on this) on
> the recorder models he was using. But I can say for sure that he was using
> tape before 1950.
>
> -- Bert
>
> Bertram Lyons, CA
> Folklife Specialist / Digital Assets Manager
> American Folklife Center
> Library of Congress
> [log in to unmask]
> www.loc.gov/folklife
> &
> Consulting Archivist, Project Manager & Dissemination Coordinator
> Association for Cultural Equity
> Alan Lomax Archive
> [log in to unmask]
> www.culturalequity.org
>
>
> On Sun, Mar 17, 2013 at 12:44 PM, Malcolm Rockwell <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
>
>> I own a 1/2 track Ampex 350 in a "portable" case. Weighs a ton.
>> Malcolm
>>
>> *******
>>
>>
>> On 3/16/2013 7:01 PM, Art Shifrin wrote:
>>
>>> Portability is subjective, given something's size and weight compared to
>>> what preceded it. What Ampex model was considered be be portable in the
>>> late 40s? The 300? When did the 400 "pusher" debut?
>>>
>>> Shiffy
>>>
>>>
>
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