Having used two PR-10s in the late sixties, I heartily agree with Lou
Judson's condemnation of it, electronics or no. The failure rate of those
units matched their poor performance. The model and the almost coeval
U-Matic mag disc machine were significant players in fatally damaging
Amex's reputation as professional gear. They were, frankly, regarded as a
joke.
All Ampex electronics required some modification; An engineer I worked
with built his own for use in an AG-440. Many famous recordings were made
with the Ampex 300-2 but no nostalgia for the gear of that vintage, please.
DDR
On Sat, Sep 2, 2017 at 8:29 PM, Gary A. Galo <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> As I said, a problematic transport. Were it not for the fact that David
> Hancock found the electronics worthy of his own custom tape recorder, I
> would not have mentioned it. True, he modified the electronics, but David
> rarely used anything in stock form.
>
> Gary
>
> ____________________________
>
> Gary Galo
> Audio Engineer Emeritus
> The Crane School of Music
> SUNY at Potsdam, NY 13676
>
> "Great art presupposes the alert mind of the educated listener."
> Arnold Schoenberg
>
> "A true artist doesn't want to be admired, he wants to be believed."
> Igor Markevitch
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List [mailto:
> [log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Lou Judson
> Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2017 7:57 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Major tape recorder brands
>
> Whoo, sorry, but not found in respectable studio! Wow and flutter, one
> motor bely drive, not a studio machine. We had two in a TV studio in 1969,
> and they were barely serviceable. In a voiceover studio, we could only use
> it for voice, not music. Not the top of the line, even worse than the Ampxs
> 600.
>
> The electronics are minor compared to the cr*ppy transport.
>
> Keep this in mind if you mention it in whatever you are writing. And I'm
> mildly surprised you need to research this on THIS list! There is a whole
> internet out there, you know...
>
> <L>
> Lou Judson
> Intuitive Audio
> 415-883-2689
>
> On Sep 2, 2017, at 4:38 PM, Gary A. Galo <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > There was also the Ampex PR-10:
> >
> > http://www.historyofrecording.com/AMPEX_PR-10.html
> >
> > I understand that it had a problematic transport, but excellent
> electronics, with a simpler signal path than the 300 and 350. David Hancock
> used modified PR-10 electronics with a 350-2 transport to make his custom,
> 14-inch machine. The myriad recording he made with this machine include the
> famous Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances with Donald Johanos and the Dallas
> Symphony for Vox/Turnabout.
> >
> > Best,
> > Gary
> >
> > ____________________________
> >
> > Gary Galo
> > Audio Engineer Emeritus
>
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