EXPLOSIVE Viewer Mail! - Ampex 952 Tube Tape Recorder, LED Bulbs, Lees of Memory LP
Vložit
- čas přidán 14. 12. 2017
- This week's Viewer Mail segment is an homage to John Rambo and Robert Oppenheimer. We open mail including:
- a Carty Mod LED replacement bulb and jewel light set,
• The Original Carty Mod...
- The Lees of Memory "The Blinding White Of Nothing At All" double vinyl LP theleesofmemory.bandcamp.com/
- 1961 Ampex 952 Tube Stereo Reel Tape Recorder museumofmagneticsoundrecording... - Hudba
restore it baby, would be an awsome homage to the grandpa who spent a small fortune for it back in the day ;)
Brad,,, you have plenty of amps,,,, restore this puppy.
+skycarl shhh...my wife might hear!!!
+skycarl I think this makes my 11th reel to reel, but it's the nicest one.
I had a good laugh ; )
Hahaha... what a voice in the intro... hahaha... We like the CREATIVE Guitologist!
Maybe his wife gave him lessons? The few times I heard her in the background it was quite musical.. But we are suckers for that accent are we not?
Sounded like monsterpiece theatre.
Great fun, Brad, as always. Good editing too.
You can see the quality in the Ampex brand with all those Telefunken tubes. Those are expensive. Probably have to replace old caps to get it back to operation. Definitely needs some love. Restore it and don't cut it up. You already have a bunch of amps.
Brad what a excelent reel to reel shes a keeper,would be nice to hear it!!Merry Christmas to you and family!!Cheers
Diggin’ The Lees Of Memory LP via the bandcamp link you provided. Definitely going to add it to my playlist while I fiddle about on my own workbench. Heavy nod to the 60’s vibe which is always a good thing. Think you’ll enjoy it. Another entertaining vid. Thanks! Ernest In Lexington
Thanks Ernest. I agree, it's good stuff.
that first track is a barn burner!
Trafo888 i believe they are trying to stick very close to early 1964 recordings. Perhaps they might reply to this thought. The normal for the day was to record in mono only if I recall correctly. The Beatles first release in America that I received was a mono recording. Stereo was just coming in to play around that time era. But yes great LP...
Awesome Show! Great Job!
I would maybe find a specialist video about something I dont understand at all boring too, but I get what the Guitologist is talking about and therefore do find it interesting. Just as it is.
Brad the "entertainment value" of your videos is only part of the reason I subscribe, your content is also unique and very interesting. Saturday night "prime time" at my house is seeing what you posted that week! Motivation includes a cleanTC500 Sony tube reel-to-reel waiting for me to convert it to... a guitar amp! Thanks for the creative videos, man.
That's a very cool old piece in great condition. It deserves a restoration and to live its remaining life in dignity!
I'm said Rob Carty. It's not just any LED ... it shifts through all the colors of the rainbow. And yes, it's 6 volts! :) THANKS FOR THE SHOUT-OUT, BRAD!!
+bevo65 oh, ok, cool. I have a vague recollection of you mentioning it. Thanks Rob. I'll try one at some point in another video.
Like I said, even if you don't enjoy them, your little ones will! Cheers, brother.
Restore the unit and oh so slightly modify where you have the option of tape, mic and guitar inputs and outputs to a amplifier mics inputs
Teri Hinton I agree with this
Well I for One enjoyed this video right down to Donald and Kim messing around with buttons and all the other videos I have seen so far. I may not understand the electronic jargon in some of them but still make for great viewing. The records look totally awesome and you are so lucky to receive them. All the very best
I had one of these in college. A wonderful as good as it gets piece of analog. Please restore this genuine piece of American craftsmanship, engineering, and quality.
You can also do some really great echo effects and switch speeds on the fly. This thing does not have a power amp stage, so please, there enough other candidates for guitar amps out there!
Hi Brad, I think it's a great unit to restore. Imagine all your music on a couple of really long tape reels and a separate left and right tube amp for each channel through some great speaker cabs. Wow! in my humble opinion, i would go for restore!!
Being Tech minded , your videos are very entertaining, from beginning to end Brad
My dad had this same one, best I recall. After he passed my mom & sister 'cleaned' up and into the landfill it went. Also about 3 bushels of tubes!
Excuse me while I go puke...
something that classic and old needs restoring ,love reel to reels
Brad, I jumped a freakin foot when you pushed the button at 7:29! I thought Little Rocket Man was on his was and Florida was being attacked. This video is way too exciting for me. I have to go get a Xanax, and cry.
+Buddy Martin hehehe... did you sing "I'm wonwee....so wonwee..."? Probably too new of a reference.
The Guitologist Team America Fuck Yeah.....
Holy crap, that Lees of Memory album is awesome! I checked out the Bandcamp page. Wow. Bought.
Sweet!
Love your videos! Nice telefunkten tube find bro!!!!$$$$$$
haha, that Initech mug
Tubes are pretty cool!
ROFL, another "boring video"..? NOT ! You keep doing what your doing Brad, most of us love it, and it is not boring at all. As far the Ampex, tough question, cool that is in decent shape, and nostalgic and all, but what will it serve, other than an art piece on a shelf ? Would it be possible to do some tapping in, non destructive, maybe take output of the pre-amps out to another guitar type tube output stage ? Therefore leaving it intact, with ability to drive the other tube output stage? Or heck, maybe it is already setup to do that.
BRAD THAT INITECH MUG IS AWESOME!
AND A JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS MAT JOKE! FIVE STARS! lmao trying to keep the excited theme
I found that Initech mug at a Goodwill! I was like "shoot man, I'll have that. I celebrate Michael Bolton's entire catalog".
Holy crap Brad! That's one heck of a gift.... I don't think he knew how much those tubes were worth... I don't know, maybe he did.. Either way I'm sure you will make something cool out of it, or just get it functioning again... I loved this video... had me laughing on the floor... nuclear explosions! Really funny stuff, the intro also...
I think I would record with it. 😂
love the buckley. Keep it crazy
If it was mine I would fix it ,put it in a rack and record your noodling,etc,perfect for song recording or writing!That's What I'd do,Ampex was and still is the best in audio recording,a lot of master were recorded on these!That's cool someone took the time to send you something that they won't use! Restoration is. In order here!Good luck on deciding.Cause you know with those tubes it would make a perfect preamp or amp for the guitar!Thanks for the video!
On the Back of the owners manual near the spine is the address to where Ampex ...not the main operation but that location maybe housed a different division, the address is 1020 Kifer Rd. in Sunnyvale Ca, I live in Sunnyvale and I live 3 miles from that location and it's now a
Costco where that Ampex office used to be. Ampex started in San Carlos Ca. in the 40's and moved it's operation to Redwood City Ca. in the 50's which is 17 miles away from Sunnyvale, I thought you might be interested in that little tidbit.
Brad, Seeing that Ampex tape deck reminded me of visiting an Ampex Magnetic Tape Division in Opelika, Alabama, making magnetic tapes in the early '80s. They made the stuff in huge rolls ~4-feet wide (I guess) and slit those big rolls into whatever narrower widths were needed for the many different size tape cartridges & maybe reels too. We were there to look at how to _maybe_ make recommendations on how to maintain the "standing loop" (I _think_ that's what it was called) of tape between the large roll of tape and the slitting mechanisms. If I remember correctly, that "standing loop" was necessary to prevent the inertia of the large roll from stretching the tape as it was being slit into usable widths - without the "standing loop" you'd then get slit tapes that varied from too narrow to too wide. I honestly don't recall what, if anything, we (students) came up with for control system recommendations, but it was fascinating to be able to visit that facility.
If that tape deck is a gift, rather than "repair it for me," then I can understand your uncertainty between repairing it for use as a tape deck or modifying it to be a guitar amp. Of course, I think you mentioned to another commenter below that it was in the best shape of the tape decks you already have -- if that's so, I think that I'd lean towards ensuring that it was in top condition for use as a tape deck and modify some of your "lesser" tapes decks into amps.
Telefunken, Tung Sol and GE jackpot!!! My wife's aunt may have made that GE tube when she worked in the Owensboro factory.
That's cool. I'm kind of planning a short documentary of that Ken-Rad GE factory. I have a lot of material gathered for it, but still need to make a trip down to Oboro to finish the research.
Restore this do not destroy it !!!!! This is so elegant. It should remain.
Restor as reel,s are becoming the new vinyl
I know. I sold some reel to reel tapes a few years back that brought some stupid money. I was shocked.
this has got to be a restoration!
I looked up the Sunnyvale address listed on the back of the manual as I only remembered the AMPEX sign on Highway 101 in Redwood City. The building in Sunnyvale has since been replaced as the Redwood City building also. ...but I think the AMPEX sign is there? ...will have to take notice next time. ..Keep up the great work Brad!
whatever you do with it its going to be a project. making it a guitar amp out of it sounds cool as hell to me.
I very much enjoy antiques, but I also love for things to be nodded and fixed.
I think you should make a guitar preamp!
I love old RTRs and appreciate when things are restored to their original state - however, I think this would be most useful if converted to a microphone preamp.
Basically you have a stereo tape recorder there. Regarding the four preamps: two are for recording and two are for playback. On the bottom right corner of the schematics you have the bias oscillator as well. If that recorder was mine, I'd definitely try to repair it!
+Matti Kari yes, that's correct.
Definitely restore that Ampex! It would also be awesome to use it as a tube preamp for your recording setup.
Yeah, the recording preamps are gold for studio use. Probably would give a nice, fat compression for recording virtually anything.
I enjoy your channel very much and have leaned a lot.......I do have a question...if I may...left channel bun(sounds like ground hum) in phono stage...no connection...cap gone bad??
Hey guitologist, i've got one of these that I'm getting ready to restore but it is missing the power cable. I'm wondering if there is a modern power cable manufacture that you could recommend that I use? Thank you
I order power cables from antique electronic supply. But Mouser, Digikey, and others will carry them as well. Jameco too maybe.
@@TheGuitologist thank you, excuse my ignorance but what would this type of cord be called? I’m not even sure what to look for on those websites. Thank you
Since it has survived 55years, it has to be worth the effort of restoration.
Phil.
I wish I had held on to my old stereo. I had a Sansui AU 717. Harmon Kardon ST 7, Teac Ar 6300. Pioneer St 707, and a pair of Acoustic Research AR11's. I still have the speakers.
Restore this baby in all its former glory to make an good old analogue demo with it!
Be gone you tone deaf demon!
YES YES SO ANELEY
I'm 64.
I still remember the ampex tape deck the radio station sent to our primary school to record our Christmas carols.
Do what you want with it, but I think I'd leave this one alone...
Definitely make this thing a badass guitar amp
Unless there is some fatal expensive flaw in the record/playback system it's best to maintain that little golden nugget of history. When I was a tiny tike of 5 or so I was allowed to push the play button on my grandpa's Ampex reel to reel to listen to some big band jazz, he was into Benny Goodman. I'm sure his was of similar vintage because it looks eerily familiar, the sound out of it was magical.
Just for you, when and if I finally demo this thing, I'll try to remember to find my big band tapes.
That one deserves to be restored and have its heritage respected, Brad, in my humble opinion. I also think his grandfather would approve if you restored it.
By the way, if, as the letter said, there's a squeal evident as the tape tets towards the end, it could well just be oxide shed from the tape clogging the transport. That would cause it to squeal due to increased friction between the tspe and guides / heads, particularly as the tension on the tape from the supply reel increased towards the end of the reel. ... Just a thought.
Great video !! Those 12AX7 Telefunken's in NOS condition range from $35 to asking $449.95 NOS New in Box.
nothing better than Ampex, and 1/2" tape
Hey! Rich Bishop! Hello from Jeff Van Newkirk!
Hey Jeff!!! Small world! Hope all is well, man!!!
restore it my friend great video lol well done
You could make a killer Echoplex style tape delay/echo unit by only making the heads move back and forth to change the delay time.
Brad
Do the motors on these have a start and play capacitor in it?
Does the motor have 4 wires from it?
Curious
I think the decent thing to do would be to restore it, it looks well built solid and clean. It might be a case of plug it through the variac and see what happens. More a labour of love than anything else!
Hey Brad,, Knowing you are describing these tubes an very nice and expensive, if you were to make a guitar amp out of this what sort of monitary value or type of amp would it compare to. I hate to look at things in relation to money but I don't have enough knowledge to compare another way...If you made it an amp what type of amp would it compare to? If you restore it as a recorder will it actually get any use?
It's clean, parts don't seem to have any obvious damage, not much dust, no corrosion, no gross smoke film. From all appearances it seems to be well cared for and in good condition. Fix up any caps, replace the belt(s) if needed, and restore it. It really seems too nice to part it out or hack it for some other purpose.
I would mail me those Telefunken tubes......LOL! :)
Please, Brad, for the love of all that's holy and decent, restore the Ampex and use it as it is, or at least preserve the tape recording functionality as much as possible. Of course, as a collector of tape recorders, I may have a very slight bias in favour of this action :D so take anything I say with a grain of salt. Looking at the schematic, you can use this as a pre-amp even in its current state. Simply put the mains/monitor switch in the monitor position and connect whatever you want to the MICROPHONE input. The line level (marked radio/phono) input in this case, for some reason, bypasses the pre-amp completely, so it might be a bit useless. Something else I can suggest is adding sockets with a switch in them in the playback amps, maybe between the V1A and V1B. That way you can use those two channels for tapes and when you plug something in - for external sources. As a tape recorder, it's a two-track stereo machine, with three heads, so it will make very good to excellent recordings. The mechanism may be a bit of a headache to repair, but it shouldn't be too bad. That being said, the it is a small jewel. The little lever you see to the left of the meter is the auto-stop - it activates a small cam shaft inside the machine, that physically turns the function control from start to stop when the tape ends. In the end a bit of trivia - at the time when this machine sold for 400 bucks, a Sears tape recorder would go for something like 70/80, so it was a huge investment for the original owner.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment. I didn't stare too long at the schematic yet, but I'm leaning your way so far. Restoration seems like the most likely scenario for this beauty.
That Ampex is in great condition, I would service it and keep it as a reel-reel.
I would restore that one. I can only imagine the sound comeing out of it with a pair of good speaker's.
Brad can u recommend a 12au7 replacement tube for my bravo headphone amp??? Thanks n advance, Jimmy.
If you're just looking for a new inexpensive variety, I use JJs. Sovteks are good as well. Reliable replacements. If you want more vintage ones, GEs and RCAs are good to look for if you're in the US.
Much thanks the amp has a Chinese no name tube, im located in cincy so were kinda neighbors,, not even sure if a different tube would b an audible change...
well said mate
No cord included. Looking at the schematic, it looked like it might be the kind that has the old-school 2-prong/non-polarized female on one end, male on the other. I think my old Teac had the very same.
I don't think so. I believe it's a standard female with no polarization.
ACTION! EXCITEMENT!
Restore it to its former glory. Please😊
In the digital age this thing is a relic, and will just sit on a shelf, I’m sure just getting tape for it will be a pain. Turning it into a sick guitar preamp will give it new life and new meaning. Maybe a sick tape echo if it’s possible?
I would restore it. But, i would also do a complete layout of all the different projects you could do with it with maybe some schematics to go along with those projects just for reference.
I’d love to have such a fine reel to reel to record with, personally I say keep it as a tape machine but maybe find some ways to tap the preamps to be used as external studio gear. Find some good uses for it, there’s plenty of guitar amps out there now, fewer of these still in working order than ever before.
Track 2 (Rain, Rain) - starting at 1:18 = The Tone! Please confirm!
theleesofmemory.bandcamp.com/track/rain-rain
Kicks ass, right?
Make it do EVERYTHING....
I'd restore it.
When you pushed that 1st button and cut in the explosion I busted up laughing out loud...
Who sez your vids ain't exciting??
And when you turned the Ampex over... well then I really got excited! ...but that's just me.
Well, I'd check the tape heads for wear and also just power it up and experiment!
cheers
I had a 1942 Philco radio that my family gave me in 2006. I thought I'd put a guitar amp in that cool cabinet. (before D-lab was doing it online).... I powered it up, and loud and clear it played a Paul Harvey broadcast for me.... It needed restored, as it was likely unsafe to operate for long. In that 5 minute period, it was obvious that it should remain a radio.... so I sold it to a young up and coming radio tech.
I pass up money making opportunities all the time in the pursuit of preservation. It's a matter of weighing something's value in a medium other than money.
Exactly... If the tape mechanics are still operable, I'd leave it as a tape deck and do the belts/rollers thing. If the tape portion is shot, then we make a salvage project. It looks to be a properly cared for unit, so remaining a tape deck seems viable.
I tend to agree here. Thanks for chiming in.
With something like a Silvertone... Johnny already has his from back in the day, and it's broke.. and he'll pay big $ for the parts to fix his.... but doesn't want someone else's Vintage budget guitars are about the sentiment, more than the thing itself. I know Brad likes his Japan guitars. I had one pass though here and I couldn't wait for it to leave... pickups were so microphonic, and it wouldn't intonate without surgery.
I won't salvage something that really works well..... or used to be great. I try and use the best judgement.
Badabadabada....that vinyl is already sold out on the site.
+TubiCal I saw that. It was released on my birthday as well.
I would re-cap it and keep it as a tape player... that thing's too mint to modify!
I have one of those. They came in a box/case so it was a portable system with R2R and 2 amps/speakers. I found 2 sets in the 80s at some church and i still use them. Id say restore the R2R, it sounds good and i think you can play into it anyway and monitor, so make it a dual use thing.The speaker amp combos are also kind of awesome amps. they have shit speakers and had rca ins but for a lo fi raw thing the amp section sounds nice.
Beautiful super clean deck and great provenance. Please clean her up in another video.
I would love to see you restore the tape deck. 1962 was the year I was born. Please don`t kill it. Thanks...
yer killin me LOL. BOOM!!!!!!.
The Challenge: repurpose into amazeballs guitar amp head using ALL of the working parts (heads in a built in delay channel, motor used in a rotating speaker etc) Maybe incorporate the Uncle’s oil can tremolo. Then auction it off with proceeds - after costs - going to a deserving charity.
nynetynyne This Charity might be a good option: czcams.com/video/tpyJDWHira4/video.html
1:30 in and I've already had to pause and click "like" - now back to watching. Brad - YOUR VIDEOS ARE some of the best SHIT I watch on a daily basis! Screw the whiner!
Hahahaha the edits are killing me
This was the most exciting video you've ever done!!! Wowsers, such a step up from the usual boring crap that some of those other guys upload! LOL!
Keep at it!
PS - Don't push the red button on anything until you've cleared it! : )
Gonna have to restore it. Wrecking an Ampex is a sin nowadays. Make it an Ampex model 952G (guitologist edition) with the extra "guitar" input jack, effects loop jacks and a pause switch to shut the motor off if it runs all the time. Envision it as your dream preamp, but with a built in reel to reel recorder. Might keep grandpa's ghost from haunting your ass for scrapping his high end gear too. :)
Isn’t that the same unit that Ritchie Blackmore used to overdrive his Marshall plexis?
I hope to God it is! :D
I see a nice stereo Mic preamp and guitar channel right here. You won't use it as a tape machine imho. The pres are where it's at!
now thats a score ! tung-sol & telefunken.
Hi Brad ! big fan here......question for you....do you think the Ampex 962 could be modified to run at 30ips? Thanks bro! Tris
I’m no tape expert. The limiting factor would be the transport mechanism. Would have to be smooth or it would shred tape. The voltage on the motors would have to increase several fold. Don’t know their limits. You could destroy the machine.
@@TheGuitologist thanks for getting back to me...btw..i got something to send you...i think you will like (small) I know you like vintage stuff....whats the address?
Damn so many Telefunken Tubes. I wanted to buy a Telefunken 12ax7 from ebay a few days ago and the cheapest was like 50€
I just checked the cheapest was 30€ still pretty expensive
@Inuit Callboy
I just opened up a very old grundig reel tape player/recorder ,full of telefunken tubes,, is 12ax7 the designation on telefunken , they should go by their own number? anyway if your not on the other side of the globe , i could send you some regards from denmark
Brad you know what you have to do, don't fight it man.......With all those beautiful awesome tubes, you gotta try it out with a guitar, I mean it's meant to be, the Tube Gods will frown unfavourably upon you if you don't give it a try. I think this will sound awesome. Always look forward to your videos, rock on man.
think manual flanger, loop echo, or long loop effects tape. Use an 8 track cartidge and run sound effects a la pink floyd money! Maybe a mixer or a magnetic phono preamp!
When you get a reel to reel that nice I'd sacrifice one of your lesser ones and keep the ampex
just had to cut the pointer sisters in there, didn't ya? just had to go there. dang.............
+Andy Madden I liked the pink 'tude of flipping over the table. I was rather shocked.
I would make a killer full saturation guitar pre amp unit.
Great video, once again. My vote would be to make as many guitar amps out of it as possible. 14, if possible. Or 43. 743. Make 743 guitar amps out of it!
Damn, looked it up and NOS Telefunken 12AX7's go for $450 apiece on TubeDepot
I think they're dreaming on those. I did see some others asking $170 for good used ones.