I just thought I would post some photos of a MR70 that was owned by a band and when things went wrong,evidently Rube Golberg was called upon to fix it,what a freakin disaster. I wouldn't even think of restoring this machine,although it is a 1 inch 4 track. Check out the garden growing in the electronic preamp module and the O rings on the flywheel.
Yep the dirt and dust is unavoidable if you don't put a cover over it and stick it in a corner for 20+ years. But the rest is just a shame,this deck is over in Europe and when you have no knowledge of what is available to make the necessary repairs,I guess this is what happens.
last summer i was lucky enough to find a couple of Ampex 351 mic pre's in good condition, and a virgin, extremely clean, low hour, 350-2 in flight cases. i dropped them off at Dave Dintenfass's studio last fall knowing it would be awhile until Dave could get to them.
Dave is finally able to start work on my Ampex 350-2 and 351 mic pre's next week, and i'm getting excited about it. i asked Dave about whether i could have the 350 electronics set up for IEC EQ since most of my tapes have that EQ. he responded it was possible, but that the 351 mic pre's were more suited for that. then i asked about having it set up with the 350 electronics for NAB and the 351 electronics for IEC with a switch. Dave then suggested that i add a 351 transport for the 351 electronics; and have 2 separate decks; the 350-2 for NAB and the 351-2 for IEC since the heads would each be more suited for the electronics.
so that is the direction we will go. i'll buy one of his 351 transports. he'll complete the 350-2 first and then the 351-2. i'll be able to play all my tapes on Ampex tube electronics.
Mike-I was getting ready to send you an email to ask if you ever got your 350s back. Glad to know Dave is finally going to get started. I'm looking forward to reading what you have to say about them. I feel very fortunate to have a very nice pair of 350s. I bought a new tube set for both of them, but everything sounds so damn good right now I'm not going to change them out.
Dave needs to be cloned,he is always in demand. It will be nice to have your Ampexes setup and running.
Here is a photo of the MR70 1/4 inch head stack I received from JRF today. John and Cookie did a great job,as it was completed just as I wanted. John is the only person I would send work to,he is the best there is. I also want to thank Steve for all his help too!
Sweet to my eye. I told Myles that my soul was at ease when I sold my Studer A820,I just like these MR70's a lot. I won't have this 4 track finished for 2 or 3 months. I also will rearrange things around the house because someday I'll have 5 of these things running.
MR70 1/4 inch with the small motors,an original 1/4 inch deck.
Sweet to my eye. I told Myles that my soul was at ease when I sold my Studer A820,I just like these MR70's a lot. I won't have this 4 track finished for 2 or 3 months. I also will rearrange things around the house because someday I'll have 5 of these things running.
Wow ,5 MR 70s in one room. You are a very fortunate man.
I recently obtained an AG 440C in a very good condition. While it lacks the mechanical elegance of the Studers it has a chunky "rightness" to it. Sonically not as accurate and with less resolution than the A 80R,never mind the ML5, the Ampex does send one's feet tapping,arms flying and never fails to leave the listener with a huge smile on his face.Listening to old Jazz and 70s American Rock is just such a pleasure on this thing. A fine example is the TP "Waltz for Debby" where the audience noises are less obvious than on the Studers but the ambience of the venue more pronounced and the musical interaction of the musicians are so much more ...well human.My Studer A 810 does not even come close.
Had I lived in North America there is no doubt what machines I would be using exclusively.
Wow ,5 MR 70s in one room. You are a very fortunate man.
I recently obtained an AG 440C in a very good condition. While it lacks the mechanical elegance of the Studers it has a chunky "rightness" to it. Sonically not as accurate and with less resolution than the A 80R,never mind the ML5, the Ampex does send one's feet tapping,arms flying and never fails to leave the listener with a huge smile on his face.Listening to old Jazz and 70s American Rock is just such a pleasure on this thing. A fine example is the TP "Waltz for Debby" where the audience noises are less obvious than on the Studers but the ambience of the venue more pronounced and the musical interaction of the musicians are so much more ...well human.My Studer A 810 does not even come close.
Had I lived in North America there is no doubt what machines I would be using exclusively.
When I get the transports polished up and detailed they do look very studio like,very American,and in 1965,a all out assualt to create the best sounding master recorder.
Wow ,5 MR 70s in one room. You are a very fortunate man.
I recently obtained an AG 440C in a very good condition. While it lacks the mechanical elegance of the Studers it has a chunky "rightness" to it. Sonically not as accurate and with less resolution than the A 80R,never mind the ML5, the Ampex does send one's feet tapping,arms flying and never fails to leave the listener with a huge smile on his face.Listening to old Jazz and 70s American Rock is just such a pleasure on this thing. A fine example is the TP "Waltz for Debby" where the audience noises are less obvious than on the Studers but the ambience of the venue more pronounced and the musical interaction of the musicians are so much more ...well human.My Studer A 810 does not even come close.
Had I lived in North America there is no doubt what machines I would be using exclusively.
You can't go wrong with the Ampex 440C. I have had mine for 4 years now and it never skips a beat. You can upgrade the electronics very easily with changing out the Beyer transformer on the reproduce board and replacing it with Lundahl LL1550's. You will get outstanding transparency and some of the best bass I have ever heard on tape.
I'm going to sell my Baldwin 5.8 so I will have plenty of room for the MR70's. Yes there is something about the Ampex sound,that just brings the music closer and and real to me. Is it colored? well no doubt some would say so,but as you point out,you won't fall a sleep listening to one. They are not polite by any means,which to my thinking,is more like a truer reproduction. Anyway I enjoy bringing these fantastic and rare machines back to life,it is very rewarding to see these beautiful machines working again,thanks.
Wow ,5 MR 70s in one room. You are a very fortunate man.
I recently obtained an AG 440C in a very good condition. While it lacks the mechanical elegance of the Studers it has a chunky "rightness" to it. Sonically not as accurate and with less resolution than the A 80R,never mind the ML5, the Ampex does send one's feet tapping,arms flying and never fails to leave the listener with a huge smile on his face.Listening to old Jazz and 70s American Rock is just such a pleasure on this thing. A fine example is the TP "Waltz for Debby" where the audience noises are less obvious than on the Studers but the ambience of the venue more pronounced and the musical interaction of the musicians are so much more ...well human.My Studer A 810 does not even come close.
Had I lived in North America there is no doubt what machines I would be using exclusively.
Add a pair of Lundahl LL1550 wired at 1:8 turns with the K&K audio #1 pcb boards and 4 3/4 inch nylon stand offs with fasteners (Mouser Electronics) and you have a excellent 440C upgrade.
This upgrade is the best for the money and sound. i can't tell you how superior the Lundahl transformer is to the stock unit.The inner depth and realness of the reproduction is 2nd to none for a solid state machine.It clearly surpassed the Studer A820 by a mile on playback bringing tears to my eyes with the emotion of the performance.
Although the cards were upgraded with metal film & tantalum resistors along with BG caps the Lundahl is a clear winner.
When I received my MR70 head stack back, there was also my 350/440 playback headstack from JRF. I have to say John almost has the setup perfect, especially on the 2 track head. I'm listening to Tony Bennett's "The Beat of My Heart" which I think was one of Tony's first albums on Columbia. Because my 350's have the low impedance transformer I can use 440 heads and the 440C transport. A friend of mine has the same setup and the 440 heads measured ruler flat from 20 to 20K with the MRL tape. Listening now the sound is very good,so I'm excited to get it dialed in. I have heard these 350's on a head stack setup for me by Dave Dintenfass and that sound was super I thought.
Taken off the Ampex List.....I laughed when I read it.
There's a great story about David Sarnoff touring Victor's new Hollywood
studios and asking Al Schmitt why they were using Ampex tape recorders when
they could be using RCA machines. Schmitt apparently looked him square in
the eye and uttered "It's because those RCA tape machines sound like sh#t.
Do you really want RCA Victor records to sound like sh#t?" They never heard
another word about using RCA tape recorders.
I found a archived copy of the late John Hughes website on restoring various Ampex gear. John was a great resource of information and always a pleasure to talk to. It is no where near complete though.
