Lo-Fi Vintage P.A.'s / Record players as Guitar amps, Mic Pre's, and beyond.

[michaelepstein]

Tips for using vintage P.A.'s/Recorders*( Masco, Valco, caliphone, etc.) instead of Guitar amps, bass, or just for extra gain in the studio or live

[max cooper]

I've bought a couple of SET record players off of Ebay. For one thing, I love the way they sound. For another, they can make great guitar amps. When the idler wheel goes out and you can't replace it, that is.

Also, old Ampex tape recorders can be great for all kinds of things.

I also like those old passive walkman speakers for all kinds of things. They're great microphones, but they also sound pretty huge when you plug them into the speaker output of a Marshall.

I used to have an Emerson boom box that recorded in stereo. If you took the headphone out into Pro Tools, you had the most excellent, super-crushed-out room mic ever. When that box died, I cried.

[michaelepstein]

Thanks for the feedback Max :)

[subspace]

Lo-fi vintage? Oh, you mean studio B.

Yes, all manner of science experiments go on there. The most expensive piece was the recorder, $25 at the flea market. Everything else came free.

[max cooper]

That's a great still life photo. Someone's gonna lift that for their CD packaging.

[VivaLaVinyl]

You guys rock. i love that picture. i want a little reel-to-reel

Next week, i am going to (attempt) to build a little dirty mic pre off of
schematics from this book;



should be cool! Do you guys have any tips on finding old mics/audio gear
of the low-fi/sci-fi nature?

[max cooper]

Yeah, advertise on Craig's List that you want that stuff. People have stuff that they don't quite want to throw away, but will part with for next to nothing.

I also buy LP's that way. I'll buy someone's collection for very little, take what I want and drop the rest off at the nearest used record store.

Again, these are people who are on the verge of throwing stuff out, but don't quite feel it's trash yet. Usually they're happy someone wants it.

[michaelepstein]

Hey off-topic question, but has anyone ever experimented with an old-school "wire-recorder"?
I don't know too much about them, but could be an interesting way of recording brass instruments, or anything for that matter etc. I believe it was the standard recording medium, before they invented tape. Not sure of the practicallity or rarity of recording with something like this, but it does spark my interest!

Keep all the tips coming :

[max cooper]

I've heard that many flight data recorders used to be wire recorders. They wrapped "tails out" so that in the event of a crash, most of the data is wound to the inside for extra protection.

Anyone know this for sure?

[theblue1]

Funny you should post this... I just heard an interview with Tom Verlaine and he was talking about using old PA heads for guitar because he feels, with their optimization for vocal information, they serve the guitar well and cut down on unneeded and irritating high frequencies.

[theblue1]

Originally Posted by michaelepstein

Wow... I am loving these pictures you guys posted.
I am putting an ad out in craigslist, as we speak Max :)

Hey off-topic question, but has anyone ever experimented with an old-school "wire-recorder"?
I don't know too much about them, but could be an interesting way of recording brass instruments, or anything for that matter etc. I believe it was the standard recording medium, before they invented tape. Not sure of the practicallity or rarity of recording with something like this, but it does spark my interest!

Keep all the tips coming :)

Heh... it might be good as a "mangler" but you're not going to get much usable brass onto them... I don't think there were any mass produced wire recorders for audio that went about 3-4 kHz.

My own experience with a couple beat-up wire recorders as a kid was interesting but ultimately pretty frustrating. Then again, the wire was incredibly oxidized... you could feel the rust... you felt like you just had to keep washing your hands after handling it. (These were immediately post-war recorders from Sears my dad had bought when he worked there. I found them in the garage one day and couldn't figure out what the hell they were. When I finally figured it out I was able to record a little bit (with much laborious untangling and untangling again of wire on spools) but it was completely garbled, unrecognizable. But these were NOT in good shape, by any stretch.)

[max cooper]

Originally Posted by theblue1

Funny you should post this... I just heard an interview with Tom Verlaine and he was talking about using old PA heads for guitar because he feels, with their optimization for vocal information, they serve the guitar well and cut down on unneeded and irritating high frequencies.

Pete Townshend used to use Hiwatt PA Heads. But they're not cheap by any stretch of the imagination.

I played thru one at Black Market (RIP) over on La Cienega and it was excellent sounding.

Oh, hey, don't forget little Bogen mixers! Great overdrive sometimes.

[michaelepstein]

Originally Posted by theblue1

Heh... it might be good as a "mangler" but you're not going to get much usable brass onto them... I don't think there were any mass produced wire recorders for audio that went about 3-4 kHz.

Actually, I'm not sure what they even sound like. I was just curious; I know almost nothing about them, but wondered if it could be useful as an extra effect,
or used to simply mangle or trash stuff up a bit?

[Rolff]

Originally Posted by max cooper

I've bought a couple of SET record players off of Ebay. For one thing, I love the way they sound. For another, they can make great guitar amps. When the idler wheel goes out and you can't replace it, that is.

Also, old Ampex tape recorders can be great for all kinds of things.

I also like those old passive walkman speakers for all kinds of things. They're great microphones, but they also sound pretty huge when you plug them into the speaker output of a Marshall.

I used to have an Emerson boom box that recorded in stereo. If you took the headphone out into Pro Tools, you had the most excellent, super-crushed-out room mic ever. When that box died, I cried.

Check your favorite thrift store. An excellent source for old stuff like this.
Rolff

[Ahellam]

I have a skip simmons little 17 watt modded masco PA that just sounds awesome recorded.

[retropete]

Street Fighting Man...

acoustic played through a Norelco tape recorder, miked and recorded into the board

used to have one, threw it out before I knew this bit of trivia :-(

[michaelepstein]

I've been Re-amping alot of stuff through a Califone Rheem Solid-State 70-TC Tape Machine/Amp with built in speaker. I bought it for 20$ bucks.. The Tape Head is pretty much bullocks, but found it very useful to use the amp & speakers as a distortion effect.. It's very gritty, re-amping stuff like guitar, vocals, even bass sounds pretty raw through it (very stooges-esque). Works on some stuff, doesn't on other things, but for 20$, you can't beat it... The only thing thats annoying is having to thread the tape machine and start recording to enable the amp..

[mitgong]

I'm going to regret this, but let me tell you about the best guitar tone ever.

Get thee a TUBE Califone record player, with speaker. The 12V is the most desirable. Plug thy guitar into the "mic input", a conveniently located 1/4" jack. Turn the volume knob all the way up. Play "Hell's Bells". Remove mic from the amplifier your client brought. Spend money on something else.

[kansascitydon]

this is right up my alley.

i have a bogen acousta master that i used the compression circuit on for a quirky background vocal.

i have a marantz mono cassette recorder that actually has three heads that i've used quite happily for tape delay, and i've also used the headphone out as a drum mic to take advantage of its crushing compression. i'm about to get this unit modded/repaired because i love it so much.

older three head component cassette decks (akai are the ones i have) can be had cheaply these days, and are good for the slap thing as well. the time is fixed, but if your in DAW-land, that's no impediment.

a friend had a... i can't remember the name but it was an old tube PA head that a tech friend modded for guitar. turned into a great little 6V6 amp head.

finally, i just picked up an entire mobile PA system by Voice of Music from an estate sale, formerly owned by a square dance caller. it's got the mic input for the turntable that i'm excited about, as well as a little PA, and a reel to reel tape machine, rounded out by a pair of 10 or 12 in spkrs that latch together with clips and can be carried by an ergonomically designed handle. at the very least this stuff looks great, but i'm eager to press it into service.