rob aylestone
Moderator
In my teens, I started some freelance work for broadcasters (BBC Local Radio) and of course it was all reel to reels. I started on Ferrograph Series 7, then Super 7, then for a few months Logic 7. Ferrograph were a very traditional recorder, that rarely made it out of the UK, and was built like a tank. It's only real difference being you put it into wind, and a rotary knob for setting which way and at what speed. Neat!
Then I stopped working for them for a while and when I went back the Ferrographs had gone and they had converted Revox machines - a UK company called ASC took a Revox, removed lots of knobs and the meters, leaving a new empty panel where you could splice. Presets set the input and output gain, so as levels were a standard in the BBC, you could simply hit record or play.
I really missed the machines and have been looking for a decent one, of any of the three types, for ages. Good ones are rare. Faults mainly revolve around rubber. The boffins at Ferrograph from series 7 onwards, used a rubber compound that was awful. It started getting softer, then sticky, then lumpy - so swapping these is a common fault cure, and of course the little felt pads on the head pressure arms.
I've managed to get a well looked after Logic - oddly, my favourite was the Super 7, but these still had the mechanical transport control, the logic has normal buttons.
Do I need it? No
Will it be better than anything I currently own? No
Is it small and compact? No
Was it cheap? er, No
Am I stupid? Probably
I'm collecting it Tuesday - a 4 hour drive.
Why would I buy a 40 year old mechanical recorder that uses media that cost a fortune, yet produces sound no better than the cheapest interface can manage? I have no idea. I just hope this is a one off and I don't start to be an active member of the analogue brigade. One purchase surely just makes me a casual member, not an enthusiast, hopefully. It even has two speakers in the case and a built in 10W stereo amplifier. Luxury.
Then I stopped working for them for a while and when I went back the Ferrographs had gone and they had converted Revox machines - a UK company called ASC took a Revox, removed lots of knobs and the meters, leaving a new empty panel where you could splice. Presets set the input and output gain, so as levels were a standard in the BBC, you could simply hit record or play.
I really missed the machines and have been looking for a decent one, of any of the three types, for ages. Good ones are rare. Faults mainly revolve around rubber. The boffins at Ferrograph from series 7 onwards, used a rubber compound that was awful. It started getting softer, then sticky, then lumpy - so swapping these is a common fault cure, and of course the little felt pads on the head pressure arms.
I've managed to get a well looked after Logic - oddly, my favourite was the Super 7, but these still had the mechanical transport control, the logic has normal buttons.
Do I need it? No
Will it be better than anything I currently own? No
Is it small and compact? No
Was it cheap? er, No
Am I stupid? Probably
I'm collecting it Tuesday - a 4 hour drive.
Why would I buy a 40 year old mechanical recorder that uses media that cost a fortune, yet produces sound no better than the cheapest interface can manage? I have no idea. I just hope this is a one off and I don't start to be an active member of the analogue brigade. One purchase surely just makes me a casual member, not an enthusiast, hopefully. It even has two speakers in the case and a built in 10W stereo amplifier. Luxury.
), along with others. I just couldn't throw those out as I'm a registered product box hoarder. Maybe someone will create a Fostex 450 NFT, then I could have the experience of laying out cash money while having a perfect model to enjoy whenever I felt the urge. I mean, even with the real one I wouldn't actually be using it, or otherwise interacting with physically - so same difference. Right? 