Studios with Ampex 350/351 – U.S. & Europe

[inkster]

Deke Dickerson LA, Woody Jackson LA, Nick Waterhouse LA, Randy Cohen(aka Randy Redtop, aka 19th St Red) Clarksdale MS, Full Track Productions Seattle?, Jason Quiver SF Bay Area

 

[mitchillinois]

Thank you very much! I have tracked down Deke Dikcerson's email and will do the same for Woody Jackson and Nick Waterhouse in L.A. While I don't expect we'll have a voice actor in SF it's good to know about Jason Quiver just in case.

I have a special place in my heart for Clarksdale because of the blues and my involvement in the blues in my youth. However, none of the voice actors we use (all recording in languages other than English) live in Mississippi.

I really appreciate your recommendations.

 

[marklacas]

Interesting resistors ya got there!!!

Yeah, didn't have a 43k resistor in my stock so I had to improvise. The burnt resistor was from a test lead that caused it to burn. Doesn't happen when running quiescent.

View attachment 124298
View attachment 124299

>> PCB mounting holes need to be "isolated/non-plated thru" holes
as having multiple mounting hole that are all connected to your GND
"Copper Pour" all connecting to multiple points on your chassis will
more than likely create a "Ground-Loop" somewhere. Unless, of course,
you are using Nylon standoffs!!!.....
View attachment 124300
>> I realize that your current designs are "more than dead
quiet" and all that, but.....this is an area that generally creates
problems which can be easily avoided just by using a simple
PCB-design technique. I once worked at AMPEX in Redwood City, CA
in their "PCB Design Department" back in 1980. My 2-cents.....

>> In related news.....should you ever need any AMPEX chassis
or other sheet-metal designs/replications, I can assist you in
that department.

/

 

[marklacas]

Interesting resistors ya got there!!!

View attachment 124298
View attachment 124299

>> PCB mounting holes need to be "isolated/non-plated thru" holes
as having multiple mounting hole that are all connected to your GND
"Copper Pour" all connecting to multiple points on your chassis will
more than likely create a "Ground-Loop" somewhere. Unless, of course,
you are using Nylon standoffs!!!.....
View attachment 124300
>> I realize that your current designs are "more than dead
quiet" and all that, but.....this is an area that generally creates
problems which can be easily avoided just by using a simple
PCB-design technique. I once worked at AMPEX in Redwood City, CA
in their "PCB Design Department" back in 1980. My 2-cents.....

>> In related news.....should you ever need any AMPEX chassis
or other sheet-metal designs/replications, I can assist you in
that department.

/

I have put shrinkwrap on the screws to avoid ground loops. Star ground to the input connector is how I roll.

 

[marklacas]

Interesting resistors ya got there!!!

View attachment 124298
View attachment 124299

>> PCB mounting holes need to be "isolated/non-plated thru" holes
as having multiple mounting hole that are all connected to your GND
"Copper Pour" all connecting to multiple points on your chassis will
more than likely create a "Ground-Loop" somewhere. Unless, of course,
you are using Nylon standoffs!!!.....
View attachment 124300
>> I realize that your current designs are "more than dead
quiet" and all that, but.....this is an area that generally creates
problems which can be easily avoided just by using a simple
PCB-design technique. I once worked at AMPEX in Redwood City, CA
in their "PCB Design Department" back in 1980. My 2-cents.....

>> In related news.....should you ever need any AMPEX chassis
or other sheet-metal designs/replications, I can assist you in
that department.

/

I'm interested in a cover for my 351. It was missing when I got it.

 

[marklacas]

Yeah, didn't have a 43k resistor in my stock so I had to improvise. The burnt resistor was from an errant test lead while testing that caused it to burn. Doesn't happen when running quiescent.

 

[marklacas]

I have made new upgrade circuit boards for the Ampex 351. They have 20db better signal to noise and I will make them available soon. They are drop in replacements for the original boards. 70db of signal to noise, .5% distortion. They really sound great. They also provide phantom power to microphones.

I have made new upgrade circuit boards for the Ampex 351. They have 20db better signal to noise and I will make them available soon. They are drop in replacements for the original boards. 70db of signal to noise, .5% distortion. They really sound great. They also provide phantom power to microphones.

Ignore the burnt resistor. I did that with an errant test lead to ground. The resistor is fine in normal operation. Also I use heat shrink on the mounting screws to avoid ground loops. Star ground to the input XLR connector for very low noise.

 

[MidnightArrakis]

I'm interested in a cover for my 351. It was missing when I got it.

>> If you can send me even a rough hand-sketch with some fairly accurate mechanical dimensions, I could create a CAD-design of a cover for you. Some photos would also help out as well.

Last year, I designed a rack-mount chassis of an RCA Broadcast Equipment Shelf from only the information contained in a 1948 RCA Broadcast Equipment brochure!!! The brochure contained just the basic dimensions and a series of old photos of this unit. My new 3D CAD-designed version looked pretty cool!!!

Also, I sent you a detailed and lengthy message over this past weekend at your personal webpage. You might wanna check that out.

/

 

[marklacas]

>> If you can send me even a rough hand-sketch with some fairly accurate mechanical dimensions, I could create a CAD-design of a cover for you. Some photos would also help out as well.

Last year, I designed a rack-mount chassis of an RCA Broadcast Equipment Shelf from only the information contained in a 1948 RCA Broadcast Equipment brochure!!! The brochure contained just the basic dimensions and a series of old photos of this unit. My new 3D CAD-designed version looked pretty cool!!!

Also, I sent you a detailed and lengthy message over this past weekend at your personal webpage. You might wanna check that out.

/

I'll see what I can do. I did not get the message for some reason. Maybe it went into spam and I deleted it with the pile of spam messages I get every day.

 

[Jen]

Thanks Jen. Yes, the 350 series is superior to the 600 series. I looked at the 351 in road cases but the first barrier was checking the equipment on flights. Did you put yours on numerous flights in checked baggage and did they survive ok? What did you have to check out and possibly adjust after a flight to make sure they performed as well as they did before the plane ride?

Sorry for late reply. I always transported mine in my own vehicle. If expecting air travel, I would have a real transport flight case made with a few inches of foam surrounding the Ampex case. These are not light weight and with today's horrible freight handlers, I would plan for worst case handling scenario.

 

[mitchillinois]

Thanks for filling me in about the case Jen. I agree. Even in flight cases with foam, I would question if a 350/351 series deck in checked baggage would reliably survive a series of flights in operational condition. Thankfully, with the help of members of this forum for which I am grateful, I have located studios in all of the necessary places with 350/351s or tube Studer machines. Thanks again.

 

[Gold]

My mentor did classical recordings for an American label in Europe in the 1960’s. They were done on Ampex 300’s. He took two 300’s with him…

 

[MidnightArrakis]

My mentor did classical recordings for an American label in Europe in the 1960’s. They were done on Ampex 300’s. He took two 300’s with him…

I used to lug around a CROWN SX-722 for doing "LIVE" recordings back during the 1970's!!!

/

 

[mitchillinois]

My mentor did classical recordings for an American label in Europe in the 1960’s. They were done on Ampex 300’s. He took two 300’s with him…

A mentor who was dedicated to quality sound. Your comment reminds me of an article I read in my teen years (mid to late 1960s) in a broadcast engineering magazine about Bella Bartok's son, Peter, and his recording activities.

Around the same time I was carrying an Ampex 602 to a Chicago rock palace for an interview with Pete Townshend. The Who had released a new album called Tommy which was highly regarded but not yet iconic. When I asked about Tommy being heralded as a rock opera, Townshend replied that the Kinks' Arthur was more of a rock opera than Tommy.

 

[mitchillinois]

I used to lug around a CROWN SX-722 for doing "LIVE" recordings back during the 1970's!!!

I remember reading about those and wanting one.

 

[MidnightArrakis]

I remember reading about those and wanting one.

[I used to lug around a CROWN SX-722 for doing "LIVE" recordings back during the 1970's!!!] -- At the time that I bought my CROWN SX-722, for the price, I -- COULD -- have bought 3 ReVox A-77's!!! What a choice, huh???

Not only that, but.....during that time while growing up in Indianapolis, IN and knowing that Elkhart, IN was about 2-1/2 hours north up on Route 31 of Indy, I was able to drive up to the CROWN facility and I bought my tape deck directly from CROWN themself!!! WOW!!! Their finance department and I worked out a payment plan (with no interest) and I religiously made sure that I made my payments to CROWN every month!!! Doing something like that was completely UNHEARD OF back then, let alone even today!!! But, I was so grateful that such a company as CROWN would not only directly sell me a tape deck, but also -- trusted -- this "young kid" (I was around 20-years old then) enough to make all of the payments and not skip out on them.....that I have always had a special place for the company in my heart. I was devastated to learn of their sad closing and going out-of-business (In June, 2018, Harman International shut down the Crown International headquarters in Elkhart, IN and moved manufacturing to Mexico in an effort to consolidate resources).

/

 

[Barry Hufker]

What a wonderful reminiscence! That was a hunk of metal to lug around, and obviously very expensive.

 

[mitchillinois]

[I used to lug around a CROWN SX-722 for doing "LIVE" recordings back during the 1970's!!!] -- At the time that I bought my CROWN SX-722, for the price, I -- COULD -- have bought 3 ReVox A-77's!!! What a choice, huh???

Not only that, but.....during that time while growing up in Indianapolis, IN and knowing that Elkhart, IN was about 2-1/2 hours north up on Route 31 of Indy, I was able to drive up to the CROWN facility and I bought my tape deck directly from CROWN themself!!! WOW!!! Their finance department and I worked out a payment plan (with no interest) and I religiously made sure that I made my payments to CROWN every month!!! Doing something like that was completely UNHEARD OF back then, let alone even today!!! But, I was so grateful that such a company as CROWN would not only directly sell me a tape deck, but also -- trusted -- this "young kid" (I was around 20-years old then) enough to make all of the payments and not skip out on them.....that I have always had a special place for the company in my heart. I was devastated to learn of their sad closing and going out-of-business (In June, 2018, Harman International shut down the Crown International headquarters in Elkhart, IN and moved manufacturing to Mexico in an effort to consolidate resources).

/

Thanks for the great story! That was a time when some businesses treated people as individuals and valued customers. The wise ones understood that young people of the day were more than current customers, we were their potential future customers.

 

[ethervalve]

I am looking for recording studios with an Ampex 350/351 to record spoken word. Ideally, they would be stereo decks but a mono machine could suffice. We will likely need studios in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and central/eastern Europe (Germany, Poland, the Baltics, or Scandinavia). I found one near London. The studios will be needed in 6-12 months for a documentary film, so I am checking now if they exist. If not, I'll pursue a plan B to get this late 1940s/1950s sound.

Until very recently, David Dintenfass had a voiceover studio in Seattle with an Ampex 300-series deck as an option.
Here's what the control room looked like:

He's an Ampex 300-series expert and continues to repair and sell parts for these machines, maybe he'd have some good leads? https://fulltrackproductions.com/

 

[mitchillinois]

Thanks. The photo took me back to radio studios I worked in long ago. I have identified recording studios with tube tape decks in all of the cities in which we'll need them. However, we may want alternate choices, so I am grateful to have the link to Full Track Productions and may reach out for suggestions when we launch the recording project. Thank you!