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

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mitchillinois

Active member
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Feb 13, 2024
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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.
 
I know where there are some Ampex 300/350/351's in the NY area. They are not in commercial studios though. I don't know of any in commercial studios. It may be possible to rent them. Sear Sound might have something in the closet. I'd call them first. If you are willing to hire a studio and rent a machine I could put you in contact with a couple people. All old and cranky.
 
Gold said:
I know where there are some Ampex 300/350/351's in the NY area. They are not in commercial studios though. I don't know of any in commercial studios. It may be possible to rent them. Sear Sound might have something in the closet. I'd call them first. If you are willing to hire a studio and rent a machine I could put you in contact with a couple people. All old and cranky.
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Thank you. A good idea. I really appreciate your offer. This would be a good option if all of our sessions were in one place. With having to do sessions in what will probably be five or six different cities, this is probably too much to coordinate. Also, a machine in active use will be properly set-up and maintained and ready to record. One of several plan Bs is to find a restored Ampex 602 stereo machine to rent and take that from studio to studio in each city, since it could go on a plane as a carry-on.
 
Gold said:
The machines I know of are in good shape. They are in private studios though.
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That's good to know. Thanks. I really appreciate the tip about Sear Sound. I visited their website and they look like a possible fit. They have Studer C-37s (customized). If I've got it correct, the C-37s were Studer's first stereo machines and still had tube preamps, and so should work. They also have the mikes I will want to use. I will reach out to Sear Sound next week. Thanks again.
 
mitchillinois said:
That's good to know. Thanks. I really appreciate the tip about Sear Sound. I visited their website and they look like a possible fit. They have Studer C-37s (customized). If I've got it correct, the C-37s were Studer's first stereo machines and still had tube preamps, and so should work. They also have the mikes I will want to use. I will reach out to Sear Sound next week. Thanks again.
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Sear Sound keeps everything in tip top shape. Dan Zellman (super tech) has his shop in the basement. He rebuilt the C-37 and J-37. He is a factory trained Studer tech and an excellent all around tech.
 
Gold said:
Sear Sound keeps everything in tip top shape. Dan Zellman (super tech) has his shop in the basement. He rebuilt the C-37 and J-37. He is a factory trained Studer tech and an excellent all around tech.
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Good to know. I like that it's in active current use. Dan Zellman has to be a super tech to have rebuilt the C-37s to run at 15-30 ips with 1/2 inch tape two-track. Their studio is impressive as is their client list. We will have one person doing spoken word into two mikes each recorded on a track, with the playback head output to ProTools. So it's very simple. I look forward to speaking with them.
 
Gold said:
It’s a great shop. Like they used to be. With rare and expensive gear causally tossed on a shelf.
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Yes, they have the mikes I want to use, which are rare and expensive. I read a little about Walter Sear, including an interview with him. He was a remarkable man. He seemed to have the near-perfect set of experiences to create a musician-oriented and audio engineer-oriented studio. His vision is clearly reflected in the shop.
 
mitchillinois said:
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.
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You might consider long term rental of a 354 in Ampex road cases.. It can move from location to location with you, and offer better sound than the smaller Ampex 600 series, which is based on a far lower performing consumer deck transport. Only slightly larger would be a 351 stereo in road cases, as it is only 7" more in the electronics case. The factory considered transporting 351 decks for remote gigs, and provided excellent cases and appropriate cables. I have owned both 351 stereo and 354 stereo road case systems in the past.
 
Jen said:
You might consider long term rental of a 354 in Ampex road cases.. It can move from location to location with you, and offer better sound than the smaller Ampex 600 series, which is based on a far lower performing consumer deck transport. Only slightly larger would be a 351 stereo in road cases, as it is only 7" more in the electronics case. The factory considered transporting 351 decks for remote gigs, and provided excellent cases and appropriate cables. I have owned both 351 stereo and 354 stereo road case systems in the past.
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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?
 
Barry Hufker said:
I'm eager to know what the project is about that the sound of 1950s tape is so integral. I'm sure it has been suggested that using tape emulation plugins would be much more convenient, although not exactly authentic...
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[much more convenient, although not exactly authentic / Saint Louis, Missouri] -- SHOW ME!!!.....

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mitchillinois said:
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?
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[I looked at the 351 in road cases] -- There are companies such as GATOR Cases, SKB, Pelican and a few dozen others that make heavy-duty road-cases for concert sound-reinforcement companies. These cases are specifically designed and built for the rigors of travelling and the abuse of stage-crews!!! I am more than certain that you will be able to find a set of road-cases to fit whatever AMPEX tape-transport and its electronics you end up with.

From there, should you need any additional assistance in coming up with a "cohesive" cable-assembly harness and/or custom I/O rack-panels or any other sheet-metal design-work to complete your "On-The-Road" system, I can help you out with that.....as that is what I do!!!

1709965519834.png

In addition, I even -- STILL HAVE -- a case of "NEW-IN-THE-BOX / STILL-IN-SHRINKWRAP" AMPEX-642 7" reels of tape!!! And, if I can remember correctly, I think there's also about 6 or so 10-1/2" pancakes of the AMPEX-642, too!!!

Interested???

/
 
Barry Hufker said:
I'm eager to know what the project is about that the sound of 1950s tape is so integral. I'm sure it has been suggested that using tape emulation plugins would be much more convenient, although not exactly authentic...
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Then.....there is this:

The ATS-1 Analog Tape Simulator

1709966488635.png

The ATS-Analog Tape Simulator is the first product that uses the AnaMod process for modeling complex analog circuitry entirely in the analog domain. Specially developed analog building blocks are 'coded' to emulate the behavior of a complex analog system. Unlike digital plug-ins or processor-based outboard gear, there is no latency, and no A/D or D/A conversions to compromise the sound. The result is a faithful recreation of the original response, without using the original analog hardware.

All of the important features of a two-track analog tape machine are found in the ATS-1, including speed selection, bias, LF record and HF Repro EQ, and the option of adding tape hiss, if desired. The reference 'record' level, as indicated on the illuminated VU meters, can be adjusted from 0 to +12 dBu in 3 dB increments.

The ATS-1 accurately models the behavior of specific tape machines and tape formulations, and allows the user to select from up to four machine and tape types. Optional machine and tape types are available on easy-to-install SIMM cards. Standard tape formulation cards shipped with the ATS-1 are the GP9 and 456. Standard machine cards are the A800 and M79.

By popular demand, wow and flutter is not included.

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