I found this amazing sounding reel to reel recorder on the curb!
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- Опубліковано 16 гру 2022
- The sample library I made in this video can be found here: / patron-exclusive-76021137
The reel to reel recorder in the video is a Wollensak T-1515-4 from 1959.
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Find my FILM & INSTRUMENTAL music here: davidhilowitz.bandcamp.com
Find my ROCK MUSIC here: manwomanchild.bandcamp.com
Incredible find! I'm a descendant of the Wollensak family, we have a collection of AV equipment, lenses, cameras etc. Thank you very much for this showcase.
Also thank you for pronouncing the name correctly!
@@TheAbsoluteDenial Do people really have trouble pronouncing it? I figured it just rhymed with swollen sack.
Joking aside, that’s supercool that you found this video and commented about your family connection. 👍
My first reel to reel was a Wollensak 6300. I was 12-years old. I loved that machine. I can still remember the satisfying "clunk" when I pressed the mechanical button for PLAY. It may have been being phased out at the time as I am pretty sure I got a deal on it from Burstein & Applebee in Kansas City, Missouri in about 1971 or 1972. The Wollensak 6300 was a decent stereo 1/4 track reel to reel at a modest price, size, and weight. I remember it had a fantastically ergonomic folding T-handle at the top center making it a breeze to transport. I'll also mention that years later when I was 15 I received for Christmas a Wollensak 8-Track cartridge recording deck. Even with the limitations of the 8-track cartridge this was a very good sounding tape deck. I remember using TDK cartridges and an outboard Teac AN-60 Dolby B noise reduction unit with it and I made some very good sounding tapes because I also was a kid obsessed with audio gear. Wollensak has a very special place in my heart. I wish they'd continued making consumer reel decks, maybe one that could take 10.5" reels because with their expertise in manufacturing tape and tape machines they really had the right ingredients. I now realize many recording studios had 3M made multi-track machines in the 70's on into the late 80's. They made great stuff! When Advent made the first audiophile compact cassette recording deck they partnered with 3M and used a Wollensak transport as the heart and soul of that ground-breaking tape machine that ushered the compact cassette into the high-fidelity realm. I LOVE WOLLENSAK! I still have a Pioneer RT-1020 10.5" reel to reel machine to this day and I credit Wollensak for the beginning of my personal love of taping.
@@AudioFileZ wasn’t there a high profile case recently, where descendants of a 40s/50s av manufacturer had to fight a legal battle to buy back the rights to the name when a grandson wanted to restart the brand? Can’t remember which brand.
I'd love to see your collection! That sounds so magical!
Cant believe someone was just chucking it out
Right? These are very expensive
Oh, come on!
It's junk.
I can’t believe it sounded so good either, wow, stunning machine and certainly not junk.
@@chrishickory7907 where are they expensive? I buy them cheap because I feel they will be valuable to guitar players
Agreed. Not very believable. Considering all the stuff he has and how expensive these are. If they only needed the wheels and a power chord. I’m not saying he’s lying. Just a lot to believe with all the factorsz
In the very remote case that someone is wondering what was the original sound on the second (larger) loop, it’s Spanish, a seemingly home recording of an old popular Mexican folk song named “Monedita de oro” written by beloved author Cuco Sánchez. Translated to English, the part says: “not everybody will love me, I was born this way, if you don’t love me, that’s fine by me”. Super obscure trivia over.
I remember when I was building my basement studio, most of my stuff came from the curb or garage sales. Turntables, reel to reel tape decks like that Wollensak, amps--even a wire recorder. The Wollensaks were mainstays when I was on A/V crew in junior and senior high. Built like tanks!
I discovered this channel just a few months ago and I absolutely love it. Thanks for the warm and positive content Dave, it never fails to brighten my mood!
SAAAAME
I’m in the same boat. Not a music person but love the channel.
Yup, my favorite chill out Sunday mornings content
Yes! Dave is simply awesome! I learned so much watching his channel!
The song without the drums really sounds like a microphones song. Beautiful piece of technology
I spend my weekends here in Australia scouring eBay and garage sales and op-shops and have never found anything interesting. I have no idea how you keep finding so much amazing stuff
it’s strange: I can go months without finding anything and then all of a sudden I luck into a bunch of things in the space of two weeks. this fall I found a four track recorder, two reel to reels (the other one was broken, sadly), and a pipe from an old wooden pipe organ
If you're still in Australia, try going to cash converters, you might find something interesting there.
@@MangInutil I get the vibe you don't live in aus haha. I frequent Cashies and, as always, they have random garbage that's greatly overpriced because there's an eBay listing somewhere with that price that they're using as a reference price. No dice generally, unfortunately
@@dinglebop9998 You can tell. I assume their price points we're either random, or given by the donor. That's sucks if it's like that.
Yeah I was like “what town do you live in??” 😂
I used to service those recorders back in the late 70's. Yes, they were pretty good machines. A stereo one like you found would be somewhat rare. Most of the units I worked on were mono. Older ones had tubes, newer ones were solid state. They were decent machines and not bad to work on.
David: “I found 2 million dollars while I was out for a walk, unfortunately it was shredded into tiny little bits so I brought it home and taped it back together. I also spent 8 hours googling where this bag of shredded bills originated.“.
And we love him for this
You can never beat the sound that comes from a good real to real, still have my own stereo real to real up the attic, and no I won't part with it, one day it will be used again. Still the best stereo sound out of any stereo equipment I have used.
What a blast from the past. Yeah… As a 67-year-old. I can safely say. This was my daddy's, second, now portable, tape recorder. He could take with him. When pitching, a new, advertising client. For his small, advertising agency. My grandfather started.
And since it had, a built-in speaker. He now could play reel to reel tapes. Virtually anywhere! Back in 1959. When he also came home with a, white, 59, Chevy Impala. With nice big fins! Now mounted more horizontally than vertically. And a real eye popper. I remember. When I was 6 years old. And how exciting it was. For daddy to purchase his first, brand-new car! Woo hoo! When I was a kid growing up in Detroit.
Within the next year. As I became 7 years old. And thought daddies tape recorder was still pretty groovy. He took me down to this place called, United Sound Systems Studios. Where they had, much more grown-up, tape recorders. One called an Ampex and one called a, Scully. And a whole bunch of both.
So positing those. I instantly knew. Even at 7 years of age. What my father had was a toy. And I wanted one of those really impressive, tape recorders called, Ampex and Scully. Though grandpa had a Presto. Who I think later made, food pressure cookers?
Since, those Ampex and Scully tape recorders cost as much as, dads brand-new Chevy Impala. It made sense to own a, "Wall in sac". Than a, Chevy budgeted, tape recorder. But I knew what I wanted! And could never afford.
Yes I would just have to wait for the day. For them to offer me managerial position. When pigs fly. And I had to dodge those pigs. And went to work for them. In 1979. One must also look up and, watch out for flying pigs. And bout knocked me silly. When they told me they needed my help.. Really? You need help from a high school dropout? Yes they did!
Yes you know, Wally Sachs and are made by 3M. Those folks freezing in Minnesota. Mining and Manufacturing their frozen asses off. Making the first American recording tape. With this newfangled, plastic stuff. Dull on one side and shiny on the other. And you have to know what side to use. It's very confusing. As it has 2 sides, only! But really 3! Because your 12 inch ruler. Cannot measure, 1.5 milli-meters. Which I think is, only about, one hair thickness? Because when it gets clogged.. With hair and dust. It doesn't sound good, anymore.
And the only way to fix that. Is to wash your tape recorder in gasoline. And disinfect it. By lighting it on fire. As that Wall In Sack. Was a terrible piece of trash. You could now, camouflage. In your living room. With its smart, click in place, metal cover plate. That could store nothing more than a, 3 or 4 inch take up reel. But when opened. Could accept a 7 inch reel or 2. So that made perfect sense!
Oh and that pretty good, SHURE microphone? Yeah no! It's not what you think it is. It is a crystal capsule cartridge. And it sounds like a telephone. Because it was only design. To record, 5-year-old Danny. Drooling into the microphone. Wishing grandma happy birthday. Or dictating a letter for his secretary. He could just hand to her. From that high quality crystal microphone! Worth at least, 2 dollars US in 1959! Yeah high quality LOL and beyond laughable in its sound, gargling. And nice and fizzy sounding. Like some 7 Up or Coca-Cola was built right into it! And Danny's drool.
Danny would later need, Speech Therapy. In elementary school. As I was the only person that could understand my younger brother. When I was 6!
And little did I realize. It was my younger brother's speech impediment. That taught me how to be a, critical technical listener. To interpret. What he was trying to say out loud to others. But couldn't be understood. Only I could. Without yet understanding. Why I could? As I had to interpret everything I heard out of my younger brothers, mouth. That no one else could.
And so later in life. I realized by the time I was 12. I would make Audio Engineering. My lifelong career. I would design and build that stuff. So I could record fabulous musicians. Like my mommy and daddy were. And then play it on the radio for everybody! I was so wonderfully naïve. As I also knew I could then, watch cartoons and then 3 Stooges. Also for alerting! By working in a TV station! And/or a old-fashioned TV station. Called a Radio Station. As my mom and dad's only TV when they were growing up was a speaker in the radio in the living room.. And all I see when I look at a speaker. It is a brown gray paper thing. That gets boring to look at. So you could look at a book. While just listening to Alvin and the Chipmunks! And they were so cute! Such talented chipmunks! Any child could appreciate. And Alan Sherman's….. Hello Mudddr Hello Fodder. Here I am at… Camp Granada. A record every kid my age, wanted! It was a big hit! Along with MAD Magazine's, It's a Gas! Which until the last couple of decades. I still had, my original copy of. Until I got torn in half. Oh Poo! And a piece of… American History. Lost, forever! Because, who is left alive that had an original? Not many if any? They're all dead! I am also! Almost.. Soon enough. Maybe by next year? Maybe 30 from now? As mom is 99. And still pooping! So I guess she's, still alive? She looks like she's breathing? My brother and I always check these days. When she is sitting in her easy chair asleep. Is she really asleep? Or just taking by being dead? Nope! She's still breathing. And we will let her continue. As long as she wants. When she outlives both of us. And we never get to enjoy our retirement in the end. Because we don't have enough money to put mom, in an, Old Folks Warehouse. Without losing the house and becoming homeless, ourselves. In our late 60s.
So is likely good. I got rid of that old, Wallace Bang, years ago. Now I've got to get rid of the, last, TEAC 3340. As I got rid of the other two. Years ago. And the three, REVOX A-77''s of different configurations. 3.75 IPS 1/4 track through, 15 IPS 1/2 track.. And all in stereo. With groovy, single ended, Class A transistor design. And no crappy output transformers sludging Up, the sound. Just nice smooth, low noise,, silicon transistor technology. Without noisy vacuum tubes hissing and popping away. Ugh! ISsssn't that great Ssssounding! Now even you can make great recordings of your dog barking! When you have him, locked in the bathroom. So you can get some sleep! Good thing I had,, kitties. They don't bark. They just snuggle up with you. And drink their bodies. Over your face. While you're trying to sleep! Dadgumit!
Later you have found your dad daddies'.. One of them's. Old Wall in Shack recorder thingy. When you finally cleaned out their's's bedrooms's, closet's's. When you can find no other place on the floor to put the cat box. Since the other one has been full for months. Under the dining room table.
Now you can have the enjoyment. Of many hours of listening to, 9th generation copies of, warbling ethnic programming. You bid upon and received at an estate sale. For Only three dollars US! A deal that could just not be passed up. To have something to try and play upon your, 3M, Wallace hack. As it will only play the tapes made by, 3M on the 3M Wall of shock. Recorder Thingy.
What am I going to do with my old Scully's?
RemyRAD
I really enjoyed your story. It had a Camp Granada flavour to it. Wow, your dad's Chevy Impala... What an amazing machine. Did it have those rear tail lights that looked like sleepy cats eyes? Love those!
I grew up with these. My dad had one back in the early 60s and used to record me singing myself to sleep at night at times. My cousin and I would record fake radio programs on it for fun. I still have those tapes. I don’t remember the head shifting wheel on his model but otherwise the one we had looked the same as this one. They’re classics, the schools had them so I saw them there too. Another interesting item is the “VU meter” was was a neon bulb that would half illuminate at medium recording level and fully illuminate and high recording level. Brings back lots of memories.
Man I need to hear more of that fuzzy preamp on guitar or even bass!
I think it would actually sound amazing on bass
@@DavidHilowitzMusic I was thinking the same!
The MONO tube, and later solid state Wollensaks are workhorses for experimental loops and production. They were standard in school AV departments in the 1950's- 1970's. Also the entire chassis from the earliest tube models ( white and grey, like yours, which is tube Stereo) to the latest avocado green solid state 'transistor' models, you can swap the chassis as they had identical connectors on them. I used to goof around and make my late green models with tubes and the early white and grey models with the solid state chassis. MAKE YOU SOME TAPE LOOPS! No reels necessary, just the tape, plus you can make them as long as you want.
My dad had one of those and I had lots of fun with it as a kid. While it couldn't record stereo, it could play back pre-recorded 2-track stereo tapes.
I got a Wollensak for Christmas in 1960. Still have it and it works just fine. I still have the tapes I recorded back then. Rock and roll from Cousin Brucie on AM as well as the Good Guys over on WMCA and we must not forget WINS (now an all news station) with Murry the K. For a 15 year old kid in 1960, I always had the popular songs to play. Please note the stations are all from NYC.
Congrats on the unreal luck you were having, just finding this. From the 50s, super old, but the sound is wide range and clean. This Wollensack dev weren’t just dicking around. They were meticulous to build this taking their time and taking the tech of the time, tweaking things really skillfully to take advantage of the limited tech and winding up with this gem. Very well executed bit of gear, this.
Still have my dad's Wollensak 8mm camera. He bought it right after the Korean War. It still works.
I had (have) the Revere version called the T-2000 (T-2200 with stereo playback). It's amazing that the entire circuit - pre-amp, record-amp, power-amp, and bias oscillator - used only three tubes (four tubes in the stereo model). You can't do much with just three transistors!
I recently bought an old Wollensak and was surprised to discover, even though it looks exactly the same, they had switched to transistorized circuitry. This reduced the weight a bit!
i got a old uher report reel to reel from my uncle lately, and same as you, i love the warm, melancholic sound it can provide when played slower than recorded. it never fails to make me happy when i experiment with it . doing it with you hands and sometimes wrestle with the old mechanic ...good for you to have found such a lovely machine literaly on the street and gave it a new home...
When you had this reel to reel in the thumbnail I said to myself "how is he going to make cool music with this" and lo and behold, you made a great little tune. Amazing work as always.
Great to see this.
My father brought one back from New York when I was 10 around 1960. It is a beast! My 1st recording studio😊
Switching the speed to half really hit the Boards Of Canada/Aphex Twin vibes.
Holy cow. My uncle gave us his old Wollensak when we were just kids. It was about the same age as yours I think. It was still working when I gave it away to an audio nerd 30 years later. I think it was the same or similar model. Fun times, fun times.
Love the spirit of discovery and experimentation in all your videos - incredibly inspiring!
Always a good day when you upload another cool experiment. Keep on keeping on! 💪
Wow ! I hardly expected such a sound.
Very happy for such existences in back times.
We have three Wollenak T-1600s and they are fantastic. Spot on about the built in pre-amp/amps. They are really a wonderful color. We use them along with a similar ‘portable’ AIWA for all sorts of long multi-head delay loop stuff. Real unsung gems. Thanks for sharing the love.
This is cool. This video can be a lesson for today's generation, that recording audio in the past was not as easy as it is now. They not only need skills, but also creativity, art and feelings. That's why the music of the past is so beautiful, because musicians in the past were educated by such situations, digitalization did not yet exist.
Btw the downside to audio equipment of the past was that they used "rubber bands", which would disintegrate over time. The rubber band is used as a rotating interface between the dynamo and other levers. How do you get it, and get it to the right size? I have a Walkman but the rubber band is destroyed, it's very difficult to find one in the same size.
You have changed my creative process and palette, I'm profoundly grateful for your work.
And that so many of us get to throw valuable objects without knowing actually the real meaning. Knowledge is always the key of wisdom.
Amazing job! Beautiful sounds
I just bought this same model from Goodwill today and came across your channel. I build tube amps and can’t wait to dig into it. Thanks for posting!
This looks like low budget fun and that preamp is a nice bonus. Not only a great find but also a very nice way to share it with us.
you'er so lucky to find this player from the street & its so clean & in good working order. I have one of these players to that I got from ebay & mine plays very good on lots of mono tapes I have. its incredible that yours is not in need of new Belts or any thing as of yet. So Glad you were there to save it & bring it back to life again. I enjoy restoring tape players of this area a lot. Great video.
Dude your videos always motivate me so much. This might be my favorite one yet
I found one of this very model, along with a box of advertising demo tapes on the curb of my hometown when I was a teen. I remember bringing it home (with a sore arm from carrying it home), fixing it up a bit (to quiet that noisy fan), and it sounded great! I used it extensively for some audio editing I did in high school and I always enjoyed using it. It, along with the tapes, are long gone now... but thanks for the flashback! I'm glad you're enjoying using it.
Thanks for this, it's very fascinating. It's cool that you just found this piece of classic technology like that. A real piece of history.
Beautiful smooth sound
Wow. Really great sound quality out of the box (er, off the curb). Was definitely surprised at the noise levels. Cool!
Very enjoyable and productive experimentation. Loved the outcome and that preamp drive was ace.
Another tip is that some cheap tape echoes from the 70s have sound on sound features. As well as being able to change the tape speed, sometimes the loop can be affected with built in spring reverb and EQ for utter gorgeousness.
Thanks!! Nice to see you here. Ah, would that I could find a tape echo somewhere. I was actually toying with the idea of picking up a second one of these units to try some sort of lofi frippertronics experiments.
@@DavidHilowitzMusic Tape echoes are a bit right place, right time and often need work, yeah. That said, there was a surprising number of brands making them in the 70s though. Everyone knows Roland of course, but I've seen and used numerous alternatives that I'd never heard of.
Two units would be a lot of fun! Witzotronics. 😉
such a lovley sound!
If you get two, you can record on one at low speed, play it back at high speed with the output signal patched to the other one while recording at high speed, then play it back at low speed, and the warbling, lo-fi effect will then appear at normal playback, if so desired. If the master is reversed before doing this, and the final is recorded in reverse, then the regular playback will also play in mirrored-reverse configuration, i.e., 'reverse echo,' and sound backwards while sequenced forwards. You could also use the trailing reel of the second one as a guide for loops that are too long to fit on one unit alone to be recorded and played back on the primary unit, and the weight of the two seated stably on a level, tractive surface should allow it to be maintained at correct and stable tension to improve playback. Awesome stuff, for sure, and I'd love to make use of it.
What a treasure find ! That is a keeper for sure.
Favorite memory of my 1960’s childhood was my Dad’s gigantic reel to reel which my older brother used to record tv newscasts most memorably the Cuban missile crisis. Still love the sound of tape hiss.
I literally don't know sh*** about music, sampling, sound design or anything like that but your videos are absolutely amazing. Thank you!
Another fantastic video!! I love that! And the track you made with it is so good!!! 👏👏
Grew up with that one! Awesome sound and history!
Excellent And Beyond (Thank You)
Love your content!
This was fantastic! Your videos are always amazing, but I really loved this one!
I just discovered this channel this month and it has really reignited my love for music.
I love the channel, keep it going. I'll join your Patreon soon..
Another really interesting, and all-around fantastic video.
Such a charming video. Well done!
This is so nice!!
Great sounding reel to reel…gotta love that analogue sound !
Boy, that brings back some memories.
Brilliant video as always, Dave! 🎉 you make me want to own a tape recorder in the studio again. Must… resist…
“The best way to resist a temptation,
Is to render to it”
Oscar Wilde.
Just walk around on trash day. Even if you don’t find your tape recorder, you’ll get good exercise.
@Lureeality 🎶🎵 The only thing that finally stopped me was that I literally ran out of floor space after adding a drum set, Rhodes, Vibraphone, and Marimba to my tiny iso room.
Excellent! Thank you for this informative and entertaining video!
What fun!! Such great stuff! A treasure! ❤
What a lucky find amazing sound wonderful old machine.
Wow. What a find! I'm very surprised at how good it sounds, and the distortion you can get is very nice and crunchy.
You never fail to delight me with your content David, I strive to make content as good as this.
Im no musician and most of the time i have no idea what you're talking about when it comes to terminologies, but I've always enjoy the music that you create
Thank you for such an inspiring and well made video! A friend gave us a reel to reel a while ago and I’m trying to figure out how to use it for recordings. You’re giving me ideas for ways to integrate it with the DAW.
I love this channel so much!❤
Absolutely, I have a small Sony tabletop voice recorder and a proper Teac reel to reel. Love them both!
Wow this sounds great... I would love one of these eventually to play with. Never had a reel to reel, but golly it warms my body lol.
Funny how what some would call 'an old piece of junk' can still be so useful and versatile. You were lucky to find one in excellent working condition. This robust and stylish piece of American craftsmanship is a real work of art!.
I've picked up a number of these over the years, including the T-1515 'Stereo' model. In my last apartment, I had a long shelf set up, with the T-1515 on one end and a mono T-1500 at the other to play the second channel, for true stereo. Today, I have three working, incuding 1958 and 1960 T-1500s, plus one of the last generation solid-state 1520-AV.models that, amazingly, remained in production until 1981. As for the $2313 price equivalent, today you couldn't duplicate this machine for anything near that price!
I grew up with a very similar Wollensak. Excellent.
Very cool David! That guitar amp tone was awesome.
You always find the most interesting things ❤
Meant to be! Awesome find for the perfect person to find it! Great sound!
damn David... the World is a so much better place because of You. thanks so much for everything You do! working my a$$ of to get a job and finally sign up Your Patreon...
Sounds amazing 👏
This content is amazing. If you keep up with this format and stay at the pace your going, this channel is gonna grow like bamboo dog
Your playful inventiveness beggars belief, David. I loved this.
Since I was in my teens when Brian Eno and Robert Fripp were messing with tape loop in a way that would profoundly influence digital delay design, I have adored the way musicians generate experimental sound and project it for audiences with the intention of having fun and maybe making something profound.
I was delighted by the difference between the product of doubling an octave down in Ableton and on the tape recorder and even moreso when you chose the stranger, antithetical option.
Although I was never a perfectionist, I really struggle with Lo fi, distortion, wow and flutter etc. Thank you for the lesson in using these things creatively.
Oh man this is so cool!
I love the wobbly lofi sound when the speed is 3 3/4
What you're doing n sharing is impressive.
Amazing, just found your channel. Love it :)
Wonderful David - Happy Holidays.
I have a couple of these and got them working pretty well.
I grew up with reel to reel…..so this brings back some great memories! I do miss reel to reel……enjoy!
I was ab AV geek in grammar school, middle school, and high school and we used these Wollansak (then became 3M) machines. They were quite reliable.
I’ve never subscribed so fast. Amazing video and so helpful to me right now!
Welcome aboard!
That's a beautiful sound. I like that you can choose to filter your sound with such an older part of sonic history before it goes into a modern interface and computer.
Great find! I love those old ads
I don’t belive someone thrown this out. What a find. Congrats mate.
We had these units in high school in a blind low vision resource center. Great machines. !
I really enjoyed this video
This is so awesome I can’t believe you found it on the side of the road!!
The quality of record is incredible
Tape is magical! I'm still on rearch, hope to find one. Thanks for sharing -
I've had an identical reel to reel for years, $8 at Goodwill. Have recorded several full reels of my own tunes on it, all at the 3 3/4 ips speed. Warbly gorgeousity.
this is amazing, thanks for sharing and in such high-quality video format as well! You are indeed lucky with tape stuff lately :D
it’s almost weird how lucky i’ve gotten in the last few months…
@@DavidHilowitzMusic The scam bots have been busy in the comments section, unfortunately.
It's always nice to have some analog equipment in your arsenal. Like analog synths, analog tape, analog effects, ribbon mics, etc.
Couldn't agree more!
i grew up with one just like this one as a kid, and also a real nice akai reel to reel that i recently gave away. That thing sounds great love the recording u did came out great. Love what you did with it, how you looped it and ran it through the software, love the warble and recording u did!
this is so cool, great channel!
That’s sweet! Well done amigo!