Interviews and Stories
Preserving the stories of significant individuals in sound recording generally and magnetic recording specifically is a major project of MOMSR. The Museum’s goal is to document the stories of those persons who contributed significant inventions, manufactured equipment and who engineered and produced audio recordings, especially in the areas of music, broadcast, film/video and science. These interviews will be available on MOMSR’s web site and in the permanent facility when it is created. These interviews have also been made available to the Audio Engineering Society (AES) and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Grammy’s).
Sony
1-7-1 Konan, Minato-ku,
Tokyo 108-0075, Japan
Founded May 7, 1946
Superscope Technologies
1508 Batavia Avenue
Geneva, IL 60134
founded 1954
Akio Morita - Sony founder
Born January 26, 1921, Nagoya, Aichi – Died October 3, 1999, Tokyo
No stories have been added. Please see the Manufacturing profile for more information.
The following provided by Michael Sykes, formerly of SONY UK Ltd, taken from literature he helped prepare. We greatly appreciate Michael taking the time to scan and donate these images to our collection.
Hello Martin,
Delighted to help - knew they would come in useful one day. I set up the original SONY UK Sales DIVISION, as part of the Debenham Group in 1964 and in 1968 moved to London to set up SONY UK Ltd. I left in 1984 when SONY underwent massive reorganisation by the American "suits" who wanted to relocate the UK operation to Europe. Sadly, with the passing of Co-founder, Akio Morita, that was to be the Company's fate.
CD had just been launched in the UK, together with Walkman and I bowed out. Today ?????
Of course, as you know, SONY pioneered other magnetic recording formats, analog and digital, cassette in conjunction with Philips, Elcassette, and video/audio recording using its own Betamax system, together with microphones, mixers and many other audio accessories. I do have information on them all, if of interest.
Michael
Sony TC-800B 1964 $179.50
The Nixon White House Watergate model in our collection
Sony TC-800 ad (below)
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Sony TC-800B (cont'd)
The Nixon White House tapes are audio recordings of the communications of U.S. President Richard Nixon and various Nixon administration officials and White House staff, ordered by the President for personal records. The taping system was installed in selected rooms in the White House in February 1971 and was voice activated. The records come from line-taps placed on the telephones and small lavalier microphones in various locations around the rooms. The recordings were produced on up to nine Sony TC-800B open-reel tape recorders. The recorders were turned off on July 18, 1973, shortly after they became public knowledge as a result of the Watergate hearings.
 
Oval Office/White House Recorder
Sony TC-800B Audio Recorder
The secret White House taping system used a Sony TC-800B audio recording machine like the one on the right. It was a simple machine that was not expensive and cheap tiny Lavalier mics were used that were hidden throughout the Oval office and Nixon's hideout office in the OEB. The recordings were made on thin 0.5-mm tape running at the unusual speed of 15é16 inch per second - half the speed of a cassette recorder. The slow tape speed degrades the recording's already poor signal-to-noise ratio.This accounts for the poor quality of the tapes.
 Nixon's Uher 5000 Tape Recorder
And The 18.5 Minute Gap
While the recordings were recorded on the Sony TC-800B, Nixon played them back and reviewed them on a Uher 5000. The famous 18.5 minute gap was determined to be caused, not by Rosemary Woods in a transcribing accident, but caused by eight separate erasers.
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The Sony APR 5003 professional reel to reel tape recorder came to our collection from Lance Glass. Lance wrote " I got the Sony from Charles Mellone Jr. It came from his Malibu 
estate about two years ago. He was a dear friend, production, engineering, and song writing mentor to me for about 12 
years. Professionally he was a staff producer for A&M Records back in the days of the analog tape machines, Worked with song writer Jerry Williams, Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder, Glen Campbell, Green Day, Boy George, Amy Grant , Hoyt Axton, Riders of the Purple Sage, and other very talented artists. He had "The ears" as they say. He also was a big wheel in the U.S. Commerce Department, FCC side. Top grant approval guy for PBS, Radio and TV. Chuck was the lead architect in the plan that converted the US from Analog broadcasting to Digital broadcasting. He didn't personally like the switch because of the reception issued inherent to digital broadcasting for remote areas of the country."
"I would try to get your hands on some thing Stephens for museum. It wasn't the most widely recognized deck but many felt it was the best sounding. I met Roy Thomas Baker through John and went to his studio in Arizona. He still uses his Stephens 40 track as first choice. Did the first Journey Record and the Cars records on 40 tk. Pink Floyed's the Wall was recorded on 2 - 24 tk and 1 - 16 track Stephens locked together through a Black Shadow system at Producers workshop, Chief engineer Rick Heart lives here in Chatsworth.. I have a 24 track. Have metal work for a 40tk and a case in studio loft, Perhaps enough for a mock up but no meters, it would be a major project. I think he only made 5 40 tk. Leon Russel has 2 of them. I have a record signed by Leon to John and photos of one of Leon's 40 tracks before John delivered it to him., very custom case. I know his brothers Rod and half brother Kempton. Kempton and I communicate on Facebook still. AES did a forum called "A Chronology of American Tape Recording" in 1994. All the big players from the days of 2 inch talk about there products. Stephens speaks towards the end of series. I have a vhs tape of it. You should contact AES and see if you can get a copy for museum. Some great tape machine history from the men that made it happen. Regards , Lance"
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