I missed that completely.
Did Abbey Road not use Altec 604's for monitoring in some capacity? These Altec co-axial drivers do appear (to the untrained eye) similar to the Parmeko drivers used in the BBC designed LSU/10. I do not believe that there is any connection between the Parmeko co-axials and the famous Tannoy co-axials.
The cabinets for the 604's were a good bit shorter than the LSU/10 (no built in amplifier) and, from memory, were finished in a sort of 'Hammerite' paint finish.
I'm sure the 604's are visible in many of the Beatles publicity shots, taken at Abbey Road in the 60's.
The LSU/10 was still in use in the BBC in the mid to late 70's. (Well after the 405 line 'high definintion' era!)
The cabinets for the 604's were a good bit shorter than the LSU/10 (no built in amplifier) and, from memory, were finished in a sort of 'Hammerite' paint finish.
I'm sure the 604's are visible in many of the Beatles publicity shots, taken at Abbey Road in the 60's.
The LSU/10 was still in use in the BBC in the mid to late 70's. (Well after the 405 line 'high definintion' era!)
tom1356 said:
Having been born here in the UK and spent the greatest part of my life here, I think I can say with some authority that this isn't true.
The word Tannoy is, however, almost a generic term for a P/A system of the railway station / airport variety (not for live music).
Many old Tannoy speakers used in railway stations in the past had "Tannoy" printed on them in large letters, which is presumably why the word came to represent all such P/A systems.
These were not high quality speakers. In fact, the undecipherable character of messages over public information "Tannoy" systems is legendary.
David.
Abbey Road Altecs?
The monitors pictured in the early Beatles publicity shots at Abbey Road can be seen in these links:
http://www.shelovesyou.info/images/smith.jpg
This shows Norman Smith at the controls of the famous EMI 'Redd 37 Stereosonic' desk. What I believe to be an Altec 604 powered monitor is to the right of the picture - behind Ringo, I think.
http://www.studioelectronics.biz/scrapbookstories/debuggingbeatles.html
The shot of Paul with his feet up on the Redd 37 shows the same type of monitor behind, and to the right of him.
The square, radiused cornered, baffle cutout bears a passing resemblance to the BBC LSU/10. Cabinet not so tall. No built in amplifier.
I was offered a pair of these, purporting to be from Abbey Road, in 1975. One had a tweeter problem, and that put me off. Besides, being a poor student at the time, the thought of an expensive repair to an exotic American driver didn't thrill me.
Still wish I'd bought them tho'
The monitors pictured in the early Beatles publicity shots at Abbey Road can be seen in these links:
http://www.shelovesyou.info/images/smith.jpg
This shows Norman Smith at the controls of the famous EMI 'Redd 37 Stereosonic' desk. What I believe to be an Altec 604 powered monitor is to the right of the picture - behind Ringo, I think.
http://www.studioelectronics.biz/scrapbookstories/debuggingbeatles.html
The shot of Paul with his feet up on the Redd 37 shows the same type of monitor behind, and to the right of him.
The square, radiused cornered, baffle cutout bears a passing resemblance to the BBC LSU/10. Cabinet not so tall. No built in amplifier.
I was offered a pair of these, purporting to be from Abbey Road, in 1975. One had a tweeter problem, and that put me off. Besides, being a poor student at the time, the thought of an expensive repair to an exotic American driver didn't thrill me.
Still wish I'd bought them tho'
D!g!TaL,
Nice research. The pictures are great.
This is a cache from the Harbeth web site (scroll right):
http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache...tm+&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1&client=firefox-a
BBC equipment expert and collector Chris Owen told me in an email,
"I'm sure EMI at Abby Road had Parmeko Loudspeakers in a slightly different cabinet - I have a contact there, I'll check."
Is it possible they were Parmeko LS-1's in Altec cabinets?
You probably should have bought the Altecs back in the day.
Oh well...
Thanks
Tom
Nice research. The pictures are great.
This is a cache from the Harbeth web site (scroll right):
http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache...tm+&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1&client=firefox-a
BBC equipment expert and collector Chris Owen told me in an email,
"I'm sure EMI at Abby Road had Parmeko Loudspeakers in a slightly different cabinet - I have a contact there, I'll check."
Is it possible they were Parmeko LS-1's in Altec cabinets?
You probably should have bought the Altecs back in the day.
Oh well...
Thanks
Tom
Abbey Road Altecs
Thanks, Tom
To be perfectly honest I cannot clearly remember why I am soooo convinced that the speakers featured at Abbey Road were Altec 604's. The 1975 episode is quite blurry (student...right?) but I remember distinctly checking out the pedigree of these monitors some time later (probably at the earliest inception of the internet) and have a strong recollection of uncovering some evidence via an Altec heritage/historical site. ( Strong recollection .... as in ... 'Yes I really should have bought them!' ) Sadly my recent research has failed to turn up any pictures or data regarding these cabinets which can only be described as 'industrial' ! Clearly the 604 went on to world wide popularity - particularly in Britain through the Urei brand, particularly in the 70's and early 80's. Abbey Road,however, appeared to entrust much of it's monitoring to the Tannoy co-axial, with the Monitor Gold in Lancaster cabinets, and, later, in the Lockwoods.
Personally, I remain a devotee of the Tannoy.
Regards,
Ian
Thanks, Tom
To be perfectly honest I cannot clearly remember why I am soooo convinced that the speakers featured at Abbey Road were Altec 604's. The 1975 episode is quite blurry (student...right?) but I remember distinctly checking out the pedigree of these monitors some time later (probably at the earliest inception of the internet) and have a strong recollection of uncovering some evidence via an Altec heritage/historical site. ( Strong recollection .... as in ... 'Yes I really should have bought them!' ) Sadly my recent research has failed to turn up any pictures or data regarding these cabinets which can only be described as 'industrial' ! Clearly the 604 went on to world wide popularity - particularly in Britain through the Urei brand, particularly in the 70's and early 80's. Abbey Road,however, appeared to entrust much of it's monitoring to the Tannoy co-axial, with the Monitor Gold in Lancaster cabinets, and, later, in the Lockwoods.
Personally, I remain a devotee of the Tannoy.
Regards,
Ian
BBC LSU/10
By the way, Tom, thanks for the link to the historical Harbeth site. The text was informative. Sadly the pictures were unlinked.
I worked for the BBC from 75 to 82 and, unbelievably, the LSU/10 was still in day to day use! They weren't used, at that time, for mixing or any ultra critical application - Lockwoods, Spendors, and other BBC LSU's were in the frame - but they were used in various less important roles.
By the way, Tom, thanks for the link to the historical Harbeth site. The text was informative. Sadly the pictures were unlinked.
I worked for the BBC from 75 to 82 and, unbelievably, the LSU/10 was still in day to day use! They weren't used, at that time, for mixing or any ultra critical application - Lockwoods, Spendors, and other BBC LSU's were in the frame - but they were used in various less important roles.
Just to add my 2 cents....
In the 70s / 80s there was a sort of audio mecca for old gear run by the late Dennis Trickett (off Edgware Road). He had these speakers in stock from time to time (along with other redundant BBC stuff). There was one speaker type which again had a mono amp (a Radford) inbuilt in the base. I seem to remember that they were finished externally in a silver industrial paint (Hammerite?). [Dennis Trickett had a wonderful selection of quite rare items. I bought a lot of really good gear through him...SPUs needing rebuild for £20.00; £25.00 bought an exchange unit from the Ortofon importer!!! He also did a very good job on total rebuilds of virtually any valve amp. I'm sure many will remember him with gratitude).
Also Be Yamamura experimented with the Parmeko drivers during his time in London, but then found a stash of WE 15" bass drivers which he thought to be better for his purposes. He did however have a high opinion of the Parmeko drivers but told me that they were difficult to tame adequately so that they reached their truer potential as a bass driver.
The Tannoy question re Parmeko is still troubling me! Just an idea burt since Parmeko were essentially making transformers etc, but not speakers, is it possible that Tannoy did the production work under contract and that Parmeko had the BBC contract to supply? Such things did happen elsewhere.
In the 70s / 80s there was a sort of audio mecca for old gear run by the late Dennis Trickett (off Edgware Road). He had these speakers in stock from time to time (along with other redundant BBC stuff). There was one speaker type which again had a mono amp (a Radford) inbuilt in the base. I seem to remember that they were finished externally in a silver industrial paint (Hammerite?). [Dennis Trickett had a wonderful selection of quite rare items. I bought a lot of really good gear through him...SPUs needing rebuild for £20.00; £25.00 bought an exchange unit from the Ortofon importer!!! He also did a very good job on total rebuilds of virtually any valve amp. I'm sure many will remember him with gratitude).
Also Be Yamamura experimented with the Parmeko drivers during his time in London, but then found a stash of WE 15" bass drivers which he thought to be better for his purposes. He did however have a high opinion of the Parmeko drivers but told me that they were difficult to tame adequately so that they reached their truer potential as a bass driver.
The Tannoy question re Parmeko is still troubling me! Just an idea burt since Parmeko were essentially making transformers etc, but not speakers, is it possible that Tannoy did the production work under contract and that Parmeko had the BBC contract to supply? Such things did happen elsewhere.
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