What is it about the Ferro?

[Roger13]

What is it about the Ferrograph?

The Ferrograph / Wearite decks are overweight and oversize. They look as if they were built from a Mechano set (in fact I believe there is a genuine bit of Mechano under the head cover), they are ‘clunky’ and noisy in operation – requiring two operations where one would do, the tape path is a nightmare to negotiate in a hurry, and they are a ghastly colour.

Why then do I love them so much?

[BassoonBloke]

I think probably because of all the things that you list. They give the machines a proper 'Character' of their own.
You actually have to work with the thing to get it to do something properly (Think about and remember how the tape is fed through the system e,t,c.)

If you like em, that's all good.

Alan.

[Kat Manton]

Hi,

I'm another fan of the Wearite transport; I've a Ferrograph Series 4 and a Vortexion WVB here; and still lust after a Vortexion CBL

In the classic car world, I define "character" as a large collection of minor faults, flaws or idiosyncrasies; none of which are really a problem, but which serve to make the experience a little more interesting. I think that applies to the Wearite transport

I think it's that which makes the CBL so desirable, not only do you get the Wearite transport, but you get the cramped panel layout and lots of knobs on those Vortexion amplifiers. On top of that, if you're attempting to make a stereo recording, you get all the fun and entertainment trying to balance left and right levels when the meters are miles apart

Regards, Kat

[Roger13]

Yep. A friend was telling me yesterday about this fantastic piece of digital kit he has. About 12" square, built in Hard Disk recorder + DVD writer/mixer/effects unit. All the sliders remember all their previous settings. Totally foolproof and cost him about £200.

Great, but where's the fun?

[Mike Phelan]

The Wright and Weaire deck is a masterpiece of design.
Everything is made from solid bits of steel bar, plate, and machined bushes.
It is a precision instrument that will stand abuse
The actual design of the mechanism is simple and elegant.
No cosmetics at all - what you see is what you get.

No, I have not got one; my last Series 5 Ferrograph went about 20 years ago, and I still miss it. Boo hoo!

[Brian R Pateman]

Because they are pretty much bomb proof!


I used to use a set of no less than three series 5s to do sound effects and incidental music for amateur dramatics. A fourth machine was used to provide the cueing for the most Heath Robinson lighting board you ever did see.

I regret that I no longer have any of them, just a solitary series 7 I bought from Reel to Reel man a little while ago!

regards,

[reel-to-reel-man]

They are so ugly, they are beautiful! There is nothing that looks like them. They where good machines in their days and very popular, I myself have about 7 different types of these machines, even my brother who does not like reel to reels has a stereo series 5 he uses, why? "It’s bulky and is nice to watch the reels go round", good answer I thought.

[reelguy]

Although I have been interested in Reel to Reel recorders since
the early 60s , I have never really liked the ferrograph for many
of the same reasons as Roger mentioned.
I have always prefered the "Brenell" machines as they where
more useful in having four speeds,
Room for four heads .
Nice straight head path .
Easier to maintain etc.
I especially like the STB1. Still going strong since I bought it a
few years ago.

I do have some ferrograph recorders but I still don't like them much.
Very boring although they can sound OK.{ Which I suppose is
whats wanted really !}
Kat said, She would like a Vortexion CBL . I would to.
Somehow I like that machine although I have never owned one.
Lots of knobs and seperate amps etc..

Regards Peter W Reelguy

Definately a Brenell fan PS, I dont like Grundigs either.
Amstrads of those days

[reel-to-reel-man]

Originally Posted by reelguy

Although I have been interested in Reel to Reel recorders since
the early 60s , I have never really liked the ferrograph for many
of the same reasons as Roger mentioned.
I have always prefered the "Brenell" machines as they where
more useful in having four speeds,
Room for four heads .
Nice straight head path .
Easier to maintain etc.
I especially like the STB1. Still going strong since I bought it a
few years ago.

I do have some ferrograph recorders but I still don't like them much.
Very boring although they can sound OK.{ Which I suppose is
whats wanted really !}
Kat said, She would like a Vortexion CBL . I would to.
Somehow I like that machine although I have never owned one.
Lots of knobs and seperate amps etc..

Regards Peter W Reelguy

Definately a Brenell fan PS, I dont like Grundigs either.
Amstrads of those days

Oh dear, I don't like the Brenells at all never liked the build though I agree on the vortexions knobs and such.

[Roger13]

Hmm.

Seems I started something here. I'm currently listening to a Tandberg Series 15 that I'm in the middle of restoring. It's obviously had a hard life but it's still hanging in there and I'm determined to give it a new lease of life.

It is very interesting to compare the design concept with the likes of the Ferrograph. The Tandberg designers were obviously a lot more interested in convenience. Straight tape path through the head block for instance. The single belt figure of eight arrangement is very clever too - simplicity again. Don't much care for the joystick control though. Reminds me too much of those BSR decks which turned up on everything in the 60's. I can only assume that the sprung arm (almost) opposite the erase head with the felt attached is a tape cleaning mechanism? Good idea although Akai did it much better (ie; simpler) on the 4000D.

[reelguy]

I agree about the Tandberg, I have had quite a few in the past.
Still have various models which I dig out from time to time to play
with? I like the early valve models as well as the later ones although
not so fond of my TD20A. If I really think about it I much prefer
the older recorders anyway with the exception of the dreadful
Walter M/cs.
Also liked the Beocord 2000s 4 track and 2 track.with
interchangeable Mike, PU, Line preamps etc plus built in mixers.
unfortunately not as robust as some m/cs or maybe its just the ones
I have.
Also musnt forget Truvox

Ppeter W Reelguy

[Mike Phelan]

Maybe the joystick idea originated in Scandinavia. as I used to have a Luxor R2R with a gate with three slots, like an "E", for Rew/Play+Rec/FF and another joystick for Record.
It was a fairly cheap thing, unlike some Luxor products like the hybrid CTV.
The Walter also had an "X" shaped joystick gate like a Tandberg - anyone remember them?
I had mixed feelings about Grundigs - the decks were quite flimsy, I thought. I'll avoid talking about black Wimas as the topic is not about the electronics! Philips I had mixed feelings about as well - I worked on lots of EL3541s. The EL3527 with its single knob was seriously weird - typical Philips!

Back to the Ferrograph, they always seem to me like something the USSR would have made - built like a tank.

I am desperately fighting myself to stop putting a "wanted Ferrograph" post on the forum.

[Roger13]

You can get hooked on tape recorders can't you?

I've loved them since I bought my first, on leaving school with my first wages (well actually I had to save a LOT of wages). I couldn't afford what I really wanted, the Ferrograph, and settled for a little Wyndsor. This got returned to the shop because it was horrible and was swapped for a Thorn Group machine under the 'Ultra' brand. You know the one? Square shape with central piano keys. They were sold under the 'Ferguson' & 'Marconiphone' brands also and were a fantastic little domestic machine. I used mine 365 days a year for about 10 years and it was still going strong when I gave it to a friend.

More recently I've had an Akai 4000D and two 4000DS's which are electrically superb - I still use one in my HiFi kit.

I've had three Revox's through my hands, two A77's and a B77, and all three have proven fussy, unreliable and fault prone. Sorry Revox fans, I'm not impressed.

The Ferrograph I finally owned gave me much joy (I've wanted one since I was about 11 years old) but was never used seriously.

The little Tandberg Series 15 has impressed me very much in that it has obviously taken quite a beating during it's life but it still gives a very good account of itself. This is one I shall keep.

What I want now is to get my hands on one of those huge top of the range Sony, Technics or Pioneer machines and see if they bear out my (high) opinion of Japanese engineering.

[TIMTAPE]

I bought a Series 5 in 1979 and used it to record music of the band I was in at that time. It came with a Reslo "Beatles" ribbon mic which I used but eventually threw away before I found out they were collectable! But I still have the tapes made on the Ferro as well as the machine itself. For me sound quality has always been important and so improving the poor playback noise was important. Some Ferro owners might shake their heads in dismay but I replaced the single playback valve circuit with a low noise transistorised one. Hum as well as hiss greatly reduced. It's still like that 25 years later and I'm not going to change it back to "authentic" if authentic means sounding worse. I can still confidently use the old 5 to transfer half track CCIR mono tapes.
Yes it is a clunky old beast but reliable. My musician friends would come around on a winter's night and joke that I'd better have my pot belly stove (meaning the Ferrograph) turned on to warm up the room!
I suppose I've gotten attached to certain machines because I've invested some of my own effort in making them work better than their original specs.
For me the machine was always a means to an end, that end being the music. A link in the chain, as it were, even if the weakest link usually. But therein lay the challenge!

Tim.

[flywheel]

Ferrograph is my special interest - I've been an enthusiast since I was about 5 so I'm of course biased, though I do recognise their flaws. But I think what makes me and perhaps others love them is the combination of great build quality and unselfconciously classic-looking styling, reaching it's zenith with the Series 4/5. (Who did the design I don't know, but maybe Terry Martini has the answer in his forthcoming book.) Some examples can still be seen with a 'Selected for the Design Council' tag tied to the handle, so it seems others were on to this at the time.

Take the styling of the control knobs - the function switch and its surround especially. Or the amp panel and the head cover. And the shade of green used for the finish is enormously pleasing to the eye, and does not date (a few earlier Ferros adopted the hideous bronze and cream look adopted by so many of its competitors, but thankfully not for long). Even the multitude of screw heads on the deck looks right. And the excellent cabinets, both wood and aluminium versions... I could go on, but it seems there's a whole magazine article to be done here!

Unlike many I also like the Series 7 (later ones), but not the unspeakable 'Super' 7...

[Paul_RK]

Originally Posted by flywheel

And the shade of green used for the finish is enormously pleasing to the eye, and does not date (a few earlier Ferros adopted the hideous bronze and cream look adopted by so many of its competitors, but thankfully not for long). ...

Oh, I think the cream deck complements the dark walnut veneers of my Model D far better than green would. Green's OK for the Series 5 that's the other resident Ferrograph, though

Paul