P.A.R. tape recorders

[Paul_RK]

As I'd begun to suspect, it looks as though the P.a.R. Allegro and the Allegro Contessa may be exactly the same machine.

[Nickthedentist]

Another mention of Peter Rispoli on p.12 of this magazine from 1978: https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Mus...1978-11-11.pdf

He seems to have been involved with "Hamstead HiFi", if I've interpreted it correctly.

[DMcMahon]

Originally Posted by Paul_RK

As I'd begun to suspect, it looks as though the P.a.R. Allegro and the Allegro Contessa may be exactly the same machine.

There is a very brief reference to Allego/PAR Electronics in Barry's (brenellic2000) "A guide to British tape recorders". He refers to the Allegro Contessa, so maybe implying that Contessa was the model name and Allego the manufacturers name, i.e. there may not have been a PAR Allegro model.

David

[Nickthedentist]

...which sort of fits in with what PaulRK quoted in post 6, but it's all a bit convoluted!

'P.a.R. Electronics will be known as "Allegro" Sound Equipment from 1st. October 1960. They will continue to produce the "Allegro" tape recorder, and will introduce a twin channel integrated Stereo Amplifier. This will have 6 watts per channel, and be known as the "Allegro 66" Stereo. Mr. P.A.Rispoli, the founder of P.a.R. Electronics will be Managing Director of this new venture, and will continue to operate from 7 Avery Row, Mayfair, London, W.1.'

[Paul_RK]

Originally Posted by DMcMahon

... i.e. there may not have been a PAR Allegro model.

David

Except P.a.R. Electronics changed its name to Allegro Sound Equipment when they had already been producing the "Allegro" tape recorder, and the photo in the first post of the thread appears to show a "P.a.R. Allegro" with no mention of Contessa. So I'm more inclined to doubt whether a "Contessa"-badged unit was ever produced, as it seems possible the name was only used in advertising.

[Cathovisor]

Originally Posted by DMcMahon

There is a very brief reference to Allego/PAR Electronics in Barry's (brenellic2000) "A guide to British tape recorders". He refers to the Allegro Contessa, so maybe implying that Contessa was the model name and Allego the manufacturers name, i.e. there may not have been a PAR Allegro model.

David

Eh?

Go back and look at the first post in this thread, that I made. And the accompanying photograph.

The machine is CLEARLY branded "P.a.R Allegro"

[Cathovisor]

Some more pictures of the machine. I always thought that block serif font that Collaro used looked really rubbish!







It seems to have used an ECL82 and possibly an EZ80 as rectifier in its chassis along with something else in a screening can. I can't see a record function, unless it's that completely non-interlocked three-position rotary switch on the left...

[DMcMahon]

Originally Posted by Cathovisor

Eh?

Go back and look at the first post in this thread, that I made. And the accompanying photograph.

The machine is CLEARLY branded "P.a.R Allegro"

Yes I did clearly see it but wondered when I saw only the Allegro Contessa referenced in the book, if the "PAR Allegro" identification was just the manufacturing names.

David

[Cathovisor]

Originally Posted by DMcMahon

Yes I did clearly see it but wondered when I saw only the Allegro Contessa referenced in the book, if the "PAR Allegro" identification was just the manufacturing names.

David

It's not unknown for errors to creep into books. I have a railway book here on the Hixon crash that contains such a massive error that ideally it should be tossed in the recycling bin to stop that error propagating.

There are a number of errors in Radio! Radio!, for example.

[Paul_RK]

I don't think there need be any error here. Clearly the P.a.R. Allegro was produced, as Cathovisor has one: clearly an Allegro Contessa was at least advertised as available; and the evidence points to their being almost, if not exactly, the same machine. Of necessity the parts of Barry's book covering obscure machines such as this will have been compiled much more from announcements, advertisements, catalogues etc. than from examining the actual recorders, as they're extremely rare if not extinct. As I've said, my main doubt is as to whether a revised control panel was ever produced to identify later recorders as Allegro Contessas, because it seems by no means impossible that customers ordering an Allegro Contessa, whether in kit form or ready assembled, may have been supplied with a machine badged as a P.a.R. Allegro.

Paul

[brenellic2000]

As Paul says, when researching my book, 'A Guide to British tape-recorders' I was heavily dependent upon published contemporary material (books, magazines, manufacturers' literature) and contemporaneous accounts by those who where there.

But what is truth? Magazines (and newspapers) are notorious for errors, usually unintentional through editing to fit available space: alas these are rarely corrected in later editions while low-volume published books rarely get to see a corrected 2nd or 3rd edition. I keep the Guide - and my other books - up to date: it's hard work, especially with Parkinson's!

Being human, even contemporaneous accounts suffer from human error/lapse of memory within minutes of the event - but these are accepted and repeated as 'gospel' - especially on the ad nauseum internet - THE most dangerous place to research!

As to adverts, these are mere "invitations to treat", promising the earth, usually with photos of pre-production models taken months earlier, which may account for the anomalies Paul mentions. As Dennis Barratt of Smiths watches once famously said: "advertising is one thing and fact another!".

As to the insignificant PAR/Allegro, most businesses are known by their trade or brand name while many shops sold 'badge engineered' products carrying their name. How much influence they had is another matter! That's business! The 'Allegro' s was short lived - l wonder why?

There is/was an association with Film Industries (microphones?) but l've never discovered what!

Barry

[llama]

re post #27, I believe early Studio decks didn't have the interlock that was fitted as a red slide-down extra on top of the Start button.
Graham

[Edward Huggins]

The "something else" (Post 27) is highly likely to have been an ECC83. The round heads in your photo are the original Collaro ones. These only had a modest HF performance. Yes, the early Studio decks did not have any kind of interlock.

[Cathovisor]

Originally Posted by llama

re post #27, I believe early Studio decks didn't have the interlock that was fitted as a red slide-down extra on top of the Start button.
Graham

I must confess I've had a few Collaro Studio decks through my hands over the years and have never seen that red interlock; I wonder how I've managed to miss them all?

At one point I was planning to make a playback-only machine using a Studio deck and cribbed circuitry from a Studer B62 for the replay electronics!

[Welsh Anorak]

Ref post #27 - the labelling does look very Wild West Saloon Bar!

Luckily my Elizabethan LZ29 incorporates the buttons into their moulding with a far more subdued font - and it has the sliding interlock! Luxury.

[paulsherwin]

Originally Posted by Cathovisor

The former.

Quite a few early 60s tape recorders had a transparent red band around the middle of the EM84 to indicate overload. It made it a bit more obvious, and also had the side effect of increasing the effective sensitivity of the EM84.

Mullard claimed that the EM84 was accurate enough to actually be used with a calibrated scale.

[ricard]

Wasn't it also the case that the EM84 when connected as recommended in the datasheet did not have overlapping bands (which the later EM87 did)? This did not stop certain manufacturers from introducing overlap anyway when using the EM84 (if I remember correctly from Grundig schematics, it was simply a question of putting a resistor in series with the target electrode, which also had the unfortunate effect of reducing the brightness somewhat).

[paulsherwin]

That's news to me - you learn something new every day

[Station X]

Originally Posted by Cathovisor

I must confess I've had a few Collaro Studio decks through my hands over the years and have never seen that red interlock; I wonder how I've managed to miss them all?

Picture showing interlock attached.

[Cathovisor]

Well I never.

Never seen that before on any Collaro deck I've handled.