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Vintage Tape (Audio), Cassette, Wire and Magnetic Disc Recorders and Players Open-reel tape recorders, cassette recorders, 8-track players etc.

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Old 13th Apr 2021, 3:34 pm   #1
MeanDumpsterCat
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Default Ferrograph Series 5: A surprising performer.

I thought I could do with a break from the "fault finding" posts and just talk about a machine that has really surprised me and i've kind of fallen in love with.

A few months ago I was browsing ebay for vintage tape machines and came across a Ferrograph series 5S (basically a regular series 5 with a stereo playback head added on). It was a complete non worker but after replacing a shorted motor stator, recap (with the exception of the filter cans which measured out perfectly) and paying far too much for one of those "bulgin" power cables I was able to get it running.

I had some original Ferrograph branded tape and take-up reels which I thought would make the perfect pairing for this machine. I recorded some music and I was amazed with how good it sounded even with old tape stock.

After reading some of the magazine ads from the time I feel like Ferrograph really undersold these decks in terms of sound quality. They were rather modest and opted to go for longevity and reliability over performance. But in all honesty I can say this deck performs incredibly well. I would say the sound is even better than what comes out of my 4-track Pioneer deck from the 70s.

I saw some posts saying that these machines dont like modern tape stock but I figured I would ignore that and try some anyway and ... wow. I hooked the output up to my main hi-fi amp and was absolutely floored with the quality.
The built in tape splicer is also a nice addition. Never had one before so I had a lot of fun making silly tape loops. Exactly what these machines for used for in the famous "radiophonic workshop".

Another thing I like is how well laid out the components are and it's modular design using octal connectors everywhere making it a joy to work on. In fact the design almost begs you to take it apart.

At age 23 I think i'm the youngest member of the "Ferrograph cult" which seems to exist in these circles.

Makes me interested to hear one of their later decks like the Logic 7 but those are few and far between.
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Old 13th Apr 2021, 4:00 pm   #2
Radio Wrangler
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Default Re: Ferrograph Series 5: A surprising performer.

It might upset some people to say it, but the 7 series weren't really that advanced compared to the competitors as the earlier series were. Revox pretty much took over.

The series 7 and logic 7 tried to compete, but they missed out on a couple of advances the Swiss gang had made. There are people on here who have restored series 7 machines, but they are in relatively short supply because they weren't big sellers in their day. Revox A77s seem to be somewhat easier to keep going, too.

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Old 13th Apr 2021, 4:03 pm   #3
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Default Re: Ferrograph Series 5: A surprising performer.

Later Ferrographs also suffered badly from gooey rubber components by all accounts.
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Old 13th Apr 2021, 4:11 pm   #4
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Default Re: Ferrograph Series 5: A surprising performer.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Radio Wrangler View Post
It might upset some people to say it, but the 7 series weren't really that advanced compared to the competitors as the earlier series were. Revox pretty much took over.

The series 7 and logic 7 tried to compete, but they missed out on a couple of advances the Swiss gang had made. There are people on here who have restored series 7 machines, but they are in relatively short supply because they weren't big sellers in their day. Revox A77s seem to be somewhat easier to keep going, too.

David
I did wonder how they compared to their swiss counterparts. I guess the value of them is determined by rarity as opposed to performance?
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Old 13th Apr 2021, 5:01 pm   #5
Ted Kendall
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Default Re: Ferrograph Series 5: A surprising performer.

In my work on old comedy programmes, I have used many tapes recorded on a Ferrograph 88 (Series 4) and can find little to complain about - what comes off these tapes is generally very close to what went in. Speed drift is a problem, I find - sometimes 3% over 30 minutes - but there's software to sort that out these days. I think it's fair to say that the valve Ferros showed the rest of UK semi-domestics the way home, except for Truvox and Brenell. The warning shot was sounded in a review of the G36 Revox, which rated its performance as superior to its competitors to the extent it made the latter seem like toys - and this from a journalist not given to exaggeration. The major difference between the British and Swiss approaches was in mechanical design, giving wow and flutter levels an order of magnitude lower and eliminating pressure pads.

The introduction of the A77 caught the rest of the market by surprise - it was ten years ahead of the competition. neither Brenell nor Truvox were in a position to respond competitively, and the Ferrograph 7 was rushed, half-baked and relied on the somewhat idiosyncratic responses to a Tape Recorder design survey of a couple of years earlier. The disastrous use of polyurethane in the drive idlers and pinch rollers and other questionable design choices nullified the earlier machines' greatest virtue - bombproof reliability - and did such reputational damage that those who could bought Revox and those who couldn't bought Japanese. To be fair, support for Revox wasn't all it might have been until Bauch took over the agency in 1974 and raised service to Quad/SME levels, albeit at a price.

The Super 7 was basically the same machine on a bigger baseplate to accomodate NAB spools, and the Logic 7 was a partial re-design for pushbutton solenoid operation. This sold to the BBC as an office machine, and a professional version known as the SP7, now produced under the NEAL-Ferrograph moniker, saw service in Local Radio - one engineer in the station I worked in called them "Ferroc**ps".

However, this should not detract from the fact that the valved Ferros were good bits of kit in their day - a bit agricultural, maybe, but solid, reliable and of better performance than most others.
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Old 13th Apr 2021, 6:18 pm   #6
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Default Re: Ferrograph Series 5: A surprising performer.

I have a Series 7, which, when I used to regularly use it, performed very well in most respects. I replaced a few noisy transistors and resistors and gave it a basic going over when I got it, about 25 years ago. It's not been switched on for about 18 years ish now I'm sorry to say...

All the rubber bits were fine then but IIRC some were indeed sound and some had rubber parts from a new Italian maker they started to use and it was those that turned to goo. Others will I'm sure know more about this!

I also have a NEAL 103 cassette deck which when it worked was a superb performer, certainly the best 2 head machine I've used, but alas the pinch roller did the turning to goo trick and it's been in a cupboard ever since...

The ReVox machines are certainly a much better and more modern design in terms of the transport and tape handling and don't use that nasty pressure pad idea in the Ferrographs but I must say that when working properly the Series 7 seemed to give comparable results.

A mate has the stereo version of the Series 6, which looks very nice, but I can't recall ever seeing it go... I'm sure it works fine though. Probably quite rare I should think...
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Old 13th Apr 2021, 8:34 pm   #7
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Default Re: Ferrograph Series 5: A surprising performer.

I used to own both the G36 and the Ferro stereo 632 with wooden side cheeks. The 632 actually sounded marginally better, but it's the G36 I've kept because it's just nicer to use. Interestingly an internet correspondent who'd used both machines also agreed the 632 was slightly ahead sound quality wise.

IIRC the 6 series amp was triode based whilst a lot of the earlier series used a bunch of EF86s.
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Old 13th Apr 2021, 8:36 pm   #8
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Default Re: Ferrograph Series 5: A surprising performer.

Series 7 were not great machines. Basically all the hench of the previous many series but without the refinement of the Revox or Akai. My experience suggests Vortexion sounded better....
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Old 13th Apr 2021, 8:38 pm   #9
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Default Re: Ferrograph Series 5: A surprising performer.

I have a number of Ferrographs, including a series 7, which I must have had for good a few years now, - as it was still under warranty when I purchased it from its original owner!

That had a speed problem, which I took up with Wright & Weare /Ferrograph. I had recorded piano music on to the series 7, and taken the tape to a friend who had a Revox G36. There was a definite pitch change when played on the G36. Cutting a long story short, the series 7 was running just a little fast, I can't remember by how much, & I didn't possess a decent audio analyser back then, but we'd checked using a test tone & a 'scope.
Ferrograph were very helpful until I told them I was checking the 7 against a Revox, when they courteously declined any further help! It still runs fast..

Over the years I have serviced the series 7 a few times. However, my biggest mistake, was that when I first had it, I regularly replaced the pinch roller... No problem at the time, the early pinch rollers were fine. (wish I'd kept the original ones!) but inevitably, one of my later replacements was of the unstable variety. When I went to use the series 7 some 20 years later, of course all there was left of the pinch roller was a sticky mess.

Fortunately, I had a stock of new-old-stock pinch rollers from an early reel-to reel- video recorder. These were the right diameter, but twice as high/long. So I managed to cut one of them in two on a lathe, I froze the rubber). The bearing diameter was over-size, so I manage to sleeve that, & now the machine is still running after another 19 year years. As others have said, built to last.
I also have series 5's and 6's, and they still give tolerably good service.

Don't drop one on your foot though, I've done this twice, whilst trying to manoeuvre the machine out of a tight space, - it hurts!

Dave.
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