Ferrograph series 7 .

[NorfolkDaveUK]

I just scored one of these in , um , "poor " condition for £25. I thought for the price it would probably make a fun project . Can anyone tell me anything about them other than the rubber rot (i know about that) ...

[TonyDuell]

I have one which will be going on the bench soon. Mine is in somewhat better condition than yours, although I am missing the head cover, the rear connector flap and the flap over the less-used controls. Mine was somewhat cheaper than yours -- £25 cheaper to be exact.

It seems to be a fairly good quality machine, although I have read it is not regarded as highly as earlier ferrographs. Do you have the service manual? I think it's on the web somewhere, if not I have it on paper and could look up or scan any bits you need.

I think I can read the model number as '724'. That makes it a 4 track machine (some were 2 track, using the full width of the tape in one go when doing stereo recording), it has the power amplifiers and internal speakers (which are good for monitoring and not a lot else) and is the low speed version (1+7/8, 3+3/4 and 7+1/2 ips).

[llama]

The nice thing about them is the solenoid-operated start function which made them ideal in BBC local radio stations. The FF-REW control can be fun.
Graham

[dave walsh]

When they were coming out in the late sixties as something very futuristic looking by comparison with the "clunky" but reliable earlier models, they were a bit out of reach to say the least! I was surprised to discover later that they seemed to be a bit of a disaster in the end but I wondered why I hadn't heard more about them over the years. I think there were problems with the control systems [gooey rubber bits etc] usually associated with cheapo recorders. It wasn't a great success for the Company overall to say the least. Perhaps it was a case of moving on too quickly from the tried and trusted

I've got one that I haven't really looked at and a "Practical Electronics Mag review from [1972?] that is very confident. I will be able to make that available when I return to Rammy in the near future. It will be interesting to see how you get on Dave/Tony. Might it be the case that some models/recorders fared better than others I wonder? I seem to recall that a number of them were also bought by Local Commercial Radio Stations springing up in Manchester at the time [which fits in as I knew a guy who turned out to be working at one of them]. If they kept packing in, that wouldn't have been good for Ferrograph

Dave W

[bojitchko]

https://www.vintageshifi.com/reperto...Ferrograph.php

[terry123]

There is the famous story of a number of the early series 7's, supplied to the BBC for the specific purpose of recording Parliament, failing acceptance tests. The whole lot went back to the factory..............

They have received an unfair bashing over the years , as when set up correctly they work very well.


course i'm biased! excuse the pun..............



Terry

[NorfolkDaveUK]

I have to say I`m really looking forward to tearing into it . Its coming tomorrow . Will be interesting to say the least to see what the British offering was to the scene . I`ll post some pics of the state it`s in and post some as I put it back to working order . Its been in a shed for 20 years so I`m not expecting much . Should make for a nice little toy to play with if nothing else . I`ve seen one that was totally restored on YT and that one sounds pretty darn good by all accounts .

[Ted Kendall]

I remember Dad coming home from the Hotel Russell and excitedly telling Mum that Wearite had come out with a new deck for the first time in twenty years!

Problem was, of course, that the game had been changed out of recognition by the new Revox A77, and the Seven was Ferrograph's rushed, and flawed, response, drawing on the results of a Tape Recorder readers' survey. Not that the original A77 was perfect, but the combination of cool running, servo-controlled capstan, full solenoid operation, modular electronics, no pressure pads and performance which made many contemporary studio machines look a bit ordinary rather left the Seven at the start line.

Lining up the Seven is a tedious business - the A77 takes less than half an hour from scratch. The take-up hub gets too hot to touch in normal operation. Leaving aside the idler rot, speed is only accurate to half a percent or so. Threading is tricky, the pressure pads get in the way when editing, and most of the legendary Ferrograph toughness was pared away in the interests of making a lighter machine. Compare the bent tin of much of the transport to the aluminium castings of the Revox.

To be fair, Revox heads were quite soft at this time and the plastic spool carriers on the Mk1 could cause static troubles, but the overall package was so advanced that a Tape Recorder show report opined that it was typical of the sort of machines which would be on the market in the mid-1970s. And sure enough, in 1975 there it was, still a market leader, only superseded two years later by the B77...

[NorfolkDaveUK]

Personally I don`t like the A77 much . Mine is "ok" but not a patch on my Tandberg 9000x half track both sound quality wise and inside , yes the 77 has a modular design so its easier to work on (unless you want to change the audio connect board which is a pain in the backside) , but the mechanics of the 9000x are so much better in my opinion . It does run a lot hotter , but the brakes are way better , the transport works a lot lot better (i have a mk3 77 btw) , the switches on the 77 are pathetic , as are the pots . The design of the switches are just lousy I know a lot of people love them but I hate the bones of them . The 77 does sounds pretty good but the heads are soft as cheese . . I haven`t messed with the ferrograph yet , its not coming til tomorrow so I guess I`ll have fun exploring it , but , if its being compared to revox albeit as a runner up , it can`t be that bad and for £25 , you`re not going to get much of an A77 for that so although it gets slated it seems , its going to be something I`m going to enjoy restoring .

[nutteronthebus]

Hi I have the same ferrograph and have the user manual if you want any pages copying I can e-mail them to you

Dave L

[NorfolkDaveUK]

Thanks Dave. I have the OM and SM from hi-fi engine but really appreciate the offer thank you .

[Stevie342000]

You will find all the information you need here specifically the service manual (I've not looked as a hard copy original in folder - I was looking at it the other day): https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_li...series-7.shtml

[Andrew2]

The 7 was the machine we schoolkid audio nerds drooled over in the late 60's. There was a shop in Manchester which had one or two on display and they looked so futuristic with their aluminium construction.
The years passed and in 1993 I finally found a nice example. It needed a set of idlers and a pinch roller but once I had those fitted I was ready for paradise. Oh dear, what an ordinary sounding machine, really nothing to write home about and certainly not noticeably better than my old 'six'.
I ended up flogging it off to an old geezer who had always lusted after one.

[Ted Kendall]

Originally Posted by NorfolkDaveUK

Personally I don`t like the A77 much.

To each his own...

the mechanics of the 9000x are so much better in my opinion . It does run a lot hotter , but the brakes are way better , the transport works a lot lot better (i have a mk3 77 btw)

...in which case I venture to suggest that your A77 is out of adjustment.

the switches on the 77 are pathetic , as are the pots . The design of the switches are just lousy

Pathos, of course, is in the eye of the beholder - I don't think they are any less robust than those on Tandbergs, for example, and I for one would rather see my money spent on sound engineering where it really matters - compare the bearings on Revox machines to almost anything else.

I know a lot of people love them but I hate the bones of them . The 77 does sounds pretty good but the heads are soft as cheese

Not on the Mk3 they shouldn't be - Revodour heads have a nominal life of 5000 hours - and as for cheese heads, the quarter track Ferrograph heads are a prime example.

I haven`t messed with the ferrograph yet , its not coming til tomorrow so I guess I`ll have fun exploring it...its going to be something I`m going to enjoy restoring

And that is the point, surely? I'll freely admit that my first opinion of a type is how well it does the job - I've been involved with tape for over fifty years, man and boy - but if that were the sole criterion upon which people chose what to collect, the movement would be much the poorer. If I am biased towards Revox/Studer over almost anything else, it is the result of experience of them as tools, not prejudice. They aren't perfect, but in my view closer than the rest.

[Ted Kendall]

Originally Posted by Andrew2

The 7 was the machine we schoolkid audio nerds drooled over in the late 60's...Oh dear, what an ordinary sounding machine, really nothing to write home about and certainly not noticeably better than my old 'six'.

Sadly, I have to agree. I came across one after I had bought my first Revox, having read about it ten years earlier in Tape Recorder. It failed to impress - even the said Tape Recorder article quoted the Ferrograph "die-hards" as thinking the Series Five was the last of the great Ferros, the Six being an embellishment and the Seven an eyesore.

But then, as I have said in other threads, poor quality of performance does not affect the pleasure of restoration.

[suebutcher]

Dave, if you've found a Seven with a lid that stays on when the machine's upright you're lucky! The plastic hooks that secure the lid are really fragile.

[NorfolkDaveUK]

well i guess I can`t dispute the amount of experience here . So I guess I should prepare myself for a disappointment .haha . Still it has to be worth what I paid for it and I will enjoy restoring it . So thats a plus . I get that revox have a great name for a reason , the half track B77 I restored and moved on was a REALLY nice machine . I guess the my problem with the A77 is just those damn selector switches and the really crap VU meters. The majority of my switches have cracked screw holes(hard clear plastic on mine not the black ones) so to me that`s a design flaw (although more likely a moron with an over zealous tightening strength ) and they cut in and out even after re-bending the little gold contacts and cleaning the tracks relentlessly. I just find them a bit of a pain . The tandberg I`m talking about has slider pots and push buttons that just work . HOWEVER , i think like everything , its all subjective . I`m pretty new to this game (only a year in) so my experience is zero . So far the the machines that have really impressed me are the tandberg 9000 and a philips black tulip N4520 . Both sound wise are amazing although the N4520 is just too damn big ..haha .

[TIMTAPE]

Another factor between the Ferro 7 and the Revox A77 was that even though much more compact, the A77 could handle 10.5" reels while the larger Ferro 7 could only do 8.25". As mentioned by Ted, another black mark against the Ferro 7 was the retaining of felt pressure pads. They caused uneven and premature head wear. I never understood why the company didnt dispense with them.

[terry123]

The story of the gestation period of the series 7, the internal politics at the time in the company, and lack of investment throughout the key development stages is all in my book. (Built like a battle ship) The Series 7 was and will always be in the semi-professional class of machines. The A77 came along and caught them out !

It was still in production in 1973 though with large numbers produced judging by the survival rates today. They sorted out some of the problems, and even stuck Dolby on it.

I am not a Revox fan but each to his own. Any remastering work is carried out here on a pair of Ferrograph Studio 8s. But I still have three Series 7s in operation for any odd day to day non critical work.

Returning to Dave’s machine though. It looks like it is a mk 2 , from the serial number so you might be lucky and have the later ¼ head block fitted which were not so prone to the same rapid wear as the earlier “blue faced” types.

Restore it and enjoy! I have plenty of spares in the store for all of these!


Terry

[NorfolkDaveUK]

Well she has arrived . They are the blue faced head , however it looks like I`ve been lucky in they not being worn at all from what I can tell . The experts may know better than me but to me they look almost unused *(almost)!!!* one of the felt pads is missing but I`m not worried about that . I`m doing another unit at the min but I`ll get it open in a bit . Talk about juggling reels here its getting silly now I`ve got them all over the flippin place ..lol . The pinch roller is hard as a rock though ..lol

And thanks Terry !! I`ll let you know what I need !