[pdf-embedder url=”https://eyesofageneration.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/early-days-of-ampex.pdf”]
This is the history of the fascinating early years at Ampex. I hope this will give you a new perspective on their grand achievements in audio and video, as well as a new appreciation for Bing Crosby’s efforts to make recording a reality. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee
Speaking Of ‘Gunsmoke’…How About Some Great Outtakes? Long before blooper shows came to television, this reel was put together by CBS for one of their fall season kick off meetings for their affiliates in the early ’60s. It’s hosted by James Arness and features a lot of gags from his show, but we’ll also see […]
The First Two RCA Orthicon Cameras…Early Indoor Test, 1940 These photos are opaque slides from a homestyle stereoscopic viewer. I think what we are seeing here are the first two RCA Orthicon cameras being tested. Notice there is (1) no focus control anywhere. In earlier posts today, we saw both the panhandle focus and the […]
A Story Of TV History Treasure…LOST For a year and a half, on what was then WRCA, Bill Cullen hosted a local (New York) fifteen minute television show called “Inside NBC”. Here is a description of just a few of the shows. It would be fantastic to see all of this backstage stuff, BUT…sadly, as […]
LIVE FROM NEW YORK, IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT! Last night, I was an eyewitness to live television entertainment’s only living legacy…’Saturday Night Live’. I sat on the front row of the floor seats. Looking at the stage, I was on the left side in the corner seat…only three seats on the front row and to my […]
I rescued a AMPEX 440C from a garage last year…needs a new pinch roller, but works great otherwise.
Worked on a lot of 300’s, 350’s and 440’s!
have a 350 repro great machine
There was always a unique smell in master control and the whirl sound from the tape heads
Through all my years in the industry, I never heard of how the name Ampex was formed. Thank you for clearing that up for me,Bobby.
Of all the stuff I thought I knew…I never knew what AMPEX stood for….Thanks, and thanks Alex!! They were great machines.
Being in Buffalo, I’m not going to miss the Buffalo connection. The former Regent Theater where Todd-AO was tested out and Rodgers and Hammerstein greenlighted _Oklahoma!_ is now the Bethesda World Harvest International Church on Main St just south of E Utica St.
Bobby, thanks for the post. This is the most complete history of Ampex I have seen.