Wollensak
Model 5750 Vintage Reel to Reel Tape Recorder
Restoration/Rebuild
This
section is written in neoclassical composer Tim Thompson's own words and
tells the story of how he came to know the Wollensak 5750 reel to reel tape
recorder back in 1967, and why he chose to restore a vintage tape recorder
found on E-Bay in 2007 -
40 years later. This first page is his introduction and subsequent pages
detail the inner workings of the Wollensak 5750 reel to reel tape recorder
and what he did to restore/rebuild his vintage machine. It "reads" like
the chapters in a book
and links are at the top and bottom of each page.
Go
to Speaker Restoration -->
How
this:
became
this!
My
Introduction To The Wollensak 5000 Series
It
was 1967 when I first saw a Wollensak 5000 series reel to reel tape recorder
in an electronics catalog - and fell
in love with it. The design jumped out at me and I found it aesthetically
appealing. I also found the operating specifications (the "specs")
to be good, well within range of the competing tape recorders of the day.
I drooled over the catalog listing for the Wollensak 5800 - the top end of
the 5000 design series - and lamented the fact that I didn't have the money
for such a great tape recorder.
I was a in
college at the time and of course, my money had to go for books and tuition
and other college expenses, none of which included a Wollensak tape recorder.
I did own a Sony mono reel to reel tape recorder that I had purchased,
used, for $35 (at the time, a lot of money, or so it seemed) and it met my
needs. It was a good, stable machine.
I had good
reason to own a quality reel to reel tape recorder. I was a
musicology and composition student at the college and I would often borrow
recordings from the public library and record them for further study and
musical analyses. Most of these recordings were in mono format anyway, so
my Sony solution was a good one.
My success
was such that later, I was graduated with Honors, due in some part to the
records I was able to borrow and what I learned from listening to and analyzing
them. And more, these recordings helped form the path of my musical life,
from eventually becoming a pipe organ builder, to becoming a synthesizer
composer and releasing two albums (Symphonia
Felina and Forestdale)
produced by ClydeSight Productions!
The library
holdings introduced me to the vast world of classical music. I was always
drawn to the romantic period, the music of Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov,
and owned several records, the Nutcracker, the Symphonies, Sherazade, The
Easter Overture. But thanks to the public library, my musical taste
expanded to modern composers, Milhaud, Stravinsky, Hovhaness, and different
styles. It was from the library that I first learned my love of pipe organ
music, when I discovered the Organ Concerti of Geroge Frederick Handel, and
later the magnificent Organ Symphonies of Louis Vierne.
I had a wonderful
college professor, Dr. Victor Mattfeld, a musicologist, who expanded my tastes
even further to include the classicists, Haydn and Mozart, as well as music
of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. He taught all periods of music, and actually
started my love of synthesizers when he introduced me to the wonderful album
"Switched on Bach" performed by Walter Carlos (who later
became Wendy Carlos) on a Moog Synthesizer. He had made a reel to reel tape
for me to study. I learned more about Bach from that recording that I imagined
possible. It was something in the synthesizer voices that brought out the
musical lines more clearly for me.
I
fell in love with that album (which I bought as soon as I had some money
for it) and wished one day to be able to do something like Carlos had accomplished.
30 years later, I was composing synthesizer music of my own, this time on
a MAC computer running QuickTime Musical Instruments, and I can claim my
success - my Symphonia
Felina was
released on the Internet in 1997 and has remained there ever since!
But for me,
1967 was
a happy time, filled with discovery and much hope for the future, and the
public library was supporting it all with its vast record collection, which
I was copying and learning from thanks to my Sony reel to reel tape recorder.
This machine
was essential, as I could only borrow six records at a time, and only for
a week, but my musical hunger demanded much more than that! So every day,
I would borrow six records, rush home and listen to all of them and record
some of them, then go back the next day to return them and borrow six more.
I did this until I had amassed a large library of music for study.
Of course,
all these tapes have disappeared long ago, and that reel to reel tape recorder
was essential because many of the records I borrowed were out of print or
of such unusual subject matter that the public library was the only place
to get them!
Let's face
it, a recording of the Tielmann Susato Dance Book (17th century courtly dances)
is not number one on the hit parade, or was even carried by most record dealers
in 1967! And imagine asking for a copy of the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book with
a straight face! Until I was able to find these on record or cassette, I
had my mono tapes to tide me over.
Eventually, I was
able to purchase most of the recordings I had made
from the public library. In fact, some I ordered from specialty record dealers,
such as the Musical Heritage Society. It took years to get the record collection
and replace the tapes, something I could never have done when I was in college.
I still have them today and they were worth the search.
The
reel to reel tape recorder was more important than for just copying records.
I was studying piano composition with Ms. Amelee Russel in New York. She
was virtually blind and had perfect pitch. Every Saturday I would go to her
studio for a lesson, and often I would bring a cassette (made on a Lloyd's
cassette recorder) I had made from a reel to reel tape to ask her to help
me understand the piano technique in the music. She had a Norelco machine
(something I could not afford at the time) and of course, the two were compatible.
We also recorded
my lessons on cassette (which I transferred to reel to reel once I got home)
so I could learn and improve. I still have one of those reels, although the
original cassette is long gone. She would say, "Learn
to see with your ears.
Let your ears tell you where the notes are," and would then go
to the piano and play the passage we had listened to on the tape perfectly.
These were wonderful lessons, and she was a great teacher.
Enter the
Wollensak 5000 Series
Like many
college students, I got some financial aid in the form of a work study grant.
I was very lucky. I was hired by the music department of my college to make
tape recordings for class use. The logic was simple. Dr. Mattfeld had an
excellent record collection, and he taught classes all week long. If he
had used his records to illustrate musical points, they would have worn out.
By making reel to reel tapes not only could he play the music for his classes,
he could also lend tapes to students for further study, if they had a reel
to reel tape recorder. Then there were the Renaissance Band (I played Bass
Recorder) and the Madrigal Society (I sang tenor) which had to be recorded
(so we could hear just how awful we actually sounded!) I also made tape recordings
to accompany my term papers and illustrate my music analyses.
The machines
the college used were the Wollensak 5000 series - a couple of 5730's and
a pair of 5750's!
I felt I
was at the peak of my success now! Imagine, the very machines I was drooling
over in catalogs were now at my disposal to use and enjoy, and I was getting
paid for it! They made good recordings quite easily and I got to listen to
a lot of very beautiful music.
I got to know
each Wollensak reel to reel tape recorder very well. My job was fascinating
and I not only learned to read orchestral scores, but the elements of studio
production. Dr. Mattfeld would leave me a set of instructions:
Haydn
String Quarter Op. 9, No 4. Fade up from measure 35 to 38, record through
measure 76, fade out to measure 79, five seconds of silence, fade up measure
112 to 115, record through measure 160, fade out to measure 163...
I had find
the score form his library (he had a huge number of "pocket scores") and
get the machines set up, the record player (which had no pause control or
indexing capability), set up the Wollensak, get a recording level (usually
a setting of "3" was fine), set up the record buttons, start the record from
the beginning of the quartet while following along in the score, hit the
Start button at measure 35, fade up the volume controls, follow along to
measure 76, fade down the volume controls, allow the machine to continue
for 5 seconds (recording silence), hit the Stop button then immediately push
the record buttons again, hit the Start button at measure 112, turn up the
volume controls and record through measure 160, fade out and so on.
When the recording
was made, Dr. Mattfeld would take it to class and start it at the appropriate
time. He'd deliver his lecture, starting and stopping the machine, and his
musical illustrations were all there, or supposed to be!
It took me
quite a few tries before I got it right - my first tapes were something of
a disaster. But Dr. Mattfeld was a patient man and helped me get the technique
down. I learned so much from him and little realized I would use those skills
later making recordings of my own music for the Internet! I never thanked
him properly. Perhaps my music thanks him for me, at least in spirit.
All things
must come to an end, and in 1969, I was graduated from the college with Honors
in musicology. My adventures with the Wollensak were over. But I have a great
nostalgia for these tape recorders, as well as the wonderful Professor Mattfeld
and Ms. Russell - who I think I never thanked enough for all that they taught
me.
I was heady
on my success in college but facing something unpleasant - possible draft
into the military because at the time, the war in Vietnam was still active.
To "get a better deal" than being drafted, I joined the
Army (it was a wise move - they were going to draft me anyway) and wound
up in military service.
I never gave
the Wollensak reel to reel tape recorder much more thought.
I
was shipped off to Vietnam,
and there I had access to some of the finest Japanese audio equipment available
at amazing prices (Sansui, Teac, etc.) Of course I took advantage of
the opportunity and bought my stereo system while overseas and had it waiting
for me upon my return. I still have the TEAC 4010SL reel to reel tape recorder
I bought when I was in Vietnam. At the time it sold for $499 in the U.S.
but I was able to get it for about $250 through the base PX. It still
works perfectly. At one point the drive belt "melted" (as
was often the case with composition rubber parts) but I was able to replace
it. See the LINKS page for a TEAC source for parts.
With the high
end audio equipment I now had, thoughts of a Wollensak tape recorder were
far from my mind, and over the years, it simply faded into the dust of history.
Wollensak
Discovery
E-Bay is probably
the world's largest yard sale, and one television ad for E-Bay got my attention.
It pointed out the nostalgic aspects of the auctions, how one can find toys
and items one had as a child. This got me to thinking, and
I rummaged around E-Bay, eventually hitting on "Vintage
Tape Recorders."
I was amazed
at the number of offerings, and even found that Lloyd's cassette recorder
I had owned late in college, available. I have no need of such a machine,
but I bought it anyway, for nostalgia's sake. It was an interesting "blast
from the past". Of course, the machine was worn out and didn't work
very well, although cosmetically, it was in excellent condition. This is
about what one might expect from an E-Bay auction.
While this
was all amusing, and I found a few old machines to purchase as collectibles,
I received a fascinating opportunity E-Bay was presenting. It came to me
in a dream.
I had fallen
asleep in front of the TV, and a movie from the 1960's was showing (Turner
classics). I woke up during the movie and felt a strange intuition. Something
in the movie brought me back to thinking about my college days and my music
teachers, a feeling of nostalgia. Then there was an ad for E-Bay - something
about a lost blue toy boat being found there.
That night,
I had a strange dream about a Wollensak 5800 -- the top of the line Wollensak
made on the 5000 series design. I the dream, I found an old electronics catalog
floating in a puddle in a rainstorm. I picked it up and it fell apart but
I had one soggy page in my hand and could actually read it (which sometimes
happens in dreams.) It showed the Wollensak 5800 - such a beautiful
machine - but the price was crossed out and there was a type of notice in
big blue letters over it, saying "Hurry, on sale now!"
When
I awoke, I felt a strong compulsion to search E-Bay. Here's the kicker. I
found a Wollensak 5750 on sale as a "Buy It Now" item for only $10! My success
with E-Bay auctions had been pretty good, but a "Buy It Now" item is a sure
win, if you "Buy It Now." And this was something I could
easily do!
The seller
had posted no information about the machine other than "vintage
reel to reel tape recorder" and a very bold "All Sales FINAL". This
warned me that something might be amiss.
I sent him an inquiry by E-Bay messenger and he replied curtly that "What
you see is what you get - it's vintage. It has no power cord and cannot be
tested." and
would not tell me anything further about it. I almost decided to let it go,
considering the poor salesmanship of the seller.
E-Bay items
are often "hit or miss", and conditions are not always honestly
provided by sellers. This seller was particularly uncommunicative, but I
decided to get the machine anyway, something was compelling me to give it
a chance. In fairness, the seller did ship the machine on time, which
for $10, is about as much as one might expect. I expected that the seller
was trying to "pull a fast one", based on the communication and the picture
provided.
I could tell
from the picture that something was wrong. The rewind lever was engaged,
meaning whoever had the machine didn't know what it was for. It could have
been stored that way for years (which I later discovered was most likely
what happened). But
that also meant it probably had not been used for quite some time, so the
amplifier was probably still in working condition since these often blow
out from abuse - playing too loudly for extended periods or mismatching the
output to the wrong speakers, etc. I knew the characteristics of the machine
from my college days, and I felt that even if it was a DOA (dead on arrival)
I probably could get it into playable condition.
The Wollensak
5750 Arrives
The
picture the seller offered on E-Bay was cleverly taken. Although the machine
appeared to be in good shape, the picture lacked visual detail about the
condition of the wooden cabinet (especially the top) and the seller was careful
not to photograph the ends of the speaker “wings”.
As I discovered when the machine arrived, the wooden cabinet was heavily
scratched and "dinged" with quite a few nicks, and the outer speaker
grill cloth was stained, dirty and rotting. Worse, the speaker cabinets had
fallen apart!
I checked
the condition of the shipping box, but there was no evidence of damage by
the shipper. The box was fine, and the machine had been well packed with
bubble wrap. The speaker cabinets were probably already
in pieces and rigged in the photo to give the impression of being whole and
in tact.
I put the
machine in my workroom and closed the door, wondering what I would do about
this.
That night,
I had another dream. I was back in time, building a pipe organ, working on
the organ case. In the dream, someone said "You can fix this, look at it
carefully, and you'll see the key." (of course all pipe organs have "keys")
When I was
an apprentice pipe
organ builder, I had learned cabinetry. The next day, I carefully
examined the speaker cabinets and found only the glue joints had failed (indicating
the machine had not been cared for at all for quite some time.) I was able
to rebuild them, and this gave me inspiration to continue working with
the machine. I had gotten the speaker cabinets back together at least. It
was a start of a grand adventure.
Fortunately,
the cosmetic condition of the main face plates of the tape recorder were
in almost pristine condition, probably protected by the speaker cabinets
until they fell apart. Not so the mechanical parts. The inside working parts
of the machine were in sad shape, covered in dust and old sticky grease.
I wasn't surprised by this, I had expected as much.
Once again,
my success with the Wollensak 5750s I knew in 1967 came to the rescue, and
this brings us to the wonderful story of my restoration/rebuild process.
This vintage
reel to reel tape recorder I bought on E-Bay has brought me hours of pleasure,
both tinkering pleasure in the restoration, and listening pleasure in the
musical results.
The machine
has fascinating mechanics as I will explain in the next pages, so follow
along and learn with me the secret inner workings of the Wollensak 5750 reel
to reel tape recorder!
Go
to Speaker Restoration -->
Please
note that ClydeSight Productions DOES NOT rebuild or sell vintage
reel to reel tape recorders, nor can we help anyone involved in such a project.
The tape recorders shown in these pages are part of a personal collection
and are not for sale. We Do Not recommend
that unqualified or inexperienced persons attempt to restore vintage audio
equipment.
Visit
www.clydesight.com Master Site
Web site copyright ©ClydeSight
Productions - 2007
