This was recorded live off the radio from WBBM 96.3FM in chicago. This is the CBS new year eve party at Roseland Dance City in New York. Its played on a 1964 Wollensak tape recorder.
To whoever runs this site, the 1966-67 Roseland Ballroom recording really brings back the memories. I am the first trumpet player on that tape of Don Glasser. The band was from Chicago at that time. I think most of the band has passed away by now, since I was the kid on the band and I am now 74. Wow does time fly! Always enjoy listening to this tape. Thanks so much.
I was aware of these player/recorders while in military boot camp in 1985, they had lots of music, including the current music of that time, on Reel-to-Reel, and during boot camp I was able to go listen to these tapes at an activity center.
This Wollensak T-1500 was an extremely well made and designed unit. Although not a "professional grade" unit in the day, as a "consumer grade " product it really stood out and even does now. There was a full stereo unit also made as model T-1515. The T-1500 only had stereo pre-amp capability but only one push-pull power output audio (monaural) stage.
Very fun to listen too. What a fine flashback to a far better era. I would fit in quite well with the times presented here. Thank you for yet another very interesting and great video post!
The recording reminded me of the days when radio was still a great alternative to television. The deck reminds me of some I saw when I was in school back in the late 1950s. Thanks for posting. GK
Wow. amazing sound. On a personal level, my friends and i were celebrating in NYC at Roseland for the 2006-2007 New Years Eve bash. The music and audience was completely different, all dance and hip-hop, with 20 and 30-somethings present, but it was a great time. The audience from 1966-67 would have approved and probably would've asked for ear plugs soon after.
Nice to see another reel-to-reel deck with push buttons! My working unit is a 1965 Philips which has 6 push buttons, making operation easy for me who's used to cassette recorders, and a 3-position track selector that lets me play back both mono and stereo recordings though it records in mono only, but only 2 speeds, 3 3/4 and 7 1/2, the latter being used here.
In the mid-'60s, if you weren't watching Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians on TV New Year's Eve (whatever network they were on), you could listen to the CBS Radio Network [or others] and hear similar bands in remotes from across the country, depending on where you were tuned in. This was a kind of "last gasp" for the "old-time" network dance band remote: by the end of the '60s, network radio had pretty much "abandoned" these New Year's Eve remotes....December 31, 1966 fell on a Saturday.
Great audio recording! Wish broadcasters would give us old folks music like this on the FM radio again, instead of the crap they want us to listen to. At least I have XM Satellite in my truck.
Wow! What a nice recorder! That reel sounds perfect for being a 42 year old recording!! The music sounds like it's from the 40's. Pretty wild that now the live performances consist of rock and pop groups.
You really hear the 5 KHz quality of the radio transmission. That's also why it sounds 1940-ish. Back then, nationwide radio transmissions were sent over phone lines and 5 KHz was the best they could do. 15 KHz quality didn't happen until the 1970s, then they went satellite in the 1980s. Thanks for sharing! :)
I worked on many of these Wollensak R to R's when I worked for my hometown school system. If you ever get one that looks identical that has a level meter instead of the neon lamp for recording level, it's a solid state version. There was a very common problem with these units. There was a multi section electrolytic capacitor that was soldered to the PC board and bent at a 90 degree angle.This would cause stress on the foil tracks and would result in cracks in the foil. I fixed at least 20.
I got the half-track stereo 2 track playback model. I love it. Needs the death cap looked at. Does hum a bit. But recording the hum is very very light to none. Love it. Thanks for sharing Sir. Awe them memories. We have a lot in common. Hope your ok. Be spending time with your posts. A tech here to boot.
@dmine45 - Technically, this kind of telco audio was designated Class A, with the frequency response being 100 Hz-5 kHz. (50 Hz-15 kHz, which would have been heard on this remote by listeners of WCBS-FM in New York if it were broadcast there, was designated Class AAA. Class AA was 50 Hz-8 kHz, which was pretty much never used. Phone sounding audio of 300 Hz-3.5 kHz was Class C.)
Great video! I always like finding old recordings off the radio like this. Was that the CBS time chime right after the furniture commercial? I think they continue to use that chime at the top of the hour for CBS radio news but it's been a few years since I heard it.
it was a small radio station in upstate SC. They were not the primary recording units, we had a couple of TEAC's for that. I would guess the station had the units dating back to the 60's, at the time they had a really good engineer who kept things in good repair. We had one wired directly to a phone line so we could take in feeds and interviews.
Thanks Chad! That chime was indeed after the Homer Brothers commercial. WBBM-FM is a hip-hop station now, needless to say, I never tune it in today. WBBM AM is an all news station (since 1968). I think they still play it before the CBS world news at the top of the hour. Then, you'd hear the fanfare music for a few seconds.
Neat tape recorder! I've got a T-1600. Has great tone like yours, but the transport's not working so well any more. It'll play, but not rewind or fast forward.
@EntropicSpore Those recorders take any size reel up to 7". I had a 1515 but had to use electrical tape to keep the power plug attached. Wish i had kept it. It played tapes backwards pretty well (Flip the tape inside out before it gets to the head).
Those machines would have been very good at doing th0ose sort of jobs. They made really good recordings with not a lot of noise, as I recall. They were a little shy on the high end at 3 3/4 but really hi-fi at 7 1/2.
Where were you working that still had these machines in service? I had one of these while in broadcasting school around the same and I would record assignments on it to play back on Ampex ATR 700's. Hey, you only got the left channel but I could mix the music under it in stereo and no one knew the difference.
@Trance88 yeah, even up to like 1970....New Years Eve TV shows seemed to be geared to the older WW2 generation......like Guy Lombardo and his orchestra
@wmbrown6 That is true - you did see SOME 8 KHz audio for long distance radio, but not often. You didn't se 15 KHz very often except for FM, and that was rare until the 70s.
@dmine45 - True, but the point I was trying to make was, I don't think any of the stuff taped off television (if based on what was put up on TH-cam) used 8 kHz audio transmission for network feeds. (If they did, it must've been VERY rare.)
I find it totally bizarre that people see fit to comment on the sound quality of this recorder based on a video uploaded through youtube... (not to mention via microphone and questionable other equipment) - especially since youtube isn't capable of anywhere NEAR the quality of reproduction tape can... silliness.
I herd B96 changed formats a bunch of times, int he early to mid 90's they were a dance station and before that I herd they were a rock station and now there a crappy rap and R&B station
To whoever runs this site, the 1966-67 Roseland Ballroom recording really brings back the memories. I am the first trumpet player on that tape of Don Glasser. The band was from Chicago at that time. I think most of the band has passed away by now, since I was the kid on the band and I am now 74. Wow does time fly! Always enjoy listening to this tape. Thanks so much.
John Halko wow that's amazing you were there, what else do you remember about that night? Was their a lot of people there?
Great sound. I remember seeing one of these recorders as a school kid.
Thanks for posting.
Wollensak tape recorders were the luxury product of the day. I wanted one then, but never got it. This one still has wonderful tone quality.
I was aware of these player/recorders while in military boot camp in 1985, they had lots of music, including the current music of that time, on Reel-to-Reel, and during boot camp I was able to go listen to these tapes at an activity center.
This Wollensak T-1500 was an extremely well made and designed unit. Although not a "professional grade" unit in the day, as a "consumer grade " product it really stood out and even does now. There was a full stereo unit also made as model T-1515. The T-1500 only had stereo pre-amp capability but only one push-pull power output audio (monaural) stage.
Very fun to listen too. What a fine flashback to a far better era. I would fit in quite well with the times presented here. Thank you for yet another very interesting and great video post!
Proud to hear that particular tape recorder was one of many electronic products manufactured back then in my hometown of Chicago.
Interesting,I love hearing or listening to old footage from decades long past.The 1966-1967 is exactly 20 before I was born!
The recording reminded me of the days when radio was still a great alternative to television. The deck reminds me of some I saw when I was in school back in the late 1950s. Thanks for posting. GK
I repaired a lot of these Wollensaks back in the day. They sounded great, were built like tanks, but were a bear to service.
OMG !! We had Wollys at my first radio job back in the 80s .. this exact model was used to record phone interviews and stuff
Wow. amazing sound. On a personal level, my friends and i were celebrating in NYC at Roseland for the 2006-2007 New Years Eve bash. The music and audience was completely different, all dance and hip-hop, with 20 and 30-somethings present, but it was a great time. The audience from 1966-67 would have approved and probably would've asked for ear plugs soon after.
Wish I could 've turned the radio on last night to 780 am and hear this. No Rockin' New Years Eve for me. I miss my Wollensak.
Nice to see another reel-to-reel deck with push buttons! My working unit is a 1965 Philips which has 6 push buttons, making operation easy for me who's used to cassette recorders, and a 3-position track selector that lets me play back both mono and stereo recordings though it records in mono only, but only 2 speeds, 3 3/4 and 7 1/2, the latter being used here.
In the mid-'60s, if you weren't watching Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians on TV New Year's Eve (whatever network they were on), you could listen to the CBS Radio Network [or others] and hear similar bands in remotes from across the country, depending on where you were tuned in. This was a kind of "last gasp" for the "old-time" network dance band remote: by the end of the '60s, network radio had pretty much "abandoned" these New Year's Eve remotes....December 31, 1966 fell on a Saturday.
Great audio recording! Wish broadcasters would give us old folks music like this on the FM radio again, instead of the crap they want us to listen to. At least I have XM Satellite in my truck.
Wow! What a nice recorder! That reel sounds perfect for being a 42 year old recording!! The music sounds like it's from the 40's. Pretty wild that now the live performances consist of rock and pop groups.
You really hear the 5 KHz quality of the radio transmission. That's also why it sounds 1940-ish. Back then, nationwide radio transmissions were sent over phone lines and 5 KHz was the best they could do. 15 KHz quality didn't happen until the 1970s, then they went satellite in the 1980s. Thanks for sharing! :)
I worked on many of these Wollensak R to R's when I worked for my hometown school system. If you ever get one that looks identical that has a level meter instead of the neon lamp for recording level, it's a solid state version. There was a very common problem with these units. There was a multi section electrolytic capacitor that was soldered to the PC board and bent at a 90 degree angle.This would cause stress on the foil tracks and would result in cracks in the foil. I fixed at least 20.
I got the half-track stereo 2 track playback model. I love it. Needs the death cap looked at. Does hum a bit. But recording the hum is very very light to none. Love it. Thanks for sharing Sir. Awe them memories. We have a lot in common. Hope your ok. Be spending time with your posts. A tech here to boot.
1967 is me and my husband birth year I'm in June he was in November
@dmine45 - Technically, this kind of telco audio was designated Class A, with the frequency response being 100 Hz-5 kHz. (50 Hz-15 kHz, which would have been heard on this remote by listeners of WCBS-FM in New York if it were broadcast there, was designated Class AAA. Class AA was 50 Hz-8 kHz, which was pretty much never used. Phone sounding audio of 300 Hz-3.5 kHz was Class C.)
A friend of mine has that very same model-it had low volume too, it was some open resistors, as I remember, I fixed it for her!!
Great video! I always like finding old recordings off the radio like this. Was that the CBS time chime right after the furniture commercial? I think they continue to use that chime at the top of the hour for CBS radio news but it's been a few years since I heard it.
My grandfather had that tape player! The difference is his was stereo compatible.
I bought my first car in 66. Bernadette was playing on the radio in a car I was test driving 😎
sounds really good!!
it was a small radio station in upstate SC. They were not the primary recording units, we had a couple of TEAC's for that. I would guess the station had the units dating back to the 60's, at the time they had a really good engineer who kept things in good repair. We had one wired directly to a phone line so we could take in feeds and interviews.
Thanks. I agree, it does sound 1940's. Certinanly aimed tward the middle aged audiance of that time period.
Thanks Chad! That chime was indeed after the Homer Brothers commercial. WBBM-FM is a hip-hop station now, needless to say, I never tune it in today. WBBM AM is an all news station (since 1968). I think they still play it before the CBS world news at the top of the hour. Then, you'd hear the fanfare music for a few seconds.
Thereby,WBBM-FM(B96)
Interesting recording being I was born in 1966.
Neat tape recorder! I've got a T-1600. Has great tone like yours, but the transport's not working so well any more. It'll play, but not rewind or fast forward.
@EntropicSpore Those recorders take any size reel up to 7". I had a 1515 but had to use electrical tape to keep the power plug attached. Wish i had kept it. It played tapes backwards pretty well (Flip the tape inside out before it gets to the head).
Nice, clean audio.
Those machines would have been very good at doing th0ose sort of jobs. They made really good recordings with not a lot of noise, as I recall. They were a little shy on the high end at 3 3/4 but really hi-fi at 7 1/2.
Awesome video, any chance of playing this reel in its entirety? Would love to hear everything that was recorded. Thanks very much for the upload.
1967 was the year my dad was born
Where were you working that still had these machines in service? I had one of these while in broadcasting school around the same and I would record assignments on it to play back on Ampex ATR 700's. Hey, you only got the left channel but I could mix the music under it in stereo and no one knew the difference.
@Trance88 yeah, even up to like 1970....New Years Eve TV shows seemed to be geared to the older WW2 generation......like Guy Lombardo and his orchestra
@wmbrown6 That is true - you did see SOME 8 KHz audio for long distance radio, but not often. You didn't se 15 KHz very often except for FM, and that was rare until the 70s.
"Dad would take Mom to Roseland
She would come home with her shoes in her hand"
@dmine45 - True, but the point I was trying to make was, I don't think any of the stuff taped off television (if based on what was put up on TH-cam) used 8 kHz audio transmission for network feeds. (If they did, it must've been VERY rare.)
nice history!
"Strangers in the Night" was a chart topping hit that year for Frank Sinatra...
WBBM-FM probably simulcast WBBM-AM at the time.
I find it totally bizarre that people see fit to comment on the sound quality of this recorder based on a video uploaded through youtube... (not to mention via microphone and questionable other equipment) - especially since youtube isn't capable of anywhere NEAR the quality of reproduction tape can... silliness.
just purchased a T 1515-4 and a T-1500. Both need power supplies and tape. What size tape do they have and where can I buy some?
Hey i have that exact same machine! but mine stopped plaing tapes i think my pickup went?
"Don Glasser and the band!"
TAPE MEDIA LASTS FOREVER A CD THAT AGE WOULD BE DUST. tHE HEAD ON THAT TAPE PLAYER IS STILL GOOD/ cLEAR RECORDING
goods
I herd B96 changed formats a bunch of times, int he early to mid 90's they were a dance station and before that I herd they were a rock station and now there a crappy rap and R&B station