Tae Recording. Amateyr. TAPE RECORDERS IN THE MAKING -UHER -Page 10 ISSUE. April 1967 Vol 8 No 9 2/6. Amateur. Tape Recording. y.m m.

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1 EIIDIO AUDIO FAIR ISSUE Aateyr Aateur Tae Recording April 1967 Vol 8 No 9 2/6 Tape Recording I AUDIOVIDEO April A 1967 Vol w. 8 o No 9 a 2/6 o, C n y» f y. i j f 1 ; s :V; TAPE RECORDERS IN THE MAKING UHER Page 10 TAPE RECORDERS IN THE MAKING UHER Page 10

2 TAPE RECORDERS TAPE RECORDERS IN W THE MAKING UHER UNER AIR visits Munich, the hoe of Uher tape recorders and a cultural centre with worldfaous 10 theatrical and usical activity The history of Munich dates back to 1158 Uher began anufacturing tape recorders soetie later and fro 1253 onwards was the residence of the Bavarian Electors. In 1806 it becae the hoe of the Bavarian Kings and is now the seat of the Free Stale State of Bavaria. With a population of nearly one and a half illion, Munich has becoe the third largest industrial city of the Geran Federal Republic and is concerned with the anufacture of electrical apparatus, otor vehicles, optics and textiles. The Uher Werke Miinchen München was founded in 1953 with Wolf Frhr. von Horstein as President and General Manager of the copany. Today, nearly 600 people are eployed at the Munich factory, with another 450 at the branch works at Buchbach. Both factories are concerned solely with the anufacture of tape recorders, accessories for tape re corders, language teaching systes and tape recorders for special applications. The daily output of tape recorders alone is ore than 500, 45% of which are exported to the Coon Market and EFTA countries, the USA, Canada and South Africa, involving soe 120 overseas distributors with service facilities and trained technical personnel. There are 23 appointed service agents in Gerany alone. The ain UK distributors and service agents are Bosch Liited, 205 Great Portland Street, London Wl. WI. Milestones in Uher History In 1956 Uher produced the first of their type 95 tape recorders, a soewhat large but otherwise successful series. In 1958 cae the Universal Series, one of which was re viewed in ATR, although at this tie Uher was little known in the UK. Then followed the Stereo Record 3 which was the first Uher achine to ake real ipact on the export arkets. By 1961 the first of the 4000 Report series becae a pioneering achieve ent in the field of portable tape recorders, recorders. being adopted, as it is now, for professional purposes. Aong the ost recent tape re corders fro the Uher factory arc the Royal Stereo, which is a hoe studio recorder, and the 22 HiFi Special, one of the first tape recorders specially designed for use in hifi The Uher factory on the outskirts of Munich. A 4 7 it 1r Wolf Prhr. Ve Vas Banta, Haeln. general anager of Uher. Part of the assebly shop where the printed circuit boards are fitted with coponents and where the wiring of the tape recorders is copleted. systes (also favourably reviewed in ATR). Last, but not least, least. is the Uher 1000 Report Pilot which was developed for linkage with a fil caera to achieve synchronized sound tracks. It eploys a pilot tone syste and any are already in use by Geran and foreign broadcasting stations. a. Uher Recorders are Popular One of the best known of the Uher tape recorders in the UK is the current 4000 Report L portable favoured by aateurs and professionals alike. They arc are used by our own BBC as well as overseas organiza tions such as NASA, the Aerican Federal

3 Police, the Geran Weather Service, the Canadian Broadcasting Syste, the National Broadcasting Copany, the Aerican Broadcasting Copany, Radio Hong Kong and any other professional studios through out the world. Uher estiate that 50% of the world's journalists and radio reporters use the 4000 Report L. Aong the faous who use Uher tape recorders are Ella Fitz gerald, Stirling Moss, Dizzy Gillespie, and King Hassan of Morocco, to ention just & a few. % Uher Werke Miinchen München W 1 I think one of the ost surprised people to ever visit a tape recorder factory was radio. I reporter and ATR contributor Bob Danvers A Walker who cae with e to visit Uher > (he writes elsewhere in this issue on our recording activity in Munich). Within ten inutes of being in the factory his own Uher 4000 Report L was, to his utter aazeent, copletely stripped down to its various sub asseblies. The Uher engineers just wanted / to show hi that, after six onths of con tinuous use, both the echanical and elec trical perforance were still absolutely to within specification. We ore or less fol lowed the bits and pieces right through the T factory until the reassebled recorder was handed back to hi copletely with fre quency response certificate! I thought at the tie that Uher were pretty confident of the perforance of their products. At AI every stage close inspection is carried out and the results recorded on a production card The factory is located in the outskirts of attached to the tape recorder. Munich not far fro the site of the Munich Oktoberfest. It is an extreely odern fac eploy printed circuit electronics. We toured Uher have a saying 'Your dreas are our tory with uptodate date achine tools, a plating the entire factory fro the achine shops tasks' and I ust say they listened ost shop and plastic oulding plant, etc., and through the assebly and testing bays right attentively to what Bob and I had to say on Uher anufacture any of the coponents to the production control and design labora the technicalities of tape and tape recorders. for their tape recorders, ost of which tories. The fact that Uher specialize has led to soe Final testing stages where circuits and echanical functions are checked and recording heads aligned. 11

4 TAPE E... itt. r is RECORDERS IN HIRE THE MAKiNG MAKING UHE 00ER R Continued Contued y e d ir Every C//ier Uher /ape tape recorder undergoes a frequency response rest test with this specisf sp&:: penrecording response test equipent. quite outstanding advances in developent, especially in portable tape recorders. They were the first anufacturers to use printed circuits and aong the first to eploy tran sistors. Models such as the Royal Stereo and the 22 HiFi Special introduced new high standards for doestic recorders and such achieveents have only becoe pos sible because the entire staff have a single obsession the production of tape recorders for all purposes, capable of eeting all requireents. It is interesting to note that any Many of the Uher eployees are theselves tape recording enthusiasts. The current Uher catalogue shows ten different tape recorders at present in production, as well as dozens of accessories such as icrophones, ixers, cables, slide projector synchronizers, head phones, reote control units and special accessories for individual recorders. recorders, Uher is truly devoted to tape recording. The individual anufacturing stages of Uher tape recorders and accessories are of course too nuerous to relate in detail, and I hope that the photographs will give soe idea of the factory and its products. Bob Danvers Walker was ipressed, and so was I, with the thoroughness and precision pre.ion that goes into the design and anufacture ant;racture of Uher products. Our visit to Munich M;ich will not quickly be forgotten arn'y ain: because of the very war warns Bavarian welcoe weecce.e extended to us by Helut Grill (Uher (Cher publicity officer) and his wife, who ade qttile quite sure s.:re that we ex perienced soe of the delightful :gtíul 'tourist' `tourist' attractions of Munich before we left. I re turned with soe very fine fì_e recordings of the sounds of Munich, Munich. ade, ade. cf of course, with y Uher 4000 Report L. FCI FCJ / 12 The Uher 22 HiFi Special designed for use with hifi systes and available for half or quartertrack, ono or stereo operation. The nowwellknown known Uher 4000 Report L portable is used all over the world by radio reporters, journalists and aateur enthusiasts alike. Function is halftrack with four operating speeds. speeds, 7$, 7f, 31, 3, 11 and fl M ips.

5 QUALITY the siple, single ai behind the anufacture of these and every UHER Tape Recorder. The production of tape recorders for every aateur and professional need is the sole preoccupation of the UHER Copany, whose specialisation has led to any outstanding developents, including the first application of printedcircuit techniques in tape recorder anufacture 4000 ReportL. f s. :R Y ila\ rc i e 1. %///%%%//// I An extreely versatile battery portable that gives virtually every facility of a ainsoperated recorder with with any exceptional new features. Four tape speeds provide an infinite variety of recordings. Collectorless otor. Weighs only 6 lbs. Price, including icrophone and tape, 103 gns Report Pilot,.E A tape recorder of the highest standard, specially anufactured for professional use. Ideal size, weight, perforance and exceptional quality reception. Can be used to synchronise sound.with fil as well as reporting under professional conditions, on a wide range of voltages. Reote control stop/start. Full track. Collectorless otor. Autoatic volue control. Price on application 724L Stereo (New!) The latest, full stereo four track, all ains recorder, specially designed to eet the strong deand for an instruent particularly easy to understand and operate. Monophonic and stereophonic recording and playback. Suitable for use with 'hifi' equipent. Fully transist orised. High ipedance output. Takes 7" spools. Now built in to a sart teak cabinet with a soketinted perspex lid. Priced at only gns. SEE us flt THE fludi0 Ffl R _ B00TH US AT THE AUDIO FAIR BOOTH No.47 IN DEMONSTRATION ROOM 122. BOSCH LIMITED. 205 Great Portland Street, BOSCH London, Wl. Telephone: LANgha London, W1. Telephone: LANgha UIIER

6 SWITCHED ON IN N MUNICH A sequel to ATR's visit to the Uher factory in Munich u ;v. Vv^ ^ V by Bob DanversWalker Danvers Walker The Glockenspiel figures at the top of the tower of the Munich Rathaus {Town (Town Hall). I was wandering through the streets of Munich with y Uher 4000 picking up sounds and y ind was picking up eories too. Here I was in the capital of Bavaria, guest of the directors of the Uher factory, seeing for yself evidence both in their ipressive factory and in this rebuilt third largest city in the Federal Republic of that dynaic Geranic characteristic called 'thoroughness'. `thoroughness'. Even their hospitality is pain stakingly efficient and eticulous in detail. It was Sunday and people were aking their way to church. A drizzly rain dapened the roadways and paveents to reflect the white and blue tras and traffic signals in the busy, bustling Marienplatz. I recorded the Glockenspiel sounding its regular II 11 a carillon of bells fro the tower of the Rathaus, that enorously i pressive Town Hall which doinates the City centre. The bells are interesting, if not elodious, but the any oving figures provide an entertainent which draws every eye to the Gothic tower for the best part of a quarter of an hour. At the eleventh stroke two knights and their squires coe out and ove slowly round. At their next appearance one of the unhorses the other with his lance. This tournaent by the largerthan lifesized gaily painted copper figures is in honour of Duke Willia V and his wife on their wedding day in A group of red coated coopers then dance to their traditional elody. This custo extends back to the plague years of when coopers an nounced the end of the epideic to the citizens with usic and dancing. When that is over a rooster flaps his wings three ties, 30 crowing shrilly above the noise of the traffic. I found the best place to record this was at the base of the Queen of Heaven statue iediately facing the Rathaus. At the base of this are the figures of four genii sybo lizing the fight against War. Faine, Plague and Heresy. At the end of the perforance I enquired y way to the Hofbrauhaus of a stupy little an obviously interested in what I was n f / doing. He spoke very good English (which helped) and offered to guide e around and show e the sights. In the war he was a prisoner of war on the Isle of Man, he told e. A retired pensioner now, he used to work on the railways. `Look 'Look over there", there', he said, "that's `that's the hotel where your Mr Cha berlain, Mons. Daladier, Herr Hitler and Signor Mussolini et in 1939.' Ah yes, of Bob DanversWalker records the Glockenspiel bell chies and elodies associated with the figures that ove around the tower of the Rathaus. Vt ' Wi

7 course, 'Peace `Peace in our tie' is what Mr C said as he waved the piece of paper in the air upon his return fro the drawing up of the Munich Agreeent. 'And `And over there,' con tinued the little an with obvious pride in his voice, 'is `is the new National Theatre.' The original one was reconstructed in 1823 out of funds gathered by a special tax on beer. Allied bobs totally destroyed it during the last war. At the ention of beer we turned off the Maxiilianstrasse in search of a stein or two (or three). Sunday is the traditional day for 'Weiss `Weiss wurst', a special Bavarian sausage which is not so uch a idday snack but ore a kind of blowout. What with pigs' trotters, brisket, sides of ha and pork pies, no wonder the foodloving Bavarians refer to that assive beerhall, the Hofbrauhaus, as the Schwee literally the trough. It was also the birthplace of Nazido. Fill one of those big earthenware ugs with the native brew and you're drinking a beer backed by a purity law dating back to 1516 which en sured that There shall be taken and used only barley, hops and water. Coe Sunday after noon and whole failies flock to the beer halls and wine taverns for zither usic, folk singing and the traditional uppapa bands. On occasions the big political drus are also banged in these public forus where fervent feelings for the Fatherland find ex pression. Talking of bands, right round the corner of the Kaufingerstrasse there cae one of those heavensent oents which always cause e to leap into action with y tape recorder like a rocket taking off fro a launching pad. I had heard it coing, that's why there therè was scant tie to say 'Auf Wiedersehn' to y friendly little an as I whipped the Uher icrophone fro its shoulder holster. On went the controls of y recorder and, diving through the traffic, I sprinted into the centre of the road to tape the ost gloriously costued Geran band I have ever seen. Garbed in seventeenthcentury unifors, tricorn hats, scarlet and gold jackets, gaiters and with a periwigged banner bearer at their head, the usicians were blasting off as resounding a piece of artial usic as ever cae out of polished brass. Walking backwards in front of the I auto atically recorded the occasion with that presuptuousness which coes with any years of tape recording and news gathering. And right alongside e was soeone else (looking rearkably like a tape recording enthusiast to e) with an identical Uher 4000 over his shoulder. We exchanged grins and walked backwards together. I wonder what becae of y friendly little an. During lulls in our conversation I think we were both a bit conscious of all our yesterdays. yesterdays I looked for hi, but soehow I think he was secretly wanting to tangle with a Weisswurst and was glad to be shot of e. This business of belting around like the proverbial bluetailed fly has becoe so uch a part of y life that I find I tend to leave people trailing behind wondering just what to ake of e. Take Helud and Gertrude Grill for instance. He is the Public Relations Officer of Uher and his very charing wife also works with the fir. Fred Judd and I found the ost excellent co pany and kindness itself in seeing that every thing was to our liking. An extensive tour of the Uher factory rounded off our schedule and the Editor of i A stein or two of beer in the Hofbrauhaus with the appropriate usic fro the uppapa band all duly recorded on a Uher 4000 Report L portable recorder. ATR reports on this elsewhere but I just want to tell you one last little story. There are eighteen churches in Munich and Helud Grill knew a lot about the. The twin oniondoed Church of Our Lady is ost ipressive. It was when he drew y atten tion to the Church of the Holy Trinity the Dreifalligkeitskirbhe Dreifaltigkeitskirlhe and rearked that it was the only church in the downtown area to survive the war undaaged, that an inci dent cae to ind which struck e as being extraordinarily apposite. I forget exactly how any years ago it would be, but I recall being in Coventry not long after the end of the war. It was still very uch a ruin perhaps less so than Munich after the Allied saturation raids, but still a ruin. Overnight hotel accoodation was literally reduced to one old inn and a boarding house or two. I arrived there to be told that the last roo had just been taken... by an exluftwaffe bober pilot who had coe to see the daage he had done. I recorded the bells of T0 Typical Bavarian entertainers at the Platzl beerhall where perission to fil, photograph and record was freely given. r \ V the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) to file alongside the bells of Coventry Cathe dral. Not a bad thee for a tape recording club docuentary... on the futility of war. Or aybe a suggestion for an interchange of taped sounds and opinions between Munich recordists and their opposite nubers in Coventry. The last thing I did before leaving Munich was to enquire into the strength of tape recording clubs in Gerany. It would appear that, relatively speaking, England has far ore clubs, not only than Gerany, but of all the other countries in Europe. The ques tion is how active are they, here and over there. One lively club is worth a dozen lethargic groups who do little ore than sit around, chat and drink tea.... or pilsner.... or cognac... or vino... or chocolate chocolaté con leche. 4 &P The Okloberfest Oktoberfest provides colourful back ground and an infinite variety of sounds and usic. 31