Electro Sound is Still in the News!

Alert reader Martin Bonfert sent this picture in. Martin was  watching Modern Marvels on TV when this picture flashed on the screen! I am sure that everyone reading this should know what they are looking at — but, just in case — front view of an Electro Sound 8000 slave. This brings up names and memories of things that are not used much nowadays: packer arm, Saki head stacks, reel idler, Dolby HX Pro, tape cleaner fabric, pancake, centrifugal hold down knob... I do see what looks to be an aftermarket modification, a guide just to the left of the capstan sleeve. That is not original equipment.

Electro Sound in the News!

Apparently the episode was on retro technology, showing vinyl, audio cassettes and such being made.

This was probably filmed at Rainbo Records. Richard Flarity said that Discovery was in the shop filming some time ago.

Trinkets and doo-dads supplied by the Bonfert household.

Lloyd Taylor has Died

Lloyd Taylor and myself pictured in the local press

Lloyd Taylor died this last January, he had brain and lung cancer. The picture was taken for a fund raiser that we did to offset all the bills and to provide some living expenses as he had to stop working.

At the fund raiser Lloyd sold or gave to his friends his art and sports collection.

Lloyd Taylor and Sharon Eakes

Lloyd Taylor worked at Electro Sound in the late seventies and early eighties, working in the accounting department. When Lloyd  left he was in charge of the dept.

Just Talked to Ron Newdoll

I just talked to Ron, and asked him for a pic and some words on him and his business. Without further ado:

Ronald Newdoll started his career in San Angelo, Texas, where he formed Accurate Sound Corporation to design, sell and install complete recording studios and then expanded into the audio tape duplication business.

He moved to Silicon Valley in the 1980s. While working in the music industry, he recorded Pope John Paul II’s speeches made during his historic visit to Mexico in 1979. He produced a wonderful 3-CD collection of the speeches in Spanish along with original music specially composed by Mexico’s most famous musicians and songwriters in a classical style.

Ron also developed his own line of Logging Recorders to record radio and telephone calls for police departments, 911 call centers, hospitals, call centers, airports, etc.

Ron started a new business, Newdoll Enterprises, that mainly will focus on the renewable energy market

Electro Sound 8000 Duplicator In Production!

Here is a shot of a 8000 system — while perhaps not in daily use — is in use. I was trying to think when the 8000 slaves were last produced; ten, twenty, thirty years ago?

Richard (Doc) Flaherty

I just spoke to Richard and asked him to send me a picture to post up on the blog. Here it is!

Richard works at Rainbo Records, and I was surprised when Richard said that they are still running their Electro Sound 8000 slaves! They have eight slaves, a Guass Mini DAAD (if that name is correct), King 790s, Apex and such.

Me - Dana Smith

OK -- here is a pic of old me!

Back in 1978 or '79 I was working in the stock room of Superscope in San Fernando, Calif. This was the division of Superscope that build the audio cassette loader, the model 1341.

One of the guys working at Superscope then was Joe Ryan. Joe moved on when the cassette loader division closed, first to Gauss, then ASR, then BASF as I recall. Joe is now self-employed and sells packaging equipment and supplies to the same markets. I still keep in touch with Joe, and I will try to write about him soon!

Electro Sound purchased the cassette loader from Superscope and moved everything up to Sunnyvale. Electro Sound offered me a job, and I accepted. I moved to Sunnyvale shortly thereafter.

At Electro Sound I built the loaders, then into test and QC of the loaders, then customer support, test and QC for the loaders and bin loop duplicators.

Electro Sound was bought by Gauss, and the entire plant was moved down to Pacioma. I stayed with Gauss for about a year, working out of my house in the Santa Cruz mountains, for about a year, then quit, working for myself, reping Lyric bin loop duplicators for Rainer Zophy (the North American Rep) and brokering used equipment, mostly Electro Sound.

The audio tape business slowly tapered off, I started into retail, selling gargoyles of all things (still do http://www.gargoylestore.com), then garden objects such as fountains and benches, and now an art gallery. The gallery is called Stone Griffin Gallery and the web site is http://www.stonegriffin.com

I am now single with a twenty year old son, living in Los Gatos, Calif, and the gallery is in Campbell, Calif.

Lloyd Taylor

Lloyd was the CFO at Electro Sound -- let me guess -- starting about 1981, for two or three years. He left Electro Sound for Dahlgren, a company bought by Ray Shaffe (sp), the former CEO of Electro Sound. Dahlgren build and sold what was at that time a high tech computer controlled engraving machine.

Lloyd and I became friends and keep in touch.

Lloyd is still in the sign business, he uses a Dahlgren (and other equipment) to make signs, badges and such for retail and wholesale customers.

Lloyd has a daughter, and two grandchildren. He is now mostly based in rural Marin County, also has a presence in San Jose, Calif.