Ages ago, I spied a familiar name on eBay - Brenell. Brenell were an old and storied manufacturer of recording devices in the U.K. and their most famous units are the MK4 reel-to-reel decks, as used by various members of The Beatles when they were messing about at home. It also appears behind John in at least one studio photo. I think I’ve seen one tucked away in old Radiophonic Workshop photos as well, amid the bigger, costlier decks.
This unit looked like a MkIV, but it was not quite the same, as it had no reel hubs and an unfamiliar (and unmarked) switch. It was listed as a ‘tape echo’. I’d never heard that Brenell made a tape echo.
My curiosity (and unashamed Beatlemania ) got the better of me and I bid on the unit up for sale. I’d never seen a Brenell in real life, as the company had pretty much no success in the US. I wasn’t going to let it pass me by.
The MkIV debuted, I think, in 1957 and sold through the early 1960s. This looked to be about the same vintage, entirely tube-based and with gloriously drab livery. Much to my astonishment, it still worked, though it clearly hadn’t seen any action in years. The sound was horrific - quite distorted and thin. I vowed to get it back into good working shape, but I never have, mainly because I love how it screws everything up. I tend to use it as a tape-loop device rather than an echo.
In any event, I just thought I’d post about it and see if anyone here has ever seen or heard of another like it. I would love any information I can get.
Here it is in tonight’s session, ready to provide some spooky interstellar sub space transmissions for an epic-length modular synth thing I am working on.
@Hainbach might know something. His channel is something of a catalogue of curiosities, and he had an esoteric delay that used wire instead of tape. I immediately thought of it when you said it sounded
Tape echos have a long and varied history. I was kind of shocked at all the old brands I had never heard of or only heard of as preset names.
I do. I’ve got a pair of old Multivox units that are clearly Roland space echo knock-offs. I have a modern Fulltone Tube Tape Echo, and a weird Univox thing that used something akin to an 8-track cartridge for its tape (these cartridges were, apparently a pre-cassette attempt at a consumer tape medium. The format was championed by Chevrolet, who had compatible players in some of the cars during the 1960s).
But none of ‘em hold a candle to my long gone Echoplex EP-3. That thing was fantastic.
Yeah, me too for the most part, not least because of my hair-pulling experiences with tape echos and multitrack reel-to-reel recorders. These old boxes come out only for fun and a bit of character. In this case, I wanted something that sounded like an interstellar distress call, and the Brenell was the perfect choice. Being a dyed-in-the-wool anachronaut, I ran it through the Eventide H9 Max before tracking it to Bitwig.
Very interesting. I used to have a MKII Watkins Copycat which had been modified in various ways including stereo outputs. I sold it years ago for £40 and really regret it
@Scot_Solida Fascinating experiences and insights!
I got a Tesla Studioecho for really cheap a few years back and have just recently been attempting to bring it into service: Made in Czechoslovakia in early - mid 80’s. Built like a tank. It has 4 controls each for Echo and Hall,
It’s input and outputs are DIN with non-conventional wiring, I need to get this sorted out because as is the signal is very quiet. Better would be to replace with TRS sockets. Another problem is that it was left in ON position for years which corroded a groove into one of the spools. The result is a brief hiss whenever the tape passes over it. See below
My search for a replacement spool has been unsuccessful. I’m wondering if a replacement could be 3 D printed. I’ve done a quick search for 3D printing services locally but didn’t find one. Anyone know if getting this part 3d printed is a) possible (a service in Europe), b, financially viable - would the cost be reasonable?
Not wanting to divert attention from Scott’s Brenell, just seemed like an appropriate thread where to ask.
Given that you have the original piece, it ought to be possible to get another made, though it might cost a penny or two to do so. In a pinch (no pun intended) might there be a way to fill the indentation with some suitable material and then grind/sand it down smooth? What is the piece made of? Rubber? Metal? From the photo, it looks like a rubber pinch roller. Maybe you could find a larger one and have it ground down to size?
Thanks Scot, yeah it’s rubber. any suggestion about what to fill it with would be great.
As I don’t have the thing working properly, I can’t give an account of the Tesla’s sound, but in Czech forums and comments it’s unanimously praised for its warm sound and nice saturation (when desired).
There’s one for sale out of Minsk, Belarus, on Reverb for 215 euros + shipping. The seller has top marks and clearly has the skills to ensure it’s in top condition.
I’m not actually sure, since I’ve never done it before. I know it’s possible because there are people who will do it for you, such as this fellow: http://www.terrysrubberrollers.com/
(I’ve never used his service, nor am I endorsing anyone, just noting that such services exist)
My name is Val Starr I am an old male musician age 77yrs and I live in Canberra Australia. For many many years as a labour of love hobby I have been researching and documenting on my PC (not on the net) the history of tape/oilcan/drum echos. I have around 150 different brands and many hundred more models listed amongst the brands documented from all around the world. I usually obtain a lot of my photos from Ebay, from the net, from my own past tape echo collection and from friends. I just noted the Brewel tape deck echo. This one is certainly new to me as I have seen other tape decks converted to echos. I thought the Brewel it would be worthy of a mention. Would you mind if I use your photo and some of your words to include in my document. I can explain the full detail, if you don’t mind to email me on: valstarr@iinet.net.au or message me on my Val Starr face book page. PS: My research doc also in ongoing draft PDF is now in two parts with both parts being over 400 pages. Thank you - Val
) got the better of me and I bid on the unit up for sale. I’d never seen a Brenell in real life, as the company had pretty much no success in the US. I wasn’t going to let it pass me by.
