Very Sad News Indeed ! I know Bill was the one place to go for the repair of the 3000 tweets.Hope he can recover from this.
Dear Altec Family,
It is my sad duty to report that our good friend Mr. Bill Hayes, who worked in the Acoustic Laboratory at Altec for many, many years and has been repairing vintage Altec microphones and speakers since he retired from Altec Lansing when they moved to Oklahoma City, has had a debilitating stroke.
His son, Tim, just emailed me to let me know that Bill, who turned 91 this past Sunday, had a stroke about a week ago. I usually call Bill several times a year, especially on or near his birthday, but hadn't done so yet, so this was a complete surprise. I talked to him about a month ago for around an hour, and he was doing extremely well for his age, and was quite amazed that he has lived to be 90+. His wife passed away a couple of years or so ago, and it's been tough for Bill since then, but he has carried on.
MicroMike Labs is now closed. His son will be going through all of Bill's things (a monumental task) and will be returning all microphones and speakers belonging to customers (including myself), whether repaired or not, as quickly as possible. I suggest that people not call and inquire about their items, as that will only slow Tim down further. Once he has sent everyone their property, he will catalogue Bill's inventory and MicroMike Labs will be for sale.
If you are interested in buying Bill's inventory, send me a note and I will forward it to Bill's son.
Bill is one of the last of the old Altec family, and has been a close personal friend to me for many years. I hate to see this, as he was always so active all of his life, and I know he must be very upset with his now forced inactivity.
I will keep everyone posted as to his condition and the status of his company and it's related inventory.
Todd W. White, Owner & Webmaster
Altec Lansing's (unofficial) Homepage
this is all very sad. Mr White i offer my sympathy for the virtual loss of a friend and colleague. and can only hope and pray for whatever recovery as can be expected for Mr Hayes.
Sonic Barbarian
Very disappointing news, indeed. Bill was working at the Anaheim plant when I began there in 1968. He was still there when I left in 1981. I remember him constantly being paged during the day, as much, or more than anyone else. The street I grew up on in Anaheim intersected with the street he lived on, within walking distance (Cris Avenue). It has been his business address as well as residence all these years.
Prayers and hope to Bill and his family.
Last edited by DSauro; July 25th, 2014 at 07:05 PM.
Very nice guy to talk to ! Long ago was impressed with AKG microphones . If I look at the specs I know what he meant.
John, is Bill still living? I have heard no news to the contrary, or have missed it. Thanks
This may be of interest. I have been in contact with Bill's son Tim and he said the jig for the 3000 tweeter was sold to Jim Webb and was trying to contact him.
Seems like I recently read in a post on AK that there's an outfit called Golden Gate Audio that is able to repair/rebuild the 3000's now. IIRC it's not cheap - like $500 smacks apiece. I'm sorry that I don't have their contact info, probably google it.
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