We need to start some form of thread to hear ex Altec peoples stories.... think of all the great stories that were never told.... then again the way the server is working, this would be task.
Howdy RM - so you were at Anaheim - maybe you knew Bob Rufkahr VP Sales? I had 2 days of orientation Aug. 74, back a few months later for the 2-day Sound System Design Seminar to train on the AcoustaVoicette 1/3 octave analyzer - brought my Pickett slide rule to do the design calculations!
I remember the Demo Room at 1515 - all the Studio Monitors, smaller Theater models, and most of the Hi-Fi line - I loved the 9849A w/32B horn, finally got a pair last year - sold to a recording studio in Wisconsin.
We need to start some form of thread to hear ex Altec peoples stories.... think of all the great stories that were never told.... then again the way the server is working, this would be task.
Greets!Originally Posted by ALTEC-REP
Nice to have another ex-Altec employee on board!
I'm just an avid DIY speaker designer that historically has preferred mostly Altec components and thanks to an Anaheim plant visit in the '60s combined with being a ~ regular visitor to the Atlanta distributor to buy stuff and/or audition new products, was added to their Tech Bulletins mailing list, which of course helped me a lot over time.
GM
Loud is Beautiful if it's Clean! As always though, the usual disclaimers apply to this post's contents.
Welcome Altec-Rep. "Voice of the Neighborhood" I love it. Cant wait to see some of your projects. Rick from Rockford IL
Hi GM - actually got my start building Klipsch-designed Aristocrats from EV plans in 1958 with my Dad. We assembled a Dynakit system over the winter - Stereo-35, PAS-2X, FM-3 - which liked to hum along with the music! My first exposure to ALTEC was selling retail at Allied Radio and Sound of Music in the Twin Cities from 1968 to 1974 when I took the summer off. An old college roommate called one day to alert me to the ALTEC rep ad in the paper - what an education that job was!
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Hi Rick - I'll post photos of the 9849A Studio Monitor rebuild - and the Voice of the Neighborhood - when I earn photo privileges. I'm currently restoring 4 846B Valencias with a crossover mod and lots of elbow grease on the walnut cabinets - but it's a labor of love - I get to listen to them as I work!
Steve I recommend you use a photo hosting site for your photo's like Photobucket,Flickr,Picasso,ImageShack,etc.. Those you can post now if you like ? The image hosting on Hostboard stinks it will resize your photos to practically thumbnails..Not quite that small but you get the idea.
+1 and they don't 'disappear' when a major forum upgrade is done. We've lost many irreplaceable pictures, docs, etc., from trusting these types of sites to preserve them, including Photobucket and some others, so I've learned the hard way to keep a copy on a couple of different BU HDs also.
GM
Loud is Beautiful if it's Clean! As always though, the usual disclaimers apply to this post's contents.
I was around from mid-72 till just about when you came in. I knew Bob in passing, as I interviewed for a permanent position, but I wound up being an independent contractor , though my paychecks said Altec on them. I functioned mostly as a liquidator, getting rid of excess and old stock. Altec was trying to recover from the first bankruptcy. I did my job to the point where by 74 I was no longer needed, and I think the feeling became I was too insubordinate to consider for a permanent position. I didn't understand the limitations placed on management by the bankers, who wanted the old Altec to come back, when what was needed was to reinvent the company. I've mellowed, but it was sad to see those requirements strangling Altec when growth was needed. Anyway, Altec kept in the direction the bankers wanted, and we know what happened.
I toured as a live sound engineer for a bit, then managed the live Sound division for a music store. Eventually started my own place. I'm semi retired and work in computer hardware now.
Last edited by Old Guy; January 25th, 2016 at 01:02 PM. Reason: typo
Your neighbors called. They like your music.
'Shades' of Blockbuster.It was wallowing in cash, able to easily afford buying up its competition and owning the market long enough to battle later upstarts, but the 'powers that be' couldn't see past the 'bottom line', so the then for sale cheap Netflix wound up bankrupting them. No doubt there's [many] others over the decades, but I just happened to be close enough to this one to see it fundamentally going down the same as Altec.
The local distributor was quick to add B0$3, both prosound and consumer. Frankly, we all thought the prosound stuff was clearly superior, but its pricing ultimately made it a 'lame duck' product line and for reasons not clear to me they dropped [lost?] the consumer line, so now are principally only a recording studio, etc., design house last time I checked.
GM
Loud is Beautiful if it's Clean! As always though, the usual disclaimers apply to this post's contents.
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