Brenell STB2 article

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BREN ELL
STB 2

Right: Skilled fitters who
work to the rule quality
before quantity " assembling
(leeks in a corner of the
Assembly Shop.

succESS
STEM"

Reprinted from Amateur Tape Recording,
Video & Hi-Fi, April 1965.

THE accumulation of superb technical knowledge and
skill that has culminated in Brenells latest model, the
STB 2, is based on many years experience in the field
of tape recording. Brenell Engineering Co. Ltd. had
already established a high reputation for precision engi-
neering when, in 1950, some of the leading British radio
manufacturers asked them to design a tape deck in kit
form. This was a follow-up to the radio trades highly
successful television receiver kit, the Viewmaster.
Brenell were faced with the diflicult task of designing
and manufacturing the component parts for a tape deck
which could be easily assembled by an unskilled person
and still give good results. Having produced the pro-
totype, Brenell were then commissioned to manufacture
the tape deck under the name Soundmaster. This was
an outstanding success; the Soundmaster was respon-
sible for introducing the new creative hobby of tape
recording to thousands of people, and its performance
and reliability played a large part in gaining the confi-
dence and interest of the public. The high quality of
these machines has been proved by the number still in
use today by some of the early enthusiasts.

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A bove: One of the secrets of low wow and flutter is contained in the extreme accuracy

it}; . .. 4 l i

of balance of the flywheel. Brenell pay particular attention to this operation.

However it became apparent that not everyone had either
the knowledge or desire to build their own deck, and
Brenell were inundated with requests for factory-
assembled equipment at reasonable cost. They intro-

duced a factory-built and tested tape deck to be used
in conjunction with either an amplifying kit, especially
designed by leading electronic engineers, or an assemb-
led amplifier made by Brenell themselves. The idea of
making the two main items for a tape recorder for in-
corporation into ones own hi-fi system was another
feather in Brenells cap.

As interest grew in creative recording, the natural
development for Brenell to follow was to manufacture
the complete tape recorder assembled and ready for
use. This was the first Bren-ell tape recorder, the
pOpular Mk. II. The high quality of this instrument
gained them an excellent name with all those associated
with recording at home and abroad. They continued
developing tape recorders, incorporating new ideas and

features culminating in the latest range of the Mark 5
Series 3 and the Mark 5 Type M Series 3 for mono and

the STB 2 for stereo.
The STB 2 in particular, has many new features to

attract enthusiasts. It may be used for recording stereo-
phonically or monaurally from radio, microphone,
amplifier and pick-up. Its four input channels (two per

track on stereo and four per track on mono) have
pre-set sensitivities to enable the correct recording levels

to be obtained from a wide variety of input signal levels
(even pick-up compensation is incorporated). The tape
monitoring facility is a boon to busy recording engi-
neers and AB switching enables the recorded quality
to be immediately compared with the input signal.
Track-to-track transfer is accomplished with very little
deterioration, and the machine is a joy to use for add-
ing perfectly synchronised extra recordings, i.e., playing
a duet with oneself or adding speech and sound effects
to background music for film work. Four tape speeds
and the ability to replay 1/2, 2/2, 1/4 and 2/4 track
tapes makes this machine one of the most versatile
available.

Such a high quality machine deserves high quality
associated equipment, and the high fidelity enthusiast
need have no qualms about combining it into his most
prized collection of equipment. The playback termina-
tion is designed for use with external pre-amplifiers and