I already put the old skool video of Ferry Maat presenting a radio show on another thread, but have since found why the film was made (in 1972 making a film with synchronised sound wasn’t cheap and needed a lot of kit what was heavy by todays standards).

by then RNI also used a land based studio – shows were pre-recorded and taken to the MEBO II broadcasting ship (this also means Ferry didn’t have to go to the North Sea in often atrocious weather), and stops the records jumping in rough seas – for this reason in the 80s Laser 558 played out all its tracks from carts (see below)

according to Ferry…

Dit filmpje was in scene gezet als promotie of zoiets. Dit was de enige landstudio met een echte limiter-compressor (merk Spotmaster – ja, ook van die jinglemachines); de andere studio’s beschikten over een “limiter” die bestond uit een binnenin het mengpaneel verborgen fietslampje en een foto-electrische cel waarmee je het effect van limiting aardig benaderde voor een paar dubbeltjes. De draaitafels en de recorders waren 2ehands gekocht bij de NOS. Iemke Roos kocht dan een hele partij afgeschreven spullen en maakte van 5 nietwerkende bandrecorders of draaitafels, weer 2 goed functionernde modellen want……….het mocht nooit wat kosten bij RNI!!!

Ferry Maat

This short film was made as a form of promotion. This was the only land based studio with a real limiter-compressor (Spotmaster brand, yes, same as the jinglemachines). The other studios used a “limiter” where hidden inside the mixer panel was a bicycle lamp and a photo electric cell , thus you could get the effect of limiting for a low price. The turntables and tape recorders were bought second hand from NOS (Nederlandse Omroep Stichting, like the BBC in England). Iemke Roos bought a whole load of decomissioned equipment, and made from 5 faulty tape recorders and turntables, so it didn’t cost RNI much (NB: not exactly sure about the last bit but way cheaper than buying them new)

Sadly Iemke Roos has passed away (not sure of his/her gender, Iemke seems to be an androgynous name) but the company still exists selling pro audio.

Below is a slightly enhanced picture of the studio with some parts labelled (as anyone below 30 might not have ever seen cartridge machines or spools of tape, they were obsolete by the late 1990s, replaced by minidiscs and digital playout…) – even landbased pirates what sent ads would normally use standard tape cassettes but with the leader removed (a fiddly job) so the ad played out instantly…

I sort of miss the old kit but then remember how much hassle it could often be – chewed tape, heads off alignment, wow, flutter and noise etc…

http://www.partyvibe.com/forums/culture/49375-nl-ferry-maat-op-radio.html#post464500