Before his time, I feel like we had to wait until the 60's when a small open reel portable tape player first started showing up and legitimizing the format. Great information Machaneus!
Thanks Mister X ,the magic of Louis A. McNabb's invention is that it is NOT open reel ,it has a "removable cartridge or magazine" in other words this is the forerunner of compact cassette ! Color Key / Red : Cartridge , Yellow : Spools , Blue : Recording wire
I figured it would probably be wire, I bet the cartridge was fairly heavy and cool looking to be able to rewind perfectly.
..........................................................................Happy 40th anniversary Walkman ! Going back to this thread you can read about the people that came up with the idea and gave birth to the Walkman concept. After Sony TPS-L2 the Walkman had to evolve to become smaller with better sound and more features , easier said than done. In the beginning there was a man and a team around him that embrace this task with remarkable ingenuity , a conclusion that I came up after countless hours studying the Walkman patents that he was involved that count 18 (!) or so , so far. The plan was to present you all of them with animated editions of the patent drawings accompanied with photos from my collection , because the nature of the patents is strictly mechanical and although the gifs are ready many months now I never had the time to open my walkmans and take the appropriate pictures. Nevertheless , sort of a teaser and as a celebration for the 40th anniversary of the Walkman and a tribute to the man behind Sony WM-2 ,WM-10 and many more . Enjoy your walkmans , happy music listening , happy collecting , happy 40th anniversary Walkman ! ...............................................................MITSURU IDA ...................................................................................The Master Of Evolution CAPSTAN FRICTION DRIVE APPARATUS OF TAPE RECORDER Inventor : Mitsuru Ida, Koshigaya, Japan Assignee : Sony Corporation, Patent Number :US4701816 The DD concept , Disc Drive , a huge improvement in speed stability in portables. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cassette type recording and/or reproducing apparatus Patent Number : EP 0 214 041 B1 Inventor: Ida, Mitsuru c/o Sony Corporation 6-7-35, Kitashinagawa Shinagawa-ku Tokyo(JP) Inventor: Koga, Noriyiki c/o Sony Corporation 6-7-35, Kitashinagawa Placing the gears under the thin part of the cassette makes the walkman slimier , simple and ingenious.
....................................................................HIROAKI SATO "I probably have an obsession with things I like" Hiroaki Sato is a sound engineer responsible for the hi end Sony walkman NW-WM1Z . Two instances are particularly interesting for this thread , it is the first time that we can see and hear a walkman designer sharing his thoughts with the public and second , Hiroaki Sato was there when , so to speak , mechanical Walkmans where still manufactured. In an article of "theJapantimes" on Aug 14, 2019 he shared a few quite interesting thoughts : "Sony engineer Hiroaki Sato, who worked on the early Walkmans, said it would be “quite difficult” to replicate the technology now as it would involve painstakingly reproducing the high-precision mechanical parts. He said current versions would likely not exist in 40 years as the recording formats and rechargeable batteries would undoubtedly have changed beyond recognition. But the old Walkman has stood the test of time. “Repairing this, I realized this is an excellent machine. If we replace the damaged rubber belt, it works normally. It’s so cool,” he said. Hiroaki Sato speaking about the Sony Signature Series Walkman® NW-WM1Z :
If you follow this thread you might remember Toshio Ashai in page 1 : Toshio Asai made the prototype walkman that led to the first production walkman the TPS-L2. I'm very excited that only yesterday an interview was given , in the Walkman Room , by Mr. Toshio Asai and Mr. Yoshiyuki Kamon (responsible for the MDR-3l2 headphones) . Let's see what they recall from this historic bygone era. ----------------------------------------------------TOSHIO ASAI - YOSHIYUKI KAMON INTERVIEW --T------------------------------------
........................................................... MUSIC FOR THE MASSES <- click Hello friends , wish and hope you are all well. Low priced entry level walkmans deserve to be more appreciated . In the beginning they served a lot of people on a budget that couldn't afford their high end counterparts. Later on with the advent of Discmans , Dats , Minidiscs and even mp3 players , they continued to serve the same purpose with an added mission : to preserve the cassette tape medium for those who couldn't afford the new formats or still preferred to use cassette tapes . Build quality was never below from what you'd expect from Sony, Aiwa and the likes , their low weight made them feel cheap but the sound quality was a pleasant surprise . Personally I feel there are three major downsides in this category , mostly at Sony models : - Plastic or sheet-metal-stack capstans. - Clip-on shell halves that even if you follow service manual it is nearly impossible not to brake the clips and/or leave marks on the shell on the attempt to open them. - Silver painted models look awful when well used and there is nothing for the restorer to do about it with all the printed lettering. Who collects them ? - They were produced in large numbers , by now nostalgia must have already affected their users , sooner or later they will seek memories from their youth. - Historically oriented walkman collectors and completionists . (low demographics here). The reason for the long prologue (sorry) is a number of patents I have found over time concerning this kind of walkmans , an indication of how important this category was for Sony (most of them are Sony patents) , I'll start with one that strangely is only for the "Front Portion of a Tape Player ". ..........................................Yoshinori Yamada - Keitaro Tsuboki FRONT PORTION OF TAPE PLAYER Patent No. : US D436,103 S Date of Patent: : Jan. 9, 2001 Inventors: Yoshinori Yamada - Keitaro Tsuboki both of Tokyo (JP) Assignee: Sony Corporation (JP) Term: 14 Years Appl. No.: 29/119,732 Filed: Mar. 7, 2000 CLAIM The ornamental design for a front portion of a tape player, as shown and described. DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a front portion of a tape player showing our new design; FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof; FIG. 3 is a left side elevational view thereof; FIG. 4 is a front elevational view thereof, and, FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view thereof. Portions in broken lines shown on FIGS. 1-5 are for illustrative purposes only and form no part of claimed design.
ebc..................................................................................RIE ISONO Continuing with the various interpretations of the entry level walkman chassis that was described in the previous post here is a design from the year 1996 aiming at a younger audience. The series was named "Beans" obviously by the basic shape of the design. Sony Design Center's graphic department gave to Rie Isono's design various color combinations . The model numbers started with WM-EQ followed by a number depending on color and sometimes letters after that like "WP" for a model that had the " WHOOPEE" lettering on the door ! The series must have been successful as it was marketed from 1996 until at least to 1999. Interestingly the more I look at this walkman I find it more appealing and this not only for the otherwise attractive color editions. This walkman is also unique as it was the first Sony walkman that was designed by a woman. More about Rie Isono can be found here : Profile , https://japan-designers.jp/profile/697/ Design studio , Pear Design Studio A sample of the "Beans" series.
Interesting information! I got a yellow Whoppee version recently, which was something new to to me. Previously the only "playful & colorful" lines I knew Sony made was the Yppy, Beans, Freq, and My First Sony. http://www.oqx1.jp/works/PUNK2/ Found this really old but still fuctional site about the Whooppe and there turns out to be several more colorful series. It seems to be the a complete version of the original promotional site?
Thanks for the link @stuck-in-time , great find ! Looks indeed original , a wealth of information in there . It seems Whoppee was an altogether another series including not only cassette walkmans but also cd players radios even handheld TVs. These models may look like toys but they where made intentionally this way to be more appealing to younger people and kids but prime technology of the day was well hidden underneath.
Yup. They are good quality inside. Some are based on normal models just with a different casing. Kinda interesting to think speculate the thinking behind all these sub-brands. And I just remembered about 1 more sub brand that's akin in design to the Freq series. The Sony Pysc.
The general idea must have been to approach various market segments though only designers themselves could tell us what was their inspiration and the message they wanted to send for each line . Potential customers would be : - Kids for the "my first Sony" series. (their parents actually ) - A little older kids for the "Whoopee" series . - Youngsters that would need something more than fancy colors and graphics so they added a fashion element (whatever that means) with the "Beans" , "Yppy", "Freq" , "Psyc" and "Widdit" series. "Psyc" was a follow up of the second "Freq" series from which it borrowed some key design elements (I have no info what are the differences between the 1st and 2nd "Freq" line). "Widdit" series included cassette walkmans (with transparent case and key ring remote controlers based on the WM-EX40x walkman platform) , boomboxes and discmans with bright colors , not so wild designs as the other series aiming again to young people but maybe more techie . Interestingly all these series were a 90's thing , they may seem confusing or irrelevant about their purpose looking all the lines simultaneously , it makes sense though if you think that over ten years period they were overlapping and/or replacing each other. A series list with some info : - my first Sony : Some models designers can be found back in this thread. - Whoopee : At @stuck-in-time 's link above ( this page) and attached picture. - Beans : Info above ( this page ). - Freq : Design : JDK and Sony designers . Project leader : Yuka Takeda (DC/New York) 1997 . - Psyc : Design : Tokyo PAV and Park Ridge Design Center , 1998. - Widdit : At @stuck-in-time 's link above ( this page). - YPPY : No info other than that a special display stand was made for the series (see attached picture ). - S2 : An interesting sports series in a white body with orange S2 lettering theme including various devices cassette walkmans , minidiscs , boomboxes etc. Some info on that in the near future (this thread). - Qualia : This was an extreme high end design and performance Sony products series , to my knowledge of special interest to our community is only the Qualia 017 a minidisc player that is simply a work of art ! (see attached picture).
Yes, market segmentation is definitely the answer. And yes, I guess it is perhaps a good idea to diversify with brands following one another to keep the market alive. Come to think of it, it seems that Sony's the only big & good brand that's seriously tackled this market. I don't think the other main brands make as much as Sony did with this segment. Sanyo have the Robo. Panasonic has some colorful transparent ones (RQ-CW01,03,05/Womo), but I don't think those are specifically targeted at kids.
Good point , certainly other makers would want a percentage of the market share for themselves , it seems though that back then Sony's marketing department was working at full throttle with sufficient funding that competition couldn't follow. Speaking of marketing can't resist not to mention the official Walkman mascot the Funbbit a virtual pet , actually a rabbit that drinks something like a magic portion and transformed becomes a companion to your walkman listening experience , that's what I figured from the pictures of the comic page below , my Japanese weren't of any help at all ! Funbbit was an accessory connected (probably) between headphones and the walkman , discman , etc (pic below) . Interestingly it was transparent , even the headphones connector , as if the intention was to spark kids curiosity for the technology behind the magic !
Welcome to the forum CDV ! You did well that you registered , they are all good people here , a family if that is more appealing. First things first , this thread is about Walkman Designers and is about to give credit to the people that gave birth to walkmans with their names . The leader here is documented information when available and not personal preferences. That way when a collector has in his/hers hands , for example , a blue colored Beans series walkman can say : "this was designed by Rie Isono ". I had to read your post a couple of times to conclude if you are fore or aft cheap walkmans and I think you don't like them (can't blame you) but you don't want to be ashamed for having one which exactly what my post is aimed to fix. Since you register to reply it seems it succeeded and hope more to follow. I don't need to do that , I have expressed elsewhere at the forum that I'm not using my cassette walkmans anymore , cheap or not , except for testing after servicing them. With a collection of cassette only walkmans that soon is to break the 1000 ( one thousand ) barrier and about 400 of them Sony make you can hardly say that I'm distancing myself from any walkman for any reason ! Since this is a public conversation and not a person to person chat how to you think will feel a potential reader and owner of a Sony FX277 or FX281 that happens to like his walkman ? I don't have the exact answer , one thing is certain , he will hide from here. All in all show your walkmans and express what you feel for them.
I've got a ton of the cheap plasticky models CDV, going back to when I first started collecting them around 2000. I used to get on the forum 15+ years ago and post photos of my newest thrift store finds, back when there was no information available. AO, who's still around here somewhere, would usually dissect the transport and let me know why most of the finds were only mid-level. It made me want to find the better models even more and trust me, even finding nice AIWA's on Ebay took a long time of searching. If you love the medium, your just scratching the surface with the entry level models, there's the ultra-facinating underbelly from a manufacturing time we may never see again. A time where individual design and personality was front and center but could be changed very quickly or released on a limited basis. I've always thought it was facinating that these companies were pumping units out at an endless rate. I think it had a lot to do with the end retailer, they each wanted unique models to limit pricing competition, in the USA just about every retail store had a small selection of units, but they were all different from the store down the street. Personally most are pretty generic and just don't get me excited as the 80's models. I think I disagree with your last statement, most products start with the design phase first, then when the final product is agreed upon, the internals are engineered to fit within that design. With most consumer products, the exterior design is the most important aspect, while an engineer will look at the amazing mechinism, most consumers just want it to look cool. Of course there's other considerations, the mechanicals can only be shrunk so much, so the design might evolve when the engineers get involved. I'm sure the marketing guys were setting price points during the 90's, they had few dozen internal components they could fit into the newly designed shells, JCPenny's wants 100,000 of Sony WMXXX and wants to retail them at $39.99, which combination would they fit so everyone could make a profit?
No worries , I know you meant well ! That happened early on in 1981 with the Sony Wm-2 . I can see that you have a genuine interest in walkman design and the philosophy behind it , I recommend that you buy the "Digital Dreams - The Work of the Sony Design Center" , it is out of print probably not cheap but worth every penny of , it will be a kind of revelation not so much from a detailed technical evolution point but you'll see what makes a company to start with high end products and end up with cheap commodities in a very elaborate way. If you are really interested there are reviews out there check it up as fast as you can.
I'm not sure if Sony or Philips started the trend for zanny way out Cassette products, but it has been going on since the 1930s or earlier. The interesting ones are the most collectable. Since it was mainly about Boomboxes I have just added some comments about product design to http://www.stereo2go.com/forums/threads/boombox-archealogy.2424/page-18#post-47693 Before Boomboxes or Walkmans companies like Weltron were doing it with their famous 2001 8 track player and other products https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weltron, while Panasonic had the Panapet range which have to be the predecessors to these. https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/153108-panapet-radio Again now a collectors item.
First, let me just say how much I have enjoyed your posts Machaneus, as well as others who are on this thread. Secondly, I plan to make a long stay here . I, too, am very curious in the development and industrial designs of the early Walkman (and some TCM/TCS) models, especially those before 1987. To stop myself from collecting 1000 SONY Walkman's, I draw the line at the WM-F107 (1987)... okay, maybe the WM-501, but no later! I am especially curious in the "strands of design features" that transcend through iterations of the early Walkman's. CDV touched on the mechanisms and that's certainly one way of constructing the "design genealogy" of Walkman models. But there are other more intriguing ways. My favourite is the buttons and their arrangement. For example, consider the similarity in the button arrayed on a TCM-10, WM-20, WM-F15 (but not the R15), WM-50, and (surprisingly) WM-F65. In many ways, the WM-F55, -F65 and -F85 could be considered the same series in terms of the released dates. But why are their buttons different? WM-50 looks like a sister model to WM-51. But again, the buttons of the latter is more like those of WM-100 series. Question: Were there multiple, collaborating-competing teams of Walkman designers in SONY that each designed their own model based on their interpretation of the same set of specification? It certainly seems like it. I look forward to your comments and insights. PS: Thanks to your recommendation, I got a secondhand copy of the book at a great price. And what a book!
