Gerry,

I worked for Karl Hardman at Hardman Associates (now defunct) for many years. I also traveled with them around the country to set up multimedia industrial shows. When I heard that Karl had passed away a number of years ago - I began to realize how much I had learned from him. Mostly that whatever I might need to do, I could do it.

I worked for Frederick Albitz where I setup and maintained a recording studio in his basement, mainly for recording commercials..

I also did free lance maintenance for Ralph Cominio's Asterik Recording, in Wilkensburgh with their 16 track recorder and huge console,  for Glen Cambell (not the singer) at G&C Records in the strip district with an 8-track recorder  and record cutting lathe.  He was always having trouble with his EMT plate echo. And one other dinky little studio that I don't even remember the name of.

I also set up my own little studio in Downtown Pittsburgh with Carl Ide Associates and recorded, edited and dubbed a syndicated radio program which he called "Carlideoscope". He had been a well known TV personality in his time but his eyesight was going. He is gone now and I still have all the master tapes.

At the time I had a model 15 with very large type. I  would type up scripts at home on paper tape with my 19 and print them on the large type 15 for him. Something else I did was save all his outtakes and edit them together into a show with mistakes in almost every line. He would laugh until he had to take his thick glasses off and wipe his eyes. I miss him very much.

I gave a my large collection of 19, 15's a 26, etc, to a friend. I just found out recently that he sold them all and pocketed the money. Needless to say, I was not very happy. I would love to have a few of those back.

For a few years recently I was recording band and choir concerts for local schools. I would not charge for the recording, but just a dollar each for CD's It got to be too much work and I got less and less cooperation. Finally when a guy started to walk out with one of my microphones, I called it quits.

I now have a little production studio at home and for over ten years recorded and edited a 15 minute Sunday morning radio program (at no charge) for Father Rodney Torbic, a Serbian Orthodox priest who became a good friend. In that program I used selections by their choir which I had recorded myself. Making the show come out to just under 15 minutes took a lot of editing work. I KEPT TELLING HIM NOT TO, BUT HE INSITED ON DENDING $25 Father Rodney is retired now and I miss recording him very much.

More recently, while I was taking Father's CD's to WMBS, the local radio station, I got to know one of the DJ's, Timothy Schwer. He retired a couple years ago and asked me to help him set up a little production studio for free lance voice work. I gave a him small mixer a condenser microphone that suited his voice and a computer to record and edit with. I wired it all together for him. I had to spend hours on the phone with him talking him through using the computer.  I believe he only sold one commercial to a local funeral home. He was in poor health and had to go to dialysis twice a week. Then he got false teeth and had to learn how to talk all over again. Then a month or two ago his wife called and said he had passed away and was in the same funeral home. She said I could pick up every thing I had given to him. That was a very sad trip. But some day, someone else might need it.

Tom N3CRK