Vintage slot machine sound recordings

General vintage slot machine related topics.
soundmanjohn
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2015 12:35 pm
Reaction score: 0

Vintage slot machine sound recordings

Post by soundmanjohn »

Hello,
My name is John Leonard and I'm a theatre sound designer and sound effects recordist and I'm looking to make recordings of gambling machine sounds (and other related amusement arcade machines) for my effects library. Ideally, I'd like to find a large-ish collection in the UK - I'm London-based but can travel - in a reasonably quiet location, but am open to suggestions from anyone interested in helping out. I'm happy to pay a recording fee, which would be by negotiation, depending on what's on offer!
Probably best to contact me off-list at johnayel@gmail.com

Thanks for your time and for the bandwidth.

John
User avatar
treefrog
Posts: 4814
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 2:46 pm
Reaction score: 31
Location: Suffolk

Re: Looking to make recordings.

Post by treefrog »

I see no-one has responded to you and even stranger on another thread, someone else in a film production company was also after help from collectors here.

Not sure if you have had a response to your request, but most collectors will probably be fairly cagey about sharing access to their collections, but you may get lucky. Also the topic above your one mentioned a whole collection in arcade of vintage machines where you may be able to get off opening times access to perform recording with agreement of the operators. This may be easier, as they are likely to have a vast array of machines to choose from.

What type of sounds or machines are you after, as most on this site are of older types with less bells and whistles?
pennymachines
Site Admin
Posts: 6638
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2002 12:12 am
Reaction score: 56
Location: The Black Country

Re: Looking to make recordings.

Post by pennymachines »

Assuming you've not been flooded with email assistance, I would second Treefrog's suggestion. The South Shields Exhibition offers a rare chance to access a quantity of working machines in a controllable recording environment. Although there are many different sounding machines, the classic must-have effects would be the whir and five clunks of the mechanical one armed bandit and the hammer and whizzing ball sounds of the allwin.

PM me if interested, and I'll contact the relevant parties who, receiving no monetary gain from the museum holding this exhibition, would probably welcome some recompense in the form of a recording fee.
User avatar
coppinpr
Posts: 5112
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2010 2:01 pm
Reaction score: 20
Location: Lewes, East Sussex
Contact:

Re: Looking to make recordings.

Post by coppinpr »

I did respond to the request. I don't actually see why this is the scary request some of you seem to think it is? Seems OK to me. Not everyone is a bad guy looking for an angle. Anyway the guy is coming to me for an hour to record some sounds and is paying a very acceptable fee for the chance to do it. :cool:
User avatar
thunder
Posts: 55
Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2013 11:19 pm
Reaction score: 0

Re: Looking to make recordings.

Post by thunder »

Drive to Milestones Museum Basingstoke Hampshire. There are 90 odd vintage arcade machines on their indoor pier. Closed on Mondays.
soundmanjohn
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2015 12:35 pm
Reaction score: 0

Re: Looking to make recordings

Post by soundmanjohn »

Thanks to those who responded: I've been in contact with Paul and will set up a date with him in day or so. The museums sound interesting and I'll also like to pursue that contact, please. Full disclosure: these recordings are for a project I have in mind for next year which will recreate a 1950s fairground & amusement arcade in sound alone. I have no idea whether it'll actually come to fruition, but am keeping my fingers crossed. I've been recording my own sound effects for over forty years now and much prefer to use my own stuff, rather than material from commercial suppliers, which tend to be a bit too basic for my work. I have a special interest in recording sounds of vanishing technology and am often reliant on enthusiasts for help and advice, for which I'm most grateful, and I always offer payment. As a collector of old telephones, I know only too well that this can be an expensive pastime.

Once I have a set of recordings made and edited, I'm more than happy to make them available to anyone who'd like a set and will post a download link here. Incidentally, I'm also wanting to record a Jolly Sailor machine and if anyone knows of an authentic Ghost Train ride (just bells, sirens and the odd scream, rather than the shouty, out-of-work actor type that seems prevalent these days), I'd love to know about that, too. I used to have a nice one from Brighton Pier years ago, but loaned the tape to someone who manged to erase it by mistake.

Thanks for the help and information.

John
pennymachines
Site Admin
Posts: 6638
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2002 12:12 am
Reaction score: 56
Location: The Black Country

Re: Vintage slot machine sounds wanted

Post by pennymachines »

soundmanjohn wrote:Once I have a set of recordings made and edited, I'm more than happy to make them available to anyone who'd like a set and will post a download link here
That would be great, John. Good luck with your project. If you do make the trip to South Shields, there's a Laughing Sailor there.

Talking of which... I have often thought it would be excellent if we could make digital transfers of the various recorded media from vintage slot machines.
Most of these are in the form of old shellac 78 RPM records, which are rare and fragile and degrade slightly every time they're played.

A few I'm aware of:
Modern Enterprises Laughing Sailor
Modern Enterprises Cry Baby
Ahrens Speak Your Weight scales
Vulcan The Mechanical Wonder (robot fortune teller)
Streets Telefortune
Nixsales Comedian 8 track tape

Some later machines, such as 1970s working models, the German Bimbo Box and a coin-op. joke telling machine, used 8 track tapes, which are probably even more liable to degrade.
User avatar
john t peterson
Posts: 1335
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2004 5:40 pm
Reaction score: 7
Location: USA

Re: Vintage slot machine sounds wanted

Post by john t peterson »

For a small fee, I'll cry as much as you wish. And maybe more. :cry:

J Peterson
American baby
User avatar
coppinpr
Posts: 5112
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2010 2:01 pm
Reaction score: 20
Location: Lewes, East Sussex
Contact:

Re: Vintage slot machine sounds wanted

Post by coppinpr »

No good John, the American accent would be a killer. :cry:
User avatar
moonriver
Posts: 930
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 12:56 am
Reaction score: 3

Re: Vintage slot machine sounds wanted

Post by moonriver »

pennymachines wrote:I have often thought it would be excellent if we could make digital transfers of the various recorded media from vintage slot machines.
What an excellent idea! I'm definitely interested in that.
User avatar
coppinpr
Posts: 5112
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2010 2:01 pm
Reaction score: 20
Location: Lewes, East Sussex
Contact:

Re: Vintage slot machine sounds wanted

Post by coppinpr »

John, the guy who wanted to record slot sounds came to my house today and recorded about 14 different machines. A really nice guy who, although his job is as a sound engineer in the theatre and he uses the recordings for that, plans to build up a vintage fairground in sound only. He was happy with the recordings and I was more than happy with the payment, which will come in handy as I'm off to Istanbul for a week on Monday. !!YIPPEE!!
User avatar
john t peterson
Posts: 1335
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2004 5:40 pm
Reaction score: 7
Location: USA

Re: Vintage slot machine sounds wanted

Post by john t peterson »

Nice work, coppinpr. The wider the dissemination of information on this amazing hobby, the better the chance of inspiring the next generation of collectors. We are not owners of British coin operated history, merely custodians. !!CHEERS!!

J Peterson
American Custodian
User avatar
badpenny
Forum Moderator
Posts: 7212
Joined: Thu May 05, 2005 12:41 pm
Reaction score: 25
Location: East Midlands

Re: Vintage slot machine sounds wanted

Post by badpenny »

Speak for yourself John, I own mine, they're mine ... all mine you hear? Hwa ha ha ha! !!RANT!!

Unless, of course the rozzers come knocking on my door asking to see all my single machine permits in case I've ever fixed any of them !OMFG!

In which case I'm totally custodian'ing them for a certain Mr John Son of Peter over in Americaland.
soundmanjohn
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2015 12:35 pm
Reaction score: 0

Re: Vintage slot machine sounds wanted

Post by soundmanjohn »

John L here: just got back from that session and had a great time recording and chatting. I'll be editing up the recordings over the next few days in between doing the odd thunder effect and leg-sawing-off noises for my current show ("Mr. Foote's Other Leg" at Hampstead Theatre, if anyone's interested) and hope to get some more recordings in the near future. By the way, I have the means to transcribe 78 rpm shellac discs using a transcription turntable with a digital output and am happy to offer that as a service should anyone want to take advantage. It would have to be done here in London, really, as transporting all the kit is a bit tricky, but there would be no charge and the recording would be made available to anyone who wanted them, and probably would also find a home at The National Sound Archive, which would be good thing, I think.

Thanks, and all the best,

John
User avatar
gameswat
Posts: 2196
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 5:17 am
Reaction score: 21
Location: perth, australia

Re: Vintage slot machine sounds wanted

Post by gameswat »

John, I'm very interested how this "78 rpm shellac discs using a transcription turntable with a digital output" works in practice? I've always found wax or foil recordings produced a much clearer digi output! !SERANADE!
noiseworks
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2017 9:35 am
Reaction score: 0

Sound Recording / Gamblers / One armed bandits

Post by noiseworks »

Topic merged - Site Admin.

Hi there,

We are an audio outsourcing company, specialising in creating sound effects and music for interactive and linear media. For an upcoming project we would like to gather as many slot machine (casino, gambling) sounds as possible and whilst doing some research online we came across your website. It proves to be very difficult to find museums/collectors who still have either old or new one-armed-bandits etc at home so I was hoping that this forum might be able to help?

Cheers everyone,
Dave
User avatar
brigham
Posts: 1180
Joined: Tue Oct 31, 2017 3:37 pm
Reaction score: 2

Re: Sound Recording / Gamblers / One armed bandits

Post by brigham »

That's no problem at all.
Will you need my Credit Card details?
User avatar
treefrog
Posts: 4814
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 2:46 pm
Reaction score: 31
Location: Suffolk

Re: Sound Recording / Gamblers / One armed bandits

Post by treefrog »

Hello Dave,

Oddly two years ago* we had Sound Man John with a very similar request on here and one of our members assisted, so I am sure you may get help.
*Topic now merged above - Site Admin.


I for some reason bought three vinyl records from the BBC archive of slot machines and arcades, bit of a novelty.
User avatar
treefrog
Posts: 4814
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 2:46 pm
Reaction score: 31
Location: Suffolk

Re: Sound Recording / Gamblers / One armed bandits

Post by treefrog »

Not sure whatever happened to Dave, but I had forgotten about the BBC sound recordings I bought. God knows why, as I do not own a record player. !PUZZLED!

Nice selection they used though and you can picture what most of them were. I wonder how many times any of them were ever used in production work... !!UHOH!!
Attachments
3E600A1A-C0BA-4F6F-B1D8-CFE48D110BDFa.jpg
D2F64BBC-1E91-49AD-A46E-9C2A4B4D858Ba.jpg
5A4AF176-67AC-492C-8768-8F674F0E7396a.jpg
0F18C886-7BBC-425A-88ED-6E02D4BCA2D6a.jpg
User avatar
brigham
Posts: 1180
Joined: Tue Oct 31, 2017 3:37 pm
Reaction score: 2

Re: Sound Recording / Gamblers / One armed bandits

Post by brigham »

Where can I order them?
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests