Sales literature

Otari's data sheet for the one- and two-channel machines: two color pages covering the full-track MX-5050-FL and the half- and quarter-track 2S and 4S — the bulleted selling points, the marketing figures the maintenance manual never gives (input sensitivity, output level, frequency response), and the August 1976 suggested list prices: $1,450 for the FL and 2S, $1,420 for the 4S. The footer names and dates the sheet itself — S111, printed 8-76 — and the introduction points four- and eight-channel buyers to its siblings, sheets S-108 and S-110. “Specification Sheet” is Otari's own term: both tri-fold brochures below defer to this very document — “Full details are in the Specification Sheet” — which is why the pitch lives there and the data lives here, on two pages.

First of the three pieces of sales paper from the same eBay order, each a different document — the other two, a September 1975 tri-fold and its April 1978 re-set, are on this page as their own cards. 2-page scan, 3.5 MB (or the 1200 dpi original below).

The earliest factory sales paper on this site: Otari's orange six-panel tri-fold, printed September 1975 — the "Sensible Alternative" pitch, a tour of the front panel running unbroken across the centre fold, and a Performance Specifications page from the era when the line carried the four-channel QX alongside the two-channel machines (its S/N table quotes both, and the panel photo itself is a QX).

Tri-folds jam a document scanner, so this one went page-by-page on the flatbed at 600 dpi; the two joining pages are reassembled into one spread in the PDFs. 5-page assembly, 6.7 MB (or the full 600 dpi assembly below).

The April 1978 re-set of the same pitch — the familiar sections re-typeset, a Mounting Configurations page with ordering information (MX-5050-FL, -2SH, -2SL and the servo -2SHD), and quietly revised specification figures: the numbers moved between 1976 and 1978, and the differences are traced on the specs page.

Same flatbed story as its 1975 sibling: 600 dpi glass scans, joining pages reassembled — the cover page pairs the blue title panel with the introduction column, the same two-column design as S-111's own cover face. 5-page assembly, 5.4 MB (or the full 600 dpi assembly below).

The first factory sales paper on this site for the half-inch eight-channel machine: four pages pitching the MX-5050-8 at small studios, musical groups, schools and training departments, with photographs of the transport, the stacked eight-channel electronics, the heads and the plug-in boards, and a full specification page — 0.040 in. tracks, 15 and 7½ ips, ±7% DC capstan servo, signal-to-noise 63 dB NAB weighted at 15 ips, transport 64 lb and electronics 55 lb.

The footer names the sheet — S110A, printed 1-78, effective January 1, 1978, from Otari Corporation in San Carlos. It is the S-110 that S-111 sends eight-channel buyers to. 4-page scan, 1.8 MB.

Otari's two-page preliminary sheet for its new two- and four-channel Mark II recorders. The first page introduces the separate transport and electronics, standard DC-servo capstan and optional noise-reduction interface; the second specifies both formats. Its imprint reads S-114-11-76, effective November 1976 — factory paper older than the January 1978 line-up ad previously standing in for this missing document.

A paper copy arrived from eBay and was scanned here at both 600 and 1200 dpi. The two-page digital edition transcribes the features, introduction and complete specifications from the paper scan.

Otari's fold-out for the new B, effective September 1979 and printed as form 107-9-79 from the Belmont office. The outside face carries the pitch, a full MX-5050-B specification block — three speeds in field-selectable pairs of 15/7½ or 7½/3¾ ips, DC capstan servo standard with ±7% control in record and reproduce, TTL/IC logic for noise-free punch-in, 24 dBm headroom and 28 dBm output — and a strip of other Otari machines that still pictures the Mark II-2 and II-4, beside the MX-7800, MX-5050-8D, QXHD, FL, ARS-1000 and DP-4050. The inside face is the machine itself, called out control by control.

Two pages — 1 and 2 of worldradiohistory.com's Otari catalog bundle. Transcribed in full as a digital edition: the mirror's text sits in a sharp 300 dpi layer, so the words come through cleanly even though its photographs do not.

Two-page excerpt from a 460-page period distributor catalog: its cover and original page 252, which lists Otari MX-5050 machines and accessories. The listing includes CB-102, FC-2B, RK-2B and ZA-52L with model or family wording. These are distributor claims, not an Otari factory compatibility chart; the model-specific factory sheets remain the stronger source for exact fits.

Mirrored from WorldRadioHistory with the scanned pages intact. The provenance link opens the complete catalog at the original Otari page.

Otari's full-color brochure for the ¼″ two-channel 5050B-II, © 1983 from the Belmont office and designed by Neilson & Anklam. Eight pages of photographs and feature copy, closing on a specifications page with a dimension drawing and the roll-around pedestal Otari offered for every 5050 series recorder.

One of its captions names the MARK III/2, BQ-II, MARK III/4 and MARK III/8 as the B-II's family, which is the evidence the wider-family page quotes. Pages 9–16 of worldradiohistory.com's Otari catalog bundle, which scans this brochure twice; this is the first pass.

Page 8 lists CB-102, ZA-53T, ZA-53S, FC-2B, RK-2B and ZA-52L as options for the two-channel B-II.

Otari's two-sided sheet for the Model 5050 B-II ¼″ two-channel recorder, © 1984, form BP6847K. The back carries the standard features and the full specification grid: 15 and 7½ or 7½ and 3¾ ips as internally switchable speed pairs; four heads in line, a half-track erase, quarter-track play, half-track record and half-track play; wow and flutter under 0.04% at 15 ips; 72 dB unweighted signal-to-noise at 15 and 7½ ips; 25 Hz to 22 kHz ±2 dB at 15 ips; 60 lb — measured on 3M 226 tape.

Pages 21 and 22 of worldradiohistory.com's Otari catalog bundle.

Page 2 independently lists CB-102, ZA-53T, ZA-53S, FC-2B, RK-2B and ZA-52L for the two-channel machine.

Otari's ten-page brochure for the MARK III series, © 1984: a page each for the MARK III/2 two-channel, MARK III/8 eight-channel and MARK III/4 four-channel recorders, then remotes, accessories and options, and a comparison grid across the MARK III/2, III/4, III/8 and the upright BQ-II — channels, tape width, speeds, equalization, frequency response, signal-to-noise, and wow and flutter.

Its accessory list says which machine each part fits: the RK-2B rack kit for the BQ-II, the CB-102 remote for every 5050 except the MARK III/8. Pages 33–42 of worldradiohistory.com's Otari catalog bundle.

Opened up as a digital edition: the comparison grid, the feature lists, every remote and accessory part number, Otari's photo captions and the worldwide addresses off the back cover, with the sales copy described rather than reprinted. Two of the three machine pages promise “dynamic breaking”; the MARK III/2 page spells it braking.

The first printing of Otari's two-sided sheet for the Model 5050 MARK III/2 ¼″ two-channel recorder, © 1983 from Belmont. Its performance figures match the 1984 B-II sheet's — the same speed pairs and four-head stack, wow and flutter under 0.04% at 15 ips, 72 dB unweighted signal-to-noise, 25 Hz to 22 kHz at 15 ips — as a machine sharing the B-II's heads and audio board should. It adds a vinyl-covered wood case, the RK-32 rack kit, a 34-pin external control connector and an 89 lb shipping weight.

Pages 7 and 8 of worldradiohistory.com's Otari catalog bundle.

The same sheet reprinted four years on, © 1987, form BP6872.5K — and the figures moved. Signal-to-noise now reads 68, 71 and 69 dB unweighted at 15, 7½ and 3¾ ips, against 72, 72 and 70 in 1983; frequency response is 30 Hz to 20 kHz at both 15 and 7½ ips, against 25 Hz to 22 kHz and 20 Hz to 20 kHz; and the measurements move from 3M 226 to Ampex 456 tape. The features list now describes the external control connector as an interface for SMPTE/EBU time-code synchronizers and editors.

Pages 23 and 24 of worldradiohistory.com's Otari catalog bundle.

Otari's two-page sheet for the “MX-5050 BIII Analog Two-Track Recorder”, which opens: “The MX5050 BIII has long been the standard in 1/4" 2 track analog recorders.” It lists a DC capstan under quartz PLL servo control, a built-in mini-autolocator, a rehearse function, automatic monitor switching, balanced transformerless XLR inputs and outputs, ±20% pitch in 0.01% steps, the 37-pin Otari parallel interface for synchronizer editing, and a ¼″ deck plate with cast aluminum side panels.

Page 2 lists CB-119, CB-127 and the ZA-52L-22 pedestal for the two-track BIII, as well as transformer and rack options. The pedestal's -22 suffix is retained because the earlier series literature prints only ZA-52L and does not explain the variants. The footer reads “© 1999, 2008 Otari, Inc.”

Otari form OA-321C, © 1991, four pages for the Model 5050 two-, four- and eight-channel recorders: the “MX-5050 Series Configurations” table and a specification grid across the MKIV-2, MKIV-2E, MKIV-4, MKIV-8, BQIII, BIII-F, BIII-2 and BIII-2E. Its accessory list gives model qualifiers for some parts but leaves others at series level. A note on the grid gives the B-III and MARK IV-2 three speeds in switch-selectable 15/7½ or 7½/3¾ ips pairs, with the lower pair optional on the BQ-III, MARK IV-4 and MARK IV-8.

Pages 17–20 of worldradiohistory.com's Otari catalog bundle.