Otari MX-5050
Parts →Accessories →
MX-5050B›History

Generation

MultichannelFirst[Mini Pro]Mark IIBB-IIMARK III[BQ-II]B-IIIMARK IV

MX-5050B

OverviewIdentifySpecsHistoryDocumentsService

Machines

B-2B-4B-F

MX-5050B: history

In the period press, 1978–1982↑ TOP

The B's public life as the trade press recorded it: launched in the summer of 1978, advertised by Otari and its dealers for four years, and still listed in studio equipment rosters and used-equipment columns long after the B-II replaced it. Every entry names its source and links to the transcription where one exists:

  1. Aug 1978 · US

    The launch: Otari's full-page ad for the "all-new MX-5050-B" promises "the best $3000 two channel recorder for under $2000" and holds the price at $1,795, "complete with Dc capstan servo". The servo, an option on the silver-face machine, is now standard, alongside TTL/IC logic, three calibrated record levels and three speeds in field-selectable pairs. Recording Engineer/Producer, August 1978

  2. Oct 1978 · US

    A second launch ad, "Birth of the two-track masterpiece. Otari MX5050·B.", with close-ups of the heads, the front-panel calibration trimmers and the rear panel. db, October 1978. The same month Otari pairs the B, as the two-track mixdown machine, with the half-inch MX-5050-8D in "Tracks to Glory": Recording Engineer/Producer, October 1978

  3. Oct 1978 · UK

    The UK launch: the same "Birth of the two-track masterpiece" advert, here for the "Otari MX5050-B2". Studio Sound, October 1978 (page 31 of the PDF).

  4. Nov 1978 · UK

    Studio Sound's news pages: Otari "has also introduced a completely new version of the popular MX-5050 series 2-channel professional recorder, the MX-5050-B which sells for the same price ($1,795)". Studio Sound, November 1978 (page 32 of the PDF).

  5. Nov 1978 · US

    Billboard's AES report prices it higher: "Otari showed its latest addition—the MX-5050-B at $1,945, with DC capstan servo, three speeds in field-selectable pairs (15/7½ or 7½/33/4)". The "33/4" is Billboard's misprint for 3¾. Billboard, November 18, 1978 (page 80 of the PDF).

  6. Dec 1978 · US

    Mix lists the "MX-5050-B TWO CHANNEL RECORDER" among its new products. Mix, December 1978

  7. Feb 1979 · US

    "THE BEST VALUE IN A PROFESSIONAL TAPE RECORDER": an all-text ad of measured performance (66 dB signal-to-noise, +24 dB headroom), front-panel alignment, and a list price of $1,945. The same copy runs into 1980. Recording Engineer/Producer, February 1979

  8. Mar 1979 · US

    Even the hi-fi press notices it: at a show, "Otari has an open-reel deck, the MX5050-B which also features automatic equalization adjustment". Audio, March 1979 (page 30 of the PDF).

  9. May 1979 · US

    Otari's pitch to broadcasters, with the B at the head of the line and the Mark II beside it. Broadcast Engineering, May 1979

  10. June 1979 · USReview

    The review: Modern Recording's Hands-On Report takes the B apart switch by switch, sets it against direct-to-disc in a listening test, and prints bench figures at both speeds. It is the only full review of the B found so far. Modern Recording, June 1979

  11. July 1979 · UK

    ITA's "OTARI from ITA" advert: a duplicating house's chief engineer on running £150,000 of gear from the MX5050B. Studio Sound, July 1979

  12. Aug 1979 · US

    "Once you get your hands on this machine . . . you'll see what we mean": the performance ad again, still at $1,945. Recording Engineer/Producer, August 1979

  13. Oct 1979 · US

    Two pitches in one month. To broadcasters, the ±7% servo is sold as a way to match program length to a time slot: db, October 1979. To studios, a two-page spread, "The Otari Machine": Recording Engineer/Producer, October 1979

  14. Jan 1980 · US

    The "best value" ad now reads "PRICE: Suggested retail price $2,050 (USA)." Mix, January 1980 (page 15 of the PDF).

  15. Apr 1980 · US

    High Fidelity's open-reel table sets the "Otari MX-5050B" at $2,050 beside the first-generation "Otari MX-5050-2SH" at $1,695, the B's remarks beginning "All features of 2SH". High Fidelity, April 1980 (page 113 of the PDF).

  16. May 1980 · US

    The "New Workhorse" campaign begins at the spring AES, with the MX-5050B in its optional CSLB cabinet: Billboard, May 10, 1980. The same month a reader asks about the B's microphone inputs, and learns they are high-impedance: Modern Recording, May 1980

  17. June 1980 · US

    Otari's line-up ad to broadcasters, "the New Workhorse", shows a 5050B and a Mark II-4 in optional cabinets: db, June 1980. A Milwaukee dealer lists the "OTARI 5050B Tape Machine" among the gear it installed at a 24-track studio: Recording Engineer/Producer, June 1980

  18. June 1980 · UK

    ITA's advert quotes a London studio owner, with a ten-point feature list that includes four heads for 2- or 4-track replay. Studio Sound, June 1980

  19. July 1980 · US

    A San Rafael dealer's ad, "The Machine That Sold the Salesman". Mix, July 1980

  20. Sept 1980 · US

    Mix's used-equipment guide dates the line, with the B range from August 1978, and Otari's own ad in the same issue prices the MX-5050B under $2500. Mix, September 1980

  21. Oct 1980 · US

    "Professional Performance With A Bottomline Benefit": the B sold on return on investment. Mix, October 1980

  22. Nov 1980 · US

    "It's The Best Selling Professional Tape Machine In The World." Mix, November 1980

  23. Dec 1980 · UK

    "OTARI MX5050B — the stereo recorder for the eighties.", with two Bs on wheeled stands and Cardiff Broadcasting named as a buyer. Studio Sound, December 1980. The same advert returns as "Doubly effective": Studio Sound, February 1981

  24. Jan 1981 · US

    "Dollars For dB's, It's The Best You Can Own." Mix, January 1981. In a console maker's ad the same month the B carries a "Suggested retail: $2,150." (Mix, January 1981, page 72 of the PDF); by July the same ad reads $2,295 (Mix, July 1981, page 2 of the PDF).

  25. Apr 1981 · US

    A St. Louis dealer pairs the B with the MTR-10. Recording Engineer/Producer, April 1981

  26. Oct 1981 · US

    "Still The Best Investment In A Professional Two Channel Tape Machine.", at a suggested professional net of $2,295.00. Recording Engineer/Producer, October 1981

  27. Apr 1982 · US

    Ethan Winer's two ways to widen the B's ±7% varispeed. Recording Engineer/Producer, April 1982

  28. July 1982 · UK

    The last Otari advertising for the B found: ITA's "3 Greats from Otari!", the MX5050B beside its successors, the four-track BQII and the half-inch Mark III-8. Studio Sound, July 1982

What it cost↑ TOP

Every B price the period press printed, as printed. The US prices are list or suggested retail for the two-channel machine.

DateMarketPrice as printedSource
Aug 1978US$1795, "complete with Dc capstan servo"R-e/p, August 1978
Nov 1978UK news"the same price ($1,795)"Studio Sound, November 1978, PDF p.32
Nov 1978US show report$1,945Billboard, November 18, 1978, PDF p.80
Feb 1979 – Oct 1979US$1,945R-e/p, February 1979
Jan 1980US$2,050Mix, January 1980, PDF p.15
Sept 1980 – Jan 1981US"less than $2500"Mix, November 1980
Jan 1981US$2,150Mix, January 1981, PDF p.72
July 1981US$2,295Mix, July 1981, PDF p.2
Oct 1981US$2,295.00, "suggested professional net"R-e/p, October 1981

The two November 1978 figures disagree: Studio Sound repeats the launch price, while Billboard's AES report already gives the $1,945 that Otari's own ads print from February 1979.

After the B-II↑ TOP

Otari's own advertising for the B stops in 1982, but the machine stays in print for years. From 1980 to 1984 studio directories and "studio update" columns list the "5050B" among the equipment studios owned: db reports a school edit lab "equipped with 15 Otari 5050B two-track machines" (September 1982, page 55 of the PDF), and a facility with "17 Otari MX5050B's" (October 1983, page 53 of the PDF).

It also enters the used market. A dealer's second-hand list offers an "Otari MX5050B" at £700 in March 1983, "taken in part exchange, and ... overhauled in our workshops" (Studio Sound, March 1983, page 8 of the PDF), and an "OTARI 5050B, perfect" at £825.00 in May 1984, beside an ex-demo B2-II at £1,150.00 (Studio Sound, May 1984, page 101 of the PDF). US classifieds in Mix and Modern Recording offer used Bs through 1983 and 1984.

Sources↑ TOP

Every sighting behind this page, 426 in all, is in the research dossier; the ones with their own page are in the Period Press library.

Transcribed

Quoted on this page