The Story
When visiting an e-market place I came across the ad of 2 pcs Philips PRO-12 recorders 1 copy was put in the attic 20 years ago and the other copy was for parts. I've always wanted to have a PRO-12 but the high prices asked for the PRO-12 has always stopped me from buying one. I contacted the owner came to an agreement and made an appointment to pick up the recorders.
At 23-12-2014 I picked up the two PRO-12 recorders in the Hague. I was welcomed with a cup of coffee and talked for almost an hour with the owner about the recorders and music. I am always curious about the story of the recorders I buy. The good PRO-12 had been bought by the owner himself. An uncle bought the PRO-12 for him at the Philips staff shop in Eindhoven. That’s why the PRO-12 was affordable for him at that time. It cost about 1200 Dutch guilders in 1972 as I remember correctly, still a significant amount of money at that time. The recorders were expensive and built for the semi-professional market. The dust cover has been customized with a Plexiglas window, neatly executed. The original dust cover was a closed cover. Nice detail on the Plexiglas window is a typical sticker from the seventies. It's not original but I find it pretty so it will be left on. The recorder is probably one of the last copies produced by Philips. That probably explains the reason the recorder was sold at the Philips staff shop. The owner had experience with the PRO-12, he had a job at the municipal fire department where the PRO-12 was used to record the incoming phone calls in the control room. Nice to know the PRO-12 was used as a professional recorder that way. The good recorder was only used for own recordings. However, the owner switched to a 4-track recorder (AKAI) and the PRO-12 moved to the attic. And those two PRO-12 recorders, 23 (Kg) each, including some tapes, cables and the original Service Manual would come with me home. So with about 50 (kg) industrial heritage in the car boot I felt a happy collector.
Repair report Philips PRO12
If you are interested in the repair of this Philips PRO12; just download the PRO12 repair report
Pictures Philips PRO12 repair
