I found an interesting fact while I was researching for a lecture workshop I was giving on dub reggae and the (mis)use of tape recorders in music production.

I was already aware of the uncomfortable fact that a key part of our recording and production heritage comes from BASF, an offshoot of IG Farben, manufacturers of Zyklon B. The tape recorder has its origins in the Nazi war machine, initially developed to mislead Allied forces by broadcasting near-perfect reproductions of Hitler’s voice on local radio stations, thereby masking the true location of the High Command. 

During the liberation in ’45, Jack Mullin, an American Army signals engineer, had been directed to a small town just outside Frankfurt called Bad Nauheim, where one such radio station was located. He “liberated” the Magnetophon, as it was called, and brought it home to the US for reverse engineering. He introduced it to Bing Crosby, who invested in Ampex to develop it to enhance his radio show. Les Paul got involved, and it became multi-track, and the rest is history. 

The ‘delay’ effect, a kind of repeating echo, now widely used in music production, is achieved through the finite amount of time (i.e., the delay) it takes for the iron oxide on the tape, magnetised by the ‘record head’, to pass to the playback or ‘repro’ head. This phenomenon was the basis of the ubiquitous ‘slap-back’ echo effect found on vocals throughout the rock’n’roll era, as pioneered by Sam Phillips at Sun Records. Now, if this delayed repro signal is fed back to the record head, a ‘delay loop’ ensues, causing a rather delightfully psychedelic echo effect. The effect can be manipulated through speed and frequency adjustments, producing the dreamy trance-like sonic journeys prevalent in dub. This development of the technique was exploited by Jamaican sound engineer and remix pioneer, King Tubby, in the late ’60s, early ’70s. The process is referred to as ‘dub-spin delay’. Rumour has it that this experience can be further enhanced through the partaking of certain narcotic substances… 

Anyway. 

It turns out that Elvis was stationed at Bad Nauheim to do his national service. How’s that for a coincidence?