Phantom's Reel To Reel Tape Recorder OnLine Museum
Phantom Productions, Inc. • "creative entertainment and production since 1964"
Brelant/Concerton
USA based hi-fi and audio company run by Bert Berlant, originally the trade name was Berlant, later Berlant-Concertone and finally just Concertone, primarily known for their open reel recorders and of those early designs were by Berlant himself and manufactured in the USA but later recorders from this company were rebadged TEAC products, company fizzled out in late 60's early 70's. Not to be confused with the French amplifier manufacturer named Concertone active in a similar/slightly later timeframe.
Despite the many horrors of World War II it brought forth many technological breakthroughs and pressed our countries greatest minds to contribute in their respective fields. Bert Berlant was a Signal Corps engineer with an open mind and the ability to implement non-conventional approaches to engineering problems. He developed a 70 mm combat camera for battlefield reconnaissance photography, a Robotron camera for the U.S. Medical Corps, and was a key contributor to many other important war time developments.
When the war ended, like so many other US engineers, Berlant was uniquely educated to contribute to consumer/professional technology industries. He started Berlant Associates Inc. in 1946 and began producing hi-fidelity and professional grade audio equipment. His components were of the highest quality and extremely innovative. Berlant particularly excelled in the field of magnetic tape recorders; today he is viewed as a leading pioneer of this format, helping to mature it into the professional standard.
Two different product lines were produced by Berlant, the Concertone series for high-fidelity home music systems and the Berlant professional series, components for recording studios and radio stations. These tape decks are of outstanding design and build quality, rivaling the finest decks of the era from Ampex.
More: In the February, 1982 issue of Modern Recording and Music magazine, James Rayton with the Ascot Recording Studio in Hollywood, CA wrote:
"probably around the early '60s, the (Berlant/Concertone) assembly was moved to Japan, and around the same time, I believe, the company became known, paradoxically, as "American Concertone"; their product emphasis gradually moved into the mid-to-high-end consumer category, (and occasionally appeared under other trade names like 'Concord'). Whatever remains of the company today is perhaps better known as TEAC, who interestingly, continued making the old Concertone 90 at least through the late '60s, with only a change of nameplate (and probably solid-state electronics) and a different model number."
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