Dr. Harvey "Gizmo" Rosenberg
Guildmeister of The Triode Guild
Thermionic Techno-Shaman
The Digital Devil
Grand Wazir of Speakermaniacs
Techno-Shaman of Coolosity,
Positive-Feedback Mag
Fashion and Beauty, Editor, Listener Magazine
The Bruce and Seventh Earl Clan Mc Tannoy
Mayor, Vinylville, USA.

Publisher and CEO, Potty Publishing Co.
Author:
Understanding Tube Electronics
The Search for Musical Ecstasy


 Dr. Harvey "Gizmo" Rosenberg's
Biography

It's a sad morning here at Whetstone Audio! Harvey was not only brilliant, but he had style and panache! In the audio world there is a shortage of people who have both a clue and a sense of humor. Now it has one less. My best Harvey story was at CES about four years ago. Harvey was sporting a kilt and tubes hanging off his hat. We were both a bit ripped and had just come from some butt-kissing, name badge leering party. We had a great time being obnoxious and annoying high(priced)-end(of good sound) goobers. As we were leaving to go to another gala event I told him he looked hot in his dress and that we should go get married at one of those drive-in churches. He said I wasn't his type. We both got a big laugh out of it. You see, Harvey could be a bit "over the edge" and not everyone really understood that. It's people who dig a bit deeper and look at things in a different perspective that make life interesting. Eccentric? Hell Yeah! I'll never forget him as the warm, funny, intelligent man he was. I wish I had got to know him better. I can say I'm lucky to have known him a little. I'll miss you Gizmo!

Brian DiFrank

Harvey was my friend and mentor for close to 20 years. He was equal parts Joseph Campbell and P.T. Barnum; with the heart, soul and passion of Malcolm X. He was other-wordly. I loved the guy; and I'll miss him terribly. Pondering his passing, I am reminded of a posthumous analysis of Jimi Hendrix by Griel Marcus (Rolling Stone): "This is what the blues will sound like in the 30th century...on Saturn" Salute! Salute! Salute!

atldowdy@juno.com


Art Loesch and me were visiting
Herb Reichert at the "firehouse" on
Staten Island - about 10 years ago now. Harvey showed up driving some
sort of dune buggy contraption,
having come in from Connecticut. It was
Summer, so I guess that wasn't
all bad considering the time of year...
Back in early 19 Seventy something,
my long time audio friend AL Rauchwerger
(Virtual Image) and I drove
up to Ossining NY to this place called NY
Audio Labs - where some guy
was making OTL amplifiers or something.

That's when I met Harvey. He
was doing better at audio than I, because
HE had a place in Ossining
and was actually selling what at that time were
probably the WORLDS LARGEST
AMPLIFIERS to people for actual, real money!!

For those who don't know or
recall, they were 4 chassis affairs. Separate
POWER SUPPLY and AMP chassis
- 4 required for stereo. Regulated supplies
too... BIG, HOT and expensive
for the day. I looked at an old brochure a year or so
ago, and laughed at the prices...
by today's standards they are very modest.
I know that money was worth
more then than now, but still... back then it seemed
outrageous!

Harvey played us the system
on the big Sound Labs that he had set up in the middle
room... I got to peek into
the back room where a couple of guys were assembling
the PC boards for the Futtermans...

It sounded pretty good I recall.
Harvey and I, for whatever
reason we didn't "click" on some level. But, he and I
met and ran into each other
at shows, and in other odd places... talked and shared some
things.
I was there in his Connecticut
warehouse situation for his first big meeting that
turned into his "Triode Guild."

He had gotten those Westminsters and there was
a smorgasbord of amplifiers
brought in to run on them. Of course, the  room is/was
colossal in size and extraordinarily
absorptive, so it was a tough road regardless
of what you put in there.

But it was a fun day of amps, people and ideas...
I tried to talk to him back
in Ossining about the amps, as I was RF savvy, having been
into ham radio then for 10
years and thought I could help him. But, we didn't make the
connection, and I was off
in another area of audio at the time myself...

Early on, he gave me and some
others assembled copies of his earliest "printing" of
his book, which actually I
treasure as he signed it and endorsed it "to the BIG BEAR,
hugs, Gizmo" ( me being the
bear guy...) and then later a bound and printed copy.
Actually, overall, a fun read
and of good spirit.
I see, to recall that Harvey
was fond of Single Malt Whiskey and Cigars - SO, today let us all
toast Dr. Gizmo with some
fine Whiskey and maybe a Habana or home rolled 'item'
and thank him for bringing
such enthusiasm to audio, a vision of transcendence that
helps to bring us all one
step closer to the Gods and to audio nirvana, and to remember
that he saved OTL amps and
the memory of George Futterman from being a mere
footnote in audio history.
Let's also remember his energy and life force that helped
to illuminate some of the best and most enjoyable parts of the search for
musical ecstasy.
You know, there was something
about that guy that I really; liked.

-bear (randy bradley) bearlabs
http://www.bearlabsUSA.com


Buy his Book

In the late 1970's Harvey used to

have this fabulous apartment on Central Park West and he would have these

fabulous free flowing parties.. It was not unusual to find the most eclectic

types of people involved in a variety of insane situations and positions..

After one of these parties, myself, Harvey and a couple of my friends went to dinner

at a restaurant on n
the Upper West Side.. Harvey came to the dinner dressed in a

white lab coat
that beared a name tag "Dr Harvey Rosenberg" and he carried a doctors bag.

I sat at the table with him and I excused myself from the table and went to the payphone in the

rear of the
restaurant. I called the establishment and asked them if they could page

Dr.
Rosenberg-- identifying myself as being an intern at Roosevelt Hospital..

Harvey
has no idea it is me until he gets on the phone and we decide to play a major

joke on everyone in the restaurant.

He picks up the phone and screams

"I don't care if she is hemorraghing to death, screw her. i am hungry." and he

hangs up and goes back to the table. I go back to the table and of course the

whole restaurant is in shock. I wait five minutes more and go back to the phone

and he is paged again.. He screams " Screw her, don't call me again-- get

someone else." Well, the place is an uproar-- a woman comes up to him and says

to his face " you ought to be ashamed of yourself-- what about the Hippocratic

Oath you took? Don't you have any sympathy--any compassion? " Harvey looks at

her and says to her " Madam, I know you. you were in the 1972 Sex Olympics.. you

were disqualified for having Lock Jaw" That is the Harvey I will always

remember-- trying to have a little harmless fun and trying to turn the world on

its edge a little bit.. He certainly did.. He had a heart of gold and a mind

that penetrated steel. I will always miss him-- why not? he was one of a kind..A

renaissance man who was also a pisser-- what a combo. Rest in peace Dr. Harvey..

respectfully,

Les Borden

I called him HA. He called me GA

(after seeing the movie The Day of the Dolphins)

I met Harvey in 1974 at Leber Katz Partners Advertising where he was

consulting the agency to help us win the Celanese account. We didn't get the

account. But I won Harvey. My life started spinning instantly. A whirlwind

romance. We ran off to Crete, Greece, living in a farmhouse with no

electricity but many chickens and goats, right on the beach. Harvey the

Sagittarius soon tired of the dry sand and longed for something more green

and lush. We took off our bikinis, put on layers of wool and flew to a

thatch-roofed cottage on an isolated hillside in Ireland.

The next November we were married at the UN Chapel, handholding

friends circling around us as we said our vows to be true while

simultaneously letting each other be free spirits. An inspirational

conundrum. Our black tie reception was held at his family's famous Dubrow's

Cafeteria in the Garment Center. The great deco room was filled with minks,

diamonds, amazing music, and my creative centerpieces made of carrots,

celery and parsley. His grandma told me later she took a few home. They were

delicious and made a great soup.

Advertising, fashion folks from Manhattan, his mom, Helen, his

dad, Henry, Phyliss, Paul, family from Brooklyn and the five towns went

through the cafeteria line for seconds and thirds of blintzes, pastrami,

rice pudding.

Nothing with Harvey was ordinary. In the midst of the nuptial

excitement and happiness of this splendiferous occasion there was a random

murder ‹ I believe a stabbing ‹ outside Dubrow's that night.

Ours was not a marriage made in heaven. In fact we split up so many

times it was rumored we were divorced, remarried and divorced. Not one

moment was boring. Life was moving rapidly every second around Harvey. A

whirling brilliant dervish. He created the thrill of insanely fun chaos.

During our marriage we built The Economy Cream Separator Company, the

largest collection of fine fabric swatches in the world, with video shows,

silk screen designing, etc.

Harvey went on many talk shows promoting his renowned Gay Bob Doll

Who encouraged frustrated closeted gays to happily "come out"‹ in

Stilettos, of course. He also was enthusiastically pushing his candy line

"BALLS," the candy that gives you courage. And for women "She who has

Balls will inherit the world."

These were the Annie Hall years, and I was the Shiksa from Ohio who

did have to convince my parents Harvey was not gay. They didn't quite get it.

Harvey and I did not enjoy the calm quiet waters of a gentle marriage

but he taught me so much and gave me many gifts that changed my

life forever.

The essence of Harvey's new products were the heart and soul of

Harvey. He was liberated. He believed men and women had an equality of a

balance of desires, pain and misunderstandings.

A strong follower of Carl Jung, Harvey was dedicated to promoting

the development of the "Anima and Animus" in all he loved.

That was his greatest gift to me. He put me in touch with my male

side and my own ability to be powerful. Who could ask for more?

Harvey was living in Stamford, CT and I'm now in Westport. A year

ago we bumped into each other in Kinko's making color copies of our own new

product concepts and gizmos. How appropriate! We decided to have dinner

later that week. He arrived in his open sport Jeep, hand-painted by him

covered in camouflage and roses. XTSAVNATOGPS41  It had action military figures glued to the

back. A bud vase with a rose by the gear shift and a stuffed woman with a

straw hat in the passenger seat. It was a moving statement he said to

express to the males of the world not be afraid to get in touch with their

feminine side. We took my car.

He had changed so little I almost could tell no difference. He was

wearing his signature fatigues ‹ camouflage bermudas, tight black tee, cargo

jacket and clunky sensible, possibly orthopedic shoes. As a fashion

statement he wore red orthopedic sandals at 35. The light in his eye was

still all aglitter ‹ that of a wise animated child. His well-muscled, toned

body had certainly held up!

We had a wonderful dinner, tricolor pasta, tricolor conversation,

discussing our past lives and our future of possibly creating new gizmos

together.

There is no way I can reflect on the power and life of this

One-of-a-kind, "they broke the mold" guy, and say "rest in peace."

Harvey
Simply would not want that.

This extraordinary man's light was extinguished so prematurely,

it's hard to comprehend. But if I know Harvey, he was simply too impatient

to wait to experience his higher power and what was going to unfold next.

Always a futurist, I believe his curiosity was too keen to wait a moment

longer. He had to go to the next level ‹ and as usual before us.

Now I'm certain he's turning heads and hearts around in gizmo

heaven, creating his unique spin on the situation. He'll be having every man

get in touch with his feminine side and every woman working on feeling the

male power within her.

Harvey, we will see you soon, my dear friend. Get everything "gizmo

fantasy" ready for us. You were always so evolved and involved, it's only

appropriate that you precede us. We will miss you. Until then,

My love,

Your first ex-wife,

Gayle Gleckler

BrandQueen@aol.com

 

It was in the week of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame festivities about a year ago that we had a date with our dear Gizmo. Upon arriving in New York we called him and set the time and place to meet; One o'clock in the lobby of the Waldorf Astoria.

Stepping out of the Towers' hallway, we encountered Gizmo already. Happily reading in one of his ever present books and making a great contrast with the crowd being clad in his full Harley-Davidson outfit. One thing we noticed immediately: his pink glasses, boots and watch were all held together with Duck Tape. After the hugging and kissing we asked Gizmo "Why the tape". As we were walking out of the hotel towards the restaurant where we would have lunch, Gizmo started telling about his latest project, raising

Ducks in order to get enough Duck Tape because this is the ultimate power Tool! "No man should go about without at least a little roll on him".

Entering the 37 East 50th Street restaurant we sure caused some strained Neck muscles with the clientele of lawyers, bankers and Wall Street Dwellers. The three of us are not what you call rankers - au contraire.

At our booth we ordered a nice bottle of French bubbles and we started discussing how to start and setup a Benelux branch of the Triode Guild, quantum mechanics and the consistency of the mud at Woodstock (and how to relive this in the listening room). Halfway during the onion crusted salmon entree, Gizmo raised his voice a little and started a monologue on how wonderful it would be if a man's penis could be used as the base of a whole set of snap-on tools. From our position at the booth we could look into the

restaurant and while Gizmo was going on, first the ladies and shortly after that the men, were lending an ear and resting the carving of their sirloins or crackling pork shanks. The nodding of the heads and the resuming of the conversations at the other tables indicated Gizmo had hit another bull's eye.

On the way back after the 3 hour lunch we walked by St. Bartholomew's church where some priests were just having a breather. Gizmo walked right up to them and introduced us. The lights in his eyes got even brighter as he said "Take care, the Rock and Roll Messiah is here and you're the one!", leaving the gathered priest with open mouth.

After another round of hugs and kisses we said good bye and watched Gizmo walk down Park Avenue towards Grand Central, now bare headed as he gave us his white Harley cap...

We miss you Gizmo, but your memory can not be taken away.

Dr. Henk "Longbeard" Boot and Marja

Rotterdam, The Netherlands


 

I first encountered Harvey in the early 1980s when he was with New York

Audio Labs. He was to make a presentation at Andy Singer's original midtown

store and somehow I got an invitation. As a leather jacketed roadie for punk

rock bands I was distinctly out of place in the upscale audience of Wall

Street swells and their trophy girl friends (this was during the "greed is

good" conspicuous consumption Eighties, remember). The first clue that

Harvey was a little different was that he was holding a beat up old saucepan

caked with some amber gunk. He spoke for several minutes before revealing

that the mysterious object was a pressure cooker that Julius Futterman used

for varnishing transformers. The highlight of the speech however was when

Harvey described his first experience of hearing one of Futterman's OTL

amps. "It was better than fucking!" he enthusiastically announced. Half of

the genteel audience gasped and the other half looked around for the nearest

exit. Andy Singer looked like he'd just drunk a big mouthful of sour milk.

A few years later, for a CES show Harvey put together a spec sheet for an

OTL amp that would, he claimed, reproduce the Voice of God. It was going to

produce 100,000 watts or something like that, and would be about the size of

a house. Playing along with the joke, as editor of TAS at the time Art

Dudley insisted that HP should get the first one for review. Harvey solemnly

took an order for it and even rang up a $200,000 charge receipt for a

deposit against Art's TAS American Express card. Art carried the receipt in

his wallet for years. I once asked Harvey about it and he insisted that he

would eventually deliver the amp as promised.

In 25 years of listening to hi fi systems I've heard exactly one sound that

I might have accepted as live in a blindfold test, and Harvey was

responsible for that moment. In an early issue of "Listener" I wrote about

the first meeting of the Triode Guild at Harvey's studio in Connecticut. He

had pestered Tannoy into selling him the only pair of Westminster Royales in

North America, and he invited a bunch of SE amp designers to show off their

wares via the gigantic speakers. I briefly left the room while J.C.

Morrisson hooked up an amp, then returned just as a distorted chord at about

1:02 into "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" roared out of the

speakers at more or less live volume. I froze in place in shock: for a tiny

fraction of a second I had heard a sound that I could have mistaken for the

real thing. Of course one flawless fuzzed guitar chord was a very modest

accomplishment. This was after all just a closely - miked recording of a

speaker so it didn't really have any image or room ambience, and as an

isolated sound there weren't any pacing considerations. It wasn't a very

wide bandwidth sound either, and the verisimilitude evaporated with the next

sound. Still, even with those limitations, it remains the first and so far

only time that the question "did that sound real?" has even been plausible.

Thanks for such an indelible moment, Harvey.


I can't help wishing that this was just another of Harvey's practical jokes

and that he was in the wings waiting to jump out and say"just kidding"

folks. What always impressed me about him was his great sense of humour and

his ability to laugh at himself in print. I've corresponded with Harvey in

the past,and have followed his career since I purchased his book

Understanding Tube Electronics in the early 80's. I haven't even scratched

the surface of his web site and I hope that the contents of it will some-how

be preserved for posterity. If donations are required for this you have my

E-Mail Add. please feel free to contact me. I'm going to miss his column in

Listener and Positive Feedback(if P.F. is still publishing)

Thanks Harvey for

being a Don Qixote tilting against the Windmill of the so called "hi end".

Gonna miss you Harv!

mailto:fastfreddd@hotmail.com

 

 

I had spent some time (3-4 hours for several days, with Jon, talking to Julius Futterman).

Julius was in failing health and he told us that we were the only

people who understood how his amp worked. He had tried to get it

manufactured by some of the large audio companies, but it was so far removed

from what they were used to producing that they all passed. Or, more

appropriately, flunked.

Harvey had a printed circuit consultant design and fabricate several boards

for our prototypes. It was at this point that I joined NYAL The consultant

did not realize that there was to much current for the traces to carry for

the heaters, so the first thing I did was to hard wire the heaters. As we

were putting the first one together, I realized that the plate cap

connectors that I had in my junk box were to small. So, the first plate cap

connectors were made out of strips that I cut from (used) beer cans. The

only power supply that would supply the current (we didn't have any of

Julius' amps to cannibalize) was one that I had built about 30 years before

in college using surplus salvaged WWII military parts.

It was (and still is) a 35 pound monster.

Right in the middle of all this, Julius up and dies.

Here we all are thinking that Julius is gone, what if there is some fault in

all the new circuits that I had designed (so that the amps could be

manufactured on a production line) etc. etc. Standard worries for any engineer.

It was about this time of the year (summer) when I slowly brought the output

stage up, it worked and aligned perfectly. Then the tubes for the front end

were inserted. They also align OK. Finally a little audio into it. OK,

audio out, OK. Power out at 1KHz: 75 watts. Wow! It works!

We were all congratulating each other when there was a tremendous lightning

strike nearby, BOOM!!!!!KABOOM!!!!!! Lights out and then right back on.

Harvey, completely nonplussed, says,

"Julius has just approved our new design!"

Ted Hammond The Tride Godfather

PS: I just got a note from Jim Jackson that Edison Price

passed a couple of years ago.........

Ted

 

Fritztronics offered and supplied Harvey to head the R&D on a run of RCA 2A3 single black plates. We gave him the original drawings, budget and access to the original electron tube manufacturing equipment. A true complete lab. His response was that he would be "to close to the flame". At first we thought this was a ploy but later we understood his sincerity.

He was a was a walking paradox. He would cheer on the Russians or China to make a copy yet given the chance he would not make his own. His strong belief in USA electron tube design was reverend, yet he would work with Indian Motorcycles?

Yet he was a true patron and a "carrier of the flame for USA electron tube design"

Hence there goes Gizmo, sad but true.

Rest in peace, we always loved you Harvey and forever will,

Stanley Fritz Johnson CEO

Fritztronics USA, Westerly RI

 


Michael
                            The Wizard of Gizmos


 

Back to The Triode Guild©               Back to Meta-Gizmo 

All e-mail for
Dr Harvey "Gizmo" Rosenberg

Should Now Be Sent To

The Wizard of Gizmos

Copyright© 2005    Meta-Gizmo.com™ and Dr. Harvey "Gizmo" Rosenberg      All rights reserved.
All the material contained within the above articles may not be reproduced without his express permission.