Mar 1, 2004 12:00 PM, Eric Wenocur, Lab Tech Systems

Respected audio engineer and electronics expert John Frey died on December 27, 2003, after a year-long fight with cancer. Frey lived and worked in the Washington, D.C., area for most of his life, spending a good part of 30 years at Rodel Audio in Georgetown.

After a short stint in Vietnam (where he befriended pilots by fixing their radio equipment), Frey's interest in sound led him into professional audio. His strong theoretical understanding of electronics allowed him to create countless custom devices for recording and sound reinforcement. Frey was responsible for much of the design and installation at Rodel, which included a film mixing stage with interlocked mag dubbers, analog multitrack studios and digital audio workstations. During the 1970s, he also worked at legendary music studio Nimbus 9 in Toronto.

Frey's greatest skills were as a designer and troubleshooter of electronic equipment. His workshop included a vast collection of test equipment, tools, parts and technical manuals, as well as a professional machine shop for custom fabrication. His technical interests ranged from audio to industrial control, radio systems and ocean navigation. There were few things he could not design and even fewer that he could not fix. His high standards set the mark for quality regardless of application; no matter how big or small the job, he wanted it done right. Frey was one of a diminishing breed and will be greatly missed in the audio industry.

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