On July 21, we received the following from NAMM‘s Dan Del Fiorentino:
Arne Berg came into my life thanks to Yoshi Abe, the engineer behind the TEAC reel to reel recorder. When Abe-San was interviewed he informed me that fellow audio engineer Arne Berg was living just north of me in Southern California. Budd Johnson was a coworker of Arne’s, and after several years of effort and the wonderful help of Patty Johnson (Budd’s wife) I was finally able to connect with and interview Mr. Berg.
Over the years Arne and I became good friends. We shared a love of jazz and always tried to trip each other up with music related trivia. He was a warm and humble man who preferred we didn’t talk about his long career as a product engineer, yet that side of his life is what brought us together.
Arne always thought of himself more as an inventor than an engineer, but nevertheless, his forward thinking and creative designs led to a number of successful products in the pro audio market for Concertone, Fostex and a company he helped establish called TASCAM. Arne’s passion for music began as a small boy playing piano. His passion for recording equipment also started at a young age and his successful career came when he was able to combine both of these skills and interests.
His daughter Tia emailed me this morning to inform me that her dear father had passed. My heart goes out to her and Arne’s entire family as well as his many friends.
Here is a segment from his 2013 NAMM Oral History interview:
Looking Back on 2025: A Year of Controlled Chaos (Emphasis on “Controlled”)