Category: Publications

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Publications

Book Report: The Ultimate HiFi & Listening Rooms

Wow would you take a look at that pile.

Been thinking about Japan a lot lately; it’s impossible not to, what with the coverage of the horrific events suffered there by so many.   As I type this, NPR is reporting that the official death toll has just passed 10,000.   I attended a public magnet school for 10th grade in which I was taught Japanese and then sent to Japan to live with a suburban family for a month.  This experience had a profound effect on me and I am consequently one of many Americans who has a great fascination with, and affection for, Japan.  It is notable that middle-aged Japanese men seem by all accounts to be the world’s leading demographic of vintage-audio fans and collectors; antique audio has become my obsession as well.  Not sure how the chicken/egg thing sorts out on this one but there you go.

“The Ultimate HiFi & Listening Rooms” was published sometime in the past decade.  From what I can divine from the wholly Japanese text, it seems to be a collection of “Show us your system!” reader-submissions as published from 1989- 2002 in MJ Audio Technology, the venerable Japanese magazine.  See this earlier post for full details on MJ.

If there is one thing that collectors of obscure items all enjoy, it’s seeing the similar collections of others, and this book does not disappoint.  I picked this up in Tokyo several years back, and I have no idea if it is still in publication; if it is, Kinokuniya can certainly import it for you (The ISBN 10 is: 4-416-10201-1).

Here are some examples of the wonders on display in this 192pp volume.

I really dig how the inclusion of the antique-industrial-electronics within an otherwise conservative, posh-masculine domestic space creates a real Matthew Barney vibe.  Or, in a different sense, it feels like the discourse established by the obelisks in the various images within the Led Zep ‘Presence’ sleeve.

Aside from the strange and sizeable systems, many of the spaces themselves are quite  beautiful and idiosyncratic.

Portraiture of the obsessed.  Highly recommended.

See this link for previous Japanese Super-Collector coverage on PS.com

 

 

 

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Publications

Musician Magazine 1976 -1999

What if I told you that there was a music magazine which featured writers including rock-lit luminaries Lester Bangs and Cameron Crowe; exceptionally strong graphic design; and coverage of the most successful mainstream and most vital ‘underground’ artists of the day; all aimed not at music fans, but at musicians themselves.  This publication was called, plainly, MUSICIAN, and it’s worth a look.   From Wikipedia:

“Musician …was a monthly magazine that covered news and information about American popular music. Initially called “Music America”, it was founded in 1976 by Sam Holdsworth and Gordon Baird. (…) Subtitled “The Art, Business and Technology of Making Music,” it became known for its extended and thorough articles about the stars of rock music. “Musician” was not intended to be a fan magazine—the founders envisioned it as a publication about the musician’s craft, and as a result, it earned it the respect of people in the music business.  As Holdsworth told an interviewer in 2003, the magazine “…created a level of trust that made the musicians feel they were talking with peers.” In that same article, he noted that “Musician” was also known for finding out the little things that the average magazine did not—such as why a musician chose a particular brand of instrument, or what was the inspiration for a certain song.”

The Dead Kennedys in MUSICIAN, August 1985

I have always been struck by how much more candid musicians are when speaking to musician-oriented publications rather than the popular or music-fan press.  Old issues of Guitar Player magazine come to mind in this regard.  MUSICIAN mag offers much of the same.  The intended audience here is musicians, specifically; not recording engineers; but there is still some interesting historical bits for audio fans.  If you chance upon a pile of old issues, pick em up.   Some revealing advertising from the August 1985 issue:

The Tascam Porta 01, which was a lower-priced alternative to their 144/244/246 cassette four-track.  Note the light of God/Genius/Art streaming through the windows.

I studied composition at university, and we were taught on the Kurzwel K2500, which was a very high-end synth/sampler in 1995 (approx. $5000 loaded).  This is spare change in comparison to the Kurzweil 250 of 1985 (pictured above), which sold for$14,000 – $16,000.  That’s THIRTY ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in today’s money.  Good lord.

We’ve looked at a lot of 1960s and 1970s  Sennhesier 421 ads on this site; here is an 80’s iteration, complete with the ‘blackfire’ 441 of the era.

There is a lot of emphasis in the advertising on ‘professional,’ ‘career,’ ‘making it happen,’ etc.  Not sure if we can read this as an appearance of the unavoidable-in-the-1980’s ‘yuppie’ zeitgeist but it certainly stands out today as odd language to find in a musician (artist) space, which we generally populate with romantic ‘creative’ and ‘expressive’ concepts.

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Early Electronic Music History Publications

Out-Of-Print-Book Report: History Of Music Machines (Smithsonian)

Came across this obscure volume in a rubbish bin several years ago.  Published by Drake Publishers in 1975 and billed as being ‘Prepared By The Smithsonian’ (No author attributed), “(The)History Of Music Machines” (hf. ‘HOMM’) is a b&w hardcover gift/coffee-table book which presents a fairly interesting survey of the history of reproduced sound.  Several copies are available for just a few bucks at amazon. 139pp.

From the introduction (by writer Irving Kolodin):

“Over the years, the debates have continued about the pros and cons of music machines, the impact of their existence on the habit patterns of society,…. their influence for good and evil on taste…  As for taste, it has been driven to the wall, and all but through it, by exploitation of the music machines’ potential for serving the lowest common denominator.  Whether in records, or in radio’s reliance on the Top Forty -those loudest, hardest, often cheapest appeals to the beetle-browed-  selectivity has since foundered on the rock of commercialism.”

Jesus Irving.  Don’t mince words buddy.  Tell us how you really feel.  Note how he allusively slips ‘Be(e/a)tle’ and ‘Rock’ in there.  Nice one.  ANYhow. Reactionary sentiments asides, HOMM is basically a chronological series of photos with explanatory captions.  I find it interesting because it does not attempt to parse recording devices, electric instuments, synthesizers, amplification equipment, choosing instead to include all of these very different (in my mind, at least) type of equipment into the totality of ‘music machines.’  This suggests the view point that music is either made ‘by man alone’ or somehow made ‘by machine.’  It’s an interesting idea.  A very outmoded binary opposition, certainly.  Here are some highlights.

The multiphone, a wax-cylinder jukebox from 1905.

The Stroh Violin.  DS mentioned  last week that he had seen a band in NYC recently that performs exclusively 1900-1930 music on all period instruments.  ‘One of those Violins with the victrola horn’ is apparently employed.  Now we know that this is called a Stroh Violin.

The much-loved Magnecord PT6 gets some praise.

HOMM ends with some (even then very-dated) images of Electronic Music Studios. Above we have the Columbia-Princeton Studio circa 1959 (see my previous post) and below some rare images of the circa ’65 studios at the Catholic University of America.

(footnote: a nod to EKL, originator of the ‘out-of-print-book-report’ in her PARFAIT series)

Categories
Concert Sound Pro Audio Archive Publications

Tannoy Wildcat Live-Sound Speaker Line c.1984

Download the four-page 1984/5 Tannoy Wildcat Live-Sound Speaker Catalog:

DOWNLOAD: TannoyWildcats1984Catalog

Models covered, with detailed specs and photos, include: Tannoy Lynx, Puma, Jaguar, Panther, Leopard, and Cougar units.

As i mentioned in a previous post, the word ‘Tannoy’ is used as generic-descriptor for ‘PA speaker’ in the UK.  This would presume that Tannoy speakers were, at some point many years ago, widely used in the UK for public-address applications.  Nowadays Tannoy speakers are generally only sold and used for high-end home use and recording/mixing/production suites.  I’ve never encountered any of the ‘wildcat’ line.  Anyone?

From this very helpful website:

“In 1984 the Research and Development team at Tannoy wanted to prove that the Dual was an excellent solution to very high quality live music performance venues. Clearly, with the sizes of magnet and levels of efficiency available it could not compete with the outdoor rock concert systems from Altec, Meyer and JBL but there was a niche in the cabaret and small club market where the sound quality needed to be considerably higher than that to which people were accustomed. Specially adapted Duals were designed that had more power handling and greater sensitivity than had ever been produced before by Tannoy. These were fitted to a range of very robustly made cabinets with reinforced handles and corners suitable for mobile cabaret or fixed contractor installation work. The line was christened the ‘Wildcats’ and was the start of a very successful venture into high quality voice and music provision for sophisticated venues such as clubs, theatres and churches.”

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Guitar Equipment Pro Audio Archive Publications

Johnson Sound Systems of Manitoba circa 1951

Download the abridged (10pp from 20pp) JOHNSON SOUND SYSTEMS circa 1951 catalog:

DOWNLOAD: JohnsonSoundSystems_catalog

Alright here’s a real obscurity for you.  JOHNSON was a brand/dealer of ‘musical merchandise’ in Brandon, Manitoba Canada in the 1940s/50s.  I’ve scanned the 10 pages from their circa 1951 catalog (the date is a guess based on the particular microphone models available in the catalog).  I’ve omitted the pages featuring luthiery parts, electric razors (!), etc.  Amplifier models featured include:  The Johnson Vibrante, Maestro, Johnson Junior guitar amps; and the Johnson M1, M2, M3, and J1 PA heads; plus Hofner classical and archtop guitars, mics from a few makers, Celestion Rola G-12, P-44, Z10Z0 speakers, plus pickups, etc.

For a few words about JOHNSON and its founder Albert Johnson, plus photos of many later models of Johnson amps, visit this site.  The most interesting fact: these amps were not re-branded pieces from another manufacturer; they were in fact unique designs built on the familiar+dear Hammond chassis.

Categories
Guitar Equipment Icons Publications

BOSS guitar effects and associated audio products 1984

Download the entire twenty-four-page 1984 BOSS full-line catalog (7.3 MB file).

DOWNLOAD: Boss_Full_product_Line_1984

Products covered, with full specs and photos, include: Boss DD-2 digital delay, HM-2 heavy metal, CE-3 and CE-2 chorus, BF-2 flanger, CS-2 Compression Sustainer, DM-2 (analog) delay, OC-2 Octaver, VB-2 Vibrato, TW-1 touch wah, GE-10 equalizer, plus many more pedals; HC-2 handclapper and PC-2 Percussion synth; DE-200, DM-300, DM-100, RX-100 tabletop delay/reverbs; SCC-700 effects controller; BX-600, BX-400, KM-60 mixers; plus many more odd items.

Volumes can be said about the BOSS brand of audio products.  BOSS was created in 1976 as a guitarist-oriented division of the ROLAND corporation of Japan.  They arrived at their classic form-factor of a small cast-metal pedal with large foot-switch and safely recessed knobs in 1977.  Since then, these devices have become as ubiquitous as the electric-guitar itself.

Audacious, perhaps, but probably accurate.  When a young kid gets the guitar and amp he has been wanting, the next thing he wants is a ‘pedal.’  And more likely than not, that pedal will be a BOSS pedal.  To a novice guitar-player, these effect units literally open up a world of possibilities, offering the potential to free the instrument entirely from the acoustic sound that the vibrating strings create and into a world of engineered audio.

When I was a kid learning to play guitar, the BOSS digital delay pedal (ie ‘Echo pedal’) was our holy grail of pedal effects.  These things were so expensive that almost no one could afford one.  They cost as much or more than your amplifier.  On the other hand, we had no interest in the DM-2 ‘Delay’ (read: Analog Delay) pedal, which has more limited echo time and ‘impefect’ ‘analog processing’ which causes noticeable high-frequency loss on the echo repeats.

Ironic now that the DD-2 digital delay pedal is nearly worthless, while the DM-2 and DM-3 analog delay pedals of the same era trade for upwards of $400.  I have been using a DM-2 in my live-performance guitar setup for several years and it is a truly great device.

I used one of these percussion-synths for a long time too.  These are very cool if you can find one cheap.

I can’t imagine that this mixer sounds very good but shit it is funky.   A cosmetic holdover from the 1970s BOSS line.

Have you seen ‘THE BOSS BOOK” (no author attributed) from Hal Leonard Publishers?

I encountered this 122-page volume at the bookshop one afternoon and I have to say: it is one of the best books in the (albeit limited) genre of ‘musical-instrument-writing’ that I have come across.  Extremely dense, rigorous, and well-illustrated.  If you have ever used guitar-effect pedals in your work, I highly suggest that you pick it up. “TBB” traces the development of each of the effect devices from their inception through discontinuation.  This history is in many ways the history of the evolution of the electric guitar and audio processing in the 1980s.  A lot to think about.

Categories
Guitar Equipment Publications

Gretsch Guitars 1978 Full-Line Catalog

Download the entire eight-page 1978 Gretsch Electric Guitars Catalog:

DOWNLOAD: GretschElectricGuitars1978Catalog

Models covered, in text and photo: include: Gretsch #7595, 7594, and 7593 White Falcon; #7680 and 7685 Super Axe and Atkins Axe; the usual #7690 super Chet, 7670 Country Gentleman, 7660 Nashville, and 7655 Tennessean; The Gretsch Committee #7628 and 7629 bass; Roc Jet #7611; Country Roc #7620; TK 300 #7625 and Bass #7627; Broadkaster #7609; and Country Club #7576.

The late 70’s were hardly the most lauded period in Gretsch history; were it not for the lingering (after-after-after) effects of ‘Beatlemania’ I doubt they would have even lasted this long.  Interesting to see that they have kept most of the circa 1964 classics intact; but more interesting is the scattered approaches to innovation that they assumed with their newer models, like the Alembic-influenced Committee models seen above.  BTW; an etymological question: when did the phrase ‘designed by committee’ become synonymous with ‘bad design’ rather than ‘this is a positive feature’?

Not really sure where they were going with the TK300 line…  Punk/new wave maybe? Odd-shape-for-the-sake-of-odd-shape?  Then figure in the oft-noted ‘Super Axe’ with its built-in phaser and compressor, already several years into production (feel like they beat Gibson to the party here…  feel like the RD artists came later…).

Did anyone really think that phase-shift was such a fantastic effect that you would want it around for ever and ever and ever in your guitar?  As much as I dislike 80’s guitar design, at least people had the good sense not to market high-end guitars in the 80’s with built in chorus and flange effects (prove me wrong here people…).

Categories
Guitar Equipment Pro Audio Archive Publications

Fender Album Of Stars Promotional Magazine c. 1968

Download the entire 32-page Fender ‘album of stars’ promotional magazine, circa 1968:

DOWNLOAD PART 1: FenderAlbumofStars1

DOWNLOAD PART 2: FenderAlbumOfStars2

Apologies for the weird alias-ing.  I’ll get better at scanning eventually.

A special PreservationSound nod to Merry-Go-Round frontman Emitt Rhodes (standing), aka the father of home recording.  IF you are not familiar with Rhodes and his outstanding work, check him out…Also be sure to scope this amazing early music video for one of his best tracks. “Hey how do we let people know that he plays EVERYTHING on these recordings?”

Some of the images in this 32-page ‘album’ have been reproduced often; for instance, the highly-dubious Dylan-with-Jazz Bass.  Many, though, have never been seen by those who do not possess the actual document. This is a fairly rare item these days, as it was created with the intention of being cut-up and pinned to one’s wall.  There are actually cut-lines printed in the margin of each page.  So dig in….

Artists include:  Union Gap, Mike Bloomfield and the Electric Flag, Brenda Lee and the Casuals, The Fifth Dimension, Sebastiao Neto with Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66, Oscar Mesa and Mike Saluzzi with Roger Williams, The Merry-Go-Round, Vic Gaskin with Cannonball Adderley, Oscar Brown Jr., Herman’s Hermits, Chad and Jeremy, Bob Dylan, Wayne Newton, Sonny and Cher, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Lee Michaels, Noel Harrison, Edgar Willis and Barry Rillera with Ray Charles, Ian and Sylvia, The James Cotton Blues Band, Duke Ellington and Mercer Ellington, The Beach Boys, Don Ellis (check the prototype echo ((?)) unit), The Baja Marimba Band, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The First Edition (feat. Kenny Rogers on a Coronado Bass II), Rick Nelson and James Nelson, The Chambers Brothers, The Byrds, and a dude who apparently played a Stratocaster guitar named Jimi Hendrix.

Categories
Pro Audio Archive Publications

Sears Silvertone Sound Systems 1940

Download a 17-page scan of the 1940 Sears Silvertone sound system catalog:

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD (10mb) : SearsSoundSystems1940

The PA, or Public-Address System, was still relatively new technology in 1940.

It’s hard for us to imagine any of the above scenarios without some sort of microphone/amplifier/speaker apparatus in play.  The human voice was not designed to clearly address dozens or hundreds of people who may or may not be paying attention.  Sure, we can yell pretty well; but the careful inflections of speech require an intimacy that cannot be accomplished on a mass scale.  Without some ‘reinforcement.’  Enter the Vacuum Tube.

I have owned quite a few of these antique units.  A few notable units have been restored; many more were gutted for parts, their chassis delivered to other uses.  One tip: beware the input transformers on these early PA units.  they are rarely magnetically shielded.  The physical orientation of the input transformer unit relative to the power transformer is crucial.   You can determine optimum positioning by placing your power transformer in the intended position.  Send 120V AC to the primary of the power transformer.   Then connect a low-impedance headphone (EG., a SONY 7506) to the primary or the secondary  of the input transformer (try both).  Now move the input transformer around relative to the power transformer.  If the transformer is unshielded, you will clearly hear an optimum (less hum audible) position.  This trick also works great for determining optimum output transformer position for hi-fi amps and guitar amps btw.

Categories
Publications Synthesizers

Hammond Times Promotional Magazine 1953

Hammond Times was published by the Hammond Organ Company from around 1938 through at least 1962 (the last issue that I have personally seen is 1962).  Click on the link below to download the 12-page issue Vol XV, No. 11, from March of 1953.

HammTimesXV11

This is, of course, the Pre-Rock-Era.  The Hammond  Organ, long a staple of rock music, began its career as an instrument for churches that wanted a reliable, inexpensive alternative to pipe organs.   When you think ‘Hammond Organ,’ you probably imagine something like this:

…but, of course, this was not Hammond’s intention for these devices.  They were imagining something more like this:

The Hammond Organ’s incredible sound (owing in large part to the rotating Leslie speakers that often amplified it) was intended to be the sound of the heavens… the sound of the Lord.  What better way to bolster your Rock-anthem than with the Chords Of God.  It’s adaptation to RocknRoll was inevitable.