Hello from Philly!

[HotSauce]

Hi everybody,

Some of you probably recognize me from over in that "parallel universe." I came across this great forum when I was searching for info about the Phase Linear 1000. Well, after consulting a great PDF that was uploaded here I managed to complete some mods to the unit and it's currently making my records sound even better!

Kudos to you all for maintaining a chill environment such as this. Also, like the black and red color theme - very easy on the eyes.

Looking forward to reading all the interesting info over here. How's everybody been?

 

[Elite-ist]

A hearty welcome to you. Lots of practical experience on Phase Linear gear, present, here. Glad to hear some info gleaned from our forum was of assistance to you.

Also, for those who don't know of you, any details you'd like to cover regarding your sound system and other passions, are welcome.

Nando.

 

[HotSauce]

Hi Nando,

Good point! A little about me:

I'm probably on the younger side for a forum like this, always been one of the "babies" in these vintage audio forums - turning 29 this month. My background in audio I guess you could say, is hereditary - my parents are both musicians and so I grew up in a house that was very musical. My mother is a singer and composes music, and my father is a professional bass player. He played on broadway shows in the pit bands (and still plays, though not lately, for obvious reasons). As I got older it became clear to me that I really, really liked music. So I ended up going to a music school and getting a degree in music composition and production.

The last few years I've gotten more and more interested in not just buying and using, but also tinkering with my equipment. Several tape deck purchases later I found myself with an oscilloscope and some big boxes of caps and various components. The last two months I've been working towards a certification in electrical technology (CETa certification) - seemed like a good way to spend all this time indoors!

My own system comprises of various noise makers, some amps, compressors, instruments, mics, interfaces, equalizers, all that stuff! I'm not sure I would consider myself an "audiophile," in the conventional sense of the word, though I do love good sounding amps and speakers. I try to integrate everything interesting I get my hands on into my studio room, where most of my stuff is pre-routed so it can be used in music-making and for general enjoyment. I have some JBL monitors on my desk in front of me and downstairs are some nice Acoustic Research floorstanding speakers I bought off a fellow for 100 bucks (good deal!). Recent acquisitions include a nice vintage accordion (!), and some old fisher speakers a neighbor left out on the curb.

I have a more than passing interest in 3d printing and DIY fabrication, which seems in line with the DIY attitude on here. I'm always scheming up some new plan for something I want to build - sometimes too many at once! Anytime something breaks I'm always trying to see if I can fix it before going to a "pro." Sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised how much I've learned by doing so. Just yesterday I was fantasizing about trying to build some electrostatic speakers - we'll see if that ever comes to fruition. Anybody own a pair, or owned some back in the day?

By the way, my name's Josh - hope everybody is hangin in there.

 

[Fishoz]

Hey Josh, good to have you aboard.......send us some Cheesesteaks!!!!!

 

[Elite-ist]

A good intro, Josh. Post a picture of your system, when you can. I know you are also into open-reel format. I am presently playing back a 7" open-reel mix tape, I recorded for a member, before I mail it out to him.

Nando.

 

[HotSauce]

Thanks Fishoz! Good to be here - they do say our cheesesteaks are the best!

Yeah - love open reel! To me, the word is "FAT."

My "tower of tape" as I call it is currently dismantled as I do some modifications on my Akai - instead I can post a pic of my workshop I setup in the basement. I actually moved out here this year so it's been a lot of setting things up.



For R2R I have: Akai X-150D, Tascam 32, TEAC 3340S, TEAC 80-8, and a few random less important ones. A Sony TC-250, and some mono ones I use to put distortion on electric guitar (you'd be surprised how heavy metal that sounds!).

In cassette world I have a Tascam 234 (courtesy of my dad), Tascam 122-B, two Nak BX-100s (one of which runs double speed - I love double speed cassette), and some other units that I don't really use and might sell. There's another Tascam 122 that has a 2 track head mounted on it (courtesy of a German surplus parts company), but I'm still figuring out how I can make that work - would be very cool if I can. This was originally the idea of Nikolai (bohelcho) over on TH.

I have a Garrard TT downstairs (plays 78s) and up here I've got a perfectly solid Technics SL-QD35 (only thing I don't like is that it's p-mount).

What's the format on that mix tape, Nando? I haven't made one in a while, but maybe I've been inspired... hmm!

 

[Gepetto]

Glad you are here Josh, we need to bring down the average age and pass on some passion for this vintage stuff to the next generations.

 

[Elite-ist]

Thanks for your interest, Josh. It's a copy of my Funk & Motown 2020 mix recorded to a Maxell XLI 35-90B . It's destined to Shaun (pioneercollector) in a couple of days. I have another 7" open-reel to record for Ivo (Primare), then a cassette copy to record for Pat (Glantoir). I will be digitizing a copy from my MiniDisc Master to get out to Miles (Miracle Mile) some time in between.

Most of the recording to MD Master was sourced from vinyl and I, even, dubbed a few tracks from cassette mix tapes.



Nando.

 

[HotSauce]

Thanks Gepetto - I agree. I'm trying to learn all I can so the knowledge can live on.

Neat Nando, lots of different sources then. That's a very clean looking RT-707! I always liked what a compact package it is - almost sought one out. Heck maybe I still will someday, it would look great mounted in my rack. I've never cared too much about auto-reverse so I suppose for me a 701 would do just as well.

Damn.. those picture are making me wanna detail and polish some of my decks again. What would you recommend to clean that brushed metal? My 3340S has a little discoloration on the face that I wasn't ever able to completely remove.

 

[Elite-ist]

Well, for me, the cleaning process begins with dusting off all the surfaces with a mini California Car Duster. Then I apply AC Delco Glass Cleaner (contains no ammonia) to a microfiber cloth and wipe down all of the exterior surfaces. For an even better shine, I then follow up with Weiman Stainless Steel Cleaner, once again sprayed onto a microfiber cloth. I refrain from spraying the cleaner(s) directly onto the surfaces. Most of my components are in good condition to begin with, so periodic cleaning is all I do. And it's a ritual of mine to do a cleaning just prior to recording.



Nando.

 

[HotSauce]

Ahh, thanks for that wisdom. Seems better than what I've been doing.

I'm not surprised that your components look so clean if you clean them before every recording. A good habit to have.

 

[Bob Boyer]

Yo Josh, good to have you aboard! Missed seeing you around but as you say, the vibe over here is quite nice. Just have one heads-up for you - a "HUH?" from the 'Sniff (WOPL Sniffer, aka Perry) is a badge of honor in these parts. You'll be officially cool once you've been "HUH'd".

For the rest of you, Josh took the lead and was instrumental in coordinating the digital archiving of an entire studio's worth of music after the deceased owner's wife asked for help over at the parallel universe. As one of the participating digitizers, I can say it was a well-run, interesting project. I still listen to a half-track master of the Cambridge Harmonica Orchestra in all it's whacked-out, stoned, drunken, frat-party-ish analog glory every now and then. Others included some demos by THE Gary Wright and his wife Lorna which were among several great recordings I got to digitize and archive thanks to Josh's efforts. He took that effort and demonstrated some impressive maturity in managing a lot of moving parts and people.

Welcome aboard!

 

[HotSauce]

Thanks Bob! Appreciate that.

Oh yeah...! Ohhhhhh yeahhhh. I almost forgot about that project, that was interesting. For anybody interested here's the link down below

http://www.mediafire.com/folder/ojfsfipjv8g4z/Digitized_Tapes_(16_bit_linear_PCM,_no_dither)

I actually still have some of those I have to archive, things got so crazy for me and then enough time went by that I forgot to finish. I think I may have ended up with the most tapes of all. I think that was the moment I became "respected" on TH... though there are definitely some grumps over there who will grumble at you even if they like you. I think my favorite part of that was when I opened up a mixdown reel from "Band X" and their business card fell out. Kinda curious who would be on the other line if I called the number on the card. I still have it. Between you and me I think the WAVs I got off of that reel sound better than the versions on spotify.

I think there were more than a couple people who never uploaded, but all in all I'd say it was worthwhile. I found recently a tape from that bunch that was clearly a recording of a live performance - it was cool. Not sure who the artist was but the songs were good enough that it made me wish the mics were placed in better locations. There were a fair amount of moldy tapes in that lot, still have to figure out how to handle those.

Noted on the "HUH?"

 

[mlucitt]

Any live recording on tape is a treasure to behold! Maybe you can make a digital version for us to enjoy.
Welcome to THE FORUM that is Phoenix Audio. Some of us are tapeheads, some of us are Phase Linear rebuilders (up from the ashes, literally), and some of us are just along for the ride. Thanks for your posts, now get busy and get those archives going!

 

[8991XJ]

Yes there were some that did not upload. I sent the tapes out and hope everyone got some they could use after uploading the contents. It was a mixed bag with all sizes. I ended up with a few empty reels and one blank tape for the troubles of handling the distribution. As I mentioned on TH, my driver, who has retired and now stays in MA only went a few hundred yards out of his way to pick up the tapes and bring them here.

I still have a 1" Fuji video tape, three 16mm film reels, "Young Look at Europe, 1976" part 1 and 1 on 12" and 10" reels and a 2" Ampex tape.

I don't know what to do with them but just can't seem to move them on. I was considering making a shadowbox art piece out of the 2" tape for the sound room.

Glad to see that link again so I can catch up with the later additions.

Glad to see you here Josh.

 

[HotSauce]

Oh hey!

I think you did a fine job of distributing them out. I'm now remembering what put the project on hold for me and it was sticky shed.

Of course, since then I've acquired a food dehydrator courtesy of a guy named Brian who I digitized some early 90s radio archive tapes for about a year later. So I'd be in good shape to get it cookin up again.

Funny about "Young Look at Europe" - I actually ended up with the audio from that one! It's cool, it's all about American students who would go abroad in the early 70s and what their experiences were like and the sort of, cultural significance of it. Give me a little bit, I'll have that one uploaded tonight.

Those more exclusive formats were hard to find a home for I suppose. I do have a few 1/2" tapes that I believe were sticky as well as moldy, but once I figure out how to process them I still want to run them on my 80-8 and see if they might be multitrack - that would be cool. Reminds me of a multitrack tape that was "included" with a machine my friend bought. The guy who had recorded these country covers had passed on, but there I was mixing his recordings however many years later off this tape. It's a really strange feeling - not bad though. He sounded good on that tape.

In any case I did manage to bring all that stuff with me when I moved (I was alarmed how much crap I had to drag with me at the tender age of 28...and not exactly in a good way). I'll bring some of it out and get the thing going again, at least on my end.

Thanks for your welcoming words, it's a cool forum over here.

 

[Fast Forward]

Welcome to the Forum Josh Philly Cheese Steaks are almost as tasty as a Chicago Style Italian Beef

 

[Elite-ist]

Thanks for the link to all of the files, Josh. I began downloading a few of them this morning.

Nando.

 

[8991XJ]

With the philly cheesesteak, it is all about the amoroso roll, ribeye sliced thin and the rest is up to those personal options. I prefer sharp provolone vs. the wit (cheez-whiz) or witout (no cheese or whiz) and hot cherry peppers. Of course, philly steak without cheese is fine, too, mushrooms, onions, peppers and such are ok.

No one uses green peppers on a cheese steak so any part of the country that fucks up their offering of a philly cheesesteak with green peppers and onions does not know what they are doing and just serving what folks are used to and trading on the Philadelphia Cheesesteak name.

 

[Bradrock]

That sounds even tastier than the Ozarks road possum folks crave around here.