I didn't have any of these adapters because my parents' stereo had a 45 adapter that fit over the LP drop spindle so that it could auto-drop 45's without them.
When I heard Sheena Easton sing Modern Girl I was totally infatuated and I got the 45 and it being summer vacation and I had nothing else to do (no cable TV or XBOX live in those days) I got tired of getting up to reset the needle. The record player mechanism worked by using the tone arm to swing in and sense the outer edge of the next record. I crafted a piece of styrofoam that fit snugly over the 1-inch diameter 45 adapter but wouldn't drop, and which the tone arm would meet at just the right distance to think "Oh I got another record"and drop back onto the starting groove of the 45.
No, I was not being sarcastic. After years of research and development aimed at eliminating harmonic and phase distortion I find the idea of using tube-based amps because they have even order harmonics as a primary distortion product absolutely ridiculous.
High fidelity implies reproducing and amplifying the input signal with as little distortion as possible. As you say though, this is a subjective matter so to each their own.
@PhiPi: Thanks for clarifying the issue.. I've seen those things pictured by erco, but only loose. Record changers were never popular around here, outside of jukeboxes.
@localroger: 12AX7 tubes are used to this day, in guitar amplifiers. My 5-watter (new Blackstar) uses an ECC83 (in the preamp) which I believe is more or less the same as 12AX7. Other similar amps are sold with 12AX7 installed.This, of course, also implies that they're produced to this day. So don't expect to get rich from selling them, except to vintage collectors. But it also means they are useful, so don't dump them!
When I was very young - too young to remember it, back in the early 60s - my dad had a machine for making records down in his workshop. I'll have to ask my mom about the details. He had quite a collection of 78s, mostly, which fortunately my musical brother went through to make sure they didn't wind up just tossed in the trash when my mom decided they were taking too much space. I believe that a couple of records in that collection were ones that he "burned" (as it were) himself. I have no idea what the process would have been. Perhaps around the Thanksgiving table in a month I can find out more. This thread was a nice reminder.
When I was very young - too young to remember it, back in the early 60s - my dad had a machine for making records down in his workshop.
These are basically circular lathes, and amateur/consumer models worked just like the record cutting machines used to produce masters that were then injection molded. See if your dad had a Presto. That was a common brand.
Some folks still sell custom machines, with vinyl or wax blanks, for the DJ business, where CDs and MP3s are transferred to vinyl for scratching/scrubbing.
I doubt that anyone will remember the kind, but I Googled the Prestos, and yeah, that's what I remember it looking like.
It's altogether possible that I'm the one who eventually ripped it open to see what made it work. I did that with quite a few of my dad's gadgets after he'd decided they were no longer useful/functional (yes, always _after_. I got into a fair amount of trouble, but never of that sort).
No, I was not being sarcastic. After years of research and development aimed at eliminating harmonic and phase distortion I find the idea of using tube-based amps because they have even order harmonics as a primary distortion product absolutely ridiculous.
I used to think the same way, that the best sound reproduction was an absolute mirror of the original. Then I got involved in the sound recording business and found it was a lot like the makeup and hairdressing business: people don't want the way things really are. They want it stylized, optimized, and "improved." So you see expensive gear in sound recording studios that either use tubes, or mimic tubes, for the "warmth" and "richness" they provide. Yes, it's subjective, but there's art to this, not just science.
Funnily enough, a very famous song by Cher was all about harmonic and phase distortion. And, the device that provided the distinctive sound was actually designed to bring singers' voices back to pitch (especially during concerts where singing for two hours makes for tired vocal chords). There goes any idea that what people want is precise reproduction of the original. The public seems to desire an idealized reality.
Comments
I didn't have any of these adapters because my parents' stereo had a 45 adapter that fit over the LP drop spindle so that it could auto-drop 45's without them.
When I heard Sheena Easton sing Modern Girl I was totally infatuated and I got the 45 and it being summer vacation and I had nothing else to do (no cable TV or XBOX live in those days) I got tired of getting up to reset the needle. The record player mechanism worked by using the tone arm to swing in and sense the outer edge of the next record. I crafted a piece of styrofoam that fit snugly over the 1-inch diameter 45 adapter but wouldn't drop, and which the tone arm would meet at just the right distance to think "Oh I got another record"and drop back onto the starting groove of the 45.
It was my first hack.
A quick check shows NOS 12AX7s going for between $65 and $95, depending on vintage.
You might have a small goldmine there, Roger!
-- Gordon
-Phil
as for WIcked Wax........I DJ at KULT 94.5 !!! and we LOVE wax ... I have Never played the Entire beatles set .In wrap .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SdmlE5j7OM
Re...You're being sarcastic, right?
No, I was not being sarcastic. After years of research and development aimed at eliminating harmonic and phase distortion I find the idea of using tube-based amps because they have even order harmonics as a primary distortion product absolutely ridiculous.
High fidelity implies reproducing and amplifying the input signal with as little distortion as possible. As you say though, this is a subjective matter so to each their own.
@localroger: 12AX7 tubes are used to this day, in guitar amplifiers. My 5-watter (new Blackstar) uses an ECC83 (in the preamp) which I believe is more or less the same as 12AX7. Other similar amps are sold with 12AX7 installed.This, of course, also implies that they're produced to this day. So don't expect to get rich from selling them, except to vintage collectors. But it also means they are useful, so don't dump them!
-Tor
1) plastic adapter snapped into 45 hole: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMOb5Vx2Qg0
2) dedicated 45 rpm record changer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hPDaMZUE14
Love that "edge detection" on the tone arm!
These are basically circular lathes, and amateur/consumer models worked just like the record cutting machines used to produce masters that were then injection molded. See if your dad had a Presto. That was a common brand.
Some folks still sell custom machines, with vinyl or wax blanks, for the DJ business, where CDs and MP3s are transferred to vinyl for scratching/scrubbing.
-- Gordon
It's altogether possible that I'm the one who eventually ripped it open to see what made it work. I did that with quite a few of my dad's gadgets after he'd decided they were no longer useful/functional (yes, always _after_. I got into a fair amount of trouble, but never of that sort).
I used to think the same way, that the best sound reproduction was an absolute mirror of the original. Then I got involved in the sound recording business and found it was a lot like the makeup and hairdressing business: people don't want the way things really are. They want it stylized, optimized, and "improved." So you see expensive gear in sound recording studios that either use tubes, or mimic tubes, for the "warmth" and "richness" they provide. Yes, it's subjective, but there's art to this, not just science.
Funnily enough, a very famous song by Cher was all about harmonic and phase distortion. And, the device that provided the distinctive sound was actually designed to bring singers' voices back to pitch (especially during concerts where singing for two hours makes for tired vocal chords). There goes any idea that what people want is precise reproduction of the original. The public seems to desire an idealized reality.
-- Gordon