Can't have too much music!

[Dorsetmike]

Just been through all my Vinyl, 3 Readers Digest box sets for 22 discs and 95 other discs, slightly over half jazz and big band swing, 12 Classical, about 20 of my late wife's popular 50s/60s, Rod Stewart, Elton John, Dean Martin, Paul Anka, Streisand, Elvis and similar nostalgic stuff, of 60s/70s groups only 3x Focus, 1 each Gryphon, Gentle Giant & Sky and 10 Renaissance, saw then twice. Four Latin, Xavier Cugat/Herb Alpert type.

Still got a couple of boxes of cassettes and loads of CDs (150+) to go through.

As though that's not enough I've got quite a few Gb of downloaded music from sites like Baroque Music and Archive.org, plus Amazon MP3s.

 

[Florestan]

Yeah, I have tons of music. A big box with about 100 Johnny Winter CDs. Another box with about 40 Bob Dylan, one with about 25 Neil Young, 15 Johnny Cash, a variety of other stuff from Deep Purple to Jimi Hendrix, then there is classical. I have many boxes of classical, mostly symphony, choral works, and tons of opera. And I have close to 100 opera DVDs. I still keep buying music. There is no end to it.

 

[Krummhorn]

Mike, ever thought of starting your own radio program? Or station?

My collection is puny in comparison and I thought I had a good number of recordings (LP, Cass, CD)

 

[Dorsetmike]

Mike, ever thought of starting your own radio program? Or station?

I'm trying to start a "Music Evening" in the block of retirement apartments I live in; had a trial run last week, only got 3 of us there, but I know a few more that will attend any future meeting, I probably did not give sufficient advance notification.

 

[JHC]

We have a music group that meets once a month taking it in turns to be host, it is classical only but I do slip a short jazz number in on the odd occasion, we aim for 90min of music which allows for a bit of a chat between works, we have complete works and sometimes short bits from various works (see attached program)
View attachment Music at Mahoe 14 Feb 2013.doc

Started it in about 1990 we are now down to 4 regulars (people keep dying) + another 4 that come now and again, we make a printed program and have food and wine etc.

I wish you every success with your group Mike

 

[Krummhorn]

Mike, that's fantastic that you are doing this.

Colin, that's a nice program.

 

[bob32116]

A couple of days ago I finally bit the bullet and took my remaining vinyl albums (and a couple of 45 singles) to a local community radio station to donate them. They are having a sale next weekend called "Hot Cakes" where they offload CDs and vinyls that they don't want any more for whatever reason - perhaps because they have digitised the contents for airplay so don't need the physical copy any more.

For years I have dithered about what to do with my legacy vinyl. I did not want to acquire a turntable just so I could play those, since I no longer buy vinyl. Commercial services exist for transferring vinly records to CD, complete with artwork and packaging, but they are ridiculously expensive. I have managed to track down CD versions of most of them; a couple seem hard to find but I can listen to the music on Spotify. The clincher was finally managing to score from Discogs a CD version of an album I brought back from Brazil.

Now that they are off my hands, it's more of a relief than anything. CDs and the odd download will satisfy me.

 

[JHC]

Well done bob, the death of the CD is constantly being forecast but from what I see on forums and the www in general it is still going strong, an interesting bit of info here
http://www.whathifi.com/best-buys/h...7)::article_416_read_more&utm_source=20170310

 

[Dorsetmike]

Thing is Colin, as age advances our hearing becomes degraded and thus is not good enough to tell the difference between mid and top range equipment, nearly all my listening these days is MP3s on the computer, either downloaded or ripped from CD, vinyl or even cassette; I'll admit that once it leaves the computer it is handled by Technics and Kef but only because I've had them for years, I would not go out and buy new at current prices.

 

[Krummhorn]

I see that LP's are going to make a comeback ... there is a certain 'warmth' to the LP sound that isn't quite "there" in a CD recording. Some claim it is the depth of the grooves that help make the sound better.

I still have a LP player as part of my audio setup at home. And a dual cassette player/recorder too.

 

[Albert]

I still have a turntable, but I have to buy a new amplifier. The right channel died. I thought maybe I could patch from the microphone output, but the right channel is dead there too, so the thing is fried. Gee, it's only 20 years old - how can it possible have had a fault already? :O

 

[Krummhorn]

Thing is Colin, as age advances our hearing becomes degraded and thus is not good enough to tell the difference between mid and top range equipment,

My Bernafon Saphira 5's have greatly enhanced my hearing experience ... have setting for live music which makes it possible to hear all the top range frequencies again.
Granted they cost a small fortune but in my playing career I must be able to hear what I am playing with excellent clarity.

 

[bob32116]

I just realised that no one in this thread has actually addressed the thesis expressed in the thread subject heading. Can you actually have too much music? Or is it possible to have access to too much music?

I think sometimes you can. Until recently I was a member of another music forum on which the moderators made it a point of honour to listen to a certain number of new album releases each week and report on them. This was a useful service to the members on the forum, though of course it only gave one person's perspective... but for me to commit to that regime every week would drive me nuts. A few times I mentioned a certain piece of music, and was asked where on earth I managed to discover this stuff. My answer was, well I don't waste time taking pot luck and listening to stuff just because it's new, my music listening is educated guesswork based on what I already know and like. I'll hear a song that I like; I'll investigate that artist and maybe buy one or more albums; I may join a relevant music forum and get other people's ideas on related artists.

To a lot of people I think modern music has become just a kind of backdrop. They hear a song and say "I like that", and then when it finishes it's "Nice... next!" They never seem to stop and smell the roses.

 

[JHC]

Thing is Colin, as age advances our hearing becomes degraded and thus is not good enough to tell the difference between mid and top range equipment, nearly all my listening these days is MP3s on the computer, either downloaded or ripped from CD, vinyl or even cassette; I'll admit that once it leaves the computer it is handled by Technics and Kef but only because I've had them for years, I would not go out and buy new at current prices.

You can tell the difference if you play at volume, mp3 will sound distorted even on a really good set up just as anything will sound distorted through cheap speakers.
Btw I have KEF speakers must be about 25 years old they are floor standing, spiked, model 104 reference the mid range is perfection.

 

[Dorsetmike]

My KEFs are C series "bookshelf" purchased mid 1980s, I also had a pair of KEF kit 3s from 1975 driven by a Goodmans Module 90 receiver, real window rattlers, the domestic authority decided they were too big so they had to go.

 

[John Watt]

I gotta make some comments, and come on, who is dithering here?

What I'm seeing about the music night for seniors could be better.
Why not book a DJ night, and play the music you want,
and see if the audience gets into it, like a DJ at a rave.

Not only can you have too much music, and play too many notes,
and use too many effects, you can have too much of an influence,
especially if you think you need to drop acid to be like that.

Here in Ontario, LP's began their comeback over twenty years ago,
and kept going, and yes, it's the depth of the groove that allows more dynamics.
Krummhorn! Have you ever seen a laser disc movie, the size of a record album?
That sounds and looks better too.

For me, having too much music is not being able to play long enough.

 

[Krummhorn]

. . . Krummhorn! Have you ever seen a laser disc movie, the size of a record album?

Yes, I have ... years ago. Totally agree that the picture quality and sound was aces compared to the DVD formats we have today.

I too have noticed that LP's on on their way back ... and yes, the deep grooves really do sound far better than the CD version, although I found it difficult to play my favorite LP's in the car without converting them to either CD or Tape cassette. Yes, I still have a cassette unit as part of my home A/V setup.

 

[John Watt]

Krummhorn! You seem a little apologetic about having a cassette unit.
I just bought two small Sony cassette-CD players, with radio, four years ago,
getting a good deal on the second.

Hey! You've worked in a store. You'll get into this.

I was reading a review in the Toronto Star, and the photo looked like an electric clock.
But the reviewer was saying, why did Sony put their best cassette device,
and their best CD device, in such a small unit.
He also commented on the fact that the cassette recorded off the CD and radio,
but was direct, no knobs or e.q.'s, with an input at the front, and an output at the back.
I was talking about this at the Source, and without me knowing it, they ordered eight,
and when I heard about them, I bought the first one, over $80.
A couple weeks later, back in the store, probably looking for Canon camera batteries,
one of the salesman was saying I could buy a second one for $40.
A customer brought one back in, complaining about having to push a button twice, sometimes.
The salesman was complaining about the customer complaining about such a small thing.

So I've got one in my music room, with a wonderful, powered Altec Lansing speaker system,
and another in my bedroom, with some nice Sony headphones, that I seldom use.
It's hard enough finding peace and quiet in this world, I'm not rocking mine out.

When I was a teenager in high school, I'd pull an all-nighter every week,
listening to albums with Koss light duty headphones, that I ordered in Hamilton,
just what studio producers were saying in magazines that they were using.
I always listened to Electric Ladyland, and it still only sounds as original on the album.
Jimi used so many tape recording dubs, with so much sound effects as non-electric dubbing,
as soon as you transfer it to any other kind of playback, you hear all the snaps and crackles of the dubs.

Around here, getting an old Board of Education tape recorder with one inch tape,
even just setting it up with the two mikes hanging from the ceiling, really sounds the best.
I was carrying one around for a while, and I'd set it up when friends were rehearsing and jamming,
and when I played it back everyone would be saying do we really sound like that.
Oh yeah, even if they didn't like it.
I can't not have a cassette player. So many of my friends and bands I was in are on them.
When I need to play those, that machine better be ready to go.
"In the heatwave of the longest night, when this, and our love, takes us out of sight..."
yeah, I used to jam the lyrics too.

 

[Krummhorn]

Altec Lansing, eh? Anything like their old A-7's?

For recording I have a Zoom H-4 that I bought new in 2009. It serves my purposes rather well especially with the various microphone emulation settings. I used to record on using a ReVox G-36 with 10.5" reels and a Dynaco B&O Ribbon mic. Still have the ReVox though it needs a new motor (those have three motors, one for each take up spool and one for the capstan drive).

 

[John Watt]

Oh! You're losing me with your recording talk, something I just don't do.
What I'm saying about turning on a tape recorder or portable stereo,
is as far as I ever took it.
I turned down free four tracks when everyone got eight,
which does surprise everyone, me growing up with Jimi Hendrix.

I'm not sure about A-7's, knowing Altec, Lansing and JBL as band P.A. stuff.
This powered Altec-Lansing system has a nice design.
It was friends with BOSE stuff in the early seventies that taught me,
if a speaker system is designed well, it sounds big even when it's small.
This system is like that.
The side speakers also plug into the computer, getting the most direct signal.
They might look like upright little sticks,
but the three inch speaker that is facing down to the surface it sits on,
really works well, spreading the sound around, a soft, stereo effect, nice.
Sade likes it. She keeps coming back, saying play me, play me John.

ReVox was a huge company, and using "vox" in the name is still a surprise,
for me, in the English language, considering it's Latin. There's so much "vox" out there.

It almost hurts to see "microphone emulation settings"... ow... ow...
I'd be afraid to set it for jazz, and then try to sing... ow... ow... meow...