It's been a while since I've posted here and lots of things have happened in our lives and in the world in the past couple years. I've had more time to curate my records and acquire more obscure jazz and the occasional proto-metal/heavy rock record. I think the Tone Poets are a must buy and the Chad Verve/uME series are both great, as is the BN 80 series.
I'm well settled into Texas, my main system sounds better than ever and I've spent the last couple years sourcing some hard to find spiritual and soul jazz. I've also learned not to worry about unimportant stuff. Yes, we benefit from the obsessive attention to detail in things like cartridge set up, but at a certain point, I just want to turn on the system and play music. I still have a few road trips in me, both in the States and abroad (I guess that's not exactly a "road" trip). I've stayed in touch with a couple people here over the years, but have been remiss in not posting--- I guess I'm less interested in the gear at this point and more interested in the records, their history and the back-story.
I'm still teaching- having a blast with that, and still do occasional work as an expert (I was a copyright guru). I guess what I've learned is how little I know. I want to take a tour to hear vintage horns- Mirrorphonic, a visit to David's, like that. But my "new" room has been great, it is much larger, and the combo of longer room, dual 15" servo subs, and stone bodied Koetsus has given my system some gravitas that it lacked. I'm a big fan of Cecil McBee's, so I try to pick up any record he is recorded on. Double bass sounds convincing and I really enjoy the small combo, post-bop stuff from the early '70s.
I'm also still doing stuff on cleaning. I don't think you met Neil Antin except through Tim's posts on his cleaning process evolution. Neil has helped me learn a lot. I'm currently starting work on another project involving the historical relationships in film/TV music, which, while purely academic, satisfies my itch. I guess in my next life, I'd love to be an archivist. Who knew librarians were such cool people?
Austin is fun, it is really f**cking hot here in the summer-- we were averaging 110 peak real temps this summer for over 60 days.
I'm almost ready for my next adventure.
Hope all of you have been well.
Bill Hart
I'm well settled into Texas, my main system sounds better than ever and I've spent the last couple years sourcing some hard to find spiritual and soul jazz. I've also learned not to worry about unimportant stuff. Yes, we benefit from the obsessive attention to detail in things like cartridge set up, but at a certain point, I just want to turn on the system and play music. I still have a few road trips in me, both in the States and abroad (I guess that's not exactly a "road" trip). I've stayed in touch with a couple people here over the years, but have been remiss in not posting--- I guess I'm less interested in the gear at this point and more interested in the records, their history and the back-story.
I'm still teaching- having a blast with that, and still do occasional work as an expert (I was a copyright guru). I guess what I've learned is how little I know. I want to take a tour to hear vintage horns- Mirrorphonic, a visit to David's, like that. But my "new" room has been great, it is much larger, and the combo of longer room, dual 15" servo subs, and stone bodied Koetsus has given my system some gravitas that it lacked. I'm a big fan of Cecil McBee's, so I try to pick up any record he is recorded on. Double bass sounds convincing and I really enjoy the small combo, post-bop stuff from the early '70s.
I'm also still doing stuff on cleaning. I don't think you met Neil Antin except through Tim's posts on his cleaning process evolution. Neil has helped me learn a lot. I'm currently starting work on another project involving the historical relationships in film/TV music, which, while purely academic, satisfies my itch. I guess in my next life, I'd love to be an archivist. Who knew librarians were such cool people?
Austin is fun, it is really f**cking hot here in the summer-- we were averaging 110 peak real temps this summer for over 60 days.
I'm almost ready for my next adventure.
Hope all of you have been well.
Bill Hart