Knuckledragger

Let's talk about Frankie, baby! In the early 1960s, Frank Sinatra commissioned a home hi fi that was an impressive mix of studio gear and high end consumer kit. The heart of it was a modified McIntosh C-22 preamp. It had one input that was three channel, made specifically for an Ampex correction: a Presto 800 open reel tape deck (visible behind Frank.) Studio recordings in those days were primarily three channel, with the center being for the lead vocals. Final mixes were almost always mono, of course. Sinatra liked to take home the day's recordings from the studio and see what he thought of them that evening. An artist taking home the actual multitrack masters might sound insane, but it was Old Blue Eyes in the 60s. Though visibly impressive, the three units below the Presto are just VU meters. The tuner below the C22 is a Fisher R200. Below the Fisher at the bottom are a trio of tape head preamps made specifically for the Presto. Of course the tape transport, VU meters and preamps are all studio gear, not generally used by (or available to) the public. There were three power amps for the speakers, housed in a different room. Presumably they were Mac tube monoblocks, but there is basically no info out there. Similarly, there is no reliable info on the make/model of the speakers themselves. I've seen Altec-Lansing and JBL floated as likely brands. There was also a huge "Rek-O-Kut" turntable system that could both play back records and cut acetate disks(!) It had its own dedicated space. What the unit lacked in sex appeal, it made up in physical stature. Even a stock C22 has complex mono/stereo routing. (I oughta know, I've owned two of them since 1999 ...for reasons I cannot entirely explain.) Frank's custom unit was modified, but I don't know to what extent. Based on my research there is conjecture that the television output was wired into the C22. Frank was an early pioneer in the world of home theater. In the bedroom, Frank had a high end Grundig all-in-one system. I can neither confirm nor deny if Nancy Reagan ever got to hear a tune or two on that Grundig. Thank you for coming to my TED talk, now help yourself to a pack of smokes on the way out.

It's like seeing a Bentley parked in a trailer's car port.

RIP Katsushi Murakami who designed a lot of really neat Japanese toys. I am the farthest thing from being a weeb (except for Japanese audio gear, Japanese cars, Studio Ghibli animation, Japanese camera equipment, Kurosawa films, giant Japanese robots ...you know what? Nevermind.) With that said, I always had an appreciation for the Japanese toys from the 70s and 80s.

Oof. RIP William Orbit. He had a long and colorful career, including producing and remixing a bunch of pop music. I'm quite partial to his early 90s work.

TL;DW: $2000 flagrant Chinesium clone is significantly inferior to the real deal $7500 Mac. Amusingly, the Chinese amp is 20 lbs heavier.

The good news: Today was the The Vineyard Series. The bad news: Just about everything else. I got there late. Many of the Land Rovers had already departed. The lighting conditions were absolutely abysmal. The medication I am currently on mandates that I stay "out of the sun" so I have to wear long pants and a button down shirt in the summer head. It was an unpleasant experience to put it mildly. I did get a few photos, and they will show up eventually.

The new alien invaders Wilson flagships have landed:

In the parlance of our times, this guy tho:

This is the best worst thing you'll see today. In 1989, the Stone Roses blew the fuck up and became a household name in their native England overnight. They appeared on national television: "Made of Stone" is one of their most emotional tracks. I've been a fan of it since I got their debut album in the very early 90s. Seeing them perform it live in their prime would be amazing. They're not lip syncing. Score! Oh wow, they're doing a rendition much slower than the album version. This is going to be great ....oh shit. (There's a reason the video is only 2 1/2 minutes long.) Also the 1080p upscaling is ass, but that's a small matter.

RIP Jennifer Finch, L7 Bassist and Los Angeles Punk Figure. She was also a notable photographer. I want to make a "Pretend We're Dead" joke, but I can't make it funny.

OC shitpost:

How about speaker model porn? A famous 1970s live rig from some jam band or other.

RIP actor Hal Williams, who passed at the tender age of 91.

You can't fool me, that isn't a woofer.