Yesterday I was hard at work (or uhhh hard at watching Zone Sound tech Russ) fixing my Kenwood amplifier and Hitachi Turntable.
I am happy to report that the Kenwood sounds much better after cleaning the contacts and we eliminated a ton of the scratchy sounds it was having. The record player needs a more substantial make-over. I am thinking a new motor.
For now I have an old Numark of Boitano’s. Same one as Jess! It spins the platter at 33 1/3 so it’ll do.
Got me thinking it might be time to find a more substantial piece for the home.
Coral has a lot of reno ideas for our house, so stealing away the cash at a big expensive player right now might not work. But I have been researching tons and I might be able to MAKE a good machine for a decent cost. I could be a do-it-yourself kit and with my brother CJ’s help, make it look very pretty like this maybe?
The company that makes these beasts is called Audiowood. I think they are woodworkers (like my bro) that buy kits, and then assemble.
I think they look bad ass indeed.
As for the guts of a record player. A couple that look promising are Rega out of the UK and Scheu Analog out of Germany.
I’ll need to do some more research to find the best cost vs. quality and have at it.
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I went to Ditch Records today to buy the new Band of Horses. I know it has gotten terrible reviews, but I don’t care. I still want to have a listen myself.
Sadly they were all sold out of Infinite Arms.
Talking to the guys I asked them what record players they sell and the owner Jeremy (yup same name as me!) said basically used and cheap. That is what people ask for. Zoinks… got me thinking about an article I read yesterday on Analog Apartment. They are interviewing the owner of a record store in some hipster neighbourhood of NYC:
To someone just getting started with vinyl, any words of wisdom?
Get a good turntable. So many of my customers say to me, “Where can I get a cheap record player?” I don’t get that. The whole point of vinyl is superior sound quality, so it defeats the purpose if you buy a crap record player. I know times are tough now, but save your pennies, search online, and get a good turntable and needle. (…) Building a record collection is a wonderful, exciting thing. Have fun.
From what I’ve learned… doing it right and to the best of your ability the first time, always pays off.
If its the home reno’s from Young House Love blog, or building a turntable, I’ll want to do better than I’ve done thus far in my life.
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In other news…
The Veneto Lounge is celebrating one year of not going out of business! Huzzah! On Wednesday, May 26th there will be a party starting at 6PM.
Their award winning tapas will be circulating the room for free, cocktails will be featured and after my show on the Zone, I’ll be selecting and presenting the music.
Birthday cake? You know it!
Go with yourself.
