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On Speakers

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Okay, I probably junked up enough substantive threads already with casual music stuff, so am going to separate that out. Pretty much agree with Stella Blue that ribbon tweeters are great, but also with VVV that they will not take the pounding.

Late in high school, I got a pair of Cerwin Vega towers. “Made Loud To Be Played Loud” was their motto back then. I literally got a roll of stickers that said exactly that with the purchase. They were great.

Somewhere after joining the bar, I was offered a pair of Altec A7’s. They needed help, but I think they were free. Had to recone the massive woofers on both, and replace the diaphragm on one of the horns. They were huge. You could literally play a mid sized club with these things. But if you blew out a woofer, just recone it. Blow out a horn diaphragm it’s $50 and a ten minute surgery. I originally had Marantz tube equipment, then later changed to Adcom. Pump a bunch of clean watts into the A7’s, and you can rock the entire block.

Then I up and got married. When we were expecting, Mrs. bmaz bluntly told me to lose the giant speakers. I inverted them and loaded the horns in the baffles hoping to minimize and save the situation. No go. So, as they came to me, the Altecs left to a friend with a small band, same as they came, for nothing, just come get them.

Now I have the same rack of Adcom amp, pre-amp and switcher. But played through Polk towers with B & W studio monitors sitting on top of them with a Velodyne 15 sub. Still usually listen to vinyl on a turntable.

So, that is the story of Bungalow bmaz, what is yours? Let’s stereo!

Stars, Guitars and Gear Trash Talk

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Now two weekends post Super Bowl. F1 is quietly gearing up, though there is nothin overly interesting until March 26-28, and it is now somehow in the authoritarian hellhole of Bahrain, where F1 should not even be, instead of Australia. So there is not much in the Trash Talk world right not. But it seems a talk thread might be useful for decompression.

There is one thing of note, the wonderful Naomi Osaka has just won her fourth slam at the Australian. Next to Serena and Venus, Osaka already has more Slams than any other woman currently playing. Doubt she will really catch up Serena (23), much less Margaret Smith Court (24), but a hell of a start on her career, and she can really play. Some real competition in that rarified air though, with Fraulein Forehand Steffi Graff at 22, Helen Wills Moody at 19, and Martina and Chrissy both at 18. Osaka is a real breath of fresh air.

A while back, somebody mentioned guitars in the middle of one of Rayne’s threads and I, wrongfully, responded and helped hijack her post’s comment section. My bad. So, since we do do music here too, and in lieu of nothing else, a real post for such discussion.

So, without further adieu, here is what is in the comfy confines of Casa de Bmaz. The main axe is a black Fender Strat. It plugs into a Crate Twin Twelve mostly tube amp. No, the Crate was not my choice, it literally got thrown in for $100 or something by the guy I bought the pristine (seriously, the thing had the original price tag on it and came in a hard Gator case) Stratocaster. That was impossible to turn down, but since I don’t play much, has been sufficient to keep me from procuring the Marshall half stack I have always wanted. So, yay and ugh at the same time.

Also have an acoustic, it is an Olympia, which is made by Fender. It could use some new strings about now, but it is really pretty nice. It is a hand me down from when Mrs. Bmaz decided she wanted to learn to play guitar and bought it. I told her bar chords were necessary, and hard, especially on an acoustic. That foray didn’t last too long, and while not what I would have bought on my own, it is now mine, and, again, it is not bad at all. Don’t play it much either.

But wait, there are more instruments here!. We also have a handmade beautiful harp. No, not the huge variety, but the thing is really sweet. Another Mrs. Bmaz acquisition. Thing is, Lady Bmaz is, by a light year, the only real musician here. She has played piano since was a small child, and was at one point a real bonafide prodigy. She can not play for a year and still whip off concert level stuff.

Which brings up what got me going on this music equipment thing. A piano. A friend is aging and cleaning up some stuff and has just given us a Steinway baby grand. Have not even gotten it yet, and it will cost a small fortune to get professionally moved. We already had a Kawai baby, but this is too good to pass up.

Am sure Rosalind will drop in, and so must mention the ukulele here. Think it may have come across on the Lusitania or something, and at some point got a fraternity tattoo on by an in-law. It was rescued from said in-law’s basement when they were moving on out. Think Rosalind looked at it, if not tried to play it. That is more than I have ever done.

Music today is Bite The Bullet by Neil Young and Crazy Horse, from American Stars and Bars, and it is spectacular. So, what gear you have, and why? Chat it up.