Why We Like What We Like

What is music? All sounds are comprised of sound waves. What distinguishes music from other sound waves is the manner in which the sound waves vibrate and decrease from loud to soft. Dropping a metal pan on the floor presents jarring, erratic vibrations. Striking a note on a piano chord presents a softer more uniform and smooth transition from loud to soft. Obviously, a musical note is going to be much more pleasant to the ear.

There’s an old adage about how “music sooths the savage beast.” Not only is this true, it is actually an understatement. Music plays such a profound part of our lives, that we will barely scratch the surface here, but let’s give it an overview.

All of us grew up with certain songs or instrumentals that strike a chord that reverberates through our entire being. For example, when I hear “A Summer Place,” it immediately carries me back to summer months in the fifties. The experience is so profound that I can remember the feel of the sun on my face, the smell of hot dogs cooked over an open fire and the laughter of friends and family.

There is a theory that certain notes or chords resonate with a vibration that is particularly harmonious to specific people. Have you ever heard a song that gave you “goose bumps?” If so, then you give validation to this theory. When this occurs, the music has a profound affect on the subconscious. Add intense emotion to the equation and you have one powerful, indelible, blueprint on your subconscious that will follow you the rest of your life.

For example, let’s say that you receive news of the death of a loved one while a specific piece of music is playing on the radio. That particular music may have a lasting impression. Years later, for no apparent reason, you may find yourself immediately thrown into a state of depression upon hearing that same tune. The same can be true of “positive” feelings as described in the story above.

The subliminal effect of music is a proven fact. How often do you find yourself humming a fragment of a tune that you can’t identify only to discover that it’s a new “commercial” message you heard on your television. The advertising industry pays huge amounts of money to conduct research into why and how music works on the subconscious mind. This is also the reason why you see the recent trend by large companies to reconstitute classics originally performed by some of the greats of stage and screen.

Just for fun, the next time you find yourself humming a tune, try and remember when, where and under what circumstances you heard it for the very first time. The exercise will probably help you to better understand how past events have shaped your musical preferences. And, I’ll wager that the next time you hear “A Summer Place,” you will remember reading this article.

Happy Listening!

All those sweet memories come back clearly to me..........

People often look at me a little strangely when I let be known the fact that I own more than one stereo setup, like maybe 8 or 10 more than 1, and that they all date back prior to 1980. Usually their first question is, "WHY?".

I just purchased a Marantz 2270 receiver this weekend, from a fellow vintage stereo buff. 70 beautiful watts per channel of clear, sweet Marantz golden sound. Something he said I had to agree with wholeheartedly.

We had never met until we made this deal through Ebay. It turns out he lives on the other side of Kansas City from me, a small world indeed. He even volunteered to deliver the receiver within a few miles of home here, when he brought his son up to a football scrimmage. Nice guy! Most of the people I've met through this hobby/addiction are pretty special people.

As so often happens when hobbiests meet, we began exchanging information about our common passion... vintage stereo equipment. We talked about some of the items we each have, and things we would like to find. The stories of when, where, how, and why we'd acquired our treasures flowed between us as if we were already old friends. During the conversation he said, "Yeah, it's a way for me to own some of the things I only dreamed about having as a kid, and it don't cost that much!".

BINGO! Although part of the reason I enjoy all this is the sounds, that would really only account for owning ONE nice rig. There's more involved in owning several setups. It's not just about having a stereo in every room. It's about spending time being a kid again.

That's a big driving force in this hobby, for me. When I was 16-18 years old, I spent countless hours looking at audio catalogs and drooling over the Marantz, Pioneer, Sansui, MacIntosh, and other stereo gear depicted there. I could recite all the specs of my dream machines, much like a hot rodder does when talking about engines, transmissions, differentials, etc. I'd gaze longingly at the pictures, read reviews in Rolling Stone and other magazines, and sometimes even fantasize about owning such wonderous machines. But alas, a reciever like the Marantz 2270, at a list price in 1973 of $549, was way beyond my reach. That would be in the neighborhood of $2000 today, way to much for this kid to spend on stereo....

Now I collect them. And at a fraction of their original price. It's amazing how well the top of the line equipment has held up, and how much of it is out there if you get to looking a bit. It's like a dream come true!

I smile as I listen to the sweet, rich voice of my new Marantz, and for a few blissful hours, I'm one happy kid again!

Marantz 2230 Receiver

It's HERE!

I recently won a Marantz 2230 Receiver while fishin' in the 'bay... Ebay that is. I remember wanting that "Marantz sound" so bad when I was a kid, but they were WAY out of my price range. Well, I picked this one up for like $76. Of course, it takes another $30 to get it shipped here, but that doesn't count, right? I've been looking forward to it for over a week now!

First impressions.... well, it's not BAD. Several of the dial lights are out, so I'm not getting the full Marantz blue dial effect yet. No big problem. I've ordered a re-light kit from another Ebay vendor. One scratch on the faceplate. Case is slightly bent at the top right rear corner, lake maybe it was .... heck, I don't know. It's not scratched up so it's not like it was dropped. Some of the screen printing on the front controls is a little faint. All in all, not bad for a 30+ year old receiver. I should look so good.

Time to hook it up. My Snell CII speakers are out of commission at the moment, needing to be "refoamed". So I drag out my pair of Realistic Mach Ones. These are about the same vintage as the Marantz. Some lampcoard for speaker wire, fire her up, and it sounds like crap! Oh geeesh! Maybe what they say about speaker wire is true. I dig out my big heavy speaker wires, not sure the gauge, but about 5 times as heavy as the lampcord. Hmmmmm..... too thick to fit into the speaker connections on the receiver. Well, I can kind of use half of the wire's thickness and make it work. Fire her back up again. Ahhhhh.... better. Cables DO make a difference. Tune in an FM station with no antennae hooked up, and it STILL sounds sweet! Creank up the volume a bit. Ahhhhhh, YEAH!

I'm going to LIKE this puppy!

More to come later.

Those Big Black CDs......

It's all my grandson's fault!

We were cleaning in the garage, sifting through a bunch of stuff, tossing some, keeping more. I'm a real packrat, you know? Jordan (12) and Nick (8) were helping me. As I pulled a box of 33 1/3 LP's off a shelf, Nick shouted, "LOOK Jordan! It's a bunch of those BIG BLACK CDs!".

Well, l'm in the process of resurrecting those, and building a stereo system from vintage audio equipment..... the things I wanted in my youth but couldn't afford. Now I'm finding a whole new world, or old world, of classic audio gear. I'm hoping it's going to recreate the sound of music I remember from my teenage years, when music rally MATTERED to me. I know, CD's, MP3's and all the latest techie gear is so much more convenient now days, but it just doesn't SOUND the same. I'm betting that if I can re-capture that sound of old, I can relight the PASSION I felt about it all back then.

It's worth a try.

Plus, I'm a kind of a retro-tech junky in many ways. I like writing with fountain pens. I dig nice old arts & crafts furniture and decorating. I've got a floor model radio from the 30's... with TUBES. So why NOT start collecting audio gear from the "golden age", the 60's and 70's.

Stay tuned and I'll tell you more about it!