I now have four semi-loads of hay picked up. This would be 56-110lb bales to a stack around 3.3 tonnes per stack. The rest of it is on the ground in windrows waiting to be baled. The sky outside looks a little gray.
I should be on my way to stack more hay for a neighbor but as a somewhat lazy farmer I am setting in my easy chair drinking coffee.
I found an email this morning from JICO noting that their website had been redesigned and I may need a new password. I have had a replacement stylus for a shure Model V-51 Type II cartridge in my shopping cart at JICO for two years. In that time the price has doubled, which is a statement about the US dollar and not the price of a JICO stylus.
Vintage audio is somewhat of a subjective hobby. What sounds good to one person is considered garbage to another. I think that mostly people like to hang out on internet message boards and try to impress each other with their own cleverness.
However, I have discovered a certain type of sound which I enjoy. I find that my record collecting has come to the point of salvaging GoodWill bins for the odd country artist that no one has heard of. It seems as though no one listened to Jazz in my area. The rock selection is pretty much worn out BJ Thomas and Rod Stewart albums that must have been transferred from another thrift store.
I did find a whole treasure trove that had a few Allman brothers albums and the CCR Green River album.
I was really amazed at how good the old country rock albums and the old country albums sounded on my system. Much better than newer rock albums and a much warmer sound than a compact disk.
The system currently is a Dynaco PAS-2 pre amp, Dynaco stereo 120 main amp (sure go ahead and poo-poo it's transistor sound) an old Rek-o-Kut turntable with a Fairchild 282 tone arm and a Shure M-97 High Track cartridge. For speakers I have Dynaco A-24's and Baby Advents which I installed new drivers.
Which brings me to the JICO subject. I also have a Dual 1019 turntable which came with the Shure V-15 type two cartridge. This is connected to the Kenwood KA-3500 I bought in high school. The Dual is fully automatic and I have a bit more confidence in the system as I did not build any of it myself. I currently have a Stanton cartridge which was a backup to the AT-155LC that went away when we moved. I've never been really happy with it. The stylus is broken on the Shure so I have never heard it.
I've found a number of cheap replacements for the Shure on ebay and even in my local record shop. However, when I research those I keep being directed back to the JICO replacement. Even though it is more money I have yet to hear a bad review of it.
So I have been saving my dimes and quarters and this winter I intend to put some odd pieces of old audio on ebay and I am going to buy the elusive VN15E stylus.
Of course I will post my opinions here for other lazy farmers to read...
And now I am going to go do something related to hay...
Have a nice day!
Posts
Well its no "hay day" here. Inch and a half of rain in the past couple of days and still coming down. Glad the hay is still standing. Good to know old record player parts are available on ebay. I have several old record players and tons of records that I (should/might/probably won't ever) get around to playing.
ReplyDeleteRalph-It really feels like rain here tonight. I'd like it to hold off a week. I should be stacking for my neighbor but I decided to go to bed before midnight tonight.
DeleteWe've had ten days of 30+ degrees C weather so the guys have had a chance to put up a lot of hay. We had 25 mm of rain on Sunday and it's now hot and humid, not the best conditions for drying hay.
ReplyDeletecuscut-Today was very humid here. Moisture went up at 4 p.m. and had to quit baling. Where are you?
DeleteI live in central Alberta about 100 kilometers north of Calgary.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading. Hope you are finding the lazy farmer somewhat amusing.
DeleteOk, so a google search for vn15e + jico brought me here and I've gotta know... did you ever get yours? Do you like it?? I am in love with my original vn15e (from 1973 I think?) and I know it won't last forever so my research started now. It sounds like the Jico is the only one to consider if you are "like us" discriminating listeners lol. Please post an update if there is one, thanks!
ReplyDeleteI got mine and wrote about it somewhere but I tend to ramble and not tag my posts. I would save up more money and get the SAS model. I will talk more about it when the weather turns to rain and I'm not farming.
DeleteI am happy. Think it was a good investment. However, good vinyl is what is hard to find...
Thanks! After I asked you I did another search and saw your post. I will go the SAS route, I've got a SAS-fund already started : ) As for good vinyl, I've been getting REALLY lucky at garage sales around here (suburban Chicago) and I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say I'll be leaving my wife and daughters a real burden to rid themselves of someday... unless of course they eventually find themselves fans of my eclectic jazz/fusion/punk/rock/reggae/etc. vinyl. Who wouldn't?
DeleteEnjoy your blog, rock on!
I am in a vinyl wasteland here in my part of OR. For a while I found interesting old Country and Western albums but now it is just bland middle of the road easy listening crap. Once in a while I come across a 60's rock album that is worth bringing home for $2.
DeleteWe will see what winter brings. I've collected several shelves full of albums and am thinking of making a list of "must have" records and actually buying them on ebay. If I could just find my old "Rolling Stone Record Guide." Have been using the old "Trouser PRess" record guide but not really into the same music I once was.
Thanks for reading. Hope you find farming interesting...
Sorry to hear about being in a vinyl wasteland there, once garage-sale season is over (pretty soon) there's nothing left but overpriced "record stores" (don't get me wrong, I love them too), and IMHO the "thrill of the chase" is terribly over-rated too. I regularly thank my lucky stars for ebay (and don't forget discogs marketplace!) because once I know what it is that I'm looking for, I just want it!
ReplyDeleteAs for farming being interesting, I find it very interesting! There have been more than a couple days where I WISH I was farming, rather than staring at several LCD monitors, solving phantom problems for people who just don't care, but I digress... In my next life I plan to work the land and I know I'll feel pretty darn good about it too. I better stop commenting on this ancient thread and get back to real-time. Thanks!