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Author Topic: The Tape Project and Bottlehead at VSAC 2008 - the capsule version  (Read 8274 times)

Offline docb

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A lot of you folks know that Eileen and I founded the Vacuum State of the Art Conference in 1997. After four shows we retired from putting the show on in 2003, to the hue and cry of the audio community. Last summer Michael and Carolyn Kilfoil approached us about doing another VSAC. We liked the Kilfoils right off, and they showed great enthusiasm for the project, so we have licensed the show to them for 2008 and the extended Bottlehead/Tape Project family plan to be at the show in force. The show is May 24th thru 26th at the Vancouver Hilton in Vancouver Washington.

Bottlehead is going to show the directions we've been going the past few years since VSAC 2003, building a special new system to demonstrate experiments in the use of multiple single ended amplifiers on low efficiency drivers. The system will use 18 of our Paramount amps, which are under construction this week. PJ (Paul Joppa) has come up with a very interesting speaker design that so far is showing great performance. The source, natch, will be tape. Paul Stubblebine is flipping a coin this week about whether to bring one of our Ampex ATR slaves from the duping line or the Studer A80 he uses when mastering on lacquer. The winner of the coin toss will be running into a Bottlehead Tube Repro which will feed a Bottlehead preamp and crossovers. The system will be set up in the Cedar room, which is up off the mezzanine. It's a huge room, like 1200 square feet, and we have high hopes for good sound in there. We'll demo samples from each of the Tape Project albums and I'll have one if our modded RS1500s to take a gander at too.

Bottlehead's technician Paul Birkeland (PB) will be co-hosting a room with Front Panel Express and demoing several Bottlehead prototypes including a new phono preamp based on the Tube Repro design. PB and PJ will also be putting on a tube amp design/build class with a very cool and simple amp design they cooked up together. There's still a couple of spaces left in the class. You can build yourself a new amp to take home from the show.

I also decided to help Michael and Carolyn by co-sponsoring Jacqui Naylor's performance Sunday night. Jacqui and Art Khu will be performing at a dinner show in the big ballroom. Rumor has it that there may be an all tube PA for the performance. Romo (Michael Romanowski) will be doing sound and I bet he will probably sit in a little on guitar) and he and Jacqui will also be giving a presentation on how a recording is made that will hopefully squash a lot of the myth and misinformation that floats about in the audiophile community these days.

Paul Stubblebine (yeah, I know, all these Pauls and Michaels get confusing for me too) has really pulled off a coup in getting a group of presenters who are at the zenith in each of their respective fields. Bob Hodas is one of the finest acoustical consultants in the business, having tuned studios at classic places like Abbey Road, A&M, Skywalker Sound, the list is huge. Klaus Heyne is the master of microphone tuning and modification. A Klaus Heyne modded mic is given the most venerated position in any studio's mic locker. Oliver Archut is the keeper of the Telefunken flame. His TAB Funkenwerk gear is the successor to the classic Telefunken tube gear used in recording studios of the 50's and 60's. Oliver is also the keeper of all of the blueprints and design data for the highly venerated Telefunken small signal tubes.

And of course this forum's own ironbut and Stellavox will be sharing great stuff too. Steve is hosting a room where you can listen to tape on a nice array of headphones and amps. Rumor has it that the room will be a place to show off one's Bottlehead S.E.X. amp as well. Charles is giving two talks that should be fascinating - basic electronic measurement for you guys who are just getting into DIY, and a presentation on the history of tape recording. And of course another highlight of every VSAC is the Craftsmans' room idea I started back in 1997, where the DIYer is treated with the same respect as the manufacturer and gets to show off his gear in an exhibit room and system provided just for the purpose. Mike LeFevre is once again offering to sponsor this room with prizes of tasty MQ transformers awarded by popular vote.

There's all sorts of great stuff going on that isn't directly related to the Bottlehead/Tape Project crew - many exhibitors including quite a few who have never shown at VSAC before, many other interesting presentations, and lots of live music to give us all a reality check each day.

A pass for the weekend includes all of that PLUS a bunch of meals and gets you into all of the entertainment events and parties. Dang, do you think you'll be getting your money's worth or what?! If you don't make to this one you are really gonna miss something significant!

http://www.vsac2008.com/index.html
Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President for Life, Bottlehead Corp.
Managing Director - retired, The Tape Project

Offline xcortes

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Re: The Tape Project and Bottlehead at VSAC 2008 - the capsule version
« Reply #1 on: May 08, 2008, 11:00:33 AM »
I'm in! I know ironbut and stellavox are too as are the three TP partners. Who else is going?
Xavier Cortes

Offline ironbut

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Re: The Tape Project and Bottlehead at VSAC 2008 - the capsule version
« Reply #2 on: May 08, 2008, 05:22:04 PM »
Excellent, who would have thought that there'd be so many "romantics" hidden behind those tough online monikers on the Bottlehead forum. I'm really looking forward to meeting you guys!
steve koto
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Offline docb

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so who else is coming to VSAC?
« Reply #3 on: May 19, 2008, 09:10:11 AM »
Got one channel of the VSAC system up and running last night, and hope to have to other up this afternoon. Here's a pic of the setup as it has been coming together, from a couple of days ago.

Rolled tape on the one channel I had wired together last night and it was pretty awesome mono.

http://www.vsac2008.com
Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President for Life, Bottlehead Corp.
Managing Director - retired, The Tape Project