Tape Day @ astrotoy's

[ironbut]

What a great day I had today at Larry Toy's house. It's unusual to come across just one person who knows what you're talking about regarding magnetic tape of any kind, but to have a whole house full of them was fantastic. To say something about head adjustment and see people nodding their heads because they actually know what that's about and not just thinking "What spaceship did this guy climb out of?".  It was quite a treat.
It was great to meet all you guys that post here. And just as I guessed, a pack of characters! But, I wouldn't have it any other way.
 Larry was a fantastic host and his listening room was a real dream come true. I have to congratulate him since I know that getting sound like that doesn't happen overnight. And his music collection! Wow, it make me think of that Twilight Zone with Burgess Meredith in the library but with music. Almost overwhelming.
So, thanks again Larry and you can count me in on the next one.

[oneobgyn]

I too second the comments. It was indeed a terrific afternoon thanks to Larry. Super listening room and a gracious host. The next meeting will be at my house  which is very close to Larry's home.

[ironbut]

Hi Steve, great meeting you. I had some OBGYN jokes that I totally forgot but I'm sure you've heard them all. That "special" tape of yours was a real hi-lite of the day. Thanks for sharing that!
That and the other tapes that Richard Links and Paul brought really made it a treat and I'm just sorry that all the other members couldn't have been there to hear 'em.
And what an great thing it was to have Paul there. It's so easy in a hobby like this for rumors and misconceptions to propagate and take on a life of their own, but having someone who really knows and has been there in the trenches is a rare privilege indeed. It helps that he's such a nice guy and doesn't mind sharing what he knows (for those who don't know, it's not unusual for pro's of any stature to look down their noses at audiophiles).  So thanks Paul, it's always a pleasure to see you.
I was very keen to meet Richard Links from over on the Tape Trail. Over the years we've had a few interactions and his posts have always been very informative and civil. Maybe it was the sports jacket but I just couldn't picture him rooting around to find all those insane finds he makes (if you have kept up with his antics he's the one that discovered the Fantasy master tapes at Urban Ore up in the east bay along with countless other great items). What a nice, bright guy he is! And sure enough, he had a story about stumbling across a stash of 2 track Mercuries that had us all drooling! I real pleasure meeting him too.
Well, I could go on and on but I don't want to make you guys who couldn't make it too envious.

[TomR]

My thanks to Larry as well, and it was great to meet everyone. I had some pithy comments (not made up, in case anyone wanted to ask) to send along with the 3 pics that I took, but the website won't seem to accept the pics and I lost my comments when the page expired. I'll try again tonight.

[Jaytape]

First, thanks to Larry for hosting this event and making me feel welcome.  Though I own two R2R decks and am experienced with analog and tube gear, I had never taken tape seriously as a high-end playback medium.  The listening sessions on Larry's fine system were terrific!  It was the most audiophile fun I've had in a long time.  As I remarked in an e-mail to Larry, I knew that attending the gathering would be risky.  I have several of our listening selections in vinyl and digital.  But now it is going to be hard to go back to them.  Anyway, I enjoyed meeting and learning from the knowledgeable crowd and departed happily with much food for thought.  I look forward to the next time!

Jay S.

[astrotoy]

It was great to have you all there. We had a total of 16 attendees, including about 8 TP subscribers.  One very nice benefit was to actually meet in person many of the people whom we have communicated and shared information and thoughts on the TP Forum.  Thanks especially to Paul S. for coming and sharing with us how the TP came to be and a lot of the inside information on what has gone on to create the TP.  We now know the role of Original Joe's and now Marin Joe's plays in the creative process. We also had many treats to listen to, including previews of upcoming TP issues, several great old tapes from the 50's - amazing sounding 2 track tapes, and a master dub of DSOTM which was awesome.  We did some vinyl comparisons and I lobbied for some early Decca classicals as possible future TP releases.  We had a fair number of tape enthusiasts who were not TP members, so we may have gotten a few new converts. In any case, we look forward to this being a regular event - Steve W. is hosting the next one.   Larry

[oneobgyn]

[qoute]"Steve W. is hosting the next one"[/quote]


Let's plan it for when Paul S has a working version of his Mac based server.

[TomR]

The pics are up on the tape trail on audio asylum. Sorry in advance for so much user error - I kept hitting send before uploading a pic.

[steveidosound]

Great meeting all of you. What more can I add?
It was fun - let's do it again.
Thanks again Larry !
(The other Steve Williams)

[xcortes]

What, no pics?!!!!!!!!!

[ironbut]

Hey Tom, when you want to display multiple pictures over on the Asylum, enter one to the "upload image" than hit preview. That empties the "upload image" line so you can browse your HD and enter a second and repeat if needed. If you have large files, it might be better to spread them out or link them to imageshack or another site. The moderators will wag their fingers at you if you upload too much.
I always use my imageshack account here on this forum so I haven't tried using the attach option found to the left when you hit the Additional Options... dropdown button.
Nice pictures though (although it's made it obvious that I need to get an exercise regimen going,.. immediately!).

[docb]

Not sure what to say about loading pics here. The max file size is, for some reason, 250K. So just re-save large pictures at a lower resolution. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I posted a couple of pics last week, so at least last week it was working again. Anyway, now that you have them posted to a web site I can link them here -

[ecir40]

Wow, nice acoustical dampening :)

Brad

[mep]

I was wondering what all of the straps were doing in front of each shelf, but then I remembered you live in CA and they are probably there for earth quakes.

[astrotoy]

Mark, the eathquake straps (for all 15K records) and about about 10-15 bookcases around the house, as well as 40+ earthquake latches for all of our cabinets, and anchoring bookcases, etc. to wall studs was my first retirement project. Took me about 6 months on and off, starting in late 2007. I haven't anchored the tape decks or other Hifi stuff, however.  Maybe I can wrap everything in 1.5 mil mylar tape. :-) 

Larry