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RITES OF MAY: preservation sound radio May 2020

This month’s Preservation Sound Radio show has already aired, but you can stream the entire program from the WPKN FM archives for the next few weeks. Click here to stream the show. RITES OF MAY is a three-hour psych-folk celebration of Spring. As usual all of the audio is taken directly from my vinyl LP stacks. This show was transferred with a Technics 1200 w/ Shure 44-7 cartridge and Ramko SP8-E preamp. Bonus announcements via period recordings of Louise Huebner and Dr Edward Teller. Here’s the track list.

  1. Catherine Ribiero +2 Bis “Un Sourire, Un Rire, Des Esclats” FLDX 487
  2. Vangelis O. Papathanassiou “Ritual” from the LP ‘Earth’ Vertigo 6499 693
  3. Simon Finn “Laughing til Tomorrow” Cherry Red Records 1970
  4. Jean-Bernard Raiteux “Kathleen Writhes” from the OST to ‘Les Demons’
  5. Eigo Kawashima and homo sapiens “bye bye bye” 1975 Elektra Japan L-6101E
  6. The Beau Brummels “The Wolf Of Velvet Fortune” from their LP ‘Triangle’ Warner WS 1692
  7. Glass Harp “Southbound” Decca DL 75261
  8. Karen Beth “Something To Believe in” from ‘the joys of life,’ Decca DL 75148
  9. Osamu Kitajima “Immortality” PSI 004-2
  10. Black Sabbath “Lord Of This World” from the LP ‘Master of Reality,’ warner brothers BS 2562 1971
  11. Nico “Secret Side” from the 1971 BBC Session, Gearbox LP GB1533
  12. Marcus “Grains Of Sand’ from his Kineic/Columbia LP Z 30207
  13. David Crosby “Traction in the rain” from the LP ‘If I Could Only Remember My Name’ Atlantic LP SD 7023
  14. Higelin & Areski “Remember” Saravah France LP SH 10005, 1969
  15. Folk Music of the world ‘Grand Nord’ “Järnefelt” CV1117
  16. Magical Power Mako ‘Sound Mother Earth’ from SUPERRECORD Polydor Japan MR 5055
  17. Orpheus “the dream” MGM SE-4524
  18. Bonnie Koloc “My aunt Edna” from her s/t LP Ovation # OVQD 1429
  19. Cem Karaca “Foam on the sea”
  20. Elyse Weinberg “Here In My Heart” from the LP ‘Elyse’ Tetragammon LP T-117
  21. Don Cooper “Sad Eyed Queen of the Mountain” from ‘Bless the Children’ Roulette SR-42046
  22. Tim Buckley “Had A Talk With My Woman” from ‘Lorca’, Elektra EKS-74074 1970
  23. Yuri Morozov “Blue Star Wanderer” BUTR14LP
  24. Cro Magnon “First World Of Bronze” from their S/T ESP Disk LP #2001 1969
  25. Alexander Gradsky “You and me” circa 1972 Melodiya LP C60 2447 004
  26. Sandy Bull “Electric Blend” from ‘The Essential Sandy Bull’ Vanguard VSD 59/60
  27. Buffy St Marie “God is alive, Magic is afoot” from her LP ‘Illuminations’ Vanguard  VSD 79300
  28. Brigitte Fontaine and Areski “Ragilia” from the LP ‘L’Incendie’ BYG Records N. 529026  
  29. Total Issue “Dis Mais Dis” from their S/T LP UAS France 29 174
  30. Sopwith Camel “Dancin Wizard” from their LP “The Miraculous Hump Returns From The Moon” Reprise LP MS 2108 1973
  31. US69 “Im On My Way” from their Buddah LP BDS 5035
  32. Tyrannosaurus Rex “By The Light of The Magical Moon” from their Blue Thumb LP ‘A Beard of Stars’ BTS 8818
  33. Pearls Before Swine “The Old Man” from the LP ‘The Use Of Ashes’ Reprise 6405 1970
  34. Pugh “Signe” from his S/T LP Metronome MLP-15.336
  35. The Seeds “Six Dreams” from their GNP LP “Future” GNP 2038
  36. Jake Holmes “too long” from ‘The Above Ground Sound Of Jake Holmes” Tower LP ST 5079 
  37. Jonathan & Leigh “Summer Sorrow” from their Vanguard LP ‘Third and Main’ VRS-9257 1967
  38. The Incredible String Band “Footsteps of the Heron’ from their s/t LP Elektra EKS-7322
  39. Exuma “Baal” from ‘Exuma II” Mercury SR 61314
  40. Victoria “A Famous Myth” from her LP ‘Secret of the Bloom’ San Francisco LP SD201 1969
  41. Georgia Kelly “The Sound Of Spirit” from her LP of the same name, HERU-104 1981
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UTC CG-Series Terminal Arrangements c.1956

UTC’s “CG” ‘commercial grade’ line of transformers were high-quality sealed units made in the 50s and 60s and possibly later. The later ‘red paint’ iterations often have pinout data printed on the cases, but the earlier ‘metal-badge’ versions sometimes do not. Despite the wealth of vintage UTC transformer data already available online, I could not find this particular document on the internet so I have scanned it for y’all. This particular document has a March 1956 date code so i assume that it covers the line at-that-point.

CNTRL-CLICK TO DOWNLOAD 4PP PDF:

Units covered include output transformers CG-2L6, 4L6, 15, 16, 19, 710; power transformers CG-422, 428, 429, 431; bias units CG-315, 316; low-level audio units CG-131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 1347, 140, 141, 233, 235, 333, 433; and power transformers CG33, CG120, CG122, CH124, CG125, CG126, CG300, CG301, CG302, CG303, CG34.

Above: some examples of the varying CG case styles- both with and without pinout data. The terminal board on bottom generally have some data but it is often incomplete.
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The Lil’est Champ

I wanted to see how compact I could make a high-voltage, point-to-point wired Tweed Champ. Here’s the result. Leo Fender’s 5F1 circuit, but with a solid-state rectifier, built into a tiny vintage NOS Bud hammertone chassis. Front panel is gain (standby switch at zero), pilot lamp, input; rear panel is fuse, power switch, IEC and speaker jack. See my Instagram page for sound sample.

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preservation sound radio 4.8.20 : another 1973

Hey yall… this month’s Preservation Sound Radio show has already aired, but you can catch in the WPKN archive thru April 26 2020 at this link. This episode is a deep deep trip into v obscure 1968-1976 moody light rock and psych. As usual, the entire show is assembled directly from the original LPs. An alternate pop past that never was. Here’s what you’ll hear:

  1. tranquility “can i see you”
  2. kevin john agosti “enchanted lady” (no link avail)
  3. danny cox “dear prudence”
  4. love “dream”
  5. the illusion “angel” (set break)
  6. elephants memory “wind ridge” (no link avail)
  7. grin “if i were a song”
  8. the flamin groovies “golden clouds”
  9. burton and cunico “run for your life”
  10. silver metre “superstar” (set break)
  11. keith “trixon’s election”
  12. edison electric band “over the hill”
  13. stephen and the farm band “come on back” (no link avail)
  14. zephyr “keep me”
  15. dinsmore payne “evinrood” (set break)
  16. blues project “plain and fancy”
  17. john ussery “through the fire”
  18. moby grape “about time”
  19. anthem “ibis”
  20. the buoys “tell me heaven is here”(set break)
  21. the troggs “a different me”
  22. parrish and gurvitz “why”
  23. gabriel bondage “in the daylight”
  24. sweet pain “start off with you”
  25. tin tin “benny the wonder dog” (set break)
  26. autosalvage “100 days”
  27. sweet thursday “dealer”
  28. michael nesmith “rainmaker”
  29. dennis linde “DR31” (whole album link)
  30. west “funeral on the beach” (set break)
  31. odetta “no expectations”
  32. bonnie koloc “hold on to me”
  33. the cornbread “across the frozen ground”
  34. john kay “two of a kind”
  35. luther grosvenor “love the way” (set break)
  36. velvet night “the weight” (whole album link)
  37. the american dream “storm”
  38. the wizards from kansas “misty mountainside”
  39. michael stanley “denver rain”
  40. stealers wheel “over my head” (set break)
  41. saint steven “grey skies”
  42. joey stec “i wish it would rain”
  43. leigh stephens “chunk of funk”
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P/S Radio Show 3.19.20: Psychedelic Soul Special Edition

(image source)

Click this link to stream a special two-hour Preservation Sound Radio show focusing on: Psychedelic Soul. (show starts approx 12 minutes into the file). This show was assembled in my studio and relayed for broadcast on WPKN. Audio-nerd notes: the entire program was assembled from my vinyl LP collection, freshly transferred via a vintage Denon DL207 MC cartridge through a 1:20 ADC step-up transformer unit I assembled this week. My voice via a 1950s EV 666.

Tracklist:

  1. curtis mayfield DO DOO WAP IS STRONG IN HERE
  2. cymande BIRD
  3. the main ingredient SUMMER BREEZE
  4. brother to brother I WISH IT WOULD RAIN
  5. minnie ripperton LES FLEUR (set break)
  6. soul searchers WE THE PEOPLE
  7. the temptations SMILING FACES SOMETIME
  8. junior parker TOMORROW NEVER KNOWS
  9. manu dibango HIBISCUS
  10. the dramatics IN THE RAIN
  11. shuggie otis JENNIE LEE (set break)
  12. rotary connection PAPER CASTLE
  13. rasputin’s stash YOU BETTER THINK
  14. edwin starr BALL OF CONFUSION
  15. sly and the family stone TIME
  16. james brown JUST ENOUGH ROOM FOR STORAGE (set break)
  17. the southside movement IVE BEEN WATCHING YOU
  18. eugene mcdaniels CHERRY STONES
  19. the sound experience EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL
  20. dennis coffey LONELY MOON CHILD
  21. david axelrod FREEDOM (set break)
  22. funkadelic ILL BET YOU
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A novel design for an all-tube headphone amplifier

Above: prototype of a novel design for an economical all-tube headphone amplifier. I have been hunting for a way to build an all-tube cue amp into the @berlinettabrewing DJ console. I was forced to design this because no decent schematics exist anywhere online for something like this: something compact, simple, and inexpensive to make that can run either 600 ohm cans or modern low-impedance cans.

This design uses a basic voltage amp (1/2 a 12AX7, although a 12AT7 would work fine too) driving one paralleled cathode-follower 6CG7 per channel. In theory, with a big enough output cap and 300 plate volts, this SHOULD be able to drive 600 ohm headphones to a very high level. And it does. But here’s the twist: the “600 ohms” jack is a switching jack that, when blank, sends the signal to a pair of 600 ohm:8 ohm “70v” 5-watt line-to-voicecoil transformers: I used inexpensive old Stancors. These are the sort of transformers that you often find inside old schoolhouse baffle speakers.

At full rated level, the low end of these transformers is weak. But at the 1/2w that they see in this circuit, they sound absolutely fine. The amp sounds great with either variety of cans- i tried @akgaudio 600 ohm k240s and @audiotechnicausa ATHM50, which I suspect are 30 ohms-ish. Way way more then enough level, great fidelity and just great sound all around. A little experiment that paid off, coming soon to the world’s most esoteric DJ console.

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Custom Fabrication

SuperHugh: studio instrument preamp

I tried to imagine the sort of custom instrument preamp that a top session player might have brought to a studio in The Seventies. Similar in principle to an Alembic F2B (part of many top players’ rigs for decades) but with many crucial improvements, this compact all-tube preamp starts with a classic Fender blackface low/mid/high/bright/vol feature set but adds the following: *master volume, *hi shift, and most importantly an additional output stage that can reliably drive a 10k input at high levels with no frequency loss.

I learned a ton about the idiosyncratic Fender eq circuit by listening and fine-tuning this unit; the various compromises and ‘sweet spots’ that one can find with different cap and pot values. Basic three-stage filter power supply (output stage at 2nd leg) and c/t grounded AC heaters proved more than sufficient; the thing runs dead quiet (zero hum) other than a minuscule bit of reassuring hiss, as i used all NOS 1960s Allen Bradley carbon-comp resistors throughout (which id never do for a mic pre, but for vintage guitar/bass tone its part of the package, i think). The output stage runs at 350 volts, and the input and makeup stages are around 215, allowing for tons of headroom.

Above: the unit with the top cover removed. You can see the sub chassis with the 12AX7 and the 6C4 output driver; a huge Aerovox output cap; and the rugged fiberglass turret-board point-to-point construction.

Above: another internal view. All of the hardware bits are DakaWare, API, and Smith NOS parts from the 60s and 70s, all from my inventory. Signal wiring (orange) is stranded silver 22ga wire and the ground wire (green) is 18ga solid copper.

How does it sound? With bass guitar its absolutely magical- every classic electric bass sound is just there at your fingertips; very inspiring to play thru. Really sounds like a ‘finished’ bass track with no additional processing. The whole package is compact enough to fit in many gig bags.  As for the name? “Super” as the circuit owes much to my beloved Fender Super Reverbs, and “Hugh” as an homage to one of my all-time favorite session greats Hugh McCracken.

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Altec Custom Fabrication

Altec 436C style compressor build #2

I’ve serviced and modified many Altec 43X-series compressors over the years, but I think this may be only the 2nd one I’ve built entirely from scratch. Styled more like a Federal AM864, this unit incorporates many of the tweaks and modifications that I have come to like in these machines. Here are some images of the build.

Couple of things to point out in the photo above. Note the larger “Octal” tubes (6X5 rectifier and 6SN7 output amplifier) on the left side. I like octal tubes, as the larger sockets are easier to work with, so space-permitting I tend to use them. The original 43X used a solid-sate rectifier (with a voltage doubler) but I used a more conventional full-wave supply with a rectifier tube since it suited the look better. The 6SN7 output tube was a nice choice as there are so many variations of this tube available. It’s a direct sub for the 6CG7 in the original Altec.

Also note: behind the meter is a ‘meter null adjust’ pot. I can’t recall how this was handled on the original Altecs, but this mod is a common one shown on many internet schematics of the 436. Also note the large pot to the left of the meter. This is the Gates Sta Level output trim control (-6 to -14db cut) that I detailed on this site years ago. A worthy and necessary addition!

You can also see the enormous output transformer in the center: a massive potted unit built for Daven, likely by UTC. originally built for hi-end test gear, it is ultra hi fi and handles more level than this thing will ever see.

Above: some detail of the meter. I was motivated to build this thing solely because I found that original Altec panel meter at a hamfest for a buck. Seemed like it needed a 2nd life… Also check out that finish on the panel! That’s about 6 layers of paint and 3 layers of clearcoat, sanded between each coat. The knobs are all NOS 1960s DakaWare, acquired from Park Distributors in BPT CT (RIP).

Above: the UTC A18 input transformer, which has similar specs / ratio to the Peerless plug-in unit that an original Altec would have been outfitted with.

Above: the completed unit on the bench. The input pot is a really nice dual-gang 50K 1-watt sealed unit; I got several of these from Park before they closed. I cant imagine that any pot like this is available today for under $50. Good find. Running the length of the unit to the immediate right of the turret board is the heavy copper ground buss. Every ground in the machine connects here, and only here, and the ground buss meets the chassis at only one spot – the input jack. I swear by this construction technique. I’ve rewired a lot of old cheap tube guitar amps with this addition and the improvement in noise floor is remarkable.

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Custom Fabrication

Classic RCA riaa phono preamp / module-style

I’ve been developing an all-tube rotary-knob DJ console for the soundsystem at Berlinetta Brewing. One idea I decided to experiment with was building the 4 channels of phono pre amps as little plug-in modules, similar to theatre soundsystems of the 1940s and 50s. This would, in theory, allow me to make just 5 of the modules and have “zero downtime” if/when a channel failed. Anyhow, I made one as a demo, and man what a pain in the ass! The device you see above and below uses the classic RCA circuit from their receiving tube manual RC20 plus an additional 6c4 cathode-follower output stage, all built in a tiny grey Hammond box. All i/o and power (300vdc B+, 7vDC heaters) are on an 8-pin Jones for maximum “fake historical authenticity.” It worked out fine, sounds great, very low noise floor, but it’s just too fussy working in that tiny 4x2x2 inch box I will probably end up going with a different solution. Still an interesting possibility though…

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Custom Fabrication

Fairchild 663 Optical Compressor circa 1965

I was recently given this circa 1965 Fairchild model 663 optical compressor module. This unit was sold as part of their modular console range of the era. It requires 7V A/C power and it has a completely passive audio path! Seems incredible, but it’s true. Here’s what I did to ‘lunchbox it’ for standalone use in the studio. More details soon…