Once again, you'll have to pardon my straying from the pure and simple and into the realm of whatever distracts me for the moment. I ripped another 78 tonight, and this one is a whole horse of a different color from last night's affair. Pinning down a date for this one is a bit tough, though. I found 1908, 1910 and 1911, all of which I'm sure are correct, but I'm not certain exactly which release or take I've got here. This is a massive single-sided 12" record that spins at 78 RPM on the Victrola label. After I'd played with the EQ, I did a bit of compression on it, so it plays at something closer to a uniform volume all the way through. Before I did that, the quiet parts were really too quiet, and the two loud spots were too loud and had what I think was some sort of groove wear in them, too. I think it sounds better now. But I just can't get over the fact that this record is 100 years old and I played it! And to think I almost didn't pay the exorbitant sum of $3 when I found this at the thrift store. That's way too much for an old 78! Please be my guest and download a sample copy of Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Contralto With Orchestra-Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht (Silent Night, Holy Night) (Christmas Hymn) (Victrola 88138). Again, comments, critiques, suggestions, complaints, concerns, all are welcome.
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Big thanks to all of you who gave me some feedback on yesterday's post. I tried using the EQ software from the ClickRepair folks, but I didn't think it sounded as good as the stuff from Audacity. I didn't know enough about it to change the default settings, so I'll have to go back to it at some point once I have a better idea of what I'm doing. I did notice that when I ran this file through ClickRepair, it had to do a lot less work than the one from yesterday, so maybe that crack was adding to the noise. I still need to work on cleaning these things before I record them. I'm still a little afraid of them, so I am treating them like eggshells. I think I have the tracking force set at 2.5 grams. The needle itself on the tonearm looks to my eyes to be cocked a little to one side, but I don't see a way to adjust that. I wonder if the tonearm itself is bent? That's what I get for buying pawn shop record players. And as far as taking pictures of the labels instead of scanning them, I'll have to give it a try. Maybe I can make it work for something that small. Shooting LP covers that way never works out very satisfactorily. I'll try to post a before and after sample soon, too, as soon as I get a better handle on what I'm doing.
So, couple of weeks ago, I finally found a nice, modern turntable that spun at 78 RPM. It was at a pawn shop and the price was pretty good, even without a headshell or needle. Of course no place local had a needle that would work on the old records, although the guy at Sam Ash tried to tell me I didn't need a special needle. (He also told me there was a cartridge in the package I bought, but it was just a needle... Moron.) So I ordered a cartridge and it arrived today. I've been playing all evening, figuring out how to remove the old RIAA curve and put a correct curve in place, how to strip out the low frequency sounds, how to remove some of the surface noise without stripping out any of the sound. All things I do with my usual album recordings, sorta, but all completely different on these records. So the first recording I got into a pretty decent shape was a square dance version of Jingle Bells that I grabbed the other day from the Goodwill Bargain Barn just before it was thrown in the dumpster. It's even cracked, but I couldn't hear it in the recording. I think I did a pretty good job of it, but I'd love to hear some critiques from those of you who have more experience in such things. I recorded in Audacity in stereo, removed the clicks in ClickRepair, which mixed it down to mono, then back to Audacity for removing the RIAA curve, then some re-EQing. I don't remember exactly what I did or didn't do to get this final version, since I went back and forth so many times. I also didn't scan the record 'cause I think it's not gonna do that crack any good to sit on a scanner bed. Anyhow, please give a listen to Carson Robison And His Pleasant Valley Boys, Calls By Lawrence V. Loy-Jingle Bells (RCA-Victor 10" 78 RPM 20-1832, 1946). Lemme know what you think. good, bad, indifferent, whatever. I want to learn to do this right. :)
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Since it's below freezing outside, does this mean I get to go ice skating after work? That's plenty of time for the ponds to freeze over. Now if I only had some ice skates. And if I could skate.
When the light hit the old dead tree behind Mom and Dad's house just right this evening, it made for a much better picture than I expected. You've seen this tree plenty of times before, but mostly in closeup with a hawks or a kestrel or even a woodpecker in it, but never in a wide angle full-color shot like this. I think you've even seen it with the full moon in the frame (not that I can find a link for that...). But here it is in it's field, surrounded by the vegetation that's dead due to a quick freeze a couple weeks ago. It was about 66 degrees F this afternoon, nice weather for shorts and short sleeves. Today was Christmas, but it almost didn't feel like it. Not because of the weather though, but because most of the scheduled festivities for the day were canceled. Our families usual big get-together had already been put of until New Year's Eve because one of the cousin's couldn't make it until then. And then we were supposed to have dinner at my brother's house, but his whole household got sick and canceled. Then Mom was not-quite over being sick, so she really wasn't able to do much. So at the last minute I called a friend and asked if maybe they had a little room at their table for me and my Dad, and sure enough, we got to go over there and spend a few hours celebrating over a fine meal that still had plenty of leftovers even though there were twice as many people at the table as planned. I guess that's what Christmas is all about. No, not the weaseling your way into someone elses's celebration, but sharing what you have with those who might otherwise have gone without. We certainly didn't need to go anywhere else and eat, we could have thrown something together, but it was nice to be able to celebrate together. Long story, but I had to have something to go with a nice picture of a dead tree. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas.
I showed you the cranes I saw today, and here is a pair of kestrels. I'd never seen kestrels on this side of the road before, and these aren't the same ones who live on the side my parents live on because I had just seen one of them on their favorite tree about a quarter mile away. So I was pretty blown away when I saw not one but two of them on top of this old dead pine. On my way in in the morning, I'd seen something at the top of this tree, and thought it was just a dove. Then later on I walked down the street with my long lens to shoot those cranes and realized there was a kestrel. So I took a lot of pictures and was quite happy. Only later when walking with my mom did I look again and see that there were now two kestrels. Well, in honor of that, I actually climbed through a gate and wandered out into the pasture to get as close as I could. This was one of the last shots I got before they decided I was too close and flew off in opposite directions. But I think this is probably the best picture I've ever gotten of wild kestrels, and to have two of them in the same shot, that's just a small Christmas miracle!
Three years ago on Christmas I brought you a picture of some sand hill cranes in the back pasture at my parents' house. And today I'm bringing you a picture of four of them walking down the road. Once again, they hung out for hours. They were there when I arrived around noon, and they were still hanging around when I left after five. I think someone down the road feeds them, so they were hanging around waiting for a handout. Seeing four of these guys together is no big deal, I've shown you groups that big before. It's usually two adults and two full-grown children that haven't left yet for their own new families. I think they stay together until it's almost time to start raising the next batch of little ones, then the youngsters fly the coop, so to speak.
Finally, it's Christmas. No shares today, go spend some time listening to all the stuff I gave you earlier. I'll be with the folks. Have a good one.
In a tradition dating back to 2006, I end my Christmas Eve sharing with this record. It's designed to be played for the little ones right before bedtime tonight, so hopefully you have enough time to get it and play it. I'd hoped to get more goodies up for you today, but I spent the whole day Christmas shopping, and tonight I have to wrap everything up. If I don't talk to you again, I hope you have a Merry Christmas. Now, go download 'Twas The Night Before Christmas (RCA Camden CAS-1101, Stereo, 1968).
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I'm on a roll tonight! I haven't gotten six posts up in a single day in weeks. See what you can do when you're healthy, only work half a day, and get tomorrow off? Perhaps next year I'll just take the whole month off work to post sharity, I think they'll understand. Anyhow, this is a slight remastering of a non-Christmas album that has proven to be very Christmassy. I first shared a few tracks from this during Christmas in July 2009, and I liked them so much, felt they were so in the spirit of the season if not the letter, that I decided to share the whole thing, which I also did in 2009. In fact, it was one of my very few new shares in 2009 after my hard drive went south for the winter and never came back. A month or so ago I found my original WAV files still on the new HD, and I ran them through ClickRepair to make them sound all that much better. So that's the remastered version you're downloading tonight. Unlike many of the other carillon albums I share on here, this one features studio accompaniment from an orchestra and chorus, and I think that makes a huge difference in the general listenability of the carillon. Why don't you give this one a download and let me know if it's everything I'm making it out to be? This is John Klein With Orchestra And Chorus Arranged And Conducted By Leo Addeo-Bells In Toyland-John Klein At The Sun Life Centenary Carillon (RCA Victor LSP-3832, Stereo, 1967).
1. March Of The Toys
2. March Of The Lead Soldiers
3. Haydn's Toy Symphonette
4. Doll Dance
5. Sweet Nutcracker!
6. Dancing Doll
7. The Toy Trumpet
8. Toyland
9. Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers
10. Knight Of The Rocking Horse
11. Toy Train
12. Syncopated Clock
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As I mentioned in my last share, here's a re-share of an album very similar to that last one. I've actually heard from people who had this doll, but not as many as I think it would take to tell me she was ever very popular. I'd put this almost in the Little Marcy category, only without the preaching. (Speaking of Little Marcy, guess what I recently found and should be able to share with you next year? I wonder...) So if you missed her the first time around in 2008, please download Heidi-The Night Before Christmas (Majorette M-304, Mono, 1965).
1. Introduction
2. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
3. Silent Night
4. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
5. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
6. O Christmas Tree
7. Deck The Halls
8. Frosty The Snowman
9. Joy To The World
10. The First Noel
11. We Wish You A Merry Christmas
12. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
13. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
14. And The Night Before Christmas Story
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I'll be back right after dinner. Feeling much better. Thank you for all your well-wishes. I felt a little like Ferris Bueller when I saw this. :)
No new Christmas records posted today, I'm afraid. I've been under the weather all weekend. I think I'll live, but I don't have the ability to concentrate and make a new post or two. If I did, it would come out horrible, I just know it. So I'll try this again tomorrow. Christmas is almost here, and I have so much to do...
