My wife got me a turntable a few years ago. So, I located my vinyl records and began playing them. Unfortunately, the one she got me was one of those Crosley all in one models. It could play CDs and had a radio. The turntable worked okay, but the volume had a short in it so either it was blasting or barely audible. So, it did not end up having that killer vibe that I see in this painting here.
This painting was done by my Dad, Barry Woolery. It is one of my favourites. It harkens back to the bygone days when we used to listen to albums and do puzzles or play chess. We would listen to the story of the album. Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks or Van Morrison's Wavelength. Or Cyndi Lauper's She's So Unusual. Or The Cure's Head on the Door.
Last year, my wife got me another turntable. This time just a turntable. A good one. From a guy who refurbishes them out of his house. It was great. I was so excited. I had a tuner so I was all set to hook it up. When I did, there were problems. Of course.
You know how we have analog and digital? I think this painting is more analog. Well, my tuner was digital. There are probably more technical terms to describe it, but needless to say my awesome purchase at Costco 20 years ago was only designed for digital output. And it was showing its age.
I was able to buy a sort of connector device which is supposed to bridge the gap between a phonograph player and an "advanced" tuner. After hooking that up, I was still having issues. But in my idiocy, I assumed it was the turntable that was problematic. My wife said the audio guy guarantees his stuff. So I called him up and he said to come on by.
Now, this audio guy is great. A hippie from back in the day. Started off in premed, but then went to electronic repair. A surgeon of another discipline. I took my turntable in. He hooked it up to his system, pulled out some Deep Purple, cranked it up and of course it sounded perfect. My tuner sucked. Of course.
So, I bought a cool tuner from him. A nice silverish wood JVC, with some pretty decent output. I finally had everything I needed. I had some sweet Advents that an old roommate gave me. Now, I could finally kick back in the woods and play some Tom Petty or OMD or The Dickies.
After blasting it for a few minutes, there was a problem. Not a bad problem. Not an audio problem. That was solved. No. We had a smell problem. The tuner had apparently lived in a smoker's home for 30 years. I tried to open the windows and run the fans, but my wife wouldn't have it. I couldn't blame her. It wasn't a subtle smell.
So, I put it in the garage on a table, opened the case and ran a fan on it. After a week I brought it back in hoping it was fixed.
It still had the smoke smell.
I am guessing that 30-40 years of cigarette smoke infiltration does not get eliminated in one week. But I can't leave it in the garage on a table for 30 years.
Alas! I'm not that guy in the painting yet. I'll get there though...
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