SDC!

My buddy Don recently wrote about a trip he and his family took to Branson, MO and Silver Dollar City.

Back in the early 80's my family did the same thing. I don't remember a giant banjo or Butterfly Palace like what Don saw on his trip but we did do country music shows and the Silver Dollar City thing.

One of my favorite things at Silver Dollar City, other than Fire in the Hole and the Log Ride, was the old time family photo.

In the TinType photo above you see me (center) mom and dad on the left and grandma and grandpa on the right.

Here's one from another trip, from left, Greg, Barbara and Mark Friedman (family friends), mom, dad and me again.


Enjoy!

BoscoeDUCK?!

So yesterday I am at Murphy Park in Springdale and the duck on the right in the photo above comes waddling up to me.

Another bread beggar you say? No say I.

This duck came up to me... are you ready...

WAGGING ITS TAIL!

It then proceeded to rub on my leg. It would not leave me alone and I have never seen another duck do this. I decided this must be the re-incarnation of Boscodog, "Boscoeduck".

BTW the duck on the left kept trying to make sweet, sweet love to Boscoeduck so I guess Boscoeduck is a girl duck.

Here's a photo of her giving the same treatment to some folks with bread.


There were more ducks at the park than I have ever seen there before.


These guys must have been from a cloning experiment gone wrong or ducks and rabbits have more in common than you think.


Last one


Enjoy!

Is it Real?

Or is it Memorex?


Surely everyone remembers this commercial. If you don’t you’re probably too young to be reading my blog anyway.

I just finished restoring/rebuilding an all tube, circa 1962, Dynaco PAS-3 pre-amp and ST-70 amplifier. Actually I finished them almost a year ago but there was an electrical bug in the ST-70 I couldn’t find and I just now got around to enlisting professional help. The culprit? A bad ground. DUH!
Well I fired her up this week and OMG the sound is awesome.
Here’s a couple of photos of the finished ST-70.



When I bought this stuff a year ago my research told me, even though it was 47 years old and broken, it had the potential to put modern solid state systems to shame and was considered a “poor man’s” McIntosh. The PAS-3 was in working condition so all I had to do with it was have a tech go through it just to make sure I wasn’t going to burn the house down when I plugged it in.

The ST-70 however was a different story.


The unit was rough but the purchase price was pretty low so I bought it. First thing I did was completely disassemble the unit. I then replaced everything except the original transformers and power supply with new parts. I had the choice of upgrading the unit or keeping it stock and I chose to replace the old parts with new stock parts. I figured this was one of the most popular stereo amplifiers of all time why mess with a good thing. After spending a week or so trying to polish the rusted nickel finish on the unit I decide to have it sandblasted and powder coated. I then began re-assembly; it took me about a month.
Here’s a before and after of the restoration.


So... how's it sound?
Effing incredible!

For the techies The system is a Dynaco Pas-3, Dynaco ST-70 and Polk Audio Monitor Series 4 speakers. I am using a borrowed CD player and my iPod for input but will soon add a turntable (mine is broken beyond repair), an all tube FM tuner and a permanent CD player to replace the borrowed one.

Here's a photo of my listening room.


So you tell me, "Is it real? Or is it Memorex?" All I know is it sounds awesome.

Enjoy!