@dpl1: I have a dear friend who has an astounding scotch collection. I learned this trick from him: Instead of completely inserting the cork, only insert about 3/4 of the way. Then to open, tap *downwards* first. This breaks the cork loose from the side of the bottle’s neck and will then come out cleanly. Works a treat!
Does anyone collect something else other than music.
I guess all of us must be collectors at heart, both music and kit, but are there other collecting obsessions out there? Many people collect watches, cars, mountain bikes and so on.
I have started a small collection of good Scotch malt whisky. Always loved whisky, but never studied the range and quality available. It may be a bit easier for me, living in the UK, although most bottles seem to be available in the US, at comparable prices too. The only drawback is that I don't get to drink any of the good stuff, as the collection is something I intend to leave to my kids, who all have tastes above their pay grade. Whisky has always been collectable, but prices do seem to be on the up. It is staggering what bottles, particularly of the best distilleries and closed ones, can go for. Prices over £100,000 for one bottle, aren't unusual, with interest from all over the world.
I like all whisky, but my current favourite is probably Caol Ila, a not too heavily peated Islay distillery. Glad to say my consumption has remained very modest. Unfortunately, when we emerge from Covid 19, I think there are going to be a lot more problem drinkers.
So what do you collect? If you are a whisky fan too, perhaps post your favourites and bottles worth collecting.
Thanks
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I build tube/valve power amps to my own designs for a hobby. I have collected a variety of tubes/valves to use in these amps. I own a Yamamoto A010 which I use as a sort of reference to compare my amps against, sound wise. So I have a modest collection of tubes. Friends have impressive tube collections of over 100,000 tubes! NOS WE 300A!s and 300Bs, engraved base VT52s and 50s etc. My favourites are my quad of NOS Tungsol mono-plate! black glass 6A3s. They look and sound fabulous and are probably priceless too. |
I collect elac miracord 50 and 770H automatic German turntable to repair and resell. I have a pretty good collection of about a dozen Hickok tube testers ready to sell and a small but tasty collection of pre-amp tubes, a collection of novelty lighter that became illegal about ten years ago, and a collection of about 30 Oregon myrtlewood , African- style drums. Ive also got a large collection of myrtlewood game calls and wall switch plates.Keeps me out of the pubs. aloha |
I'm a single malt Scotch and fine Bourbon collector, in a small way. Favorites are Lagavulin, Highland Park and Glenmorangie, and Knob Creek bourbon.I also picked up a fine bottle of Japanese single malt during one of my trips to Tokyo. I wish I had more like that. The trouble is that I rarely have Scotch loving visitors, and as I am a moderate drinker, the corks dry out over time and it's a devil of a job getting them out without them crumbling into the bottle. It's almost sacrilege, but I just use a tea strainer when I pour one out. |
hypoman5 posts05-11-2020 1:49pmKeuffel & Esser Leroy lettering equipment as well as Letterguide lettering equipment. For those not familiar, these were pantographic type templates that were used extensively in the engineering and architectural fields before the age of computer generated typography. I even have a template with vacuum tube layouts for making engineering drawings.Interesting, Hypoman. One of my earlier jobs was surveying. At one point I did all the drafting, nothing like you're talking about, but all the finished plats were India ink on mylar. Straight-edges and templates on risers, and all the lettering done free-hand. (Everything done first in pencil for layout, of course) The good old days. |
I assume LP’s don’t count! Until my divorce, I was an art collector, or more specifically, animation art. Production cells, pencil drawings etc. Or, other artist’s interpretations of animation art such as Warhol. After that, art in general (my field) and books. I don’t think of my books as a collection because I can’t imagine not having them. Just one collection really. After my big D, I became very involved in knives - specifically folding pocket knives. I’m a rank amateur compared to many, just like stereo gear. But, I like the ability to have my entire collection in one or two cases. While I started with production knives as most do, I soon started buying customs. I love the various materials, almost all are custom forged/fabricated. Timascus, Mokume, Mokuti, Damascus, San Mai Damascus... Carbon fiber has made huge strides because of the industry. A few years ago, all the CF was sourced as surplus from places like aviation. Some of the CF now looks nothing like the basketweave my motorcycle has or tripods are made out of. Is collecting photo gear a collection? Oh, one popular material is micarta (before plastic). While there’s some really talented people making it today, the hot stuff is vintage, of course. One popular one is Westinghouse micarta. It’s hard to believe, but the desk tops we were carving our initials and other things in back in the 60’s and 70’s, that were junk in the 90’s is now worth a fortune. Some of the micarta used as electrical insulation can be worth thousands. Resin and cloth. Go figure! |
Al, Yes, it is now called the "SPARK" Museum. Previously, it was known as "The Museum of Radio and Electricity". It has a non-commercial, low-power radio station called KMRE (the call letters are self-explanatory). You can visit them at kmre dot org and listen there. I visited it many, many times when I lived in Bellingham. Keith |
Al ... I love the radio collection. The Art Deco era produced some mighty fine and good looking radios. When I was a young guy, I collected motorcycles. Triumphs, BSAs, Bultacos, Greeves, Sachs ... all for desert racing. Later, I collected bicycles ... road bikes. I was an avid cyclist for many years. Also, I collected houses and rented them out. Now that I have not only entered the final glide-path but seem to be running out of runway, I'm just collecting ailments. Frank |
Keuffel & Esser Leroy lettering equipment as well as Letterguide lettering equipment. For those not familiar, these were pantographic type templates that were used extensively in the engineering and architectural fields before the age of computer generated typography. I even have a template with vacuum tube layouts for making engineering drawings. |
Like dwhess I own and restore vintage restored jukeboxes from the 40’s-early 60’s, but it goes a bit further. Inside my insurance agency I built a 36 seat 50’-60’s diner to store my collection. It is not a working restaurant due to zoning/licensing but rather a room the community and clients can use for their special event. I’ve got over 150 antiques dating back to the early 1900’s including, restored pedal cars, restored Pepsi & Coke machines, and 3 working jukeboxes from 1946, 1952 and 1961. You can sit in one of 5 booths and play the 1952 Seeburg 100C jukebox on authentic Seeburg wallboxes. Lots of neon and stainless steel. |
Vinyl&tubes I expect, in fact I'm sure you know the origin of India Pale Ale, I didn't until recently. Evidently in the 19th Century, the Indian army got through a lot of beer, like any army I suppose. The local brew only lasted 5 to 7 days, before it went off, so someone in the army contacted Burton on Trent in the UK, a centre of brewing, could they make a beer that would last at least a year, in the bottle, in a hot climate? The result was IPA, everyone was happy. What a range of collections, most of them would never occur to me as collectable, but I suppose anything is collectable. Toenail clippings anyone? |
Currency - as in old US paper money, sometimes referred to as "horse blankets" due to their size. Mostly early silver certificates, just like everything the rarer the pricier. I have had a few of which there were under 200 known examples. Can't recall how I got started on this trip but it still blows me away whenever I hold one of them. Remember that these are engraved by hand and the detail is awesome. Here is an example, look close at the back: http://usrarecurrency.com/1886$5SilverCertificateSilverDollarBackFR-263PCGSCU64PPQSnB27422639.htm |
People collect all sorts of strange things. For a while I worked in the publishing industry that included magazines on collecting. I have a very small collection of masks. Somehow the images speak to me. They range from Peruvian to Mardi Gras as well as some artistic masks including one my daughter made which is quite special. |
I know a couple of guys who collect ex-wives. I'm like @edcyn, except for vintage drums and cymbals. 18 drumsets (Radio King, Slingerland, Gretsch, Camco, Rogers, Leedy, Leedy/Ludwig, Ludwig, WFL), around double that in snare drums (including a couple late-20's Ludwigs), half a dozen canister thrones, a couple dozen cymbals (A. Zildjian, K. Zildjian, and Paiste 602). |
I don’t think my cellar would count as a collection as it’s just a hundred bottles or so. Same for my spirits, I don’t think 20 or 30 Bottles of scotch really count as a collection do they? The thing I’ve spent the most money and time on over the years are high grade pipes. Mostly by North American makers but I’ve got a little collection of old English (dunhill, etc.,) and Italian workshop pipes as well. I don’t suppose there are any pipe collectors here are there? |
I don't have a 'collection', per se...but 'things' collect me. The odd art....Masami Teraoka print, "31 Flavors Invades Japan" is above my desk, an original water color gift from a designer that respected my work, some raku ceramic pieces, other prints that struck fancy, this 'n that...*s* I collected neon items for awhile, but they don't travel well and run voltages that rival 'stat speakers....and higher. "Don't touch th..." "Yes, I'm got something for your burnt finger....here's a drink..." ('Caution! 15,000 volts!' sign notwithstanding....*sigh*) Items collect me...like 'bendable plywood', wanting something 'subtle' to be done with it. Odd wood, one of which I can't find in any list of rare wood. Cast-off PA cabinets that rendered an 18" EV woofer that got reconed professionally, and awaits a cabinet. A pair of JBL speaker with mangled cabs, but the drivers intact, more or less (10" woofers reconed, but everthing else 'good to go'). A pair of DIY cabs that rendered a 12" Utah woofers (reconed) and the matching horns. (Since 'repurposed' into a pair of 'pseudo-Ohms"...a private joke...) I 'collect' odd tools for the work of our business, odd in itself. (We design, build, and install 'natural playground' structures. In itself, uneffected by C19...thankfully....). We have some things that other wood shops would likely not consider, or even recognize. *L* Anything that enters my space...leaves 'different'. That's my 'thing'....*S* I can't count the times I've been approached with..."....this has Jerry written all over it. Here..." Given a proper budget, I'm about ready to do the impossible with Nothing. It's a knack. ;) |
Wine. European.Thousands of bottles. The right choice for any occasion. Women, yes, earlier in life. Experience, yes, all over, and often and various, so many lucky encounters. Books, from philosophy to botany, and not just music and audio kit. Has anyone mentioned plants? I collect the rarest and most special trees, shrubs and perennials.Cultivars of European Beech top the long list of deciduous shade trees, while specimens of 21st Century Epimedium introductions, courtesy of Darrell Probst and Prof. Ogitsu, form the most refined perennial backbone of my enterprise. A hundred various peonies, just to occupy what would otherwise be weed space. My grounds are a smaller scale arboretum/botanical garden, more compact like Linda Hall but with some specimens equal to those in the vast expanses of Arnold, Morton, etc. I personally plant, mow, trim,prune and transplant, slowly getting the symbiosis right, having done so for 35 years. Forgetting a few other things here. But no model trains. No wristwatches. Just wine, Armagnacs, great books, the best cookware, and the finest specimen plants. Plus whatever I'm not remembering just now. Well, you asked. LOL to the witty answers above. |