I Cried Today

Growing up, my uncle played jazz on the stereo in his workshop and in the car on trips to New England.

It’s a driver of my life-long love for music. A step on the journey to so many hours learning from you all about how to get better sound. Thank you for that.

My uncle died in 2015.

His dad taught woodworking to high schoolers. Supposedly the Adirondack Chair is his design, but that’s not confirmed. We have furniture he built all over the house. A bedroom set made of Wormy Chestnut that’s now extinct. I imagine him shaping the wood with his hand tools that are up in the attic now. Granddad died a year before I was born.

My dad died a few years ago. He always wanted to make things perfect. He got the best score in the country on the “hands” part of the entry exam to dental school. Such careful attention to the details. Rest in peace.

Lots of great thoughts from you all about what it all means. The quality of experience resonates with me. For my family too, I think. Being fully present with well reproduced music is part of that for me. Appreciate you all being a part, too.

My father just died yesterday at the age of 92. I grew up listening to his 78’s and I still love old jazz to this day.

Thank you.

@qjm101

my condolescences for your loss

we should all strive for a well lived life of 92 years

listening to music can bring back to us such fond memories and thoughts of loved ones, family, friends, great performers

it is truly the magic of what results from this little hobby of ours done right... frank sinatra or tony bennett, young, vigorous, so full of life, performing right in front of us...

be well

I’m coming in late on this thread, having read the Op’s message on the digest. I hope bigkidz sees this, since it’s a bit closer to what happened in his life.

My friend Dave lived in PA very close to the Mason-Dixon Line. An eclectic dude, one of his interests in life was music, including playing trumpet in a local band in the mid-sixties. During that period, still in high school, he built both the Dynaco PAS pre-amp and Stereo 70 amp kits. A few years later, we all danced in front of them in the early 70’s.

Fast forward to half a dozen years back. Advanced prostate cancer and fast weakening of his body. The Dynaco stuff sat on a shelf in his house, not having been powered on for 30 years. He had a “better” setup in the room, decent 2010’s mainline items. While helping to care for him at intervals, I convinced him to let me see if I could if I could get this important part of our earlier lives functioning again. I wanted most of all for him to hear the tunes close to the way we heard them in our twenties.

I sent the Dynaco items to Joe Curcio “The Dynaco Doctor “, out in Washington state. Joe made them better than they were in the first place. However,  I wasn’t quick enough. My friend Dave died before he could hear the sublime 60’s tube sound available to anyone with a soldering iron, the ability to follow directions, and the willingness to try something they’d never done.

I miss my friend, but I can still connect the Dynaco pair from time to time. They still sound great, and every track has just a little more feeling, if you know what I mean.

Beautiful moving story too .... Thanks to you and to the OP  ...

bigkidz

A nice tribute to John (R.I.P.). We all lose some one close to us from Cancer.

Happy Listening!