Bill Gates
Guest
- Location
- West Sussex
I've kept all my vinyl albums (those that I managed to get back from one of my ex wives), which I started collecting way back in the sixties. These days I mostly listen to some great music streamed from my massive library on ITunes on my PC. However every now and then I rummage through the stack of vinyl albums and place one on the deck.
It's a bit of a ritual. Each side is cleaned with the special brush to remove dust and static. The arm of the player is then lifted up and placed with precision on to the album as it spins. The sound quality if not better than digital is certainly different. It is a very personal experience and one which demands that you pay attention. You don't just put an album on to a deck and go away and do something else. And the memories they invoke. The other day I played an Elmore James Blues album that I had bought in a specialist Blues record shop in Finsbury Park London around 1968. We've got a pair of Ditton 44 speakers and to play "It Hurts me too" was just a joy.
For me it's the doing of something rather that the thing itself that counts. A bit like coffee. Most people I know reach for the instant coffee jar, take out a spoonful, and pour boiling water into the cup and then add milk. End of.
I buy raw Colombian coffee beans. Roast them in my coffee roasting machine to the right temperature and time for my taste. Grind them to the right granule size. Before infusing the coffee in the machine at 93 degrees for 30 seconds to get the espresso I like. It takes time but its worth it.
It's a bit of a ritual. Each side is cleaned with the special brush to remove dust and static. The arm of the player is then lifted up and placed with precision on to the album as it spins. The sound quality if not better than digital is certainly different. It is a very personal experience and one which demands that you pay attention. You don't just put an album on to a deck and go away and do something else. And the memories they invoke. The other day I played an Elmore James Blues album that I had bought in a specialist Blues record shop in Finsbury Park London around 1968. We've got a pair of Ditton 44 speakers and to play "It Hurts me too" was just a joy.
For me it's the doing of something rather that the thing itself that counts. A bit like coffee. Most people I know reach for the instant coffee jar, take out a spoonful, and pour boiling water into the cup and then add milk. End of.
I buy raw Colombian coffee beans. Roast them in my coffee roasting machine to the right temperature and time for my taste. Grind them to the right granule size. Before infusing the coffee in the machine at 93 degrees for 30 seconds to get the espresso I like. It takes time but its worth it.
Last edited: