#ObjectOfTheWeek

Our #ObjectOfTheWeek is also a #NewAcquisition: How To Give Yourself A Stereo Check-Out by Decca Records (1967).

This 12” LP was not only a standard test record of the time, but is also a mini crash course in important audio concepts like wow & flutter, Sound coloration, channel phasing and more.

#LPRecords #stereo #records #VinylRecords #WowAndFlutter #ChannelPhasing #SoundColoration #decca #DeccaRecords #TestRecord #CultureOfSound #SoundBeyondMusic #MuseumOfPortableSound

A 12-inch LP record sitting on a shelf next to a pair of vintage 1970s KOSS stereo headphones (made of beige plastic and metal) and an EMI dictaphone audio recorder (a green metal box). The LP record's cover is a blurry photograph of an abstract pattern of coloured lights on a black background shot through gauze to make the lights look fuzzy. On the shelf in front of the LP record is a measuring stick marked in centimeters for scale.

The track listing from the LP record:

SIDE ONE

1. INTRODUCTION

2. LEFT-RIGHT CHANNEL IDENTIFICATION, LOUDSPEAKER BALANCE, AND CHANNEL PHASING.

3. MONOPHONIC MUSIC (FOR LOUDSPEAKER BALANCE AND PHASING). (Aldrich)

4. TONE CONTROLS

5. SOUND COLOURATION

6. STEREOPHONIC MUSIC (Aldrich)

7. GROOVE-JUMPING AND DISTORTION

8. SILENT GROOVES

SIDE TWO

1. LIVE VERSUS RECORDED SOUND

2. WOW AND FLUTTER

3. ANTI-SKATING BAND (WITH UNGROOVED SECTION)

4, CROSSTALK

5. MUSICAL SHOW-PIECE; EXTRACT FROM ‘‘HARY JANOS’’ (Kodaly), Istvan Kertesz conducting the LSO.

Museum of Portable Sound

6 months ago

Just arrived here at Museum of Portable Sound Laboratories: a specially designed archival box to store our newly-acquired Edison Gold-Moulded 'Black Wax' Cylinder (see this week's #ObjectOfTheWeek post), courtesy an anonymous donor! We're extremely grateful for this bit of kit. 🙏 🎁 😍

A grey archival storage box with a flop-top lid.

The archival box's lid is open, revealing a rectangular piece of card with a circular hole cut in one side.

Even closer view of the archival box, now with the rectangular card removed, revealing two storage compartments: one empty one for the cylinder's own custom tubular box, and another containing an x-shaped formation of two vretical rectangular pieces of card that will be slipped inside the hole in the middle of the wax cylinder, so that it can be used as a handle to remove the cylinder from the box without actually having to touch the cylinder. Brilliant!

Our custom version of the Timothee Chalamet Dune "what's in the box" meme. In our version, the priestess holds up our Edison Wax Cylinder before Timothee is seen screaming.

Museum of Portable Sound

6 months ago

Our #ObjectOfTheWeek: Unopened Maxell Original UR IEC Type I Normal Bias Compact Cassette (date unknown; presumed 1990s). Detail images courtesy Museum of Portable Sound Archives.

#Maxell #CompactCassette #CassetteTape #NormalBias #MagneticTape #Cassettes #Archives #MuseumOfPortableSound #ItsOkayToBeNormal

A garish pink, red & green plastic wrapped Compact Cassette tape sits on top of a tiny white pedestal underneath a round-topped glass vitrine.

Museum of Portable Sound

7 months ago

Our #ObjectOfTheWeek is also a #NewAcquisition for our #ResearchLibrary! On Recording: A Manifesto, by musician, producer, studio co-owner, and thinker Chris Schlarb is a beautiful 50-page philosophical treatise on the art of recording that’s focused on intent instead of gear. He & his wife Adriana opened Big Ego Studios n Long Beach, California in 2015 (the same year we opened our museum), but Chris has spent a lifetime absorbing recording knowledge.

#ChrisSchlarb #BigEgo #book

A small glass vitrine contains a small paperback book.

Museum of Portable Sound

7 months ago

Our #ObjectOfTheWeek is a #NewAcquisition: The 2nd MP3 Player in the World, the Diamond Rio PMP300 (Sept 1998, after S.Korea’s MPMan in March) – the 1st commercially successful MP3 player.

The Rio provoked the 1st RIAA lawsuit trying to kill MP3s (they lost bc their suit was based on the misunderstanding that the Rio was a recording device).

Even after 25 years, our Rio still plays the (terrible) files on its built-in 32MB storage.
#diamondrio #pmp300 #mp3player #mp3 #90s #portablesound

Our Diamond Rio PMP300 sits under a glass vitrine here at Museum of Portable Sound Laboratories. It is a black plastic device, with a small LCD screen above a circular control interface featuring nine separate buttons. A superfluous yet endearing label that simply says the word "DIGITAL" is at the top centre directly above the LCD screen; the word is written with a reflective metallic material that almost looks like rainbow-reflecting pixels when you tilt the device back and forth: a completely analog method of representing the concept "digital".

A closeup of the RIo under glass. You can't see them, but on the top of the device are three more buttons: MENU, MODE, and INTRO. The INTRO button plays the first 8 seconds of every track, since the LCD screen is unable to display any track title information, so this feature allows the user to quickly scan through everything to find their favourite track.

Our Diamond Rio PMP300, out from under the glass and being held in the right hand of our Director and Chief Curator. There is a pair of headphones plugged into the Rio's headphone port, and the LCD screen displays information, showing that it is turned on and working. There is a volume indicator, an arrow indicating that sound is playing, a large '01' which means it is playing the first track on its storage, there are minutes and seconds indicated next, a battery strength indicator, and a readout of what fidelity the MP3 file has been ripped to – this one says 128kbps, which nowadays is considered low quality but back in 1998 this was allegedly "CD quality", which was a lie.

Museum of Portable Sound

7 months ago

Our #ObjectOfTheWeek is our first #NewAcquisition of 2023: an IBM 224 ‘Executary’ Dictation Unit (1965) in a leather carrying case, for allegedly smart white men to record their thoughts on the go - onto large ‘dictabelts’- for their women secretaries to listen to & type up. (1/2)

#dictation #VoiceRecorder #1960s #dictabelt #IBM #BusinessMarket

A small glass vitrine sits on a wooden shelf. Under the glass is the IBM 224, a black metal rectangular device with silver plating on its front, several silver dials, and a large blue plastic switch. A centimeter measuring stick is provided for scale – the device is about the size of small hardcover book.

Another angle of the IBM 224 under glass, showing a large metal dial on its top and a textured silver switch.

The IBM 224 out from under the glass. A large built-in speaker is visible on its front, while a small built-in microphone is on the device's shirt-sided top.

Finally, a view of the IBM 224 out from under the glass and clad in its black leather carrying case, which has several windows cut in it for accessing switches, dials, the speaker, and the microphone.

North Herts Museum

7 months ago

#objectoftheweek William Ratcliffe captured this scene depicting the construction of a defensive shelter building on land between houses. Dating to around 1938 or 1939 this part finished work shows how ordinary residential streets in #Letchworth or #Baldock prepared for #war.

Museum of Portable Sound

8 months ago

Our #ObjectOfTheWeek is a Creative Zen Micro (2004), a 5GB hard drive- based portable audio player that also features a built-in FM radio tuner/recorder, voice recorder & microphone. Donated by @msmarypoppers.

#MP3Player #mp3 #creative #CreativeZen #CreativeZenMicro #MuseumObject #PortableSound #MuseumOfPortableSound

A small, handheld MP3 player – about the size of a compact cassette – displayed inside a glass vitrine. The face of the MP3 player is deep blue, while its back is bright white.

North Herts Museum

8 months ago

#objectoftheweek this wonderful fire pump stands in the museum window on Brand Street. Dating to about 1890 the pump was found in the early 70's by #Hitchin Fire Station Fire Officer Alan Patmore. Local fire engine expert Derek Wheeler MBE restored this pump in Alan's memory. #museum

North Herts Museum

9 months ago

#objectoftheweek in 2020 we acquired a large number of works by the Haggo family. Based in #Letchworth the Haggo's painted scenes from all around our district, giving us an amazing record of how things used to be. This one, painted by Margaret Haggo in 2002 is very close to home in #hitchin! On the back the very modest Margaret wrote "My sister (Christina) painted a similar view on the same day. It was much better and she sold it".

North Herts Museum

10 months ago

#objectoftheweek A top Christmas present of years gone by, who else owned a Spirograph? The Spirograph has an enduring appeal and is still a popular option for Christmas, decades on from its invention. These days you can also get variations such as travel sized Spirograph, Spirograph Junior and Spirograph Animator with light effects.

North Herts Museum

10 months ago

#Objectoftheweek Mother and daughter Agnes and Christina Haggo both created this similar view of Graveley. In Christina's version her mother Agnes is seen working on her own painting. #hitchin #hertfordshire

Museum of Portable Sound

10 months ago

Our #ObjectOfTheWeek: Ever Ready Batrymax B114 (1947), 1,5 & 69 volt. Used for powering portable radios, these batteries had to be wire-connected by the user in radios like the Marconiphone P17B.

#EverReady #EverReadyBattery #Batrymax #radio #PortableSound #SoundBeyondMusic #MuseumOfPortableSound #batteries #battery #power #voltage #1940s #1950s