I just uploaded some new random cell phone photos

The most current shots are at the start of this slideshow.  

If you have nothing at all to do you can keep watching the show for almost 10,000 photos.  New shots will be added automatically to this post.

One of the many shots in this collection

Amazing Auto Body Repair

A few days ago my car was parked.  It was damaged by another vehicle who was parked behind my car.  The owner of the car who caused the accident was very nice and put me in contact with Jesse Anguiano at
http://ultimatefinishesmobileautobody.com/

Jesse and his crew arrived at my house at 11am.  They were done in less than 30 minutes.  My cell camera does not do justice to their work which is superb.

Very cool folks.  Terrific work. If you are in the So Cal area these folks should be your first call for any body repair requirement.

Before

After (in less than 30 minutes)

Thanks again to Ultimate Finishes Mobile Auto Body.  You can also find them on facebook at

www.facebook.com/pages/Ultimate-Finishes-Mobile-Auto-Body/158125687608086

A bit of amp blueprinting from the past

I was going through some records on some customers amps from the past.  I came across one blueprinting session that was a little different than most as these were preamps which contained eight tubes.  There were also multiple units that were very different as the model had changed in revision levels over it's production life. 

I thought that going over some of the data would shed a little light on some of the process of blueprinting and some of the ways that tubes are very inconsistent.

Bogner Fish Preamp - 8 12AX7 tubes.

Click on "read more" for the complete story.

3-13-12 - A day at 65 Amps

It has been a while since I wandered around the shop over at www.65amps.com and took some snapshots. 

Today seemed like as good of a day as any. Activity is on the increase with the Producer, the Empire and the Ventura amps in production added to the continued requests for amps like Lil' Elvis, Tupelo and Soho. 

These shots are raw format. There is no cropping here. No photoshop, color enhancement or alteration of any sort. I just walked around the shop and took about 110 snapshots in less than 15 minutes. If you have issues with my composition that is part of my snapshot style. If I wanted terrific shots I would call in one of my great photographer friends :)

If you look around the shop you will find Lil' Elvis hiding all over the place. 

Vacuum Tubes Today and NOS

Vacuum tubes continue to be used today in high end audiophile equipment in the recording industry, home and in music instrument amplification.  Guitar amplification utilizes the highest percentage of current vacuum tube production.

I have been publishing test report results on the subject of vacuum tubes since 2002.  The news is not good news.  The trend is not a good trend.

If you click on the above image it will enlarge to a more readable size.  I will refer to this image later in this piece.

For more just click on "read more" below

Tube Test - 12AX7 Tung Sol Reissue

This was the last run in January 2012 of the Tung Sol Reissue that I performed at the request of Dan Boul over at www.65amps.com

This is the current "Tung Sol" tube from New Sensor.  This is the tube which was tested

To see the full story click on "read more" below

Tube Test - JJ ECC803S

Test results of the JJ ECC803S Long Plate vacuum tube.

Today I spent a bit of time working with Mike Franceschini over at 65 Amps.  Mike wanted a bit of data on some of the tubes used in the new Producer from the folks at 65 Amps.

In one of the positions of the design they use a JJ 803S.  There were some anomalies that were thought to be tube related.  I was asked to investigate.

Click on "read more" for the full report.

Etymotic Earphone problem?

This piece is less about the actual product and more about Etymotic's customer service.  There was a problem and I contacted Etymotic in two different ways, twitter and direct email.  I was hoping to be contacted to discuss the problem.  Unfortunately all I received were links to their website. Bottom line, their customer service would be just as effective if it were outsourced somewhere across a major ocean.  Even though this company is based in the USA it seems we were not speaking the same language.

My son has had a set of these earphones for 14 months.  The cord is deteriorating.

In my quest to point out the best in products, the worst, the fairly priced, the overpriced, good customer service and bad customer service I thought this would be a good subject for my next blog piece.

My son knows high end audio.  He knows how to take care of things.  He is careful with his equipment.

I would like to say that my son is happy with the sonic quality of the product.

The MC5 may be a good value for the money from some design points but their lackluster customer service and materials they use in their construction leave much to be desired.  If you want another one of those throw away products that die about the time the warranty expires consider yourself informed.   

If you wish to read the details just click on the "read more" link below.

A few photos over the last few days

Here are a few photos from President's Day weekend, 2-18-12 to 2-20-12

Cell phone shots, not what anybody would call high quality but it does say something ... what is says I don't know.

Lemon Scallops from Frontier Wok in Burbank

A few photos - 2-18-12 evening

It has been said the a picture is worth 1,000 words.

Thank you Gabriela Maria Gutierrez for the use of your cellphone which has flash so I could augment some of my own cell shots.