British country clothing (photos)...

[Oldsarge]

 

[drpeter]

Scots, wha hae wi Wallace bled,
Scots, wham Bruce has aften led,
Welcome tae yer gory bed,
Or tae victorie.

Well, perhaps not so much with a hunting weapon...

 

[Tweedlover]

Being of Scottish descent, was once tempted to buy a kilt, but ultimately passed since I would only have worn it to the now defunct nearby Scottish festival. Did take up learning the Scots language however.

 

[Oldsarge]

Even though of Italian descent, I have kilts in three different tartans that i am entitled to wear. I was born in California and lived there nearly seventy years. California has an official tartan. I served in the US Army for 29 years, Active and Reserve. The Army has an official tartan. My University's teams are called the Highlanders and UCR has its official tartan. Unfortunately, as Tweedlover points out, Highland Games have disappeared in response to the pandemic. Damn!

 

[DCR]

View attachment 54115

Now that's proper shottie

 

[Oldsarge]

 

[Fading Fast]

⇧ Love the truck.

 

[drpeter]

Even though of Italian descent, I have kilts in three different tartans that i am entitled to wear. I was born in California and lived there nearly seventy years. California has an official tartan. I served in the US Army for 29 years, Active and Reserve. The Army has an official tartan. My University's teams are called the Highlanders and UCR has its official tartan. Unfortunately, as Tweedlover points out, Highland Games have disappeared in response to the pandemic. Damn!

Sarge, I recently picked up a Ninth Regiment New York State Guard bagpipe record from 1958. It was in an antique shop. I'll think of you while playing it.

 

[Oldsarge]

Sarge, I recently picked up a Ninth Regiment New York State Guard bagpipe record from 1958. It was in an antique shop. I'll think of you while playing it.

Migosh, you have actual turntable? I'm impressed. I don't even have a CD player anymore. I used to but somehow in the move it disappeared (as so many things do when we uproot and relocate).

 

[Oldsarge]

 

[drpeter]

Migosh, you have actual turntable? I'm impressed. I don't even have a CD player anymore. I used to but somehow in the move it disappeared (as so many things do when we uproot and relocate).

LOL, you missed my post some time ago about the various systems I have had and still have. I don't mean to hijack this thread, but maybe we can think of it as British Country Stereo Systems?

Listed below are the three systems I have or had. The second vintage system is actually now in my basement storage unit -- not enough space after I moved from my old flat into a new one! The Cambridge Sonata CD player from this second system has been integrated into the first vintage system in place of the Tascam cassette player. I had a stereo in every room in my two bedroom flat until I moved to my new digs in 2016 -- still two bedrooms, but somewhat smaller. I have cut and pasted the document I created some years ago after I had set up all three systems with the help of a very skilled friend, Steve, who routinely builds his own speakers.

The Japanese Nakamichi Dragon built by the WWII naval officer and sound engineer Etsuro Nakamichi, is arguably the best cassette player/recorder ever built ($2500 or so when new in the eighties). The West German Revox B77 reel-to-reel tape recorder and player, built by Willi Studer, is also up there among the top machines of its kind. I paid around $1000 apiece for each of these on eBay a decade ago. There is a smoked acryclic cover for the Revox that I bought for $300 on eBay, separately. Obsessions are strange things, I should know --I am a psychologist after all, LOL.

When I played a stereo cassette recorded by a friend from a Sarah Vaughn Denmark concert LP in the Nakamichi after first setting it up, it felt like I was standing in the middle of the concert hall. It is that good.

I made the pink oak speaker stands myself in Steve's woodworking shop under his supervision, same fellow I mentioned above. Sanded down finely, they look elegant as they are naturally, no need for varnish or paint. They also have a central hollow piece which can be filled with sand in a separate container slid in, to weigh down the speakers and prevent vibration, but I have not felt the need for this. The turntable sits on a piece of thick marble, heavy enough to prevent floor vibrations while walking from rattling the record that is playing. More obsession!

The Polk Audio speakers have ripened and mellowed with age, as more music is played through them. They are bookshelf speakers with close to concert hall performance, amazing value for $300 a pair. And I have two giant folders of documentation, manuals, etc., and a single row of audio books on my bookshelf. You've got to go all the way!

So now, what do I do? I listen to music on my computer, LOL. (Actually, I do use the stereo systems, but not as much as I used to)

AUDIO SYSTEMS

System Components are all vintage except when specified as new. The Modern System is built with entirely new (circa 2008) components

First Vintage System (VS-1):

Marantz 2220B Receiver and Integrated Amplifier
Dual CS 5000 Turntable with Ortofon X3-MC cartridge
Nakamichi Dragon 3-head Cassette Deck (Serial No. 19599)
Tascam 122 Mk III 3-head Cassette Deck
Revox B77 Mk I Reel-to-Reel Tape Recorder with Operational Smoked-Acrylic Cover
New Polk Audio RTi A3 bookshelf speakers
Two New Custom-Made Oak Speaker Stands with Hand-Milled Points

Second Vintage System (VS-2):

Nakamichi RE2 Receiver Integrated Amplifier
Dual CS 5000 Turntable with Audio Technica cartridge
Nakamichi CR-1A 2-head cassette deck (currently unconnected)
Nakamichi CR-3 3-head cassette deck
Celestion MP1 bookshelf speakers
New Cambridge Audio Sonata CD30 player (with a Wolfson WM8716 24-bit DAC)
Polk Audio PSW10 10” (100W 35Hz—200Hz) Powered Subwoofer

**NB: The “A” designation after CR-1 or other letter/number codes for Nakamichi indicates it is for the Americas

Modern System (MS-1):

Panasonic 50” Viera TH-50PZ80U Plasma Screen (2008)
Marantz Surround AV Receiver SR5003 (SN: 000836004534)
Focal Chorus 5.1 Audio Surround Sound System (2008)
(Saint-Etienne, France)
Two Chorus 706V Front Speakers
Chorus CC 700V Center Channel
Chorus SW 700V Subwoofer
Two Chorus SR 700V Rear Speakers
Two Bowers & Wilkins STAV24 Front Speaker Stands with Hand-Milled Points
Panasonic DMP-BD35 Universal/BluRay Player (2008)
Denon DP-300F Automated Turntable (2013)

Headphones:

New Sennheiser HD-600 Open Dynamic Professional Stereo Headphones (2009)
New Sennheiser RS 126 Stereo Headphones (2018)

 

[Oldsarge]

You'd have greatly appreciated one of my music history professors. The department bought brand new reel-to-reel recorders for the theater and when he unpacked the boxes he glared at them. All the bushings were (gasp) nylon! So he proceeded to take measurements and head over to the Physics Department machine shop and make duplicates--in brass.

The same guy bought a Lotus Elan, drove it for a while and noticed a crack in the paint. Suspecting that the crack went clear down into the fiber glass body, he decided to sand off the paint and follow the crack and re-glass it. When he had all the paint off the entire car, he figured that since he was going to have to rebuild the entire body, he might as well do all the running gear and electrical as well. A serious hobbiest.

 

[Oldsarge]

 

[drpeter]

You'd have greatly appreciated one of my music history professors. The department bought brand new reel-to-reel recorders for the theater and when he unpacked the boxes he glared at them. All the bushings were (gasp) nylon! So he proceeded to take measurements and head over to the Physics Department machine shop and make duplicates--in brass.

The same guy bought a Lotus Elan, drove it for a while and noticed a crack in the paint. Suspecting that the crack went clear down into the fiber glass body, he decided to sand off the paint and follow the crack and re-glass it. When he had all the paint off the entire car, he figured that since he was going to have to rebuild the entire body, he might as well do all the running gear and electrical as well. A serious hobbiest.

I suppose the brass bushings were perhaps less susceptible to vibration than nylon ones? Or maybe he just felt the brass fittings were more classy.

As for the Lotus Elan, I am not sure if he could have just re-glassed the crack. I worked with fibreglass once, on a friend's project-- building a water scooter, a small boat with a motorcycle engine driving an impeller, a kind or pre-cursor of modern jet-skis a couple of decades before them. We worked with bare hands, a big mistake -- the fibreglass gets into the skin, even the bloodstream, and your hands itch for days afterwards!

 

[Oldsarge]

I suppose the brass bushings were perhaps less susceptible to vibration than nylon ones? Or maybe he just felt the brass fittings were more classy.

As for the Lotus Elan, I am not sure if he could have just re-glassed the crack. I worked with fibreglass once, on a friend's project-- building a water scooter, a small boat with a motorcycle engine driving an impeller, a kind or pre-cursor of modern jet-skis a couple of decades before them. We worked with bare hands, a big mistake -- the fibreglass gets into the skin, even the bloodstream, and your hands itch for days afterwards!

Dr. Clinkscale (yes, that was his name and he really was a music professor) would have used gloves, and at least a mask if not a respirator. Not a man to take chances.

 

[drpeter]

Indeed, We were young and ignorant about such things. Masks and respirators were pretty much unknown in my part of India in the sixties, LOL. Heck, people who were working construction jobs in those days had no helmets, barely a shirt and pants, no shoes (they were barefoot). I am sure things have changed now.

 

[Oldsarge]

Indeed, We were young and ignorant about such things. Masks and respirators were pretty much unknown in my part of India in the sixties, LOL. Heck, people who were working construction jobs in those days had no helmets, barely a shirt and pants, no shoes (they were barefoot). I am sure things have changed now.

At least one would hope so!

 

[Oldsarge]

After the Shoot

 

[Tweedlover]

View attachment 54523

After the Shoot

I like the tie. I went with my usual cabernet sauvignon tonight.

 

[Tweedlover]

When I get the urge to look at an online provider of British country clothing, I like to check out the House of Bruar. They feature a lot of fine looking pieces. Also sell non-clothing items. Have never bought from them, however.