True Hi-Fi

[covalongacurta]

hi ! Have you ever listened to those music machines from the XIX century with real intruments inside where one have to put a perfurated card with the song to listen to music ? I heard a couple of them and my jaw droped ! Those relics are true orchestras without musicians ! If high-end exists are those old machines though real instruments are more than high-end

[fscl]

Like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm2uvxqbUEc&NR=1

They are amazing...... digital punch cards driving real analog instrumentation.....

Happy listening.

Fred

[Whitneyville]

Except that the machines couldn't reproduce the "feel" of "Rag-Time". The Creole "feel" of being a 64th of a beat early or late, very few musicians ever learn. It's like playing Bach's "Well Tempered Clavier" without sounding like a music machine. You have to "come up for air".

[JoeE SP9]

They can't swing! It's something many classically trained musicians can't do either. Listen to the Boston Pops trying to play Sing, Sing, Sing for a good example.

[Mark E Smith's Dentist]

Interesting. Digitally reproduced music that's accurate but somehow uninvolving




JT

[satanfriendly]

I was at a steam festival in North Wales last year and quite a number of these made an appearance.

Loved it.

Bit oversized for the living room though as most needed a lorry to cart them around. In a similar manner to EMT decks.

[covalongacurta]

i saw them in an old castle ! There were nice machines like a gramophone with two pick ups called ecophone made by pathé . That's not a stereo machine. In fact one pick up captures the sound before the other and produces an echo effect ! There was also an automatic piano using a perfurated card. Each hole on the card equals a note when the air produced by a mechanism go past the hole it activates a key on the piano... Nice machines !

[satanfriendly]

There was also an automatic piano using a perfurated card

Better known as pianola or autopiano. I once went for a meal with my wife including a piano rendition, which turned out to be exactly one of these. Bit of a cheapskate effort, but I will say the musical timing was perfect.

[fscl]

Except that the machines couldn't reproduce the "feel" of "Rag-Time". The Creole "feel" of being a 64th of a beat early or late, very few musicians ever learn. It's like playing Bach's "Well Tempered Clavier" without sounding like a music machine. You have to "come up for air".

Which is a perfect opportunity to re-post this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/19/scien ... sic&st=cse

The "Sounds of Science"

OK, been effected by the Oh Henry punster.....

Happy machinations.......aka coinolas, nickelodeons, etc....

Fred

[flavio81]

I seriously recommend you guys to listen to Pat Metheny's "Orchestrion" album. It's one of his latest albums.

[mysticfred]

A whole museum of Pianolas and Organs near me in Brentford, London by the Thames, visited it some years ago...

http://www.organfax.co.uk/clubs/musicalmuseum/

.

[fscl]

I seriously recommend you guys to listen to Pat Metheny's "Orchestrion" album. It's one of his latest albums.

Haven't heard the entire album, however, caught his interview a while back:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... =124553486

Along with a couple of selections.......

Pat M. says

"Because I'm a jazz guy, there's going to be this question of interactivity and blah blah blah," he says. "The thing is, with this, I've created a world for myself where I can interact with dozens of different things a dozen different ways."

Most listeners probably won't know that they're hearing automated instruments on Metheny's new album. But when they see it in concert, they'll know.

"I expect it to be a character-building experience when things don't work," he says. "Which is going to happen — I mean, we're talking about hundreds of moving parts here. One night, that one isn't going to work, I know it. And when that happens, solo guitar, baby!"

Fred and wondering if this actually happened on tour....