PART TWO: Creating a searchable database of all my thousands of LP recordings.

Gentle reader,

My last post introduced to you what I've been up to lately. Normally I write about the latest stereo equipment, etcetera. But quite frankly, or as one of the made up names I'd give if being interviewed on TV News: "Frank Quitely", I am COMPLETELY SATISFIED with the stereo. I know my wife won't believe me, but I am. In fact, of the three pairs of speakers in the Listening Room, the modified Minimus 11 speakers are my favorite. They and the modified Minimus 7 speakers that I also wrote about are some of my most read of my posts. But I digress.

I have successfully completed the listing of CLASSICAL music LP records. It took many hours over many days and each and every one of the records was carried from the the shelf in the other room, in groups of ten, laid in front of me on the desk and each cover examined, each record pulled out and also examined. Then the needed data was typed in to each category.

The categories for Classical music are: COMPOSER, MUSIC PLAYED, ORCHESTRA, CONDUCTOR (and soloist if there was one) RECORD CONDITION, PRESSING NUMBER (if present) YEAR MADE, WHERE RECORDED/MADE, CHANNEL NUMBER and NOTES.

Below is a photograph of a small part of the database:

Photo made handheld with my fantastic Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 camera with it's extremely sharp Leica DC VARIO-SUMMICRON lens. f2.0 @ 1/100th of a second.

This is only a small slice of the list. AND, this is only the beginning. I wanted to give you an update and will continue to as each shelf of LPs is entered. And yes, I DO like Tchaikovsky. As a young man in Richmond, Virginia, every Forth of July, we would go to a place called Dogwood Dell where there is a natural amphitheater converted to a usable one (can't have people sliding down the rocky face, now can we?). Anyway, the Richmond Symphony selected a smaller group of musicians, call them "Pops" if you will, to give a 4th of July concert. Like they do in Washington, D.C. every year. Like that performance it always ends with the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky. Behind the band shell were placed two Howitzer cannons manned by and provided by Soldiers from Fort Lee. I could go on, but being THAT close to real, modern cannons firing is quite an experience!

Back to what I'm supposed to be writing about. Here is what I deduced from reviewing all that data I painstakingly entered:

CLASSICAL RECORD COLLECTION

860 INDIVIDUAL RECORD PACKAGES CONSISTING OF:

BOXED SETS OF RECORDS:                                        66

DOUBLE ALBUMS:                                                         14

TOTAL ALBUMS WITH MORE THAN ONE LP:             80 

TOTAL NUMBER OF CLASSICAL ALBUMS:              860

NUMBER OF LPs IN ADDITION TO SINGLES:           256 

TOTAL NUMBER OF DISCS:                                      1116 

PROMOTIONAL ALBUMS (NOT FOR SALE):               8

AUDIOPHILE REISSUE ALBUMS:                               22

DIRECT METAL MASTER ALBUMS:                             2

COLORED AND/OR CLEAR ALBUMS (RED):              2

ALBUMS WITH NON-RIAA CURVE (NAB):                   1

1812 OVERTURE WITH REAL CANNONS:                 18 

THE OLDEST RECORD IN GROUP:                        1949 
QUADRAPHONIC (FOUR CHANNEL) ALBUMS:        26
MONOPHONIC (SINGLE CHANNEL) ALBUMS:       153

With respect to the last entry above, I would like to have a separate MONO system to play just MONO albums but realize it's silly. Plus, unless it is something I really want to hear that I only have in MONO, I generally don't play them. 

Now, if that word: QUADRAPHONIC is puzzling you. A brief explanation. In the early 1970's or late 1960's record companies and electronic companies worked on ways to expand simple stereo music reproduction into "Surround Sound". Stereo speakers in front, two Rear Channel speakers behind the listeners. While most everyone has experienced that phenomena today, back then it was a wild idea. Google it for more info if you wish. There were numerous ways they came up with to achieve the goal  and like so many competing electronic "wars" later on, one came out the winner. That was Sansui's QS. Dolby later bought their algorithms or whatever and came out with their Pro Logic Surround  Sound for home movies on VHS (which won the videotape "war" over Sony's Betamax). 

The black device seen in the photo below the end of this posting is a modern update to Dynaco Electronics answer to "active" Quad by their Dynaquad box with passively simulated Quad.

But enough about that. I have other posts about that and many other subject you can read if you wish. For specifics, Google The Robb Collections and add whatever word or subject to see if I once wrote about it. Or look through the listing of most often read postings listed below.

Thanks for looking!

Scott