Whilst I was living in Long Island. NY, I took time to have my ancient Teac A3400 (affectionately known as "Terry") serviced by a company called "New Jersey Factory Service Inc" based in Emerson, NJ. They describe themselves as "Your Reel to Reel Experts" and they did a great job. The old lady is working better than ever she did!
Not faring so well are all the old reel-to-reel tapes in the basement, that seem to shed ferric particles every time they are played! Some, in fact, are barely playable. So, I've been trying to copy them onto the computer (with Terry's help of course). It's been fun revisiting recordings made in college days... and having the technology on the computer to remix some of them.
One such song was a little ditty titled "Musical Friend" which I remixed, posted on Facebook and it seemed to be enjoyed by numerous folk. One lady told me she just let the "Adrian Music" keep playing all afternoon, as once the song had finished it moved onto the next in the list. Good to know my dulcet tones can still keep folks engaged! As a result of F.B. folk giving it a listen it rose to the top of Soundclick's acoustic folk charts. (See illustration at end of post lol).
The song is all about the comfort that my musical friends... in particular musical instruments... have given me over the years. Music is a wonderful place to dwell when everything else in your life is chaos. Playing music with others is preferable... but when that's not an option I'm happy to escape to a land whose only border is my imagination. I highly recommend it. Some folk journal. Others take a walk. Me? I play. It's amazing how a little creative meandering can clear your mind.
I see Teac A3340 vintage machines are selling on E-Bay for up to $700 in good condition. We are currently downsizing... but getting rid of Terry would be like selling a much loved pet purely for monetary gain. I know. It'll happen one day. But for now, I'm very thankful indeed for all my musical friends, both human and mechanical!
