My retro hifi - A Pioneer PL-200x record player, SA 508 Amp and Warfdale speakers

I used to stalk an LP. I'd see it in a shop, study the cover images, read the sleeve notes and save all my money just to get my hands on this piece of magic. When I got home I'd play it over and over again until I absorbed every note, every little phrase. But never would I get bored with it and even today I can play these records over and over and still get the same enjoyment.

Here I am at home with my Pioneer PL-200 record deck, my Pioneer SA-508 add and warfdale speakers. I bought this set-up in 1980 but lost it (I suspect that it is hidden away somewhere, either in my house or one of my sons). I had to buy it again on ebay and it still sounds great.

I don't play CDs any more, vinyl sounds so so much better. LETS ALL GO BACK TO VINYL.

Portable digital recorder for recording live gigs

I've found a great wee tool for recording my gigs. It's the TASCAM DR-07 portable digital recorder. Easy to use and very affordable at £130.

I use it to record my solo gigs as wav or mp3 files. I can then transfer them to my Mac, do some editing and use them as samples on my website (www.arthurwilson.info).

It is so so easy to user, just switch it on, point it at he sound and press record. The quality is really good as mp3 and if I want better, I can choose wav.

You can plug it into the mains, or use two AA batteries. It also comes with a 2gig SD card, so you can start recording right away. And if you manage to record something that you want to keep, you can use the included USB cable to copy it to your PC or Mac.

For more details, see: http://www.tascam.com/products/dr-07.html

Here are a few sample live mp3s:

• Jock o' Hazeldeen
  
• This boy
  

AER Acoustic Amp for singer guitarist

I well remember the days when I had houwf speakers, stands and mixers in and out of halls and spend about half an hour getting set-up ready for my gig. All in the past now because, I've splashed out on an AER Compact 60 acoustic amp and it is brill! What a clear full sound I get, well worth the money.

It has two channels, one for an XLR Mic and the other for the guitar. It has a few simple reverb effects which you can pan to the Mic or guitar channel and you can sit it right next to you and get very little feedback. I've also done a few gigs with my mate who has one the same and you can link them up using the aux send and receive.

The AER Compact 60 is very light and it can be attached to the top of a mic stand. It also comes with a very hand carrying case with pockets that can be used to carry mics, cables etc.

So if you are a solo vocalist guitarist who plays small halls, go for it!

Prestonpans Airts Burns Club Supper

There is a great wealth of talent coming out of the Prestonpans Airts Burns club these days. This was evident at the annual burns supper that took place on Saturday 27th January at the Royal Musselburgh Golf Club.

A handful of new members have given the club a new lease of life and with Ian giving the Immortal Memory and Billy and Gordon giving excellent renditions of some of burns classic works, it augers well for the future.

Another excellent speaker is Tom who gave the immortal memory in 2005, and on the musical side, Tony sang an played Ye banks and Braes and The Braes o' Killiecrankie-O (A big change from his days in the Panther rock band when Deep Purple was his favourite choice of song!).

It was a family affair for myself with my father-in-law Davie Jefferies being the honorary president of the club, Iain Jefferies being my brother in-law and my oldest son, Stephen Wilson attending the supper for the first time. (Stephen and his Grandpa Jeff pictured to the left).

I was asked along to sing Now Westlin' winds and Aye Waulkin' o, probably two of my favourite songs. Now Westlin' Winds is a beautifully crafted song that describes the tension between man and nature and also describes the joy felt by the young Robert Burns as he walks out with his Peggy dear on a beautiful autumn evening. The song is truly a work of art. Aye Waulin' o' is a sad song about a young woman who is unable to sleep for thinking of her estranged lover. I'm asked to sing all types of songs while entertaining in bars and also when playing at dances but these songs are my favourites.

As you may have guessed it was a very successful evening and I'm really looking forward to the next one.

Prestonpans Labour Party new year bottle party 2007

The annual new year bottle party took place in the Prestonpans Community Centre on Saturday 6th 2007. I think we must have been doing this gig for about twenty years.

The first one was in the Pans Town Hall, my mate Hessel organised a wee band featuring himself, Jimmy Currie, Hecker and myself. I remember it well, Jimmy walked in and I said,"What's in the case Jimmy, yur accordion?", to which he replied, "Naw! the carry oot". So of course we got wired into the bevy and played on until the police arrived and told us to stop at about 3am. The Town Hall is right next to the police station so that didn't help. But sense prevailed and the annual event was moved to the Community Centre and for many years the legendary bottle party carried on well into the next morning!

We've had many great bottle party gigs and this years was one of the better ones. The usual suspects got up to sing, Hessle, Colin T, Stuart and Davie, oh and the young woman who works in the Gothenburg but I can't remember her name, she was pretty good.

I was also very luck to be able to borrow Iain's 1965 custom powder blue Rickenbacker guitar for the gig.

What a joy to play and great sound and it looks so so cool! Thanks Iain.

Hogmanay gig

Don't normally play Hogmanay but Steven Cross at the Prestoungrange Gothenburg asked us and I thought, why not.

It was a sell-out and a champagne reception and meal at 7pm. We started playing at 8.30pm and had a really good sound. It was packed and the crowd were almost sitting on the stage.
People were up dancing from the start, the piper played in the New Year then we all sang "A Guid New Year" and "Auld Lang Syne". What a great night!

Hopefully we'll be asked back next year!

Have a look at my new web site www.arthurwilson.info

Prestoungrange Gothenburg September weekend 2006

Prestoungrange Gothenburg, great pub!

The place was heaving' and I was a bit nervous as the majority of the crowed were below 25 and I wasn't sure if they like some of my set.

We were supposed to play from 9 until 11pm but Stevie asked us to start at 8pm. I was still at home but Stuart had started by the time I arrived. So I got tuned in and we started to play together.

We were using Stuart's PA, a Peavey amp with two Hi Sys speakers, not all the channels work properly and I had trouble getting a decent sound. We had mic-ed up the piano and there wasn't much space - fortunately we avoided the old mic - face basing routine that usually happens at these type of gigs.

I've been giving Stuart a bit of stick for singing the same boring songs, so it seems to have worked as he sang a lot of new songs including songs by The Arctic Monkeys, Kooks and the Zutons; well done the Treg!

I had planned some new songs but wasn't confident with them and it was not the type of gig for trying out new stuff, we had to keep it going, so we did our usual set, I sang "Crazy", "It must be love" etc. and Stuart did "That's entertainment," "Substitute" and the usual stuff and it went really well.

We finished at about 11.15pm and Stevie asked us to play another half hour so we did and "500 miles" went down a storm with the Hibies giving it lauldy after that afternoons results (Hibs 2, Rangers 1).

Stuart headed off to the dasher (another local pub) just before 12 and I shouted last orders and grabbed a much needed pint of Fowlers IPA and it was going down a treat when Margaret who was in my class a school asked me to sing "American Pie". I used to sing it as secondary school when it was first released in the early 70s so just for her I blasted out the full version. Well, they were up on the tables singing a long, I think I'll keep that one for the end next week. Oh, and I finished up with "Wake me up when September ends", I just love that song.

Catherine and I were invited to a party back at Brian's and I had a few beers and some Champaign. Felt great on Monday morning! A good gig!