=-> Quoting Rick Mcbroom to Martin Ridgley re: Mike Auldridge/Hi-Fi VCR:

 **> re: bluegrass music....
 RM> I'm in awe of Bill Monroe, in particular. Perhaps not coincidentally,
 RM> I lean towards other early and influential artists when I listen to
 RM> Blue-grass. The Stanley Brothers, the Osborne Brothers, Flatt &
 RM> Scruggs, etc. I like plenty of more modern outfits, too.

   I was introduced to bluegrass music by a friend who has an extensive
 collection including a lot of early influential artists like the ones
 you mentioned.  So I heard a lot of that stuff at his place.  I liked
 the music a lot, but I was in my early twenties at the time and preferred
 the sound of newer recordings.  ;-)
   The Seldom Scene had just released their first album and I fell in love
 with the group as well as with several other contemporary artists of that
 time.  As you know, I followed Mike Auldridge's other career outside the
 Seldom Scene.  I also really liked J.D. Crowe's band, The New South which
 featured a couple of great young players by the names of Ricky Skaggs and
 Tony Rice.  So I followed their careers as well.
   Of course, Chris Hillman has always drifted in and out of bluegrass
 music.  My interest in The Byrds also caused me to want to hear more of
 Clarence White's playing.  I discovered him working with the New Kentucky
 Colonels and The White Brothers.  And I also bought early '70s recordings
 by Norman Blake, David Grisman, Dan Crary, Doc Watson, etc.
   That naturally led me to the kind of acoustic jazz that players like
 Tony Rice, David Grisman, and Bela Fleck started to record in the later
 part of the '70s.  And that's mostly where my tastes in acoustic music
 have remained.  I don't buy a lot of true bluegrass these days, but I do
 listen to a lot of stuff that either borders on bluegrass or is derived
 from it in some way.

 RM> WEVL/Memphis has several shows devoted to Bluegrass, and I listen
 RM> to those quite regularly. One features "New Grass" in particular, and
 RM> that's where I hear them, mostly. The Seldom Scene are just one of
 RM> those bands that's fallen through the cracks...

   Their very early material was bluegrass, but they're not purists.  They
 soon they started pushing the boundaries of the form a bit.  On a couple
 of albums they have drums and pedal steel guitar, which made them much
 more country-sounding than true bluegrass.  I went off them around that
 time and explored other artists.

 RM> BTW, I also love Bluegrass live! There's a regular jam session in
 RM> Memphis, and I get out to that maybe 3 or 4 times a year. There are
 RM> seldom any nationally known artists.. but it's always a good time!

   Yes!  My friend and I went to quite a number of concerts and bluegrass
 festivals together.  We'd always take our guitars to the festivals and
 play around the camp-fires in the evening.  Great fun!  :-)

 RM> (Hi-Fi VCRs as audio tape decks)

     Thanks for the info about stereo and hi-fi decks.  Not having
 looked at VCRs for many years, I was not aware of some of that.

 RM> One caution when buying a Hi-Fi Stereo deck of the VHS variety;
 RM> the 4 hour speed is not supported by some decks in the record mode.

   Yeah, I was already aware of this, but thanks anyway.  :-)
   I don't have any tapes recorded at that speed.  Because of the
 obvious deterioration in sound (and picture) quality I've only ever
 taped musical programmes at regular speed.

 RM> I'm amazed at how durable those first-generation VCRs actually are.
 RM> I know LOTS of folks who have decks that old, or even older, and
 RM> they work fine.  ....
 RM> It wouldn't surprise me if the thing ran for another decade, with no
 RM> problems.  What brand is it?

   It's a JVC.  It's been very reliable.  But it won't be around for
 another decade.  I want to get a Hi-Fi machine some day soon.

    Cheers,
             Martin
            ~~~~~~~~