By Oscar Johnson Guest Columnist I was in the U.S. Marine Corps stationed in Japan from September 1975 through April 1984 when I began my serious foray into the audiophile world. I had visited several of the local jazz shops, when I discovered that the Japanese were very very fond of American jazz recordings from the golden era of 1953 through 1962, where vacuum tubes were employed in the recording process. Unfortunately, the tides would change around late 1962 with the introduction of transistors due to the world's demands for more power, bandwidth and reliability. While frequenting said shops as well as record stores, I met two Japanese brothers, Harushido and Tsuyoshi, who, having seen my there over the course of five months, introduced themselves. I was quite taken by how well they spoke English, and within the course of the next few weeks, the older of the two, Harushido, asked if I'd like to visit their home about 10 miles just south of Osaka. Now, at this point in my life I didn't own an automobile, but they were kind to come to the base and pick me that same weekend.
Their home was unlike anything I knew of stateside, and caught me off guard with its construction -- a combination of bamboo and wooden planks. Nevertheless, I felt comfortable enough to enter a small room very similar to mud rooms we have here in the United States. They removed their shoes and, following suit, I joined them in a space which had to be all of 600 square feet. I noticed that their amplification components were seated in holes cut out near their seating area. The turntable (a Micro-Seike BL-10X ) sat atop a cocktail table that appeared to be made of ebony and rosewood, while the amp (an older Fisher model that escapes me ) drove a pair of Chartwell LS 3/5A's. This was the first time since listening to my father's system that I heard the sonics of Blue Note Records. However, at Harushido and Tsuyoshi's home, they had a certain sheen, as well as realistic timbre to them which I had not heard from pressings in either Canada or American during this time (circa 1982). They were Deep Groove Mono recordings I later discovered. Enchanted, I began to research the history of jazz recordings going back to the late 1940s, where 78 RPM records ruled the day, with 10" records to follow shortly afterwards. As time passed, the brothers took me by different types of shops, which were located in high rise buildings upwards of 13 floors, where each was dedicated to items likes tubes, soldering stations, internal audio components and more. I discovered that serious Japanese audiophiles were very taken with modding and building tube gear from scratch and perfectionists about the process of voicing their gear. At the time, I knew absolutely nothing about tweaking, cables and isolation devices -- I mean nothing -- but I'll never forget how Harushido and his younger brother, Tsuyoshi, taught me to listen with my eyes closed in a darkened room, focus my attention on the bass line and then very, very slowly pull back from the recording and allow the other instruments to come into focus around the bassist. It was only then that I developed an ear for pitch and timbre, and having somewhat mastered this, it became even clearer there was some form of emotional attachment to the spirit of the recordings, themselves, that I had lost sight of since the days of my youth, when my parents entertained friends on weekends, and my siblings and I would dance and laugh as if there was no tomorrow. This immersive experience went on for another two years before I decided not to reenlist because I wanted to come home. However, following my discharge, I spent another three months at the brothers home just talking about traditional jazz and life, itself. Now, I had met my wife, Michelle, in August of 1976, while home on leave and by December of this same year we married when I came home on leave for Christmas, which in hindsight was the greatest gift I've ever had (I didn't invite my wife to join me in Japan until I had earned said rank of E-5, or Staff Sargent, when I could afford a one bedroom apartment off base in 1982), We returned stateside in April of 1984 and she gave birth to twins on February 19, 1985 while visiting an aunt and uncle in Chicago, Illinois. Their names were Cameron Rafael (named after Michelle's kindly father, Ralph) and Camel'ah Christina (sort of after her Grandmother). I decided to get a second college degree (I'd obtain a AA Radiology degree from the University of Detroit in an advanced study program before shipping off to Japan). This time around, I wanted to dabble with graphic arts and, following graduation, I worked for a local magazine called Detroit Monthly, which primarily promoted upcoming entertainment events in and businesses around town. A year later, I was made Art Director and was responsible for laying and drafting ads for local businesses, colleges and public libraries. We had selected one of the local stereo shops who offered us a basic stereo system to be raffled off (anchored by a Rega Planar 2 turntable, Creek 4040 and Boston Acoustics A-40 speakers that also included a cartridge, wiring and stands). One weekend while working on their promotion, I visited their shop and was standing outside one of their demo rooms when I was approached by a middle age man. He asked me how I would describe what we were listening to. When I said that I felt the timbre on a Linn Sondek LP-12 was off, he asked my how was I able to pickup this. I explained and after the demonstration concluded, we discovered that the turntable's AC Plug had come partially loose from the wall outlet. I was about to leave when this same guy approached me again with a piece of paper in hand and asked if I wanted to be their primary hardware buyer, as he felt I had good ears and could find interesting product lines to bring into their two shops. He would pay for me to attend literature and factory tours to learn how to put tables together and so on. This was fortuitous as, at this time, things at the magazine started to fall apart (some of the staff members who worked alongside us started pulling our clientele away from us secretly as they began their own magazine called Hour Detroit). This opened up a fulfilling new means for part time work. I returned to my old job with Hutzel Hospital as a full time X-Ray technician (where I remained full time until 2004, when I was diagnosed with Gout), working three to four days a week, 12 hours a day to support the family, while my audio side work provided funds for my passion for sound. Throughout, I established lasting friendships with ex-coworkers and clients that stated they merely liked the way I took time to educate them on their upgrade options. Now, 16 systems later, I have finally arrived at a place where second guessing myself on audio gear purchases has become a thing of the past. I owe a debt of gratitude to Harushido and Tsuyoshi, who contributed immensely to my ability to voice a system by ear, according to how each component reacts to pitch and timbre. I have built upon those early lessons, and while it took me from 2009 until now to have created a system based upon said priorities, at last, I feel I've finally got it right. Along the way, I have researched tube brands many aren't even aware of, isolation footers and platforms, cabling harnesses, system optimization, room acoustics and much more, and while I'd never claim to have the best system, mine is fine tuned enough for all but a deaf person not to appreciate it for its sense of transparency, purity of note, neutrality and sense of emotional correctness above all else.
4 Comments
Steven Frost
7/11/2018 06:31:33 pm
NIce article. While Joe Louis grew up in Detroit, he was actually from La Fayette, Alabama.
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7/12/2018 07:22:05 am
Thanks, Steven! You are absolutely right. Here's a link to his professional record:
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Grant Rodgers
7/19/2018 11:01:13 am
I knew Oscar that you had spent time in Japan, I just didn't realize it was almost nine years - quite a chunk of time. Undoubtedly, the years you spent there shaped your musical acuity and your tastes. I love the attention to detail found in Japanese equipment, and even if we take something as unassuming as phono cartridges, the Japanese have a rich history of excellence. I can see why you are attracted to equipment like Shindo Labs, Kondo, and others. The importance you place on tonality is where I'm at too, I can live without the highest highs and the lowest lows, but tonality - yes please. I enjoyed your guest column and it helps me put context around some of our previous conversations. Well done, Grant
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Oscar Johnson
7/20/2018 05:05:08 pm
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