A break from our usual format...

If you ever had one of those "101 Electronic Experiments" sets as a kid, you may very well relate to this episode; we hear how our host, Mark Alan Jay came to know electronics, first around the age of 5 and then into his teens and adult life.

He talks about a few key experiences involving radio - first with a crystal radio set given as a gift which he then built with his father's help, as well as a kit from Dynaco for an FM tuner for his stereo system as well as sound recording technology that changed how he saw the world around him and arguably pointed him toward electronics, audio, and ultimately, engineering. We also hear how his reading appetite led to him to pore over a series of do-it-yourself (DIY) construction projects found in a collection of books purchased by his father.

From crystal radios, to building his own loudspeakers and stereo components to a point where he decided to split his high school days between college preparatory classes in the morning, and studying electronics in the afternoon. He eventually went on to earn his degree in electrical engineering, launching him into a career in signal processing, recording, acoustics, noise, and vibration, and running the acoustics laboratory for a major automotive supply corporation before pursuing his own consultancy business.

One never knows where inspiration may strike, but in this episode he reflects upon those key experiences of building electronic kits, and how those helped to define a career path for him, and why giving kits (of any kind, really) to those with young, impressionable minds can help them flourish.

You can follow Mark's musings and efforts via his llc on instagram ( immersifi_recording_sevices ), as well as Facebook ( immersifi recording services LLC )

Our post-summer hiatus episode...Episode 9 picks up where episode 8 left off. That is, in episode 8 we met Dr. Mark French, University Professor and Luthier, and Michael Harrington, professional musician / session guitarist / pedal steel guitar player.

Episode 8 was really focused on Dr. French and his skills building guitars over the past three decades. In this episode, we get a sort of Reader's Digest version of just how the pedal steel guitar works. Michael Harrington has been playing said instrument for the past five years or so, and has really embraced the same.

In this episode, he explains the construction of the guitar, as well as gives some demonstrations. Moreover, he speaks a bit about its development and just how it came to be such a staple in Country and Western music (and of course, in pop music as well).T

here's also a brief revisit to the two guitars that were featured in Episode 8 in order to allow the listener to hear the guitars back-to-back. This was done because it allows the listener to much better discern the differences in timbre (pronounced "tamber") between the two guitars, because the comparison is immediate.

Do you like guitars? Have you ever thought about building a guitar, or playing one? Maybe you've thought about both? Do you think you know the sound of a great guitar when you hear it? Do you think you know what makes a guitar sound great?

In this episode we discuss the practical and philosophical elements of luthiery with Dr. Mark French, a Professor at Purdue University's School of Engineering Technology. You may know Dr. French from his YouTube channel, where he addresses a wide variety of engineering topics, or, perhaps you know him from his three published books on Acoustic Guitar: "Engineering the Guitar: Theory and Practice", "Acoustic Guitar Design", and "Technology of the Acoustic Guitar". He's also published more than 100 technical papers on noise and vibration, and several articles in various publications. He has also provided (and continues) technical consultancy services to some very well known guitar manufacturers.

If you know stringed instruments you probably know the names Bob Benedetto, Carleen Hutchins, Paco Chorobo, and Charles Fox. How do they feature in this podcast? Tune in to find out.

We also discuss the unusual career path to luthiery taken by Dr. French, as well as his educational background and related work experiences that give him some rather - for the lutherie community - most unusual insights and perspectives into building and testing acoustic guitars. We also discuss some elements of his employment history that, oddly enough, happen to cross paths with the podcast host, Mark Alan Jay.

Michael Harrington is a professional musician who hails from Ann Arbor, Michigan. He's a 2016 graduate of Eastern Michigan University where he studied Classical Guitar; he's been playing guitar professionally since the age of 19. As a result of an independent study during his Senior year at Eastern, Michael also published an article in Just Jazz Guitar magazine on the great jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt.

Mr. Harrington primarily freelances in - but not limited to - the southeast Michigan area performing on six-string guitar as well as pedal steel guitar for live performances and studio sessions. He's worked with musical acts Mark Jewett, Adam Plomaritas, Linen Ray, Rachel Brooke, Bovine, Royal Garden Trio, Fun on the Frets, and others. Apart from private teaching services for his guitar students, Michael has also performed as part of various musical theatre orchestras for live musical theater events in Michigan and elsewhere.

For this episode Michael agreed to sit-in in order to play two guitars built by Dr. French, as well as to discuss guitars in general. The two guitars were tracked in the recording space at immersifi recording services, llc and brief recordings of each are featured in this podcast (with minimal processing to preserve their true sonic characteristics). Episode 9, currently slated for publication on August 1, 2023, continues the discussion about what makes a bad, good, great, and legendary-sounding acoustic guitar, but also, takes an unusual turn in that the pedal steel guitar is featured; Mr. Harrington delves into some of the historical and practical elements of pedal steel, as well as provides us with some demonstrations on the same.