The British audio company Keith Monks has been making record cleaning machines since 1969. Their latest effort, the Prodigy ($995), is perfect for home use. It uses a point suction technique and special fluid to clean records, moving a vacuum nozzle across the surface of the record while it spins. As a result, it can clean and dry both sides of an LP in under five minutes, while operating in virtual silence so as to not disrupt anything that's currently spinning on the turntable. The main cabinet, hardware, washing accessories, and cover are made from sustainable bamboo, and interior multi-colored lighting gives it an added boost of visual interest. So would you use this or use the old cleaner with a dust cloth? 

There's an art to restoring vintage bicycles. Is there not? That creativity and expertise translate to the pages of Vintage Bicycles: How to Find and Restore Old Cycles ($26.95) book. Penned by Gianluca Zaghi, one of the world's best restorers of classic racing bikes. This book includes set up instructions with step-by-step photographs, including the proper tools, products, and materials needed for restorations. Thirty of the most popular vintage models, including some from renowned Italian, French, and Swiss frame builders, are highlighted using commissioned photos along with the historical significance for each.

So for all those bike lovers out there.  This one goes to you.  Happy restoring and finding the perfect bike.

It was a sad day for DJ's and vinyl fans when the best turntables in the world suddenly went out of production. Well that mood is finally about to change due to Panasonic has announced that the Technics SL-1200 line is back with the brand new Technics SL-1200GAE Turntable ($TBA). This marks the 50th anniversary of the classic table, which is not only the preference for DJs, but also makes a great centerpiece in any home audio setup. The resurrected deck added some subtle design changes, along with a high sensitive tonearm and a brass top platter. The SL-1200 line will officially be back this summer and I for one will have to get me a pair.

So in this day and age we have wood, plastic and now we have vinyl glasses. Vinylize wants to revive vinyl and the way they are doing it is by designing designer glasses and sunglasses out of recyclable vinyl records. The idea spun off from the simple idea of creating eye-wear from recycled materials. Vinyl works great for this because its both a suitable material and there is sufficient quantities available.  Prices for these styles can very but just like any designer glass be expected to pay a higher cost. Check out all the styles on Vinylize.



Source: heldth.com

Italian illustrator Franco Brambilla who is devoted to sci-fi has created this series Invading the Vintage. He takes grandpa's old postcards and invades them with aliens from sci-fi movies and old tv shows. I'm sure this series will put a smile on a lot of Star Wars fans and those of the sci-fi community. I know it put a smile on my nerdy face. Franco does have prints available as well as calendars for sale here and you can check his flickr account here.

Swissted is an ongoing series by graphic designer Mike Joyce and owner of the Stereotype Design in New York.  He took two things that he enjoyed swiss modernism and punk and redesigned vintage punk show flyers into international typographic style posters. Each poster is sized to the standard swiss kiosk dimensions of 35.5 inches wide by 50 inches high and set in berthold akzidenz grotesk medium.

He states that all of these shows actually happened in his series. So I wanted to pick out some of the posters of bands that I have seen in concert. See below.

Check out all the other posters here: http://www.swissted.com/




Source: Wanken

The Keaton Music Typewriter is a rare found. According to CBS News, "There are fewer than a dozen known to exist". This bad boy will make it easier for you to write your music, compared to writting it out by hand. Just think how much time you could save. Since they are rare a username jackredbarn on Etsy has one available for sale.  But don't expect it to be cheap.

A little short history from musicprintinghistory.org:

The Keaton Music Typewriter was first patented in 1936 (14 keys) by Robert H. Keaton from San Francisco, California. Another patent was taken out in 1953 (33 keys) which included improvements to the machine. The machine types on a sheet of paper lying flat under the typing mechanism. There are several Keaton music typewriters thought to be in existence in museums and private collections. It was marketed in the 1950s and sold for around $225. The typewriter made it easier for publishers, educators, and other musicians to produce music copies in quantity. Composers, however, preferred to write the music out by hand.

For more information: http://www.aquaporin4.com/etcetera/ETC.25.pdf

Gumby and the gang have arrived today on the Google home page. This interactive doodle takes five bouncing clay balls which quickly take the shape of Gumby and the gang. Gumby was a hit animated television series that aired back in the 50's.  Even though it was aired in the 50's it has been a classic for most that were born in the 80s and part of the 90's.



Source: thehindubusinessline

A classic has been brought back and that is the Polaroid SX-70.  It was the very first folding SLR and the first camera to take integral instant film, only made up until 1977.  This limited edition Polaroid SX-70 isn't a modern remake of the classic, it is the classic, restored so it works just as well as it did back in the early 70's.

In being that it's a classic and it's a limited edition be prepared to pay $300 bucks for this baby. Currently, the site Photojojo is already out of stock but it looks like they will be shipping more in mid October.  In the mean time you can just use Instragram, but its got nothing on this camera.