Aside from Mingering Mike, the other bit of turntable-related posting I’ve been meaning to do concerns Sean Duffy. Back in November I did a post about one of Duffy’s pieces (above left), which as you can see is a turntable with three tone-arms. In that post I mentioned Janek Schaeffer, who has also been using tri-tone arm turntables for ten years now. Here’s the relevant bits:
…I hope Duffy [is] familiar with Janek Schaefer, a sound artist/DJ who has been using a Tri-Phonic Turntable (above right) since 1997. Two of the tone arms on Schaefer's turntable face one direction and the third plays in reverse; he can also reverse the direction of the turntable itself and therefore invert the 2:1. What's more, he can stack records on top of each other, playing three records simultaneously on one turntable.… I'm not familiar with Duffy's work, and a cursory google seems to point to many other projects (turntable-related and not), but this one, at least, has been done (and better). Duffy's looks better, but on a purely functional level Schaefer's is far more interesting.
Well, two months after that post, Duffy came across it and he emailed me. With his permission—myself two months late!—here is his response:
Yes, I know who Janek Schaefer is. I discovered his work a year or so after I made my first turntable in 1999. Although I've never see it in person, it looks interesting. And I agree his work is definitely more functional and mine looks better.
I don't know who else knows about Schaefer but it seems like every time I show one of my turntables someone brings up a different person whose done something along these lines. Maybe it'll become a movement all it's own.
Well, I’ve now made three posts about turntable art—so you may be right! I hadn’t realized that Duffy had been making his turntable pieces for such a long time. And we both agree the purpose of Duffy’s work is very different from that of Schaefer. Duffy also pointed out an error in my post: just because one of Schaefer’s tone arms is reversed does not mean that the sound comes out reversed. My mistake. And that wasn't all! He continued to school me.
The multi-tone-armed turntable goes back to the 1940s when people would put extra tone-arms on their turntables for different cartridges (78, mono and later stereo). Most radio stations had them and some companies manufactured them. Actually most audiophile turntable made today are set up to use more than one tone-arm. I first played with one of these machines in the 1980s.
Here are a couple of photographs of these turntables. 
Duffy pointed also pointed me to this website. Thanks Sean for the response. Those of you in Arizona can see Duffy's installation, The Grove, on view at the ASU Nelson Fine Arts Center beginning June 2.
6 DJs, 18 Turntables, 400 Speakers, 1 Night (9/25) @ ASU Art Museum
Arizona State University Art Museum
Tempe, Arizona
DJ Collective b3 take on Sean Duffy’s current
Arizona State University Art Museum installation…
b3 IN THE GROVE: A REACTION
TO THE INSTALLATION BY SEAN DUFFY
Tuesday, September 25
7:30pm
Arizona State University Art Museum
FREE
DJs STATEMENT:
THE GROVE was designed by artist Sean Duffy
as a chaotic, interactive, aural/visual/tactile
experience to address the current state of sound
bleed, or the lack there of due to isolating technologies
such as the iPOD and sound proof interior car
environments, in our society. How will this
generation find creative inspiration, such as the
HipHop artists of the early 80s living in NY found,
if they are not influenced by the active sound
bleeds of their environments?
b3 is excited to bring our DJ perspective to this unique
environment. Without the use of DJ mixers or monitors,
we will create a unique musical statement utilizing beats
and both natural and urban sounds. With 6 DJs, 18
turntables and 400 speakers, b3 will present our reaction
to Sean Duffy's artistic vision.
b3 IN THE GROVE as a performance is an interpretation
of living in a multifaceted environment. Our modern
existence is defined simultaneously by clashing urban
and natural elements, and this is reflected in THE GROVE
as an art piece. We are inspired by the installation, and
look forward to demonstrating our ideas within it.
DJ BIOS:
ekb* - erin k. bailey -
Born and raised in Hawai’i , ekb* first learned about
DJ culture while at college in the Pacific Northwest .
She was immediately captivated by the music, lights,
and atmosphere, and after moving to Phoenix in 1998,
she bought her turntables and started collecting and
playing vinyl. Now a co-founding member of the
breakbeat collective b3, she spins records at a variety
of events around the valley of the sun as well as
out of state.
ill-legal? - Blake Ludera -
Beginning his career in the Chicago area, and
taking it to the next level in the AZ heat, ill-legal?
continues to devastate sound systems with anything
from the darkest, dirtiest of the broken beat genre to
the slickest, slinkiest house music. A co-founding
member of b3, ill-legal? is known for his impeccable
track selection and scratch skills.
Tik:Tok - Ryan T. Smith -
Tik:Tok was born in Tucson , Arizona and has been
spinning records for over 10 years. In 2000 he traveled
to Orlando , Florida to foster his love of breakbeat.
There was exposed and involved in a vibrant breakbeat
culture that still flourishes today. One of the co-founders
of b3, his healthy appreciation for all styles of music
creates a unique blend to the listening ear.
Miss Jag - Jennifer Shillington -
Splitting her time between Phoenix and Atlanta , Miss
Jag has rocked decks with finesse for 11 years now,
opening for international acts as well as playing all
over the country as a headliner herself. She is best
known for spinning Drum’n’Bass, but has also played
hip hop, breaks and house to receptive crowds.
DJ Psyclone - Pete Bird -
Over the course of his nearly 15-year DJ career,
Psyclone has been all over the musical spectrum.
He had several intense club residencies in Cleveland ,
OH in the mid-to-late 90’s and has also performed with
many live bands. He has never been limited to just one
genre, but is most noted for his dark, yet uplifting break
beat sets. His true passion however is raw,
4-on-the-floor house music.
d’strick - Dave Strickler -
Emerging from years of membership in local funk and
rock bands as a drummer, d’strick was blown away by
the sounds of ambient drum & bass and downtempo
dub acts in the late 90s. It was through these new
musical encounters that d’strick began to develop an
appreciation for the dj's function. Ever since then, he's
worked to develop a musical selection and style that,
whether soulful, jazzy, funky or jackin', always provides
a tight groove.
This event has been organized by ekb* - erin k. bailey of
Bound by Breaks and John Spiak, Curator, Arizona State
University Art Museum.
b3 WEBSITE
www.boundbybreaks.com
SEAN DUFFY: THE GROVE
http://asuartmuseum.asu.edu/seanduffy
We look forward to having you join us!
Take care and all the best,
Arizona State University Art Museum
Tenth Street and Mill Avenue
Tempe, AZ 85287-2911
t. 480.965.2787
f. 480.965.5254
e. [email protected]
w. http://asuartmuseum.asu.edu/
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Posted by: John Spiak | September 13, 2007 at 05:39 PM