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RIP Eric Toline


Mack

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Hi All,

 

I know that I'm a bit late here, not a day goes by that I don't think of Eric, in fact, there's a large photo of him in the studios that he used in his profile picture hanging on the wall just inside my office.

 

Eric was a close, dear friend of mine for over 20 years.  He lived in the apartment just across from mine.  When I opened my front door, I saw his, #1516 directly in front of me.  When I moved to that building, I was in my 20's, I'm now approaching 50.  I remember the first time I met him. I came home late in the evening to the entire area being in a power outage.  Having nothing else to do, I took a walk and saw the electrical team installing a new transformer, and just beside, Eric smoking a cigarette and watching.

 

We made our introductions, and after a short talk, he said to me, "Do you know, you talk a lot?"

 

This didn't do anything to stop a friendship from forming.  I have always loved audio, but what I know about audio wouldn't impress any of you.  I remember once asking him if "this" (some speaker, headphone, etc.) was "Good".  He said, "Does it sound good?'  I replied that it did, and he just shrugged.  Simple as that.

 

Eric lived his life on his own terms.  I've never known him not to smoke.  I smoked and quit at least twice while he continued to do so.  Everything was just fine as long as you didn't suggest he stop; his follow-up was always a doozie.  We spent a lot of time talking, sometimes watching a movie, sometimes that 11:30PM phone call from him, "Waffle House?", a pause, "Sure", I'd reply, "Meet me by my car".   He'd drive,  he always did.  Maybe he didn't like my car, or my driving sucked (we're both from the northeast, so we both know how to drive), maybe he didn't like the sound system I had; probably not the music I listened to, either way, we ate and came back just before dawn.  This could have been repeated with any number of gourmet establishments, such as Steak and Shake.  It was usually always welcome.  There was a time in my life when I was just not feeling too well, and I declined a lot of those invitations.  I regret that now.

 

Eric was there for me when my dad died.  He was there for me when I married for the first time in my mid-40's.  He was always there.  When he wasn't anymore, it was just not normal.  He will always be someone I consider my family.  Brother, father, uncle, who knows.  Family.

 

I learned a lot from Eric.  Mostly, to just live and enjoy your life.  If he was really worried about things, you never knew.  He loved his work, he loved those he considered his friends, and I believe he loved life to its fullest.

 

Small tidbits:

 

1. Eric's 1996 Ford Taurus had an "Audio Etc." plate on the front, the name of his company.

2. Eric painted the concrete patios of his apartment green.  The association hated it and tried to make him paint them grey.  He never did.  They made the landlord paint them after he passed.

3. Eric loved his Magnepan speakers.  His go-to track when showing them off was usually Track 1 of Beth Nielson Chapman's CD, "Life Holds On".

4. Chevy hid the exhaust pipes on his new Malibu too well under the bumper, so he extended them with chrome extensions.

5. "Put a phone book under it", he said to the young kid who moved into the second-floor apartment, referring to his subwoofer.

6. Fast food is your friend.  (I'm using him as a reference when my doctor brings it up).

7. Eric told me that a Chinese restaurant he found was as good as New York.  I said "No Sh*t?", he replied "No f**king sh*t!".  It was good, but sorry, we don't have Chinese food (or pizza) in Florida my friend.

8. MacGyver learned how to fix things from Eric Toline, not his grandfather, as was so incorrectly depicted in the TV series.

9. A stray cat that adopted Eric slept on the canvas convertible top of another tenant's car.  She stopped by to tell him that he was leaving hair all over it.  He told her he'd talk to the cat later that evening when he saw him.

10. He knocked at my door one evening to show me the new logo for Professional Sound Services, and asked if I knew what it was.  I told him it was a VU meter.  He couldn't believe I wasn't completely retarded.

11. Eric was a PC, not a Mac.  I'm sorry if the truth hurts.

12. The name of the dog that interrupted Eric's interview in the video was named "Mini".  Mini was cute, but like me, talked too much.

13. Eric worked his ass off every day until he no longer could.  There wasn't a lazy bone in his body.

14. Eric liked label makers.  A strip on the front of his speakers said, "Sounds Good", and labels on his doorbell button read, "Door Bell", then below the button, "Bing Bong".  I managed to snag that off the door later on and still have it.

15. Eric really liked the choice I made in my wife, Tara.  And his approval meant a lot to me, as it always did.

16. He was really proud of his kids.  If I crossed a line there, I'm sorry, but I felt the need to say it.

 

... Too many more to mention, but they will come to me.  If you're interested, drop me a line.

 

I mentioned I considered Eric family because there's just some point where a neighbor isn't a neighbor anymore and a friend isn't a friend anymore.  That's what I had with Eric.

 

Please feel free to keep in touch.

 

Corey Ribner

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13 hours ago, cribner said:

Hi All,

 

I know that I'm a bit late here, not a day goes by that I don't think of Eric, in fact, there's a large photo of him in the studios that he used in his profile picture hanging on the wall just inside my office.

 

Eric was a close, dear friend of mine for over 20 years.  He lived in the apartment just across from mine.  When I opened my front door, I saw his, #1516 directly in front of me.  When I moved to that building, I was in my 20's, I'm now approaching 50.  I remember the first time I met him. I came home late in the evening to the entire area being in a power outage.  Having nothing else to do, I took a walk and saw the electrical team installing a new transformer, and just beside, Eric smoking a cigarette and watching.

 

We made our introductions, and after a short talk, he said to me, "Do you know, you talk a lot?"

 

This didn't do anything to stop a friendship from forming.  I have always loved audio, but what I know about audio wouldn't impress any of you.  I remember once asking him if "this" (some speaker, headphone, etc.) was "Good".  He said, "Does it sound good?'  I replied that it did, and he just shrugged.  Simple as that.

 

Eric lived his life on his own terms.  I've never known him not to smoke.  I smoked and quit at least twice while he continued to do so.  Everything was just fine as long as you didn't suggest he stop; his follow-up was always a doozie.  We spent a lot of time talking, sometimes watching a movie, sometimes that 11:30PM phone call from him, "Waffle House?", a pause, "Sure", I'd reply, "Meet me by my car".   He'd drive,  he always did.  Maybe he didn't like my car, or my driving sucked (we're both from the northeast, so we both know how to drive), maybe he didn't like the sound system I had; probably not the music I listened to, either way, we ate and came back just before dawn.  This could have been repeated with any number of gourmet establishments, such as Steak and Shake.  It was usually always welcome.  There was a time in my life when I was just not feeling too well, and I declined a lot of those invitations.  I regret that now.

 

Eric was there for me when my dad died.  He was there for me when I married for the first time in my mid-40's.  He was always there.  When he wasn't anymore, it was just not normal.  He will always be someone I consider my family.  Brother, father, uncle, who knows.  Family.

 

I learned a lot from Eric.  Mostly, to just live and enjoy your life.  If he was really worried about things, you never knew.  He loved his work, he loved those he considered his friends, and I believe he loved life to its fullest.

 

Small tidbits:

 

1. Eric's 1996 Ford Taurus had an "Audio Etc." plate on the front, the name of his company.

2. Eric painted the concrete patios of his apartment green.  The association hated it and tried to make him paint them grey.  He never did.  They made the landlord paint them after he passed.

3. Eric loved his Magnepan speakers.  His go-to track when showing them off was usually Track 1 of Beth Nielson Chapman's CD, "Life Holds On".

4. Chevy hid the exhaust pipes on his new Malibu too well under the bumper, so he extended them with chrome extensions.

5. "Put a phone book under it", he said to the young kid who moved into the second-floor apartment, referring to his subwoofer.

6. Fast food is your friend.  (I'm using him as a reference when my doctor brings it up).

7. Eric told me that a Chinese restaurant he found was as good as New York.  I said "No Sh*t?", he replied "No f**king sh*t!".  It was good, but sorry, we don't have Chinese food (or pizza) in Florida my friend.

8. MacGyver learned how to fix things from Eric Toline, not his grandfather, as was so incorrectly depicted in the TV series.

9. A stray cat that adopted Eric slept on the canvas convertible top of another tenant's car.  She stopped by to tell him that he was leaving hair all over it.  He told her he'd talk to the cat later that evening when he saw him.

10. He knocked at my door one evening to show me the new logo for Professional Sound Services, and asked if I knew what it was.  I told him it was a VU meter.  He couldn't believe I wasn't completely retarded.

11. Eric was a PC, not a Mac.  I'm sorry if the truth hurts.

12. The name of the dog that interrupted Eric's interview in the video was named "Mini".  Mini was cute, but like me, talked too much.

13. Eric worked his ass off every day until he no longer could.  There wasn't a lazy bone in his body.

14. Eric liked label makers.  A strip on the front of his speakers said, "Sounds Good", and labels on his doorbell button read, "Door Bell", then below the button, "Bing Bong".  I managed to snag that off the door later on and still have it.

15. Eric really liked the choice I made in my wife, Tara.  And his approval meant a lot to me, as it always did.

16. He was really proud of his kids.  If I crossed a line there, I'm sorry, but I felt the need to say it.

 

... Too many more to mention, but they will come to me.  If you're interested, drop me a line.

 

I mentioned I considered Eric family because there's just some point where a neighbor isn't a neighbor anymore and a friend isn't a friend anymore.  That's what I had with Eric.

 

Please feel free to keep in touch.

 

Corey Ribner

What a fantastic post, Corey.

(I didn't know Eric personally - just a few comments on mics here and there, here on Jeff's site.)

Those tidbits were wonderful to read.  THANK YOU for sharing all that with us.

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On 10/13/2020 at 4:08 PM, Sound Intuition said:

Even though I never got to meet Eric face to face I considered him not only a incredible wealth of knowledge for all things sound but a friend. I was lucky enough to have been able to chat with Eric every weekend for the last several years. I would recomend people watch the podcast posted here from Joseph Boyle and inspired by Rachel Cameron about Eric.  He will be missed. "And you do What"?

 

This is FANTASTIC!  THANK YOU for sharing this.

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22 hours ago, cribner said:

Hi All,

 

I know that I'm a bit late here, not a day goes by that I don't think of Eric, in fact, there's a large photo of him in the studios that he used in his profile picture hanging on the wall just inside my office.

 

Eric was a close, dear friend of mine for over 20 years.  He lived in the apartment just across from mine.  When I opened my front door, I saw his, #1516 directly in front of me.  When I moved to that building, I was in my 20's, I'm now approaching 50.  I remember the first time I met him. I came home late in the evening to the entire area being in a power outage.  Having nothing else to do, I took a walk and saw the electrical team installing a new transformer, and just beside, Eric smoking a cigarette and watching.

 

We made our introductions, and after a short talk, he said to me, "Do you know, you talk a lot?"

 

This didn't do anything to stop a friendship from forming.  I have always loved audio, but what I know about audio wouldn't impress any of you.  I remember once asking him if "this" (some speaker, headphone, etc.) was "Good".  He said, "Does it sound good?'  I replied that it did, and he just shrugged.  Simple as that.

 

Eric lived his life on his own terms.  I've never known him not to smoke.  I smoked and quit at least twice while he continued to do so.  Everything was just fine as long as you didn't suggest he stop; his follow-up was always a doozie.  We spent a lot of time talking, sometimes watching a movie, sometimes that 11:30PM phone call from him, "Waffle House?", a pause, "Sure", I'd reply, "Meet me by my car".   He'd drive,  he always did.  Maybe he didn't like my car, or my driving sucked (we're both from the northeast, so we both know how to drive), maybe he didn't like the sound system I had; probably not the music I listened to, either way, we ate and came back just before dawn.  This could have been repeated with any number of gourmet establishments, such as Steak and Shake.  It was usually always welcome.  There was a time in my life when I was just not feeling too well, and I declined a lot of those invitations.  I regret that now.

 

Eric was there for me when my dad died.  He was there for me when I married for the first time in my mid-40's.  He was always there.  When he wasn't anymore, it was just not normal.  He will always be someone I consider my family.  Brother, father, uncle, who knows.  Family.

 

I learned a lot from Eric.  Mostly, to just live and enjoy your life.  If he was really worried about things, you never knew.  He loved his work, he loved those he considered his friends, and I believe he loved life to its fullest.

 

Small tidbits:

 

1. Eric's 1996 Ford Taurus had an "Audio Etc." plate on the front, the name of his company.

2. Eric painted the concrete patios of his apartment green.  The association hated it and tried to make him paint them grey.  He never did.  They made the landlord paint them after he passed.

3. Eric loved his Magnepan speakers.  His go-to track when showing them off was usually Track 1 of Beth Nielson Chapman's CD, "Life Holds On".

4. Chevy hid the exhaust pipes on his new Malibu too well under the bumper, so he extended them with chrome extensions.

5. "Put a phone book under it", he said to the young kid who moved into the second-floor apartment, referring to his subwoofer.

6. Fast food is your friend.  (I'm using him as a reference when my doctor brings it up).

7. Eric told me that a Chinese restaurant he found was as good as New York.  I said "No Sh*t?", he replied "No f**king sh*t!".  It was good, but sorry, we don't have Chinese food (or pizza) in Florida my friend.

8. MacGyver learned how to fix things from Eric Toline, not his grandfather, as was so incorrectly depicted in the TV series.

9. A stray cat that adopted Eric slept on the canvas convertible top of another tenant's car.  She stopped by to tell him that he was leaving hair all over it.  He told her he'd talk to the cat later that evening when he saw him.

10. He knocked at my door one evening to show me the new logo for Professional Sound Services, and asked if I knew what it was.  I told him it was a VU meter.  He couldn't believe I wasn't completely retarded.

11. Eric was a PC, not a Mac.  I'm sorry if the truth hurts.

12. The name of the dog that interrupted Eric's interview in the video was named "Mini".  Mini was cute, but like me, talked too much.

13. Eric worked his ass off every day until he no longer could.  There wasn't a lazy bone in his body.

14. Eric liked label makers.  A strip on the front of his speakers said, "Sounds Good", and labels on his doorbell button read, "Door Bell", then below the button, "Bing Bong".  I managed to snag that off the door later on and still have it.

15. Eric really liked the choice I made in my wife, Tara.  And his approval meant a lot to me, as it always did.

16. He was really proud of his kids.  If I crossed a line there, I'm sorry, but I felt the need to say it.

 

... Too many more to mention, but they will come to me.  If you're interested, drop me a line.

 

I mentioned I considered Eric family because there's just some point where a neighbor isn't a neighbor anymore and a friend isn't a friend anymore.  That's what I had with Eric.

 

Please feel free to keep in touch.

 

Corey Ribner

That was a lovely read, I'm sorry for your loss man.  Those little stories are pure gold.  The cat reply is brilliant!

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