Copper

My Favorite Venues, Part Two: Colorado

In my article “My Favorite Venues, Part One” (Issue 164), we explored some of the larger venues on the Front Range of Colorado. While there were occasional jazz acts, these concert locales...

John Cooper Clarke: Bard of the People

Poets are not exactly part of mainstream culture these days. I’m only familiar with a few headliners from the last 3,000 years: Homer, Geoffrey Chaucer, Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, and...

Cats and Dogs…Well, Mostly Cats (Part One)

(Cat haters might want to hit the “Next” button, but if you do, you’ll miss a photo of Otis, my neighbor’s Golden Retriever puppy, a serious candidate for the world’s...

How Does a Vinyl Record Even Sound Good at All?...

We began our interview with Lewis Hopkin of Stardelta Audio Mastering in Issue 164. Here, he details the factors which are essential to perfection in mastering a vinyl record, in this second part...

XTC: Steven Wilson Remix/Remasters on CD and Bl...

You probably all realize by now that I’ve been trying to grab as many of the Steven Wilson-remixed/remastered CD/Blu-ray/DVD-A sets as possible. Having come somewhat late to the game, I’ve...

Back to My Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part 17: Stalkin...

In the wake of the AudioJumble – see my article in Issue 164 – there has been a palpable buzz about vintage gear, not least because of activity on social media. The AudioJumble’s organizers...

Reincarnation

The Beatles or the Stones: Who’s Better?

It’s a debate we’ve all heard before: “Who’s better? The Beatles, or the Stones?” When it comes to these two bands, there are two distinct camps: on the one side,...

Your Move

Actually, the photo is of Alón Sagee and his metal friends, taken by a bystander on August 8, 2002 in Xian, China.

Around the World In 80 Lathes, Part 15

At this point in our lathe appreciation journey, I feel I should invite you to have a seat on one of my specially-designed lathe appreciation chairs, complete with straps and...

The Secret History of Tribute Albums, Part Two

The news occasionally carries a story about the World’s Worst Record Collection. The journalistic ball gets rolling when a blood clot of ancient LPs is offered to a record shop...

Play it Again, Sam

This is the third list of preferred recordings that started with “A Few of My Favorite Things” (Issue 129) and “More of My Favorite Things” Issue 134). These eclectic collections consist of CDs and...

The History of A&M Records, Part Four: R&am...

A&M Records had success with rock, pop and easy listening music – see my previous articles in this series in Issue 160, Issue 161 and Issue 162. There was another facet the successful independent...

The Staple Singers: Soul Originators

When Roebuck “Pops” Staples was growing up on a plantation in Mississippi, he wanted to be a blues guitarist. He learned his technique by listening to musicians like Barbecue Bob,...

Zoot Sims: A Saxophonist’s Saxophonist

He had the coolest name to go with his cool sound. Zoot Sims was a saxophonist’s saxophonist, a musician everybody wanted to work with because he made everything he played...

Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 23

  “Willie G. Davidson will be at the local Harley shop today, Montana, wanna come with us to meet him?” Chip asked over breakfast. “Not sure about that Chip, don’t...

Into the Heavens

Melancholy Circus takes the boiled-down essence of influences from a life lived and examined,from music, literature, history, and cinema and creates plains of dissimilar existence anddeep caves of thought that...

Nick Drake’s Albums in 24/96 Digital Sound

In Issue 162, I talked about Nick Drake, the artist and musician, and the myriad of mysteries surrounding his brief lifetime here on earth. This go-around, I’d like to touch on...

Countertenors: New Takes on an Old Tradition

“Countertenor” is one of those musical terms that has meant many different things over the centuries. These days, it normally refers to a man who uses falsetto or head voice...

Rallying With Lemons, Part Two

In the first half of this travelogue of the 2022 Rocky Mountain Breakdown Lemons Rally (see my article in Issue 163), we passed through Colorado and New Mexico, and arrived in...

Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 22

“I thought you were going to ride your bike home today?” I asked KP as he poured a Belgian ale from the garage fridge. “I will,” he replied, “but I...

Mary Gauthier: Songs in Motion

Mary Gauthier thinks the best songs are ones that contain “a little movie,” songs that don’t just have their own story but also a sense of motion. The veteran songwriter...

Around the World In 80 Lathes, Part 14

Previous installments discussed various design approaches to record lathe cutter heads, the history of Neumann and Scully lathes, and more. As a general rule, records cut on Neumann lathes using...

Bascom H. King: In Memoriam

With reminisces by Paul McGowan and Frank Doris The late Bascom H. King, who passed away last May at age 84 from complications of pneumonia, was not as well-known a...

Nothing Short of a Miracle

Written by Frank Doris Burmester Model 001 CD player. As a component that’s almost 20 years old, we’ll call it vintage now. It was a landmark upon its release, with...

The Space Between the Notes

Sometimes, music is good. Other times, silence is good. It is with sadness that we report that Mr. Atsushi Miura, the founder of high-end tube electronics company AIR TIGHT, has passed away...

Undercover Listening Devices

Styx: 50 Years and Still Going Strong

Last summer rock legends Styx came to Connecticut and headlined on a bill with REO Speedwagon, and opened a brand-new venue, the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater in Bridgeport. It was a popular pairing...

How AXPONA Got Its Groove Back, Part Three

Part One and Part Two of this report appeared in Issue 162 and Issue 163. Once again, I’ll note my usual show report qualifiers: it was impossible to cover everything even in three days,...

Spending Time With the Grado RS1x Headphones

I’m willing to bet that most of us with big speakers, bulky amps, and dedicated listening rooms rarely use headphones. I’m not talking about the sweaty loud ones you use...

Octave Records’ New Releases: TIERRO Band with ...

Octave Records has two new releases for your musical and audiophile enjoyment: Everlasting Dance by the “Gypsy Grass” group TIERRO Band with Bridget Law, and Audiophile Masters, Volume VI, the latest in Octave’s series...

My Favorite Venues, Part One: Colorado

In my article, “My First Speakers” (Issue 158), I touched on the beginning of promoter Chuck Morris’ career as the booking agent at Tulagi. It’s now time to further develop that theme, as...

Offering Solace: An Interview With Held By Trees

For fans of bands like Talk Talk, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, and Blur, the trio of Martin Ditcham, David Joseph, and David Mau have got a surprise in the form...

How Does a Vinyl Record Even Sound Good at All?...

Have you ever wondered, just how does a vinyl record even sound good at all? Well, how does it in reality? The PVC vinyl that records are made from, and the record-manufacturing...

Back to My Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part 16: Stalkin...

A slight departure this time, as a wonderful event – directly related to tape pursuits – took place on May 29th. After two years and three months, the Tonbridge AudioJumble...

Who are WE?

Arcade Fire: WE Jon Batiste: WE ARE If you asked me up until a few months ago what my favorite band of the 21st century is, I’d say “Arcade Fire.” But after...

The Secret History of Tribute Albums, Part One

Are there two Americas? Are they red versus blue, conservative vs. liberal, conspiracy-minded vs. reality-based? The answer is yes, but the divide is not along these lines. The two Americas...

The Joys of Monophonic Recordings, Part Two

In my previous article (Issue 162), I discussed the early monophonic recordings of the violinist Nathan Milstein. He was a very popular artist in his day, and his recordings are easy to...

Shelby Lynne – An American Original, Part Two

Part One (Issue 163) covered singer/songwriter Shelby Lynne’s career from her first release with George Jones in 1988 to her 2007 landmark, Just a Little Lovin’. Tears, Lies and Alibis (2010) was the...

A Pressing Decision

Rallying With Lemons, Part One

I’ve liked cars back since my days as a youngster and have been involved in various activities most of us perform with our cars – commuting, road trips, maintenance, detailing,...

Around the World In 80 Lathes, Part 13

Previous installments discussed various design approaches to record lathe cutter heads. In terms of sound, floating record lathe cutter heads actually are at a disadvantage. The floating of the cutter...

Shelby Lynne: An American Original, Part One

The tale of actress Kim Novak is one of Hollywood’s greatest walk-away stories. As a rising “blonde bombshell” starlet, she epitomized intelligent women who possessed an underlying sadness but could...

The Muffs’ Ronnie Barnett: Really Really Happy ...

You probably know the Muffs from their 1995 cover of the song “Kids in America,” originally done by Kim Wilde in 1982. It added a bit of roar to the Clueless soundtrack,...

How AXPONA Got Its Groove Back, Part Two

Part One of this report appeared in Issue 162. To recap my usual caveats: it was impossible to cover everything even in three days. I never make definitive judgments about sound...

Back to My Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part 15

Producing what one considers to be revelations from what is the “bloody obvious,” as the British would say, is a waste of anybody’s time. What could I possibly tell Copper’s audience of...

Ambient Music

The Luxman L3 integrated amplifier, sporting one of the coolest logos of all time. Howard Kneller paid $395 for it at New York’s Harvey Electronics in the 1970s, quite a...

Pristine Classical: Preserving Priceless Histor...

In Issue 162, we profiled Pristine Classical, a company dedicated to improving the sound of historic classical music recordings, many of which were recorded using primitive equipment under less-than-ideal conditions. However, during...

Lightning Strikes

Customer Relationship Management: Give it Some ...

Almost 20 years ago, my family and I took over a guitar shop business. It was a fantastic opportunity and represented some of the most rewarding, fun and enjoyable experiences...