Copper

Confessions of a Record Collector, Part Two

In Part One (Issue 137) I noted that many of us have made the transition from mere purchasers of record albums to hopelessly hooked vinyl collectors. For example, my friend Alex, who...

Stephen Duffy: Flying Beyond Duran Duran With t...

“Rock royalty” is perhaps an overused term these days. But there are those who have applied their creative hand to so many pieces of music over time that it’s impossible...

Finding a Place for Bass

In our previous article, “The Audio Butterfly Effect” (issue 143), we looked at some options for the placement of multiple subwoofers to achieve a smoother in-room low-frequency response. In this article we’ll...

London “Decca” Cartridges: Unique Design, Timel...

Decca cartridges are unique transducers with quite a bit of interesting history behind them, starring with the Decca company itself. From their 1929 beginnings as a British record company and...

Heart’s Ann Wilson: Wandering Through the Wonder

For a musical genre known to favor male vocalists, there are few men or women who have made the kind of impact that Ann Wilson has on rock n roll. As co-founder...

Paul Brett: Guitarist, Designer and Collector o...

Paul Brett is a renowned guitarist, performer and recording artist. He’s also an instrument historian and designer, a journalist, and a collector. Paul has played with the Strawbs, the Crazy...

Down the Rabbit Hole of SACD Ripping and DSD Ex...

I’m a firm believer in fair use when it comes to audio media — if you bought it, you own it, and you’re free to do with it as you...

Deko Entertainment: Moving Rock's Legacy Forward

When Gene Simmons of the band KISS said that “Rock is dead” in 2014, it sent shock waves throughout the industry. He later clarified his comments by saying that new...

The Dawn of Digital and Film Sound Sync: Tales ...

1986 seems like ancient history but at the same time, it also seems like it could have been only last week. It was a time when digital sound was a...

Moonlight Feels Right

Found inside a fortune cookie: "Because of your melodic nature, the moonlight never misses an appointment." Well, OK then! I try not to miss any either. in this issue: Ray...

The Yamaha Influence, Part Two

In Part One (Issue 134), we looked at Yamaha as being both a musical instrument maker and a manufacturer of audio components, and how each of those sides of the...

Sonny Rollins: Tenor Colossus

Known as the Saxophone Colossus, tenor sax master Sonny Rollins worked tirelessly in the jazz scene for over 70 years. Retired now at age 91, he’s one of the few...

Roy Acuff: Country Music Originator

It’s fair to say that singer Roy Acuff was one of the inventors of country music. He was among a handful of innovators who shifted the sounds of old-time mountain...

Unconscious Power

Holes in the Story

The 8-Track Mind

A shrine to 8-track tape! Taken at The Telegraph record store, New London, Connecticut. Photo by Ray Chelstowski. We can't think of a better Mother's Day gift. Philips ad, 1950s?...

Our Staff

Staff Writers:J.I. Agnew, Ray Chelstowski, Cliff Chenfeld, Jay Jay French, Tom Gibbs, Roy Hall, Rich Isaacs, Anne E. Johnson, Don Kaplan, Don Lindich, Tom Methans, B. Jan Montana, Rudy Radelic,...

Reclamation Project

A commercial building in Lake City, Minnesota, near the Mississippi River. The foliage is slowly reclaiming the building.

Aretha Franklin: Queen of Soul

It’s been said that the way people respond to your death is the best indicator of how you were regarded in life. When Aretha Franklin passed away in 2018 at...

Eric Clapton and The Lady in the Balcony

In 1992, when Eric Clapton recorded an episode of MTV Unplugged at Bray Studios in London, the series featuring artists playing acoustic instruments was already well into its third season, having started...

Issue 135

Issue 134

Only Two More Days Till Tomorrow

With Copper’s new format, long “Opening Salvo” intros take up a lot of space when viewed on a phone, so we’ll keep them short from now on. This line from...

Hey Jude

Music can bring you back to a certain time and place. I recently dug out and played Marche Militaire No. 1 by Schubert. This was my first record. I had heard it...

Living With Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity: D...

Electromagnetic fields (EMF) are all around us. We’re constantly bombarded by low-level EMF from computer screens, Wi-Fi, cell phones and other devices. However, since EMF is invisible, most of us...

The Yamaha Influence, Part One

Is a music instrument manufacturer that also makes home audio gear, such as Yamaha, uniquely poised or best equipped to faithfully reproduce music to a high quality in their stereo...

Streaming Audio and Other Rants

First off, I hope many of you are listening to my new Podcast called The Jay Jay French Connection: Beyond the Music (available on Spotify, Apple Music and Podcastone.com) Great topics, great guests, and my new...

Small Town Charm, Big Town Music: My Father’s P...

Bruce Springsteen frequently sings about the grit and hardships of growing up in Freehold, NJ. His emotional writing makes it easy to visualize the life experiences he encountered in a...

Rita Indiana and Her Magic Blender

My obsession with Rita Indiana began when I read a profile of her by Daniel Alarcón in The New Yorker. It seems like I read the article years ago, because Indiana’s music...

The Giants of Tape, Part One

Tape machines have been made in various shapes, sizes, forms and formats, for all kinds of applications. Magnetic tape recording in its present form came many decades after the original...

Thrown for a Loop

An Audiophile By Any Other Name

Our Staff

Staff Writers:J.I. Agnew, Ray Chelstowski, Cliff Chenfeld, Jay Jay French, Tom Gibbs, Roy Hall, Rich Isaacs, Anne E. Johnson, Don Kaplan, Don Lindich, Tom Methans, B. Jan Montana, Rudy Radelic,...

Open Reel Tape: The Ultimate Analog Source? Par...

In Part One and Part Two (Issue 132 and Issue 133), this series discussed the rationale for listening to open reel tapes in the current digital music era, and surveyed...

Sylvia Massy: Pushing Sonic Boundaries With a R...

From her punk and hard rock roots as a musician, Sylvia Massy has risen to dizzily lofty heights and accolades as an innovative and highly-sought producer and engineer. Her work...

Getting High, Part Three

In Part One (Issue 132) and Part Two (Issue 133), Alón embarked upon his quest to scale the heights of Kala Patthar near Mount Everest in Nepal. The story concludes...

Thanksgiving at the Fillmore East

Halloween had just passed and now it was turning cold. I went to a second-hand antique clothing store and bought a West Point cadet’s winter coat for $15. It was...

All About That Bass

When I moved to Seattle in 1980 I lived in the Jensen Block on Eastlake Avenue, in a neighborhood of aging wooden houses, aging people, and industries that made things...

Chuck Leavell: World-Class Keyboard Player, Par...

In Part One (Issue 133) Copper interviewed keyboard player extraordinaire Chuck Leavell about the making of The Tree Man, the new documentary about his life, and his work with the...

Randy Newman: Cinematic Storyteller

Randy Newman’s uncles Lionel, Andrew, and Emil Newman were all composers of Hollywood movie scores. As opposed to their sweeping, cinematic sounds, Randy became known for understated, sardonic lyrics with...

Troubadours, Trouvères, and Minnesingers

The word “troubadour” gets tossed around in the modern world to mean a performer, often a singer/songwriter who travels a lot. That’s not wrong, but when the word was invented...

More of My Favorite Things

In addition to the recordings I included in the first part of “A Few of My Favorite Things” (Issue 129) there are many other recordings I enjoy having in my collection. If...

For the Forest and Further On

“When the wagons leave the city, for the forest, and further on...” Lyrics from “Theme for an Imaginary Western” by Jack Bruce and Pete Brown. Located in Arizona, Grand Canyon...

Two Classic Albums from Jazz's Elder Statesmen,...

Charles Lloyd & the Marvels – Tone Poem 83-year-old saxophonist Charles Lloyd has actually had several careers as a musician. Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, he grew up surrounded by blues,...

Beam Me Up, Scotty

The chic way to rock out! Circa 1960s ad for the French Teppaz Oscar portable record player. We guess he knew how to turn it on. AKAI ad, 1970s. You...

Open Reel Tape: The Ultimate Analog Source? Par...

In the previous article in this series (Issue 132), we discussed the rationale for listening to open reel tapes in this era of digital music. If you love certain artists and their...

Lend Me Your Ears

A circa late 19th or early 20th century proto-jukebox. Listeners paid a nickel to hear music through ear tubes. From Sound and Hearing, Life Science Library, 1965. An Audio Classics...

Roye Albrighton: Nektar’s Diamond in the Rough

  [Editor’s Note: Ken previously wrote about progressive rock group Nektar in Issue 115 and Issue 116.] By Nektar’s second American tour in 1975-76, Roye Albrighton (lead guitar player and singer) had stopped...

The Flow of Influences On Buying Equipment

What influences the equipment you buy? Make no mistake, none of us buy audio or musical instrument gear without being affected by past inspirations. I suppose my earliest memory of...

Getting High, Part Two

In Part One (Issue 132), Alón began his quest to scale the heights of Kala Patthar near Mount Everest in Nepal. The story continues here. After our terrifying landing at...