Copper
Table of Contents – Issue 222
Music is the Healing Force of the Universe – A 1970 album by Albert Ayler. Isn't it the truth. Three deuces. Issue 222. We’d play that hand! In this issue:...
Take a Musical Trip Back in Time With Jazz Clas...
Octave Records and pianist Tom Amend and his band take listeners on a jazz journey to a hallowed musical era with Jazz Classics: 1940s, the label’s latest release. The album...
The Legend of the King's Shipwright
Once upon a time many years ago in a land far away, there lived a king in a large castle which had a great hall. Every month, the king would...
We’re Audiophiles, and Deserve Some Respect!
October 2, 2025 is the 10th annual World Audiophile Day, and it makes me think about the whole audiophile “thing.” Mostly because, as anyone who participates in any kind of...
FIDELITY Magazine Visits Revox: 77 Years of Tra...
Copper has an exchange program with selected magazines, where we share articles between publications. This one's from Germany's FIDELITY Magazine. FIDELITY had the opportunity to visit the Revox factory in Villingen,...
How to Play in a Rock Band, 15: Getting Gigs
Playing gigs is what being in a band is all about. Well, some bands might want to just play in someone’s home or studio for fun, or strictly to record...
Talking With Musician, Composer and Record Labe...
In Part One of our interview (Issue 221), David and I talked about the beginning of Chesky Records and his career in the audio industry, and his thoughts about recording...
How to Play in a Rock Band, 14: Show Me the Money!
Bands and artists play to express their music, for fun, to entertain their audiences, to get the girls or guys…and, oh yeah – to get paid. Especially if you’re trying...
The Vinyl Beat: Out Through the In Door?
Exiting Grooves It’s been an interesting couple of months. For that matter, the entire year has been unusual. I cut my vinyl budget way back, given the economy, and have...
The People Who Make Audio Happen: More Images f...
This year's West Coast T.H.E. Show SoCal 2025 took place in June in Costa Mesa, California. Issue 220 has B. Jan Montana's show report, and we continue our coverage here with a look...
The People Who Make Audio Happen: More From Roc...
As noted in Issue 221 and Issue 220, NAMM is the world's biggest music industry trade show, filled with instruments, artists, concerts, parties, and people. It’s a major event, ranging...
First Chair, Billy Joel Desk
A Matter of Trust Was Essential This morning I got an email from The New Yorker magazine, to which I subscribe. The subject for the daily update was: "Why hearts...
Guitarist/Songwriter Jamie James Returns With S...
Jamie James might not be a household name, but in musicians’ circles he’s long been known as one bad cat. A singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica ace, and storyteller, James is perhaps...
Ozzy, Wildman Survivor
Copper has an exchange program with selected magazines, where we share articles between publications, including this one from PMA Magazine. “My first job there (at the abattoir in Birmingham) was...
PS Audio in the News
Future Audiophile had good things to say about Paul McGowan’s The Audiophile’s Guide 10-volume set of reference books. Jerry Del Colliano noted, “They cover every element of the hobby from...
From The Audiophile’s Guide: Working With the Room
Wherever you choose to place your high-performance home audio system, it’s going to sound very different there than in any other room. Even with a perfect setup, each room’s sonic...
Back to My Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part 21: The Bes...
With the myriad changes which have inevitably affected audio pursuits over the years – the return of vinyl, the decline in the numbers of print magazines and hi-fi shops –...
Vive la Différence
Vintage gear aficionados will know what this is at a glance: the fabled Marantz Model 7 preamplifier, one of the most iconic audio components of all time. Revered for its...
Sonic Coloration
This photo, taken at a recording studio with a secret location, captured the red and yellow lighting in a striking way. That's Kyan Wnuck, drummer for the Tom Ciurczak...
Deviated Septum
The editor will tell you his schnozz is his most prominent feature, so this is a landslide of epic proportions. Even his hair got blown back. All in good fun...
How to Post Comments on Copper
We get queries on how to post comments at the end of Copper articles. Here's how to get set up to leave comments: To comment at the end of an article, you...
Table of Contents – Issue 221
“I have seen the midnight sun shining.” – The Strawbs, “Midnight Sun” Too many music greats have passed on in the past few months. Yet their music lives on, and...
Talking With Musician, Composer and Record Labe...
David Chesky needs little introduction to audio people. In 1984 he and his brother Norman started Chesky Records, one of the first audiophile labels to make a serious effort at...
Jazz Goes off on a Modern Pop Tangent: Octave R...
Jazz musicians have always adapted the songs of the day to a jazz style and feel. With Octave Records’ latest, Tangent, pianist Charles Blenzig and his trio have taken songs...
Musings About AI, Audio, and Music
Being a music and audio person, I have some thoughts about how AI will relate to our listening consumption in an increasingly AI-laden era. Unlike much of the AI slop...
EveAnna Manley Passes the Torch With the Sale o...
On July 10, the announcement was made that the maker of pro and consumer audio gear, Manley Labs, was being sold by founder EveAnna Manley to its new owner, Dirk...
No Man Is Free Who Is Not Master of Himself
A friend confided to me recently that his mind is so active, he can’t get to sleep at night without first wallowing and flopping in bed for hours. When he...
Freedy Johnston’s Can You Fly: a “Perfect” Albu...
Freedy Johnston’s debut record, 1990’s Trouble Tree was a bit of a disjointed affair. But within the album’s 13 tracks was something that critics and fans alike felt was worthy...
More People Who Make Audio Happen: T.H.E. Show ...
This year's West Coast T.H.E. Show SoCal 2025 took place in June in Costa Mesa, California. Issue 220 (last issue) has B. Jan Montana's show report, and we continue our...
Inner Sleeves (And What You Can Learn From Them)
In the days before digital music, the primary medium for sound reproduction was the vinyl record. Sure, there were some who went with reel-to-reel tapes, but they were in the...
Peter Asher's Life, in Concert
Songs and Stories, at My Father's Place in Roslyn, NY, June 29, 2025 It's not often that you see a show by an 81-year-old musician, who could have been...
Maria Stader: Opera's Other Maria
Copper has an exchange program with selected magazines, where we share articles, including this one, between publications. This one's from Switzerland's AAA Magazine. Together with the tenor Ernst Haefliger,...
Quantum Technology and the Future of Music and ...
2001: A Space Odyssey is a film which greatly influenced my future. The movie's HAL 9000 computer may or may not have been thinly veiled as a fictional IBM creation...
From The Audiophile's Guide: More About Optimiz...
This article is part of a series of excerpts from The Audiophile's Guide, a 10-volume set that offers guidance and knowledge about all aspects of audio reproduction and system setup. Previous...
The Vinyl Beat In a 12-inch Singles World
Many collectors take 12-inch singles for granted. The format had various promotional/test pressing uses over a couple of decades prior to the mid 1970s. One of the first available for...
The People Who Make Audio Happen: Rock’N’R’Oliv...
As noted in the last issue, NAMM is the world's biggest music industry trade show, filled with instruments, artists, concerts, parties, and people. It’s a big event, ranging from the...
PS Audio in the News
The Absolute Sound included the Stellar DAC in its listings of best DACs under $5,000, with a YouTube video review. TAS noted, “In the ever evolving landscape of digital audio...
Back to My Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part 20
At the risk of courting lawsuits from retired octogenarians, I find myself unable to resist attacking the easiest of targets: record labels. To be more precise, the major labels circa...
Radiotrician to the Rescue!
We haven't seen many Marantz receivers with this interesting black and silver color combination. This one's an MR215, made from 1978 to 1980. It delivered a modest 18 watts...
Harmonious Path
Baby it’s cold up here, especially in the summertime when no-one gears up for this type of weather. This photo was taken at Sonora Pass, California. "Sonora" comes from...
How to Post Comments on Copper
We get queries on how to post comments at the end of Copper articles. Here's how to get set up to leave comments: To comment at the end of an article, you...
Table of Contents – Issue 220
“And when he feels the world is closing in/he turns his stereo way up high” – The Kinks, “A Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy” In this summer issue: I review the...
On the Scene at T.H.E. Show 2025
On Friday, June 6th and Saturday the 7th, I attended T.H.E Show in Costa Mesa, California with my friend, Jim Carry. This year, T.H.E. Show included a car audio...
They Say It’s Wonderful: Octave Records Present...
Brian Nova is a world-class jazz guitar virtuoso and vocalist, and on Octave Records’ latest, They Say It’s Wonderful, he takes listeners on a nostalgic musical journey through a varied...
Orchestra in the Age of Algorithms: A Reflectio...
In a world shaped by TikTok – a world that scrolls by in seconds and speaks in soundbites – where does an orchestra belong? What becomes of nuance in an...
The Kinks – The Journey, Part 3, and an Intervi...
About a year ago, the Kinks released The Journey, Part 1, the first of three double-album retrospectives commemorating the band’s 60th anniversary. The Journey, Part 2 followed at the end...
Blues History By Way of Classic Rock Part 2: T...
Introduction I decided to construct a playlist of music from the 1930s for my own listening enjoyment. In doing research of leading artists from that decade, I discovered some household...
Buzz Me In: Inside the Record Plant Studios, a ...
The former Record Plant studios in New York and California are the stuff of music legend, places where a mind-blowing number of hit albums and singles were recorded, and mind-bending...
Laura Nyro's Final on Vinyl
Angel in the Dark: a Last Look Back When I spoke to Laura Nyro in 1993, she had released what was then her last studio album, Walk the Dog and...