Copper


It Started With a 45

Issue 198Eureka Moments

I got my first transistor radio in 1961. It was cheap, made in Japan, and the brand was Lloyd’s — anybody remember that one? I couldn’t wait to listen to...

The Elegant Jazz Piano of Marian McPartland

Issue 198Trading Eights

Britain still had a few more months of World War I to endure when Margaret Marian Turner was born in Slough, England in 1918. By the time World War II...

How Records Are Made, Part One: Disk Mastering

Issue 198Revolutions Per Minute

As mentioned in a previous column (Issue 197), the record manufacturing process actually begins with the composition, arrangement, performance and recording, since these will greatly influence the sound of the final product....

Don't Fence Me In

Issue 198Parting Shot

Eye-catching imperfection, taken in Grant County, New Mexico.

Guitar Influences, Part Three: Eric Clapton

Issue 197Twisted Systems

As common as it is to read statements from rock and roll musicians that “when I saw The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show, I knew I wanted to be...

More Scenes From the Los Angeles and Orange Cou...

Issue 197Featured

In Issue 196, Harris Fogel attended meetings of the Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society (LAOCAS), which included visits to AudioQuest in Irvine, California, and area dealers The Source...

My First Stereo

Issue 197Audio Anthropology

   Here's a Panasonic full line catalog circa late 1960s or early 1970s. No big deal, except...   The RE-7670 system, "The Barrington," was my first stereo. My father bought...

A Shaky Start

Issue 197

  This cartoon was first published in Issue 125.

Table of Contents – Issue 197

Issue 197Opening Salvo

Feet on the ground Head in the sky It's OK, I know nothing's wrong... nothing – Talking Heads, “This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody)” In this issue: I write...

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Some Old Jazz Guy: Exploring Michael Franks, Pa...

Issue 197Featured

Part One of our Michael Franks series (Issue 191) covered his first four albums. With this installment, we’ll continue with the next batch of albums. Released in 1979, Tiger in...

A Tract About Cataracts: Staving Off Retirement...

Issue 197Frankly Speaking

I’m no stranger to the optometrist. I’ve been nearsighted since I was in elementary school. My father thought I was a lousy athlete – well, I am – because I...

The Sound of Recorded Music

Issue 197Revolutions Per Minute

Different time periods in history are associated with particular architectural trends, building techniques and construction materials, different stages of technological development, as well as different styles and forms of musical...

I Bought It for the A-Side

Issue 197The Mindful Melophile

In the days before streaming; in the days before CDs, cassettes and LPs; back in the days of dance parties and portable phonographs there were 45s – little black records...

Back To My Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part Two

Issue 197Natural Born Kessler

Ken Kessler recounts the hardware phase of his re-entry into the world of open-reel tape, as a cautionary tale and a guide-of-sorts to help you maintain your sanity.   As...

Passed Down Through Generations

Issue 197The Run-Out Groove

  This cartoon was first published in Issue 112.

Gatecrashing

Issue 197Music'al Notes

“Would you like to see the car?” Leland and I looked at each other in bewilderment. “Sure,” we said. Parties at hi fi shows are fun. They are a way...

How to Improve Your Sound System With Your Mind...

Issue 197Featured

Copper has an exchange program with selected magazines, where we share articles, including this one, between publications. This one's from PMA Magazine: the Power of Music and Audio.   In Part One (Issue 196), I mentioned the phenomenon...

In Praise of Domestic Venues

Issue 197Featured

Some of the lads looked disappointed, others seemed disgusted. You’d think I had just recommended Jack Daniels over Woodford Reserve. The ambience in the room went flat like Sunday morning champagne. Maybe...

A 1960s Thanksgiving at the Fillmore East

Issue 197True-Life Rock Tales

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...

Standing Room Only

Issue 197Speaker Stories

Wouldn’t you hate it if you went to the theatre and had purchased your higher-tier seats with guaranteed optimal views of everyone on stage, the sets and even a glimpse...

Pura Fé: Her Ever-Evolving Artistry

Issue 197And Indie for All

No artist springs fully formed into the world. Being creative is a kinetic state, shifting constantly, and not always in linear development. Few singer-songwriters reveal this inner prism more clearly...

Subwoofer Artistry

Issue 197Parting Shot

Thilo Stompler made some of the best subwoofer drivers I’ve ever bought, at his factory in San Diego, California.The San Diego Music and Audio Guild toured his plant in April...

The Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society...

Issue 196Featured

The Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society (LAOCAS) is one of the largest audio clubs in the country. Its membership spans the greater Los Angeles and Orange County areas,...

Table of Contents – Issue 196

Issue 196Opening Salvo

I could feel at the time There was no way of knowing Fallen leaves in the night Who can say where they're blowing? – Roxy Music, “More Than This” In...

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Guitar Influences, Part Two: Keith Richards, Ch...

Issue 196Twisted Systems

Keith Richards, Chuck Berry and…Mike Kagan? Yeah…I know. I can hear it now. Who is Mike Kagan? A legendary American (or British) wizard, unknown to most of the world except...

Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre: Virtuoso Harpsi...

Issue 196Something Old / Something New

There was never a more promising time than the late 17th century to be a musician in France. King Louis XIV, after all, loved music and dance as much as he...

Sub Missive

Issue 196

Optimizing the bass response of an audio system is well worth the effort, as most audiophiles will attest to. It requires an initial investment of a little time and effort,...

Sow, How's It Sound?

Issue 196Audio Static

  This cartoon was first published in Issue 146.

The Look of Love

Issue 196The Run-Out Groove

    This cartoon was first published in Issue 110.

Now Hear This!

Issue 196Audio Anthropology

  Just don't touch any of my records, thinks dad! From Audio magazine, March 1955.   When the Admiral speaks, they listen!   They went all out on props for this photo shoot. From Audio magazine,...

Thorens' 140-Year Anniversary: Navigating Vinyl...

Issue 196Featured

Copper has an exchange program with FIDELITY magazine (and others), where we share articles, including this one, between publications.   It’s hard to imagine the record player world without Thorens – and yet...

How to Improve Your Sound With Your Mind, Part One

Issue 196Featured

Copper has an exchange program with selected magazines, where we share articles, including this one, between publications. This one's from PMA Magazine: the Power of Music and Audio.   Your audio system was supposed to...

Frankie Goes to Hearing Aids: Staving Off Retir...

Issue 196Frankly Speaking

What’s an audio professional’s biggest fear? Losing their hearing. After all, we depend on it to make sonic evaluations, whether we’re an audiophile, equipment reviewer, front-of-house engineer, component designer or...

Mastering Engineer Steve Hoffman, Part Two

Issue 196The Copper Interview

In Part One of this interview (Issue 195), Steve and John Seetoo discussed Steve’s beginnings in the mastering world, his mentors, and some of his favorite projects. The interview concludes...

Agnew Analog's Vacuum Tube Electrochemical Synt...

Issue 196Revolutions Per Minute

 The Agnew Analog Reference Instrument Type 8001 is a unique electrochemical synthesizer, generating strange sounds through chemical reactions occurring in the built-in reactor cell. The reactions occur by passing an...

Zen and the Art of Sound Reproduction

Issue 196Featured

Most of us squander far too much of our time engaged in “self-talk.” Our minds are continually preoccupied with “what if” scenarios and how to resolve them, even though these...

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

Issue 196Natural Born Kessler

Along with many mainstream audio publications and websites, Copper – in fact, more than most – has actively acknowledged and supported the revival in open-reel tape. Its contributors have dug deep into...

Which Way Is Up?

Issue 196Parting Shot

“The sky is both over and under the water?” Gary thought as he stared into the puddle. “What sense does that make?" Street scene in Long Island, New York, August 2023.

Violin Plus Orchestra, Part Two

Issue 196Too Much Tchaikovsky

So many concertos, so little time. When I decided to devote two whole TMT columns to Violin Concertos After Beethoven, my aim seemed clear: sort through a pile of recent...

Sunflower Bean: Veterans of the Brooklyn DIY Scene

Issue 196And Indie for All

Fat Possum Records, the small label that the band Sunflower Bean records for, refers to the threesome as “veterans of the Brooklyn DIY scene.” DIY. That’s Brooklynese for indie. Cute. (Full disclosure:...

Pacific Standard Time

Issue 195The Mindful Melophile

Lester Young provided the inspiration. Miles Davis has been credited with creating the genre. George Shearing and Hank Jones performed it. Gerry Mulligan, Stan Getz, and Art Pepper helped popularize...

Goin' to the Bank!

Issue 195Audio Anthropology

This is a fax I received from Les Paul in 1992. In it he answers a series of questions I’d asked him in researching an article for The Absolute Sound in 1991, including...

Table of Contents – Issue 195

Issue 195Opening Salvo

“When you’re not afraid to do it wrong the first time, you’ll eventually get it right.” I hadn’t seen an inspirational fortune cookie in a while, until I came across...

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Guitarist Enmanuel Alexander Shines With Jazz/F...

Issue 195Octave Pitch

Octave Records is proud to present a brilliant new artist for the label: jazz/funk/post-fusion guitarist Enmanuel Alexander, who is showcased with his quartet on Octave’s latest release, Off the Cuff...

In Memory of Music

Issue 195Sitting In

Music can be a sort of time machine. When I hear The Carpenters' version of "(They Long to Be) Close to You," I am transported back to the family television...

Josh Caterer of Smoking Popes: Get Fired is Sti...

Issue 195Idle Chatter

Josh Caterer is responsible for some of the most emotive, thought-provoking, and generally catchy pop/punk tunes of the 1990s. And while many old sayings still carry a lot of meaning,...

Octave Records Re-Releases Say Somethin’ by Jaz...

Issue 195Octave Pitch

Since its initial release in 2021, Say Somethin’ by jazz trumpeter Gabriel Mervine has been one of Octave Records’ most popular releases. The original limited-edition SACD and vinyl have long...

Steve Hoffman, Part One

Issue 195The Copper Interview

Steve Hoffman is one of the most highly-regarded  mastering engineers in the recording industry, and his discography is a microcosm of 20th and 21st Century music history. The thousands of...

Guitar Influences, Part One: Mike Bloomfield

Issue 195Twisted Systems

I have been asked on several occasions to write about the guitar players who have had the greatest influences on me. While I have talked about this short list in...