Copper


Seeking Enlightenment

Issue 166Opening Salvo

I’ve noted before that I’m a connoisseur of silly fortune cookie sayings. I read one that said, “To truly find yourself, you should play hide and seek alone.” Maybe finding...

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

Issue 166To Be Determined

This follow-up to Part One in Issue 165 covers the last of the currently-available Steven Wilson XTC catalog album remix/remasters in 2-disc CD/Blu-ray sets — well, almost. I’m still missing the pseudo-XTC...

Around the World In 80 Lathes, Part 16

Issue 166Revolutions Per Minute

It has been quite a while since 1989, when professional disk mastering system manufacturing came to an end. To be precise, it has been 33 years, during which the world...

Summer Concerts: Who to See and Where?

Issue 166FROM THE SWEET SPOT

After an almost two-year continuous drought, it’s quite invigorating to see live music back with a vengeance. Certainly, live streaming was helpful in filling the void, but there’s a different...

The Latest from Octave Records: Mini Brazilian ...

Issue 166Octave Pitch

The new Octave Records release, Mini Brazilian Beasts by jazz pianist Carmen Sandim, weaves a boundless wave of piano melodies, sophisticated harmonic concepts, and the musical rhythms and moods of Sandim’s native Brazil into...

A Visit to Legendary Jazz Club Arthur’s Tavern

Issue 166Disciples of Sound

Arthur’s Tavern is one of those New York City gems that have always been among the city’s best-kept secrets. It opened in 1937 as a speakeasy just after the end of...

150 Favorite Rock Albums: More Mini-Reviews

Issue 166Frankly Speaking

In Issue 150 I listed my 150 desert island favorite rock albums, and offered a first batch of mini-reviews in Issue 151. I got a range of comments and e-mails, from complements to derision...

A Loudspeaker Company Grows in Brooklyn

Issue 166Speaker Stories

It’s been a while since someone from Copper last visited DeVore Fidelity in New York City. By the time Bill Leebens went out to Brooklyn Navy Yard in 2016, John DeVore had already been...

Five Rhythm Guitarists Who Changed Rock Music

Issue 166Idle Chatter

Rock music and rhythm guitar are inseparable. Oftentimes, rock outfits feature two guitarists, one playing lead guitar and the other specializing in rhythm. Although this is not always the case...

AES Europe Spring 2022, Part Two

Issue 166Show Report

(Copper Issue 165 featured Part One of our coverage of the Audio Engineering Society AES Europe Spring 2022 convention from The Netherlands. Part One covered presentations on the use of analog vs. digital...

Going to the Consumer Electronics Show: The Ear...

Issue 166True-Life Rock Tales

The Cable Doctor Show started modestly as a live TV call-in question and answer show on tech and installation issues. Of the three TV programs I’ve hosted, this one was my longest-running...

Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 24

Issue 166New Vistas

Many of the renegades gathered again late that afternoon in Chip’s garage. It seemed to be a ritual. Get off work, have a beer at Chip’s, go home to the...

Getting the Most From an A/V Receiver: Yamaha’s...

Issue 166Featured

Yamaha has recently released a slew of A/V receivers in their higher-end AVENTAGE range, with upgraded power transformers, amplifier circuits and many other features. Some of them offer powerful sound-tailoring capabilities, such as...

Back to My Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part 18: Reports...

Issue 166Natural Born Kessler

Open-reel tape devotees are aware of the current state of support for the format, which is now entirely the province of the niche. As far as machines go – leaving...

The History of A&M Records, Part Five

Issue 166Featured

The 1980s proved to be even more successful for A&M Records than previous decades. (Previous articles appeared in Issue 160, Issue 161, Issue 162 and Issue 165.) In the late 1970s Illegal Records, a small independent...

Favorite Venues, Part Three: Madison Square Garden

Issue 166Featured

After completing my relocation back to the East Coast, I was in closer proximity to my brother and we had the opportunity to commiserate more often, usually on the front...

Cataloging a Classical Music Collection

Issue 166Sitting In

Let’s begin by setting the stage. I have a very large collection of digital music, representing the equivalent of well over 4,400 albums, most of it classical. A number of...

Far Above Cayuga's Waters

Issue 166Parting Shot

Photographed at Cornell Botanic Gardens, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. As the website states, “As a living museum, our cultivated gardens, arboretum, and natural areas serve as outdoor classrooms…and host research that seeks...

Marin Marais’s Works for Viola da Gamba

Issue 166Something Old / Something New

Marin Marais (1656-1728) lived in Paris his whole life. That is, except for the many months of the year when he was stationed at Versailles as a musician for the...

Rufus Wainwright: Personal Songs With Universal...

Issue 166Off the Charts

Rufus Wainwright’s childhood must have been wall-to-wall music. Both his parents and most of his aunts and uncles were folk singers. But thanks to an obsession with opera that gripped...

Plug and Play

Issue 166Audio Anthropology

Written by Frank Doris Revox PR 99 Mk II reel-to-reel deck, introduced in 1980. Talk about functional elegance!   Revox made it easy to adjust the left and right channel...