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...

Public Access TV, Part Two: Ken Gets Pranked

As time progressed, I added two more public access television shows to my resume. (See my previous article, “Public Access TV: A Perfect Soapbox” in Issue 160.) My newest show, Speak Out launched in...

Octave Records Releases The Audiophile Referenc...

PS Audio’s Octave Records has released two more titles on vinyl LPs: The Audiophile Reference Disc, created to help listeners get the best out of their stereo systems by providing reference-quality music and test...

Across the Great Divide

Monarch Pass, near the United States Continental Divide, Colorado.

Live Versus Recorded Music

I went to a rock concert a couple of weeks ago. This was only my second such show since the pandemic began (not counting a few bar gigs involving local...

Cathal Coughlan: From Microdisney to Telefís, A...

Acclaimed Irish singer-songwriter Cathal Coughlan, formerly of Irish rock bands Microdisney, The Fatima Mansions, and others, is always progressing, with an eye on setting trends, not following them. If ever-interesting,...

The Big Bang Theory

As I’ve mentioned before in this column, when I was very young and first started listening to music I was initially fascinated by “big” music – stereo recordings of large...

The Everly Brothers: In and Out of Harmony

With their boyish good looks, energetic and hummable tunes, and perfectly-matched voices, the Everly Brothers enraptured the American public and the world. While they were at it, they turned the...

James Reese Europe: Jazz Rhythm in Army Boots

There are great bandleaders, great composers, and great organizers, inventors, and advocates. And then there was James Reese Europe (1881 – 1919), who excelled in every one of those endeavors....

Gazing Back Into the Abyss

This past May 2 marked the ninth anniversary of thrash metal guitarist Jeff Hanneman’s (1964 – 2013) passing at age 49. He was a founding member of Slayer, which formed...

Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 21

There’s something about a garage that makes guys feel comfortable. Perhaps, deep down in our primordial brains, it reminds us of the protection and safety of caves. All the light...

Running Hot and Cold