Copper

Blue In Green

A Sansui 2000x receiver, made from around 1971 to 1975. Delivering 30 watts per channel, these older receivers used to be looked down upon by high-enders, but have gained cachet...

Musical Roots: A Trip Around the World

The Musical Instrument Museum (MIM), located in Phoenix, Arizona, is the foremost musical instrument museum in the world with 350 exhibits, 200 of which are country-specific. I described it in a previous Copper article (Issue 168),...

Around the World In 80 Lathes, Part 19

Those among our readers with an interest in photography will certainly be familiar with Rollei, a company that started in 1920 in Braunschweig, Germany, manufacturing optics and photographic equipment. Even...

Back and Revitalized: T.H.E. Show 2022, Part One

One of the first audio shows I attended after what is hopefully the end of the pandemic was T.H.E. Show 2022, held at the Hilton Long Beach Hotel in California...

Confessions of a Setup Man, Part 15: Avoiding B...

We’ve all experienced burnout in one form or another, exacerbated by living in the COVID-19 era. Merriam-Webster defines burnout as “exhaustion of physical and emotional strength or motivation usually as...

Tommy Emmanuel: Casting a Spell on Guitar

When guitar great Chet Atkins names you as one of only five guitarists he considers a “Certified Guitar Player,” you know that you have reached the top of your game....

Kloss Encounter

A 1988 portrait of legendary audio designer Henry Kloss, who co-founded Acoustic Research with Edgar Villchur in 1954. He was also involved in KLH, founded Advent Corporation and Kloss Video...

Tale of the Tape

Thieves, Golden Boys, and Trust in the Retail S...

Some of you may have read in my previous articles that part of my background originates in musical instrument retailing. As a result of my experience, one of my catchphrases...

Same Space, Different Time: A Visit to Van Geld...

I was flipping through my inbox in the morning and came across one of Paul McGowan’s Paul’s Posts daily e-mails. This one said that the new Octave Studios recording facility...

Adventures In Hi-Fi – Read All About It

In this summer break from his reel-to-reel activities, Ken Kessler discusses an important new book, Richard F. Colburn’s Adventures In Hi-Fi. Unlike most industries, high-end audio – or, for that matter,...

Amoeba Music: What’s In My Bag?

Considering my advanced years, I am way too old for musical prejudices, but I still experience knee-jerk reactions when confronted by the unknown, “Indie folk rock? No frickin’ way, man!”...

Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 27

  “All right, that’s enough of that,” Chip proclaimed. “Let’s mount up.” I looked at Candy. “It’s 7:30, where are we going?” “Oh, every Thursday evening, all the Harley guys...

Talking With Folk/Americana Artist Lilli Lewis

In the world we live in today, we need trailblazers, and people who aren’t reluctant to speak up. Lilli Lewis does through her music, and by her commitment to creating...

Back on the Lemons Rally, Part One

“Lemons Rally is not a race!” Rallymaster Jeff barked out our rally instructions at the driver’s meeting around 8:00 am on the Friday that marked the beginning of the Rust Belt...

The Night Sergio Mendes Came to Town

It’s not often that internationally known artists make it to the relatively small town (population about 11,000) in which I live, but the folks who run our local 1930s-era movie...

Stepping Out of the Limelight

Many stories have been written about sidemen who became stars once they got their chance in the spotlight: Glen Campbell (the Wrecking Crew and the Beach Boys), Sheryl Crow (Michael...

Dead & Company at Citi Field, July 15, 2022...

Very few artists command followings so rabid that, when anyone criticizes them, the band’s defenders come out in force. I have written critically about the Stones, Springsteen, Dylan, and the...

Uh Oh!

All That Jazz

  Just in time for your final pool party, here’s a sampling of jazz recordings to keep you cool and entertained for the rest of the summer. The selections include...

Trumpeter Roy Eldridge: Nifty Cat

Trumpeter Roy Eldridge used to tell people that he got his incredible ear for music from his mom, who could reproduce anything at the piano. Ironically, while his mother was...

Oh No, It’s Devo!

When they were Kent State University students in the late 1960s, Gerald Casale and Bob Lewis developed the sarcastic theory that mankind was de-evolving rather than evolving. They surely never...