Copper


Issue 184

Issue 184Opening Salvo

Mike Kuller, former writer for The Absolute Sound, has a new book, The Lucky Audiophile. It’s the story of Mike’s lifelong journey through music and audio, and has lots of details about high-end...

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Octave Records Releases Gabriella by Miguel Esp...

Issue 184Octave Pitch

Octave Records has released one of its most musically satisfying and emotionally powerful albums yet: Gabriella by Miguel Espinoza Fusion. It’s a dazzling blend of flamenco, Latin, Indian, fusion jazz, world music and...

Dave Rusan of Rusan Guitarworks: Builder of Pri...

Issue 184Frankly Speaking

Dave Rusan is the proprietor of Rusan Guitarworks of Bloomington, Minnesota. He built the iconic “Cloud” guitar for Prince, does a brisk business in guitar repairs, and has many stories to tell....

And a One, and a Two…(Part One)

Issue 184The Mindful Melophile

Concert programs normally consist of the usual suspects like music written for large orchestras, small orchestras, string orchestras, or choruses. You won’t find any of them in today’s Melophile, or any...

Tár (This Is Spinal Tárp)… a Movie Review

Issue 184Twisted Systems

In case you missed it, Cate Blanchett takes an Academy Award-nominated star turn in the movie Tár. She plays Lydia Tár, the first American and the first female conductor of the...

Pilgrimage to Europe, Part One: Good Luck

Issue 184New Vistas

When I was in college during the late ’60s, many of my fellow students spent their summers traveling through Europe. As their parents paid for their education, anything they had...

Precise Vinyl Record Centering for Turntables

Issue 184Revolutions Per Minute

Many vinyl records are manufactured with an oversize spindle hole, and some turntables have undersized spindles. These conditions can result in pitch variation from not being able to center the...

Heinrich Schütz: Composing the Foundation for G...

Issue 184Something Old / Something New

Before J.S. Bach, Germany did not produce a lot of earthshaking composers. Among the few Bach predecessors who make the cut is Heinrich Schütz (1585 – 1672), primarily a composer...

Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis: A Firm Grasp on Saxophon...

Issue 184Trading Eights

Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis (1922 – 1986) was often just called “Jaws,” a sign of respect for his mastery of the tenor saxophone as well as a description of the way...

Last of the Free Birds

Issue 184Featured

Lynyrd Skynyrd began in 1960s Jacksonville, Florida. For those unfamiliar with Florida, Jacksonville is about 20 miles from the Georgia border, a few hours’ drive from Alabama, and a quick...

A Visit to the Florida Audio Expo 2023, Part Two

Issue 184To Be Determined

During the Florida Audio Expo (FLAX), I basically live-posted capsules on Facebook from notable rooms I visited each day. Little did I know when I posted about Focal/Naim’s room that I was...

An Interview With Guitarist Michael Jurin, Form...

Issue 184Idle Chatter

At the turn of the century New York City was bristling with droves of young bands looking to make their mark. Much of the era was defined by music that...

Magnetic Attraction

Issue 184Audio Anthropology

A pair of Mariah Acoustics speakers. Manufactured in Arkville, New York, these were made in the 1980s, according to an old forum post from the original owner. A few models...

Bache Audio’s Elegant Sonata EX2 Speakers

Issue 184From the Listening Chair

Greg Belman of Brooklyn, New York’s Bache Audio recently dropped off a pair of his rear-ported Sonata EX2 speakers ($2,780 per pair). Rated at 91 dB sensitivity, this speaker features a 3-inch bamboo cone...

Slow Ride

Issue 184Parting Shot

Taken at Arenas Valley, New Mexico. The old car is in a state of disrepair and is parked in front of an abandoned gas station, but the beautiful industrial design...

I Can See Clearly Now

Issue 183Opening Salvo

As Copper’s mailing list subscribers know, I recently had cataract surgery on both eyes. I want to thank everyone for the tremendous outpouring of good wishes – I’m truly touched...

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Kenny Wayne Shepherd: Revisiting His Landmark B...

Issue 183Disciples of Sound

The most impactful blues artists have always been able to transcend the genre by seamlessly ushering in outside influences that add colors and texture to a foundation that is timeless...

Octave Records Releases Its First Live Album: J...

Issue 183Octave Pitch

Octave Records has released its first live album, jazz trumpeter Gabriel Mervine’s Live at Nocturne. Recorded in pure DSD 256 high-resolution audio, Live at Nocturne captures the you-are-there excitement, spontaneity...

CTI Records, Part Five: Guitar Greatness

Issue 183From the Sweet Spot

CTI Records was home to many artists, among them a handful of guitarists who backed other artists and led their own recording dates, along with a bassist whose decades-long career...

DeFord Bailey: The Harmonica Wizard

Issue 183Off the Charts

Back when the Grand Ole Opry was just a one-hour radio show called “WSM Barn Dance,” one of the greatest harmonica players of all time was tapped to be a...

Artificial Reverberation in the Analog World, P...

Issue 183Revolutions Per Minute

What I set out to make was essentially a character piece, something that would define recordings of suitable styles of music that were done within my own facility. It was...

Confessions of a Tube Collector, Part One

Issue 183Featured

The vacuum tube (or thermionic valve in British usage) is probably the greatest invention of the 20th century. It heralded the beginning of the information age, an event as significant...

Desert Island Discs? Pfft! Here’s a Real Challenge

Issue 183Featured

I have to think that most our readers are familiar with the concept of “Desert Island Discs.” The premise is to make a list of albums (usually 10) that one...

A Visit to the Florida Audio Expo 2023, Part One

Issue 183To Be Determined

This was my third consecutive trip to the Florida Audio Expo (I’ll call it FLAX for short), and the overall experience was the best yet. The show was completely sold...

Scott Smith and Tadd Swanlund of Comply: High-T...

Issue 183The Copper Interview

Continuing our series on in-ear monitors (IEMs, also known as in-ear headphones or earbuds), we now speak to two key people at Comply, makers of memory foam eartips for IEMs....

The Beach Boys’ Al Jardine and His Rediscovered...

Issue 183Idle Chatter

As a founding member of America’s surf-rock legends the Beach Boys, Al Jardine didn’t need to make a solo record back in 2010; he wanted to. And that might be...

A HiFi Rose in Bloom

Issue 183From the Listening Chair

With its enormous 14.9-inch, high-def color touchscreen, top-notch performance, ability to output video as well as audio, and gorgeously overbuilt chassis, no product has seemingly come from the blue to...

Noteworthy

Issue 183Audio Anthropology

McIntosh fans, we know gear like this sets your hearts a-flutter. Here’s a magnificent MR 65B tube stereophonic FM tuner, introduced in 1962.   This is audio componentry as industrial...

Living on the Edge

Issue 183Parting Shot

For over 700 years, the ancestral Pueblo people built thriving communities on the mesas and in the cliffs of Mesa Verde, Colorado. Today, the park protects the rich cultural heritage...

On the Road Again

Issue 182Parting Shot

A scene in Bisbee, Arizona. The Art Deco-style building houses restaurants and shops, including a bookstore which stocks some vinyl. Street musicians often play in Bisbee.

The Ears Have It

Issue 182Audio Anthropology

There was a time when Nakamichi cassette decks ruled the world. Here’s a Nakamichi 550, made between 1974 and 1980. This top-loader offered Dolby B noise reduction and three mic...

Connecting With Hemingway Audio’s Z-Core Power ...

Issue 182From the Listening Chair

For the most part, I won’t participate in social media arguments concerning the efficacy of audiophile signal cables and power cords. Even when considering a binge-watching session of Keeping Up...

Lexii Lynn Frazier: A Young Guitarist’s Career ...

Issue 182Idle Chatter

These days, you’ll hear more and more guitarists shredding up and down the fretboard like the ’80s all over again. Guitarist/singer/songwriter Lexii Lynn Frazier can rip it up with the...

Don Leslie’s Whirling Dervish Speaker Contraption

Issue 182Featured

There are a few gentlemen in particular who deserve strong recognition for the development and evolution of several modern-day musical instruments. Included in this distinguished group of instrument makers are...

The Chamber Music of Gabriel Fauré

Issue 182Something Old / Something New

Sometimes all it takes is one outstanding teacher to release a young student’s artistic gifts. French composer Gabriel Fauré (1845 – 1924) found such a mentor in Camille Saint-Saëns at...

CTI Records Part 4: Sax (and Violins)

Issue 182Featured

Like any jazz record label, CTI Records was no stranger to saxophone players. The label had its share of talent, from established names such as Stanley Turrentine and Paul Desmond...

Ulrike Schwarz, Jim Anderson, and Their New Par...

Issue 182Featured

Soprano saxophonist/composer Jane Ira Bloom’s Picturing the Invisible: Focus 1 recently garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Immersive Audio Album. Produced and engineered by multiple Grammy winners/nominees Ulrike Schwarz and...

Clickbait Articles Belie Reality: The Vinyl Man...

Issue 182Featured

New trade advocacy group, the Vinyl Record Manufacturers Association, is establishing best practices and standards Two recent online articles ushered in the new year with headlines that the vinyl boom...

Lounging with In-Ear Monitors, Part Three

Issue 182Featured

In our previous two articles (Issue 180 and Issue 181) we have briefly considered some of the factors which may affect the sound quality of in-ear monitors, aka IEMs, in-ear...

Artificial Reverberation in the Analog World, P...

Issue 182Revolutions Per Minute

In the previous episode (Issue 181), we had a look at various types of analog-domain reverberation options for music production and recording. A couple of years back, during the “big...

The Cranberries: Time Was Ticking Out

Issue 182Off the Charts

When Dolores O’Riordan died suddenly in 2018, the blow reverberated around the indie music world. She was more than just the lead singer of the Cranberries; her ghostly, emotional voice...

An Audio Journey, and More Photos from Capital ...

Issue 182Show Report

One of the most interesting and revealing aspects of an audio show is how it forces one to consider their own audio journey. Mine was pretty simple. It started with...

NRBQ: Not Playing Around With Tiddlywinks

Issue 182Disciples of Sound

NRBQ has always been a band that rock insiders considered to be the best in the game. Founded in 1966 as the New Rhythm and Blues Quartet, they have had...

Blues Master Otis Taylor Releases Banjo… on Oct...

Issue 182Octave Pitch

Octave Records has released Banjo… by blues master Otis Taylor. One of the most compelling blues artists working today, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Taylor is the winner of five DownBeat awards, and Living...

Treehaus Audiolab: Striking Design, Performance...

Issue 182Speaker Stories

Sometimes, a certain combination of sight and sound is impossible to forget. Among the open-baffle speaker systems on exhibit at the New York Audio Show 2022, Treehaus Audiolab’s Phantom of...

Heaven is a Place

Issue 181Opening Salvo

“The band in Heaven, they play my favorite songPlay it once again, play it all night long.” – Talking Heads, “Heaven” In this issue: John Seetoo talks with Grammy-winning engineers...

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