Copper
Table of Contents – Issue 224
“When you feel down, I recommend to you/Have lots of fruits and vegetables!” – Shonen Knife, “Fruits and Vegetables” In this issue: we have the first in a series of...
T.H.E. Show New York 2025, Part One: A New Begi...
Header image: PS Audio's James Herod does what it takes to wire up a system. Anyone who has set up an exhibit at an audio show can relate! I...
Fool’s Leap of Faith is the Extraordinary Octav...
Singer/songwriter/instrumentalist Tyler Burba crafts songs that balance vulnerability with power, with memorable melodies and a richly textured musical palette that blends Americana, folk, world music and other diverse influences. Fool’s...
The Beatles’ “Aeolian Cadences.” What?
An Esteemed Classical Music Critic’s Endorsement In 2018, I went to my first “academic” music conference as a presenter. The event, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’...
Persona Non Grata
My friend Ricky had just as tough an upbringing as me. His father did exactly what my stepfather did, he took every opportunity to denigrate his son's self-esteem – his because...
Talking With Recording Engineer Barry Diament o...
In Part One of this interview (Issue 223), Barry Diament and I talked about how he started his career as a recording engineer, and his equipment and recording philosophy. We...
B Sides, B Movies, and Beware of Zombies
Due to a slip of the mind, and a busy schedule that has left me distracted, it totally escaped my mind that this issue of Copper would publish a couple...
The Burn-In Chronicles: 1,000 Hours to Sonic Sa...
Copper has an exchange program with selected magazines, where we share articles between publications. This one's from Canada's PMA Magazine. A journal pulses with ink and intent as a listener records...
A Conversation With Mat Weisfeld of VPI Industries
Dateline: Poughkeepsie, New York, 1967. I had just taken the municipal bus from downtown PoTown to home, replete with a 45 of the Strawberry Alarm Clock's blockbuster "Incense and Peppermints."...
Blues-Rocker Kenny Wayne Shepherd Celebrates 30...
For most fans, their introduction to Kenny Wayne Shepherd came with his breakout debut album, Ledbetter Heights. When it was released in 1995, Kenny was just 18 years old. Alongside fellow...
Playing in a Rock Band, 17: When Good Gigs Go B...
They call playing in a rock band a glamor profession, but believe me, there are times when it isn’t. As I mentioned in Part One (Issue 217), nothing equals the...
From The Audiophile’s Guide: Dealing with Odd-S...
The perfect listening room might be rectangular in the textbooks, but real life rarely gives us textbook situations. Many of us face challenging spaces: L-shaped rooms, rooms with alcoves, sloped...
TEAC’s TN-3B-SE Turntable Plays Bob Dylan
“The times, they are a-changin’,” goes the Bob Dylan song. If Mr. Dylan only knew how things would change in the audio industry. For example, my latest infatuation seems to...
PS Audio in the News
Add The Audiophiliac to the list of reviewers who are highly impressed with the PMG Signature Preamplifier. In his YouTube video Steve Guttenberg said, “this preamp nailed the sound of...
Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part 23: Better Than Rice K...
Ken Kessler revels in the stories told by scraps of paper found in tape boxes However old the tapes, however worn and unloved, nothing amuses or delights me as much...
I Bring Joy!
Now that's one big subwoofer from EMF Audio. Not the world's biggest though – check out this 100-inch diameter model from Ascendo Immersive Audio. We just love vintage 1970s audio...
Screen Test
“I’m ready for my closeup, Mr. Doris.” This little (2 inches from nose to tip of tail) western fence lizard managed to get between the screen and the glass door....
How to Post Comments on Copper
We get queries on how to post comments at the end of Copper articles. Here's how to get set up to leave comments: To comment at the end of an article, you...
Table of Contents – Issue 223
“Art is the highest form of hope.” – Unknown To the person who sent me the very nice e-mail about my Korean soundtracks article – an e-mail problem caused me to...
World Fusion Meets Flamenco in Gratitude from S...
Gratitude by master guitarist Steve Mullins and his band Rim of the Well is the latest release from Octave Records and its blend of flamenco, Balkan, African, Latin and musical...
Judging Albums by Their Covers
We’ve all heard that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but what about albums? In the 1970s and early 1980s, I had pretty good luck picking a record...
Recent Arrivals and 12-inch Royalty
New Grooves A few new records arrived on my doorstep over the past two months. Here are a handful of them, all of them reissues that may fly under the...
Summer of Creem, Part Two
Note: "Summer of Creem, Part One" can be read on Critical Conditions, Wayne Robins' Substack. Part Two deals with the ins and outs of putting out a magazine, which is...
Recording Engineer Barry Diament of Soundkeeper...
Barry Diament is a veteran recording and mastering engineer, the head of Barry Diament Audio, and founder of Soundkeeper Recordings, whose philosophy is to create recordings that are natural-sounding and...
Tea on the Terrace
Rather than meet at a bar with all the noise, bustle, and distractions, a few of us retired guys prefer to meet on the terrace every week. I call it...
How Good Can Car Audio Get?
Dateline: 1964, Poughkeepsie, New York – inside my family's 1961 Plymouth station wagon. On the AM radio crooning their hearts out were Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons; the song...
The Advantages of a Dedicated Listening Room
Let’s face reality. Unless you’re living solo, transforming your living room into an acoustic temple isn’t likely to win many supporters in your household. The living room, after all, is...
1! 2! 3! 4! Surrounded by the Ramones in Dolby ...
WOW! It’s the Ramones like you've never heard them before, unless you were lucky enough to see them live. (I played on a bill with the Ramones on New Year’s...
PMC’s prophecy1 Loudspeaker Holds the Line
Recently, The Listening Chair’s Adam Goldfarb reviewed The Professional Monitor Company Ltd.’s prophecy9 floorstanding transmission line bass loading loudspeaker ($12,999 per pair/all prices USD). For most, that company is simply...
Quick Takes: Eddie Daniels, The Secret Trio, An...
Header image: Zack Lober and NOFILL3R: Jasper Blom, Zack Lober, Suzan Veneman, Sun-Mi Hong. Courtesy of Govert Driessen. I have been lucky to have been turned onto a number...
Back to My Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part 22: Reel-to...
To noodge is Yiddish for “to pester,” but with a vengeance. It isn’t just whining and nagging. It’s full-blown, incessant, won’t-take-no-for-an-answer annoyance. That’s how I managed to drive RX Reels’...
Grant-Lee Phillips: A Troubadour for Today Rele...
The best troubadours find a way to seamlessly marry bright, upbeat melodies with lyrics that tackle some of life’s toughest topics. When done right, the listener is first drawn in...
How to Play in a Rock Band, 16: Rehearsing for ...
If you’re going to play in a band, you need to get your act together. Literally – and that means rehearsing. Sure, there are pros who can just get together...
Joy to the World
Here's a legendary pair: a 1970s Quad 405 amplifier and Quad FM-4 FM tuner (introduced in the 1980s), both courtesy of Vintage Chief.com. Even today the 405 is prized for...
The People Who Make Audio Happen: Making Music ...
The annual NAMM Show is a wondrous event. If it involves music, you’ll see it there. Classes, concerts, technology, music, engineering, producing, music law, publishing, amazing musical instruments, sound reinforcement,...
The Art of Listening
Copper has an exchange program with selected magazines, where we share articles between publications. This one's from Canada's PMA Magazine. Music is mainly the organization of silence… To listen…...
PS Audio in the News
Audiophilia had effusive praise for the PMG Signature Preamplifier, which earned a Star Component Award. Reviewer Karl Sigman noted, “I gambled and took a risk: I bought one. Now that...
Now You See Her, Now You Don't
This striking artwork can be found on the Pacific Coast Highway in Del Mar, California in front of a plastic surgery office.
How to Post Comments on Copper
We get queries on how to post comments at the end of Copper articles. Here's how to get set up to leave comments: To comment at the end of an article, you...
Table of Contents – Issue 222
Music is the Healing Force of the Universe – A 1970 album by Albert Ayler. Isn't it the truth. Three deuces. Issue 222. We’d play that hand! In this issue:...
Take a Musical Trip Back in Time With Jazz Clas...
Octave Records and pianist Tom Amend and his band take listeners on a jazz journey to a hallowed musical era with Jazz Classics: 1940s, the label’s latest release. The album...
The Legend of the King's Shipwright
Once upon a time many years ago in a land far away, there lived a king in a large castle which had a great hall. Every month, the king would...
We’re Audiophiles, and Deserve Some Respect!
October 2, 2025 is the 10th annual World Audiophile Day, and it makes me think about the whole audiophile “thing.” Mostly because, as anyone who participates in any kind of...
FIDELITY Magazine Visits Revox: 77 Years of Tra...
Copper has an exchange program with selected magazines, where we share articles between publications. This one's from Germany's FIDELITY Magazine. FIDELITY had the opportunity to visit the Revox factory in Villingen,...
How to Play in a Rock Band, 15: Getting Gigs
Playing gigs is what being in a band is all about. Well, some bands might want to just play in someone’s home or studio for fun, or strictly to record...
Talking With Musician, Composer and Record Labe...
In Part One of our interview (Issue 221), David and I talked about the beginning of Chesky Records and his career in the audio industry, and his thoughts about recording...
How to Play in a Rock Band, 14: Show Me the Money!
Bands and artists play to express their music, for fun, to entertain their audiences, to get the girls or guys…and, oh yeah – to get paid. Especially if you’re trying...
The Vinyl Beat: Out Through the In Door?
Exiting Grooves It’s been an interesting couple of months. For that matter, the entire year has been unusual. I cut my vinyl budget way back, given the economy, and have...