Tastes can change

 

This is analog setup updated

- Technics SP-10r turntable

- SAEC WE-308 arm

- 12" Thomas Shick arm

- Audio Technica AT-37e MC cartdrige

- Audio Technica AT-20SLa, AT-15Sa/Ss and AT-180ML180 MM cartridges

- Aurorasound Vida Lcr phono (mk I)

- Klyne 6PE (modified by Lefson)

- Le Pacific Riaa by (audiobyminde)

More than one year with SP-10R. 

More information soon...

- Analog Relax Gingo Leads
- N2 Factory aluminum plinth

Record to Save - David Wilcox with 'How Did You Find Me Here'

I like to indicate recordings that have an artistic depth but which also stand out for their recording qualities. This is a great example. David Wilcox is gentle e clean his arrangements, poetic in his semplicity and in this record he shows uncommon sweetness. Some moments to highlight are the soothing ballad 'Eye of the hurricane' or like the title track 'How did you find me here' intimate and decisive or again 'Leave it like it' with reminiscent of guitarists like Bert Jansch and which highlights a particular mixture of ragtime-folk and jazz or how traditional and popular tracks 'Jamie's secret' and 'Common as the Rain'.A sincere artist but out of ordinary because his songs contain simple reflections on life and facts that happen to us every day.

This is a that every audiophile should have! Just put it on your turntable and you should be surprised

1989  How Did You Find Me Here (A&M Records SP5275)

Record To Save - David Bromberg with 'My Own House'

David Bromberg is a great musician of american tradition, an extremely underrated artist.

This 1978 all-acoustic release 'My Own House' (Fantasy F-9572) is probably the best rapresentation of his work in that includes so many musical styles like bluegrass, blues and roots rock, talk about Americana. Here he plays, beyond his pieces, songs by Hoagy Carmichael and Phil Spector too.

There are many pieces in this work that i like very much, 'Don't let your deal go down', 'Cocaine Blues', 'To know her is to love her', 'Spanish Johnny' and 'Lower left hand corner of the night'. A record that i love for his immediacy and intimancy!!

A special mention for Fantasy Records for quality of his productions. A company that is attentive to the technical aspect of his works. Anso this 'My Own House' stands out for his high quality of sound, a real delight for your ears. In conclusion a vinyl to have without any doubt.

Other great works by D.Bromberg:
1972 David Bromberg (Columbia C 31104)

1972 Demon in Disguise (Columbia C 31753)
1976 How Late'll ya Play 'Til (Fantasy F-79007)

Return to MM cartridges ?

This is a very interesting article (here)

And (here) some info about these new Topwing cartridges ana a review (here).

But some vintage MM Carts like Audio Technica AT-ML170 and AT-ML180  are always remains very enjoyable.

Record to Save - Mink DeVille with 'Cabretta'

Cabretta is first record of Willy Deville with the name Mink DeVille. The sound of this work is a right mix or r&b, soul, american rock with a touch of latin-american inspiration.
There are many good songs here: 'Cadillac walk', 'Party girls', 'Can't do without', 'Mixed up shook up girl' and initial 'Venus of avenue D'.
Pratictically a hidden masperpiece!! 
(not particularly interesting in sonic quality but very very good work)

- 1977 Cabretta - (Capitol Records 3C 064-85137)
- 1978 Return To Magenta (Capitol 3C 054-85461)

VIDA - A LCR phono amplifier with semiconductors

Is a little gem in phono amplifier world from Aurorasound. With his great ability to reproduce music in space and shining exposure of mids.

Some words by Shinobu Karaki (Vida's builder) about devices used in this phono amplifier.
"VIDA is using JFET transistor input, bi-polar transistor output, those are NEC and Toshiba made in period from 1970 to 1990. This era was transistor golden age, like vacuum tube in 1950-1960. Audio specific low noise, very good linearity and high gain amplification transistors were developed. After 2000, there were no  good transistors , because all electronics were changed to digital, and all LSI. Currently just few transistors are manufacturing for digital switching application, of course those are not good for analog audio."

update of day 14/04/2018
In this period Mr. Karaki of Aurorasound gave us the availability of the SPC-VIDA power cord as an upgrade to the supplied power cord of Vida phono amplifier

SPC-VIDA is a DC cable (used in model Vida Supreme too) with concentric reversing twist, noise guard shield and white glass fiber exterior. This is a real upgrade for Vida with increase in resolution and also in the soundstage. Very Good !!

Osage - Record Cleaning Brush

I'm using for some years this brush with my Okki Nokki. It 's a very interesting product. Cleaning my vinyl is really very good and certainly it outperforms the performance of original brush of my Okki Nokki machine.
If you have a Okki Nokki, Vpi or Clearaudio record cleaning machine I recommend you to try this brush.
I bought Osage brush directly from website of manufacturer (here).

Recommended !!

Records to Save - Leo Kottke with 'My Father's Face'

I recently discovered this work of  Leo Kottke. I thought his records were only instrumental but this also sings and he does in great way. I have in my collection his instrumental masterpiece '6 & 12 String Guitar' that reminds certain works of John Fahey.

But here Kottke combines his music in fresh and original way with traditional elements like folk and blues creating a very personal music and little abstract but also 'very American'. 
Thanks also to the production of T Bone Burnett he alternates beautiful instrumental like 'Theme from The Rick and Bob Report' and 'William Powell' with ballads sung with his deep voice and persuasive as 'Fix My Car', 'Everybody lies' and 'Jack gets up' latter very special.  

An adorable work that forces me to the discovery of his other records like 'Greenhouse', 'My feet are smiling' and also 'Ice water'.

Sound of this record is Excellent...
Good Listening !!


Private Music (209 910)

- 1969 6 & 12 String Guitar - Takoma (C-1024)
- 1972 Greenhouse - Capitol Records (ST-11000)
- 1972 My Feet are Smiling - Capitol Records (ST-11164) 
- 1974 Ice Water - Capitol Records (ST-11262)
- 1974 Dreams and all that stuff - Capitol Records (E-ST 11335)
- 1980 Guitar Music - Chrysalis (203 646-320)

AT33 series with a new top model

This AT33PTG cartdrige now has his big brother... Audio Technica At33Sa.

First impressions after somedays of listening At33Sa. The sonic characteristics of PTG are maintained but SA increases the efficiency of the low frequencies that are more controlled, less slow and more articulate than the PTG (I'm very fascinated about this). I am surprised by improvement in the mid-high frequencies that in PTG are 'magical'. On At33Sa there is more definition !!
A great quality that I'm noticing is that at33sa is very quiet and this allows better microcontrast and microdetails.
Up to 1000 Euro and really hard to do better !!

Le disque du free jazz - Monoceros by Evan Parker

I believe this is the best recording of soprano saxophone that Evan Parker has ever done. Genial and uncompromising experimenter, i think that Parker has not yet found an heir to this work and its performance today is not more upsetting as during periods of release of this disc. The first time i listened this record first word that i thought was WOW. Pure improvisation in shocking immediacy !! 
It was recorded (in 1978) directly to disk using the direct-cut technique. In fact, the quality of recording is very good and you can listen to every smallest resonance that is emitted by the Parker instrument in the recording room.
If you like this 'kind of music' try to listen with headphones in the evening you will not regret.
Truly Amazing !

Turntables

confusing to choose?

Compact Cassettes

A great site for A History of Compact Cassettes

Listen to September

These are vinyls purchased recently, and in some cases with few euro. But above all,  these are Very Interesting works

Doc Watson - Same Title 1963 (VANGUARD VSD-79152) 

Folk Blues from US

Masahiko Togashi - Session in Paris Vol.1 Song of Soil 1979 (PADDLE WHEEL GP 3206)

Japan Free Jazz from this interesting  percussionist, with Don Cherry

David Munrow - Ecco La Primavera - Florentine music of 14th century (Argo ZRG 642) 

Beautiful Ancient Music from Early Music Consort and David Munrow

Leon Redbone - Double Time 1977 (Warner Bros RS 2971)

New discovery by this ironic and original bluesman.. Great!

Holger Czukay - On the way to the peak of normal

This is a Great Disc. From krautrock era Holger Czukay pulls out (we are in 1981) this incredible album that will be of great inspiration for much artists.

I'm looking (on vinyl) at the first disc 'CANAXIS' out of the CAN which I consider a masterpiece, but I must admit that this 'On The Way to the Peak of Normal' is a nice feel ...

It also recorded pretty good!

From inner details of Holger...

"Recording tape has been widely used with the emphasis on achieving maximun high fidelity. However, its special character lies more in the artificial possibilities it offers. Just as film footage is invariably modified or adapted in some way before it reaches the screen so the tapes of this album were extensively treated - a process involving thousands of edits and much enriched copying. Both the uniqueness of any studio (its sound, precise physical dimensions, etc.) and the development of such electronic components as recording machines and sound systems mean that a musician can organize his wrk in specifically indivydual ways. Just as printer works with his brushes and colori, so the music here is 'painted' onto the tapes -rather than merely 'produced' in the old sense of the term.

Side1: 'Ode to Perfume'

The vibrato guitar at the beginning contains the 'origin' code of the whole piece. Though i played it as conventionally as i possibly could, the music only gradually reveals its true nature - i tend to visualize its progress as being like a trick-film journey into the elaborate weavings of a Persian carpet. The stations along the way are:

1 A welcome

2 Chorale of the Majestic

3 Ballad

4 The Males are marching

5 Out of the Fogbank

6 Into

7 The Final Chorale of the Majestic

8 Fragrance

Racommended listening whilst rollerskating, driving or flying

Side2: 'On the Way to the Peak of Normal'

This was composed out of a spontaneous session involving the musicians of S.Y.P.H and two radios. The ensuing hypnotic atmosphere was spliced into splinters of musical moments, then reassembled - not always in the same sequence. Thus one hour of musica is compressed into 7 1/2 minutes.

'Witches Multiplication Tale' This contains Les Vampyrettes instructions on how to get rich.

'Two Bass Shuffle' A piece that dates from 1976, when i remembered the first artificial guitar recording of Les Paul and Mary Ford in the 1950s.

'Hiss 'N' Listen' As a boy, i dreamt of getting married and leading a normal family life on a space station full of communication receivers, banked TV screens, and all Kinds of technology.

This music was recorded in just such a visionary place, but without the family of my fantasy. Instead, Jah Wobble showed up with hiss bass and switched me back so years..."

Private Collection: Inside Pete Paphides' record room

In Memory of Claudio Abbado

R.I.P.

Two is better than one ?

I used my orbe's motor only like belt pulley and results are ...
big improvement in sounstage with more stability and more precision to locate instruments in acustic scene.
I'm ready for more experiments in next future on this topic
Very Good !!

Happy New Year

For a Hopeful Year !!

Townes Van Zandt

Great album from Poppy about Townes Van Zandt (wiki). I got this 'High, Low and In Between' (PYS-5700) few days ago and now is continuously on my turntable.

"Musically, Van Zandt was the place where country, blues, folk and gospel hung out together. While some songs, like 'Two Hands' and 'When He Offers His Hand' on High, Low And In Betweenare straight-ahead gospel, his most memorable tracks are the ones which defy any specific classification. 'You Are Not Needed Now' and 'To Live Is to Fly', from High, Low and in Between and 'Sad Cinderella' and 'Don’t Let The Sunshine Fool You', from The Last Great Townes resonate with a sound and a quality distinct to Van Zandt."

Other Lp that require attention are:
- The Late Great Townes Van Zandt (1972) Poppy PP-LA004-F
- Live At The Old Quarter (1977) Tomato TOM-2-7001

Another great work by Don Cherry

I have to admit Don Cherry is my favorite artist at the time. I found this Lp some weeks ago in a 'street market' of my city for few money. When i inserted this on my turntable i said... WOW !! 
In this work (ECM 1230) with Ed Blackwell on drums DC continues the exploration outside the borders of jazz. Avant-garde here is obvious. DC uses simple melodies that blend perfectly with the drums of EB which gives the work a very special soul.
... and then we have a superb recording !!
I highly recommend this beautiful disc