WJAAS - Takeshi Teragaki-san new "Terra SP3000" loudspeakers

Cool design and supreme technical features and building and design care for the details (at Y 2.940.000) from a true sensei-san, Takeshi Teragaki... only for Japanese market, as ALL his handicrafts, like his superb floating idler-wheel turntable.

Clever.

Telescopes and microscopes

After the recent German audio trip, I was considering the real, different and similar aim of the above visual/optical gears... one is designed and conceived for stars exploring and studying, the other for cells and bacterias and the like...

Can we affirm one is superior to the other?

Nope, sure not...

Klaus' 5 ways horn system in his amazing auditorium, his 16hz lower notes rendition, involving dynamics and incredible soundstage is like Mount Palomar's observatory and its 200cm Hale's telescope.

Reinhard's system is more a microscope, where you listen to Neil Young's Martin acoustic guitar strings rattling at the peg, to his breathing and shoes rubbing the wooden stage on (beloved) Live at Massey Hall concert and more...

My own Gotorama? Also a microscope, where me, myself and I enjoy looking at cells multiplying, endlessly... where I feel musicians clothes movements in front of the mikes, where in a duet the sometimes silent musician is still perceived as a presence, waiting to play again.

I sure like both looking at a vast, say, mountain landscape as I like loosing myself in a flower beautiful complexities, with same level of involvement and overall pleasure.

Like in Nature, the smallest is as miracolous as the greatest, an ant or an elephant are both natural, living masterpieces... our different near-field listening vs. more extreme 5-6 meters from speakers listening are, well, the same of a whole.

No winners, in music... our difference our strength, in harmony.

Jonathan Faralli's Percussion XX on Arts

Very quick, almost telegraphic... BUY this disk, period.

Jonathan Faralli, an Italian musician, a classical percussionist and a Conservatory of Music teacher, is such a well kept secret: try to find the "Red" band first cover issue...

Thanking Jean Hiraga-san for writing a review on Nouvelle Revue du Son, some times ago, and for recently undusting and unveiling its stellar qualities, both musical and as a top recording, in 24 bit/96Khz glorious sound and awesome, incredible dynamics.

Bon chance.

Audio Whales Ltd.

Just back home from three days of love, peace and music...

Woodstock?!?!

Nope... Koln, Germany, folks...

Like whales have their Baja California's Cortez Sea buen retiro, my audio pals, Klaus, Bernd, Jean, Andrè, Julien, Reinhard, Doede... and myself of course... we NOW have our batteries re-charging place, Da Place for Da Men;-)))

With the soundtrack of Jean Guillot's (superb organ rendition) "Pictures at an Exhibition" on Dorian label, Jonathan Faralli's Percussion XX on Arts label (that prepared piano!!!), again Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an..." by James Levine and MET Orchestra on Deutsche Gramophone label (thanks a lot, Jean), Ondekoza's taiko drums on JVC label, Jaki Liebezeit and Burnt Friedman and Cream, Who, Miles... whatever we liked to play, for hours of pure enjoyment... blissfully swimming in the VERY best reproduced music, ever.

A sea of sound, deep, various, luscious and interesting, enriching...

Like whales, we already left Cortez Sea, heading up north to Alaska or something;-)

Our everyday lives are back, always the same BUT a little different, as well: a part of our soul is stronger, as friendship, empathy, that SUPERB seldom experienced friendly atmosphere is now part of it... it's newly inscribed in our DNA.

Thanks to the above friends, old and new... and awesome Moni and Klaus' warm hospitality.

Greeting you all with a joyous, playful jump out of water;-)

SPLASH!

P.S - a more "serious" report will follow, with more appropriate pixes, as well...

WJAAS (slightly disguised) - Shie Kasai or Japan and Canada, at table

A Japanese designer and sushi/food artist living in Montreal, Canada...

Cool.

N.O.S. - New Old Stock Dept. - Jessamine from Portland, OR

Same ol' story... what's new? A group I never listened to or something which reached shop shelves yesterday?

I visited Boris' Beczar disc shop in Padua and he hinted to me about this group, Jessamine... shoegaze, space/rock, Soft Machine, Can, Neu!... and to me also Mazzy Star, Opeth (in their Damnation, only...) and Gastr del Sol... all this and more, ALL classy milk-shaked to create "something" new and intriguing enough to purchase is a single stroke all their original vinyls...

Enjoying and swinging on their old/new "songs"... the group disbanded in 2000, but their music sounds like it was played and recorded in 1971 or in 2013... a cool timeless feature:-)

A nice add to my discotheque... and to everyone into post-rock infinite declinations.

Give it a try, folks...

Goldring Lenco G 88 is spinning

Thanking Peter and his Holy Hands, I'm enjoying my Lenco G 88 since this morning...

After pleasantly trying it with Kimura RS1A arm and Shure V15II for a couple sides, I swapped in a hurry to my usual dream combo - i.e. bronze armbase, Schick arm and Lumiere DST with Western Electric 618B MC transformer and - finally - I enjoyed the Lenco "non-sound", a turntable whose noise floor and silence background is TRULY superb and seldom heard... it's strongly reminding me my Garrardzilla 301:-)... a BIG compliment, as Lenco is so far from - say - homogenized EMT 930st sound... on Lenco, as I feel it's NOT only the merits of Schick and Lumiere, every record and track is so transparent and different to each other... you not only know BUT you also listen to a track appreciating if and when it's recorded the day before or after the previous... you "feel" the weather, humidity, climate difference during the recording... like on my Garrardzilla - say 8/10, Lenco vs. 301.

When a friend recently listened to a Savall/Kjiuken's viola da gamba duet on an Astree magnificient disc played on my Garrardzilla 301 with 13 kilos arm and super smooth bearings, he told me he felt for the very first time the living breathing and interplay of two living musicians seated elbow to elbow, NOT simply a recording... like during a very intimate concert... and it was his very first time with my system... me, myself and I, the owner and user of my system should be, sort-of, prepared to the above... BUT almost every time, my system surprises me... and the new entry, the Goldring Lenco G88 is also a VERY good magnifiying machine, a Zen - straight as an arrow - musical instrument... much welcome in my music room... and still a cheap, classy piece of gear.

Here are some actual pixes of the spinning G 88.

... now it will be easier completing, at last, the hauling and transfering of the Garrardzilla 301 on Ray's solid chassis... I TRULY cannot resist without my vinyls and I trust G88 will be a truly GREAT partner in the next weeks:-)

April 21st 2012 - 5th Record Store Day

Like supporting your local stray dog house and facility, supporting your brick and bones record shop and vinyl/disk pusher is classy and good-taste action... Amazon and Ebay and saving/buying at lowest and lowest prices isn't all, as you'll always find a smile and a cool tip and suggestion from your record shop and people.

Let's pay a visit to them, tomorrow... and let's support them;-)))

Wim Wender's "PINA" or dance, dance otherwise we are lost

Last Wim Wenders' awesome movie dedicated to Pina Bausch's art and vision... I was in tears while looking at this film... the dancers are showing what's the meaning of life, what Man is after and what music is for... movement in space and time.

Strongly, heartfeltly and lovingly suggested to everyone tough enough to deal with emotions and tears...

A moving, naked masterpiece which will leave you breathless for 100 minutes... and Wuppertal will never be so sexy:-)

I love it.

Amarcord Dept. - My very first phono cartridge Shure M75ED Mk2

The M75ED type2 is High Trackability Cartridge with ¾ to 1½ grams tracking weight.

This new improved cartridge offers sound re-creation performance never before available in its price class. Optimized design, parameters give superior high frequency trackability and overall performance second only to the peerless V-15 Type II Improved. Gem-quality "naked" diamond tip is mounted directly to the stylus bar to reduce effective stylus tip mass - and improve trackability. Bi-radial Elliptical Dynetic Stylus. De Luxe moulede housing assembly. An excellent cartridge choice for use in finest quality playback equipment.

Memory lane... it was my very first cartridge, ever... used with my Thorens TD 160 and TP-16 arm, Harman Kardon Citation 12 and 11 amp and pre-amp and Tandberg Studio Monitor speakers... no cables and audiophile fussiness, back in 1980: only music, music, music... and girls;-)!

Strange I'm using, these days, a N.O.S. Shure V15II in my Kimura RS1A rotary arm and it sounds gorgeous...




Thanks to Iain for his beautiful gal pix... I fell in love.

Starker/Sebok's Erato Beethoven Complete Cello Sonatas

-BEETHOVEN: Cello sonatas (complete) - Janos STARKER (cello) / György Sebök (piano) 2LP gatefold ERATO "Jardin des Arts" stereo EJA 6/7 (Recorded in 1959 at the Salle Adyar, Paris - Recording producer: Michel Garcin - Recording engineer: Daniel Madelaine) Luxury limited issue: Copy n°312/3000 (F) gatefold & records mint 1090€


As found in a famous French disc-merchant recent list... if you have this disc in your discotheque, don't throw it away;-)!

Worth keeping in a safe-box... shamelessly, I have a copy, too;-)))... I purchased it in Paris in early '90s... also if I must (honestly) add that I own also a cool Erato Japanese pressing and MHS' pressing.

I also love Rostropovitch/Richter's on Philips... BUT Starker/Sebok's is TRULY a stellar rendition, so full-bodied and lively and epic.

My friend Denis' new dark-room making in Rotterdam

Denis Guzzo, a crazy italian guy who made a living in The Netherlands... a photographer, I love his work;-)

Teres' Verus rim-drive motor

Sure a cool piece of gears, but not a beauty, must say - but you can hide it behind the platter, if the case;-) - nonetheless, could Verus rim-drive motor represent the booster and the foundation of a cool alternative to vintage idler-wheel designs?

Just have your arm-base & arm, platter and bearing and plinth bespoke-made... and here you go!

A modular world class turntable for peanuts or so? What an idea!!!

Thanking Luigi for his (unwanted?;-)) pushing me on the matter... and, as I noticed this is 1000th post I wrote in my Blog, thanks to ALL readers and followers:-)

Garrard 301's alternative use - the Primitive turntable... next step: vase making;-)

Garrardzilla proved to be a beast in every sense... the Garrard and its (was writing his;-))) Tesla motor ALWAYS suffered of faster spinning-syndrome... Loricraft and others used an old school method - i.e. running in parallel a bulb to absorb some voltage, thus obtaining proper speed... someone else modified brass pulley to correct speed... I (humbly) choose the (critical;-)) mass approach... the 13 kilos bronze platter runs 33.33 flat with or without arm/cartridge and also carbon-fiber bristles brush doesn't effect that much the platter spinning.

That's what I tried, as I VERY cheaply obtained a fourth turntable... I bought a cheap, yet superb bearing spindle and a 3.5 kilos stainless steel platter, had a solid slate cm 35 x 35 "bullion" made same heigth of my Garrardzilla 301 and polished it with oil and ONLY made a center, very stiff and precise hole for bearing... bolted bearing to slate and mounted the platter and put on 301's lefthand side...

Voilà... some 150 mm silk wire and tensioned it between the flywheel/motor (301) and the super silent extra vibes-free very basic turntable... a second armbase and here we go!

So, EMT 930st, Lenco G88 with Kimura RS1A, Primitive (the above described motor-less beast/freak) and Garrardzilla 301, as also 301 itself improved with the added passive fly-wheel mass... this is my podium, from lower to higher rank;-)

The silk run Primitive is playing - soundwise - more beefy and macho with subtleties, more idler-wheel-like than the expected lightness of a tape/silk/belt driven turntable...

Strange and intriguing...

You can use both turntables, as while 301 spins itself and Primitive, as well, nothing negative happens... no hot motor or... nothing wrong, only music.

In a next life I could increase Primitive platter weight...

What represents the above? A 301's (bulky) accessory, a joke, an attempt?!? ... dunno, yet an interesting experience... not sillier than some platter underside fly-wheel, belt driven, idler-wheel-less 301's, anyway!

... and, let me finish lightly, as 301 never ends to surprise me: it's tweaker dream come true... and definitely NOT a poor-man Micro 8000;-)

I already see an older, deaf me... spinning ol' trusty'n'rusty;-) 301 as a vase making spinning gear...

More serious pixes of the weirdo will follow, of course...

Red Hot Chilli Pepper;-)))

Hot!

Oregon 2012

... almost a private four-to-one show - i.e. a concert seen in VERY first row in a tiny room, smaller than Ronnie Scott's in London, being one meter from Ralph Towner, same from Paul McCandless and two meters from Glen Moore and his mighty Klotz double-bass...

This happened at Panic Jazz Club in Marostica, Oregon's first concert of their european tour...

A truly lovely, intimate experience...

Fabio's...

music system...

Amazing, Fabio... only: was it REALLY necessary "that" double-bass neck, fretboard and peghead?

Richard Osborn's raga guitar music

Richard Osborn studied and performed with acoustic guitar trailblazer Robbie Basho in the early 1970′s, then disappeared from public view. A severe injury to his left hand prevented him from playing the guitar for almost 20 years. He spent that time creatively as a painter. Discovering he had regained enough strength in his hand, he joyously returned to the guitar around 1995 and began to rebuild his technique and approach.
Rich re-emerged in 2010 with his cut on Tompkins Square’s “Beyond Berkeley Guitar”, a survey of current guitarists influenced by the great innovators John Fahey and Robbie Basho in the 1960’s. But alone among the youngsters on that album, Rich had actually studied and performed with Robbie Basho, before Basho’s untimely death in 1986. Now he is once again playing in the “free raga style”, bringing back this open, free-ranging style of improvisation to the acoustic guitar scene, and exploring the vast horizons it opens up.
Rich’s solo album debut, Giving Voice: Guitar Explorations is now available at CDBaby and other major outlets.

I got two copies... one for me and one for my pal, Daniele:-)))

Thanks, Rich... your gorgeous '15 De Lucia acoustic 6 strings and playing are truly a sincere and seldom heard musical voice.

I love it.

Robbie Basho lives!!!

Listen and learn, enjoy, loose yourself in Robbie's vision, here interviewed and presenting his - at the time - newly issued Zarthus on Vanguard... and here two cool downloads, Robbie Basho live in 1978 and in 1982.

I STRONGLY & sincerely wish to spread his timeless music more and more and more vs. Muzak and empty guitar tapping gonzos around, famous or unfamous...

I owe it to Him... it's like a life long flu, a quiet fire burning somewhere inside me, a flame, a colour... sharing, for free music, musical freedom, market unrelated, as ALL best music and all (humble) greats always said...

Spread the verb... share... and listen!

Flu recovering with a Stella...

... twelve strings acoustic guitar, in deeeep Robbie Basho-like mode, (badly) playing his "Cathedral et Fleur-de-Lis":-)

... and Chicco sleeps while I play... what a sincere compliment.


It definitely seems I need some (good) vacation:-)))