Wednesday, February 27, 2013

KeyStrobe from England - A suitable strobo-light for classic Garrard 301?





Definitely YES!









A quartz locked LED strobe light source for the Garrard 301
Have constant reassurance that your 301 speed is correct

Although later Garrard 301’s were fitted with a strobe marked platter, they relied on ambient light for illumination, giving poor or no speed indication.
Many KeyStrobe hand-held strobe lights have been sold to 301 owners, but we wanted to develop a better solution:

We knew that no one would want to modify their deck in any permanent way, so we developed 
lightbeam
An ingenious yet discreet design that blends well into the classic 301 appearance.

* Subtle neon-orange light source in keeping with the 301’s appearance.
*Gives clear light illumination of platter edge
* Complete with cables and KeyStrobe-pulser, to produce a quartz accurate, clear & sharp strobe display
*No permanent modifications required
*Any mains voltage at any frequency
*Works for 50Hz & 60Hz platters
*UK designed and built
*12 month warranty
Please note this product is only suitable for Garrard 301’s with the strobe platter.
If you own an early Garrard 301 without markings, we recommend these products:
KeyStrobe-duo hand-held strobe light & KeyStrobe-au Gold strobe disc. Both are available on eBay.


Decca & rotary-headshell and fishing-pole arm





A variation on Kimura RS-3 and Bosoeum "Big Nose" headshells, here with a sexy Decca moving iron...









Cool!





Tuesday, February 26, 2013

A sought-after disc: David Munrow and The Early Music Consort of London play music by David Cain





David Cain

INCIDENTAL MUSIC


Music from The Hobbit
Music from Hajji Baba
Music from The Jew of Malta
Music from Much Ado About Nothing
Christopher Hogwood Harpsichord, Harp & Organ
James Tyler Lute, Cittern, Treble & Tenor viols
Oliver Brookes Bass viol, Violone & Bass crumhorn
Michael Laird Cornetto, Piccolo trumpet & D Trumpet
Roger Brenner Alto & Tenor sackbuts
Barry Quinn Percussion
Eric Allen Percussion
Dennis Clift Trumpet
Dennis Nisbett Treble viol
James Bowman Countertenor
Martyn Hill Tenor
The Early Music Consort of London
David Munrow
Recorded
BBC Maida Vale Studios, London, UK
Released
'71
 LP
BBC REC 91S






BookShop Dept. - introducing John Thomas' "Kalamazoo Gals" at RetroFret shop in Brooklyn, NY





On Sat, March 2nd, 2013... I'll be there, at RetroFret shop, in spirit-form, folks:-)))





Great topic for a - I bet it - great book.


Thanking Jack Hirschorn.







Byer Industries Model T-19-B3 - a 16" rim-drive broadcasting turntable from Downunder



A great (or should I say: "large"?) Australian studio/broadcasting with a sooo sexy 16 inches platter... a German friend found one and used it for a one-of-a-kind Buck Rogers-looking bespoke turntable...

This one is actually for sale on Ebay from an Aussie eBayer... 






















Today






Almost a winter "hanami" - i.e. snow cherry blossoming...













A Krautrock Sampler




If you're not a Krautrock obsessed - already owning the originals discs - like yours truly, this could represents a cool compendium for the curious newbie...







Soul Jazz Records’ new Deutsche Electronische Musik 2 is our second voyage into the world of Krautrock and German electronic music from the 1970s and early 1980s.

 This double CD pack (with over 2 ½ hours of amazing music!) features a stunning line-up of seminal German groups: Can, Faust, Popul Vuh, Neu, Cluster, Amon Duul II, La Dusseldorf, as well as a host of lesser known and more obscure groups and artists such as Agitation Free, Broselmachine, Niagara and many more!

As well as the original pioneers, Deutsche Electronische Musik 2 also features many of the second wave of German electronic artists and groups from the late 70s and early 80s (DAF, Asmus Tietchens, Rolf Trostel) who successfully connected new wave, minimal synth and a European post-punk avant-gardism with the earlier more established Krautrock pioneers who began at the start of the 70s.

Influenced as much by the electronic experimentalism of Stockhausen, as the progressive rock of USA and UK underground rock, young German artists seamlessly created a new music with its own unique identity, which they ironically entitled Krautrock. By the end of the 1970s, with the arrival of new wave synthetics and complex drum machines this music had mutated once again into new electronic visions reflecting a new Germany. 

The double CD pack comes in classic Soul Jazz slipcase/2CD/book with large booklet and excellent extensive new sleevenotes (by David Stubbs, Guardian/Wire writer and author of the excellent recent Krautrock book) as well as lots of exclusive photos. 

The vinyl edition comes as limited-edition two volumes of heavyweight vinyl, super-loud, gatefold sleeve double-albums featuring all sleevenotes and text.


Tracklisting:
CD1/2xRECORD1

1.  A.R. & Machines - Globus  (2:57)
2.  Can - Halleluwah  (4:42)
3.  Roedelius - Le Jardin  (4:26)
4.  Michael Rother - Karussell  (5:22)
5.  Popol Vuh - Der Grosse Krieger (3:10)
6.  Michael Hoenig - Sun and Moon  (4:13)
7.  Agitation Free - You Play For Us Today (6:15)
8.  DAF - Co Co Pino (3:23)
9.  Harald Grosskopf - Emphasis (4:54)
10. Amon Düül II - A Morning Excuse (3:17)
11. Conrad Schnitzler & Wolf Sequenza - Fata Morgana (5:12)
12. Bröselmaschine - Nossa Bova (8:06)
13. Eno, Moebius & Roedelius - Base & Apex  (4:30)
14. Gila - In A Sacred Manner (4:41)
15. Wol fgang Riechmann - Himmelblau  (8:44)

CD 2/2xRECORD2

1.  A.R. & Machines - Als Hätt Ich Das Alles Schon Mal Gesehen  (5:28)
2.  Gila - Sundance Chant (4:10)
3.  NEU! - Isi (5:00)
4.  Pyrolator - Danger Cruising  (3:15)
5.  Sergius Golowin - Die Weisse Alm  (5:55)
6.  You -  Electric Day (5:48)
7.  Niagara - Gibli   (5:26)
8.  Popol Vuh - Ja Sie Sollen Gottes Kinder Heissen Agnus Dei, Agnus Dei (2:42)
9.  Rolf Trostel - Der Prophet  (9:42)
10. Electric Sandwich - China (8:08)
11. Asmus Tietchens - Zeebrugge  (7:01)
12. Faust - Krautrock (11:47)


Deutsche Elektronische Musik:
"A near-definitive guide to some of the world's most extraordinary music." ***** The Guardian





Wednesday, February 20, 2013

R.I.P. Dept. - Kevin Ayers passed away




He was 68...







A very pataphisical death for an old dandy...


... yes, and now talking about Death itself, as... "Whatevershebringwesing".




How, how I loved this very disc decades ago... his low, baritone voice, a young Mike Oldfield and beloved Lol Coxhill... and this cover!



R.I.P. Kevin and condolences to his two daughters and his sister.




First Eugen Muller-Dombois' disc on EMI Electrola





Found it, at last! 

I was searching this disc mostly for historic reasons, to better appreciate MAESTRO Muller-Dombois' playing from the very beginning to his last awesome recordings... but I was - nonetheless - pleased and surprised by the fine music here contained.





Seems only lutanists has the sensitivity and feeling for playing and recording in a natural acoustic environment... and shamelessly pointing it out: the below liner notes were written almost 50 years ago... when other (so called) top musicians were still using fingernails, heavy gauge and tension heavy instruments and playing lute like a pear-shaped weird guitar,  too often recorded in a studio with microphones-in-mouth!





























I'll NEVER be tired to bless Eugen Muller-Dombois' playing and his paramount importance as a teacher at Schola Cantorum Basiliensis: lute and lute performing praxis wouldn't probably be as we know and appreciate these days, without him!





Eugen Muller-Dombois with his '65 19-chorus Lute made by luthier Sandro H. Zanetti (Pontresina)

..................

Here below find a fine example of another instrument from same luthier:















At Leopold Museum in Wien - Naked Men




Homophobic? Fearful of your sexuality? Do NOT look at the following link:-)





Find it VERY civilized and artistic the almost antrophological display of the Man in Art in a period spanning a couple of centuries...



FOR THE MOST DAREDEVILS OR EXHIBITIONISTS AMONG US;-) it's possible to attend at the exhibition itself naked, as well... male or female doesn't matter... we're all made the same, don't us?





Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Arche' SRA headshell from Germany






This headshell really intrigues me... like weird,  one-of-a-kind Bosoeum "Big Nose" and Kimura Labs RS-3 from Japan, this German-made micro-mechanical beauty is weird and seldom-seen enough and - as a BIG plus -  promises a perfect SRA fine-tuning and cartridge aligning, something which combined with my own massive 22 kilos bronze armbase using Fidelity Research B-60 VTA will allow (virtually) all my cartridges to fully express their potential.











I guess I'll also need an USB-microscope like these... as the way we look at our cartridge diamond would be like this!






So, at RS Components, Dino-Lite's best models, including software, costs much less than other "voodoo" audiophile paraphernalia:-))): to become SRA/cartridges/analog best friend... WOW!













New Elodis' Goto horns and drivers holder






My friend Franz Hinterlehner (of Elodis of Austria, the maker of my Gotorama speakers) just completed this AMAZING horns holder for a fellow Goto user, a customer from Far East.






















... find it VERY amusing Franz always so humbly apologize about poor pixes quality:-)))

Hey, Franz... look at my Blog's iPhone pixes:-))))

Seriously, TRUE workmanship and materials SUPREME quality is pouring from ANY details of these amazing holders which - I trust and hope - will make the owner VERY satisfied.