My Heroes Dept. - Robert Crumb and his 78 rpm collection and audio system

This VERY man is an humble genius... he knows! Look at his audio system and at the SUPERB, esoteric 78s collection...

Have a look here, as well.

3-D vinyl printing

Yes, folks... I wouldn't risk also the cheapest of my cartridges on one of these... imagine that the maximum resolution ratio digital 3-D printers were used and the frequency resolution had to be lowered to an embarrassing 9khz (vs. 44.1khz of the standard CDs... let's do not even quote the fractal complexness and resolution of analog...) to obtain a resin print of an Mp3 file!

The above scanning of "record" grooves... mmmhhh... they looks quite approximate vs. the analog cutting, so smooth and rounded and different in modulation...

The sonic quality?

An Edison-era recording sound quality, at best...

Early attempts... the technology is still young and improvements are likely possible, soon.

Find it really amusing that - like the recent post about ELP's laser vinyl turntable, the old, good vinyl with all its shortcomings still is so mysteriously (or not...) doing fine.

... mmmhhh... a looong and windy road ahead.

Paul Simon & Edie Brickell's (last) Saturday Night live...

Hate being into gossip... but when two great musicians, a couple, as well risk their reputation for "fighting", in New Canaan, CT, on last Saturday... well, without commenting and only linking to the polite, super-partes Rolling Stone's article, it's a sort-of, must doing.

I wish and trust nothing serious happened and over, now...

... avoiding to transform themselves, ahem... from New Bohemians, into New Barbarians:-)

ELP

ELP? 

Emerson, Lake & Palmer?

Nahhhh...

It's old Finial Laser turntable which reincarnated more and more times since 1989... a 20 millions US Dollars investment pursuing the dream of arm-cartridge-less vinyl retrival.

Enters ELP Laser vinyl player...

Many shows interest about the topic... sure not cheap, but... I also read with interest about this quest.

This man - Chiba-san - is the visionary behind the product and idea.

A new future for our vinyls?

Food for thought!

Sunday Disc - Nils Landgren - Eternal Beauty - ACT (2014)

I'm an avid buyer of ACT's discs... this German label is passionate and tasty with music, recordings and record covers... I love it.

This very disc, standards sung by Nils' beautiful crooner voice, sometimes reminding Nick Drake or Piers Faccini, is accompanied by a classic jazz combo, piano, double-bass and drums... as plus Nils Landgren also plays classy trombone...

Recorded in Hansa Studio in Berlin with its plethora of Telefunken's classic studio gears and microphones and Eq and mike preamps... tubes everywhere and the sound is smooth and silky as it can be!

Please buy it, it's NOT adventurous music, only honest, beautiful, lounging quiet music... only, please, begin from side 2 instead of 1;-)))

Gorge Harrison's "Isn't it a pity" is just a masterpiece!

A recording 2die4... the flawless vinyl is coming with a complimentary download Mp3 card.

Thanks to ACT.

Sunday Song Dept. - Annie Whitehead's "Mozambique" from Mix Up on Paladin Records (1984)

A rainy Sunday morning... made it shiny anyway, while listening to trombonist extraordinaire Annie Whitehead and her first solo disc with its very Mama Africa shade.

Annie Whitehead, the Trombone Lady who played with 2Tones and Robert Wyatt and Penguin Cafe Orchestra and in several British jazz projects, is in my opinion heralding the Britishness of old Ogun's discs.

The sound of the disc in cinematic, groovy and very '80s... nonetheless a pleasure to listen to and "Mozambique" on side 1 with its clean, deep bass notes and rhythm is something to make you shake and dance.

A nice wax... and a superb musician!

A couple of new Facebook buttons

... sometimes these should be used... ohhhh, yes.

A new John Fahey related book - Steve Lowenthal's "Dance of Death - the life of John Fahey, American Guitarist"

WOW, folks... after the recent purchasing of volume 1 of AWESOME Claudio Guerrieri's "John Fahey Handbook" an amazing essay about the source of JF's music... here is another cool book, out on next June... book release party at Ace Hotel in NYC on June 3rd, 2014.

Cannot stand in my shoes...

M-A Recording's ultimate "silky" vinyl inner-sleeves

The very best... lint-free, exceptionally smooth...

(from M-A's site)

"MA Recordings now offers the analog audiophile and vinyl enthusiast the most elegant LP storage solution conceivable. Our long term association with manufacturers in Japan, has empowered us to create the most beautiful Vinyl inner-sleeve ever produced. Made from two extremely soft synthetic fibers with inherent antistatic properties, these sleeves will not trap moisture and consequently, will prevent the growth of mold and mildew on the surfaces of your LPs.

Assuming you want to preserve the integrity of the playing surfaces of your LPs, these sleeves are simply a "no-brainer"!!

HOWEVER, imported Japanese elegance and innovation does not come cheap.... If we were to wholesale these sleeves to others, they would easily cost close to one US Dollar each, if not more! As we think that most people will not spend that much money, we have decided to keep the price down by only selling direct... We at MA Recordings would like as many people as possible to acquire and enjoy these elegant, but simple creations. As you can see in the photo, they really are phenomenally beautiful! There is nothing like them...

Available in packs of 50 pcs, the sleeves are sold exclusively on the MA Recordings site for $33 each for domestic USA orders only; not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but again, these sleeves really are hands down, the best there is."

Indeed...

Jimmy Giuffre 3 debut album on Atlantic (1957)

I shot this SUPERB disk, today... got it in gorgeous mono while shopping in Ginza, Tokyo... a nice, nice shop with supportive and extremely kind personnell.

The sound is EXTREMELY lively also if the tape hiss and the several noises, hums, buzzing and crackling coming from Jim Hall's guitar amp are very... well, here.

The clarinet, tenor and alto are also greatly recorded and the double-bass is AWESOMELY captured.

This record opened an era... nobody tried a drumless trio, before... Manfred Eicher - I guess - loved it, also if it was the Giuffre trio with Steve Swallow and Paul Bley which changed his life... ECM was the result of this inspiration!

A fantastic record and recording... my mono Japanese copy is gorgeous... sure worth some search.

Soooo true!

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser - the best cartridge diamond styli cleaning?

Thanks, Mr Clean!

Before and after Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser...

P.S. - in Italy, the name of the product is "Mastro Lindo Gomma Magica"... and it REALLY works!

Holographic rock heroes from the vaults - Jerry Garcia & The Grateful Dead

... awesome new boundaries, folks...

Stemming from the success of Tupac's hologrammed performance at Coachella in 2012, the living members of The Grateful Dead have announced two exclusive performances with a hologram version of the late-guitarist, Jerry Garcia.

The performances will be held this July, in two of the Dead's most storied cities, New York and San Francisco, at Madison Square Garden and the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium respectively. 

The Jerry hologram was created by HoloJams, a company devoted to capturing beloved dead rock musicians in hologram form. About the use of hologram-Jerry, CEO Sam Watts said, "We're very excited that The Grateful Dead have decided to use our holographic Jerry. Once we ensure that these performances are well-received, there's no telling what we'll do. We could even be looking at a nationwide tour." Watts went on to talk about some of his other holograms, including a Freddie Mercury, Jimi Hendrix, and even Paul McCartney. "The McCartney one is mainly for us at HoloJams... we can never get enough Beatles music."

While some may find this decision controversial, the move is aimed at younger Dead fans who never had the opportunity to see Jerry Garcia perform. This particularly appealed to one fan, Jenny Sunshine, 19, said, "This is awesome! Now I'll finally be able to rock out with Jerry!"

The Hologram-Jerry has been programmed from over hundreds of hours of Grateful Dead performances, predominantly from the late-60s and early-70s. "We wanted to capture Jerry at his finest," says Watts. "And really, what could be more heady than 1972 Jerry?"

Good question, Mr. Watts. Be sure to let us know how you feel about this performance in the comments!

---

Who's next?

Easter

From Germany...

... to USA.

Ears & hearing - worried about your earwax?

Here is the solution... an ears probe handycam.

What a perversion...

Peter Reinders' new "Solid" bearing for Lenco turntable

Peter is REALLY "the" Lenco Moghul... with his PTP creation, based on Lenco motor and idler-wheel he simply advanced the concept, the almost Zen design of the Swiss turntable.

A Peter's Solid 9 with Corian plinth and Woody arm...

He recently introduced the "Solid" bespoke bearing, even further improving the Lenco's ability to outperform also the most expensive and complex designs.

Bravo to Peter.

... ending with the heart of a Lenco... the narrow, cute but effective idler-wheel, spinning, spinning, spinning...

Covers unveiled at MART - Rovereto (Italy)

Yes!

Naked or not, this cover was... IS iconic.

Musings

Stockfisch Records and "3-formats-3 war" - CD vs. SACD vs. Direct-to-disc vinyl

"In January 2007 the Bassface Swing Trio landed in Stockfisch Studios. These amazingly talented musicians with nerves of steel are Thilo Wagner, piano; Jean-Philippe Wadle, upright bass & Florian Hermann, drums. They played Gershwin, celebrating & improvising this music breathtakingly – & swinging!

This is an entirely analog direct-to-disc recording, from the mix & the signal path to the cutting head of the VMS-80 lathe. What makes this particular production interesting is the splitting of the analog stereo sum into 3 destinations. In addition to the direct analog signal for DMM cutting, Stockfisch converted the mix into highest-grade DSD (Direct Stream Digital, 2,8224 MHz) – using a 1-bit converter – & into conventional digital audio format, 16bit/44.1 kHz PCM, as well. This direct-to-disc vinyl record comes with a bonus Stereo Hybrid SACD. This seems to be the 1st opportunity ever to compare 3 formats (CD, SACD, D2D LP) originating from the same analog source & transferred unaltered into 2 digital formats.

Stockfisch has made a very special recording of the trio playing six more or less known Gershwin tunes. It is a direct-to-disc cut SACD. I don`t care very much about what this means from the technical point of view, I just can say, that the result is real great sound. Stunning dynamics, incredible palpability, excellent soundstage, full, open, colourful, a sound for listening enraptured.
But that wouldn`t do if the music wouldn`t be a pleasure, too. The three guys are playing skilfully, with deep emotion or pure fun. They did get rhythm! Straight ahead jazz at it`s best, that every jazz fan will like."



Thanking Reinhard for the interesting hinting... 

Lenco B 55

My newly acquired Lenco B-55 in pristine, unmodded conditions... will use it on-stage for my "TGE's Audio Concerts" - the music from the '60s and '70s which changed the world.

Look at the awesome, gorgeous veneering and such a beauty and pouring class... and back in early '70s I was buying my first turntable... a Thorens TD 160... silly I was!

HA!