Homebuilt Hi End - where the boundaries simply doesn't exist!

This site is a long-term fave of mine and of several thousands audio lovers...

I simply find the creations shown among the most classy, unique, elegant ever... and everything isn't mass produced, but the fruit of care and dedication, cost- and time-no-object masterpieces.

Peter's PTP "Lenco"

I could kill for such a beauty using 304TL!

I quite often browse its pages and... every time I find some nuggets.

Glad to share for the few who aren't aware of Homebuilt!

Enjoy!

Site of the Week... ahem: Month - Joe Boyd's

Cannot resist: Joe Boyd's site is a goldmine!

He quotes in the recently shared BBC interview he's podcasting his music of choice in alphabetical order... A and B are out... the remaining letters (and songs) will follow.

The site tells a HUGE load of trivia and iconic musical history.

Enjoy!

Joe Boyd freewheeling on BBC Radio

The right man at the right place most of his life, from Aretha Franklin to Newport Folk Festival - the electric Bob Dylan evening, too - to bringing Muddy Waters to Bristol in early '60s to Whichseason, Fotheringay, Incredible String Band, Soft Machine, Pink Floyd, Sandy Denny, Nick Drake, among his most beloved studio work and production... and, and, and...  last but not least: White Bicycles, the book... a must!

Enjoy, as I did the interview... it's a very, very juicy half an hour interview, so rich and entertaining.

Thanks to BBC and to Joe Boyd!

RIP for Prof. Khaled al-Asaad from Syria

He loved "his" Palmyra more than his life and he was murdered for his goodwill in saving and preserving the ancient beauties of the unique city in the desert I was honored to visit and enjoy, years ago: so powerful place of beauty!

Condolences to his family and sure his name will never been forgotten.

History will find a way to explain all "this craziness", one day.

Hats and religions

Thanking JC and our chattings...

... and atheism, as a non religion? Don't we deserve a way to express our freedom of mind? Our goodwill and love for whole humankind? Not superseding others? Blaming on who's promising virgins a-plenty or honey and ambrosia rivers... only after life?

I choose, with JC's support, the beret...

... from now on, not only an utilitarian, everyday ordinary hat, but a statement!

Sure my own, forever.

Thanking Kongo Shokai Ltd, manufacturer of Deer Basques since 1928, in Japan.

Among the best...while supplies last.

A Journey with Arvo Part - the movie

Dedicated to the great Estonian composer, followed for one year of his life by the director.

An homage to a genius and a poet.

Hic et nunc

... last Saturday morning, at the park...

... while practicing with my new Ricoh GXR's 24-85 lens.

Analog Street Art

Snippers or Nipper?

Pure audio and pup cruelty!

What's better?

The Tape Project

Open-reel renaissance, don't you?

After tons of shitty music recorded in superb sonics, on premium open-reel tape, here is "something"...

Jerry Garcia and David Grisman, from original 30 IPS master-tapes...

WOW!

Toroidy from Poland

Worth browsing their site!

GZ Media in Lodenice - Czech vinyl village

... an extract from New York Times...

"But he was smart enough to keep a vinyl record factory here, a relic of the Communist era, through all those years when albums gave way to CDs and then to iTunes and streaming, and to be ready when vinyl suddenly got hot again.

And that is why this village of 1,800, nestled in a lush furl of the Bohemian hills, improbably finds itself a world leader in the production of vinyl albums."

Cool...

Thanking New York Times and Rick Lyman.

Vinyl & Ashes - the extreme frontier for the die-hard record collector

... yes, for the die-hard record collector...

Want to preserve yourself after death but can’t afford to be cryogenically frozen? How about getting your ashes pressed to a custom-made vinyl LP? That’s exactly what the folks at And Vinyly are offering.

The company are giving mortality-aware music fans the chance to pick their own artwork, 24 minutes of audio and more for a lump sum of £3,000 for 30 copies of a custom-made record. An extra £500 will also buy a commission from National Portrait Gallery-featured British painter James Hague to design the artwork for you.

Other services the company offer are similar dead vinyl LPs for deceased pets, talks and music presentations at your funeral for £10,000 and even having your record distributed at various record shops worldwide (at an unspecified price).

THE ultimate Neil Young's masterpiece - Harvest (Reprise MS 2032 - 1972)

... you know "... moooore baaaaarn!"

Apparently, such a boring, decades old disc and topic... yet, I... dare, we never stop learning something new.

I always felt Neil's disc is a masterpiece, both musically and sonically...

It's airy, beefy, lively, dynamic and true to life... voices, guitars, low end... strings and ambience... everything is top notch.

Someone, more clever than me out there, found that the VERY top quality, sought after, superb sounding copies are - not by chance - showing an "LH" engraved in dead wax,  a "Steamboat" label and no WEA on label -  i.e. - Lee Hulko at Sterling Mastering made a true labour of love, or - better - just a careful, proudly-made job with artisanal skill and care... like it used to be.

When I recently read about the above mentioned collector's trivia, I immediately checked my "Harvest" three copies...

Two are on Harvest MS 2032, issued on 1972 LH Sterling with parchment cover and insert... Steamboat label and no WEA... first issues... sound is THE Sound you remember, the one in DNA...

Third copy (call me a lunatic...) is a European reissue (three colors label yellow, pale blue, white, don't remember more) and sound is somehow more zinghy and someway unnatural, ambience and sibilants are completely different from LH's... lesser.

Go and check your copies, folks...

LHs' are worth some pretty serious bucks, now,  but most important, they're worth your care and knowledge and your premium turntable, arm and cartridge analog combos.

Dig it!

... and enjoy a timeless classic.

Jeffrey Jackson's Wheel Fi

A new cat's in town... actually the cats are three, or six... Jeffrey, Robert and Christoph... plus Kurt, Waylon and Lisa and they're in the Catskills, NY.

The location isn't by chance, for the above mentioned cats...

Look at the making of these horns... and amps... and...

Old world workmanship and care for details...

Clever as usually, folks... and more!

Best wishes for the new adventure, Jeffrey and pals.