The Finish Line for Your Phonograph Stylus… By Mike Bodell, May 23, 2019 Based on an informal survey of friends who predominately play vinyl records, I believe the most neglected part of their audio system is the stylus on their phonograph cartridge. The stylus is a key component in an audio system and is subjected to the most wear. Yet when I asked folks in my network how many hours of play their cartridges have seen, they could not tell me with any accuracy; all ventured educated guesses. I’ve been there too. Given the value of records today, particularly rare and collectible jazz... Read More
Incoming- Glass Bead Games, Clifford Jordan
Incoming-Glass Bead Games Clifford Jordan Glass Bead Games by Clifford Jordan is an important record in the Strata-East catalog. That has long been so. It is still sought after today in spite of increasingly high prices. If not among the rarest of the Strata-East records, it is certainly one of the most desirable. Even at a price, you obviously have to contend with playing condition issues if you are planning to purchase what is now a 45 year old record. The album consists of two records, with different quartets, and draws from the spiritual jazz canon. Reviews almost always... Read More
Editor’s Note: Turntable Set Up Issues and a Forum?
Editor’s Note: Turntable Set Up Issues and a Forum? Turntable Set-Up Issues With the arrival of a new tonearm and tone arm pod, I’ve been juggling two tone arms, with the added mass of the arm support pods (each of which weighs about 30 lbs). Balancing this weight on the Minus K isolation platform is a little tricky. One basic step is optimizing arm position for ease of use and pivot to spindle distance. Other, more routine set up steps—alignment, null points, and anti-skate are par for the course. However, the lateral tracker doesn’t involve null points or anti-skate... Read More
The Grizzly Works Record Tote-Bespoke Luxury for Bin Divers
The Grizzly Works Record Tote I don’t do vinyl as a “lifestyle” and usually don’t offer fashion advice. But this luxe quality record tote–from “Grizzly Works”– is the sort of thing you’ll want if you attend record shows, take records with you for listening purposes to someone else’s home, a store or hi-fi show or you simply want an easy, well-made way to carry some albums. It comes from a vendor in Australia, Anthony Sawyer, a very nice guy whose specialty is custom hi-fi racks and speaker stands. According to Anthony, the conception, fabrication and... Read More
A Legend Confirmed- The Koetsu Jade Platinum
A Legend Confirmed- The Koetsu Jade Platinum Though this site is devoted to the medium and the music rather than the machinery it is played on, I have had to reckon with cartridge aging recently. I tried an inexpensive stop-gap in the form of an older, rebuilt cartridge while my Airtight Supreme goes off for surgery. In the meantime, I finally got my hands on a Koetsu stone bodied cartridge, a Jade Platinum. Much has already been written about these newer Koetsus, which take the legendary midrange sound of the old Sugano-made Koetsu and extends the frequency range through some changes in... Read More
Cochemea Gastelum- All My Relations
Cochemea Gastelum- All My Relations A mixture of native American chanting with some surprisingly vibrant percussion work, led by a horn player known for backing the late Sharon Jones with the Dap-Kings, Cochemea’s All My Relations is not only a sonic treat but a spiritual journey that alternates between trance and jazz with the kind of percussive sparkle and tone that make it “demo” material. A musically astute friend (thank you, Chris) brought his copy over to my place for a listen a few weekends ago. In no time, I took a quick photo of the cover and bought it immediately after... Read More
Nathan Davis- Makatuka
Nathan Davis- Makatuka This album, released a year before the recently reviewed “6thSense in the 11thHouse,” was recorded in the same Pittsburgh studio, by the same engineer, with a different band, the Nathan Davis Sextet. It also features a vocalist, Wheeler R. Winstead, whose soulful groove adds another dimension to an album chock full of surprises. This is a record of virtuoso horn playing, from the range of saxes and clarinet played by Davis (who could wring out just about every sound imaginable from those instruments) to some glorious trombone work by Nelson Harrison. These players... Read More
Jim Hoke –The Floating Zone
Jim Hoke –The Floating Zone Jim Hoke is one of those unsung, working musicians who often remain under the radar of the general public, but are well-known and respected by other musicians: Paul McCartney included Jim on four tracks of his latest album; Jim has worked with pretty much everybody: Billy Joel, Dolly Parton, Boz Scaggs, Buddy Guy, Steve Earle, Joan Baez and a long, long list of others. He has toured with Emmylou Harris and NRBQ; George Jones recorded one of Jim’s songs. Jim’s latest album, “The Floating Zone” calls upon some of the notable performers with whom Jim has... Read More
Peter Ledermann’s Direct Grace Records
Peter Ledermann’s Direct Grace Records Most of us know of Peter Ledermann through his Soundsmith company, one of the small handful of companies that “retips” phono cartridges. In more recent years, Peter has proven to be a prolific innovator of a range of phono cartridges and accessories. But, did you know Peter also had a record label? One that produces and distributes direct to disc records? It’s called Direct Grace Records. http://www.directgrace.org/Home.html Direct to disc records have, in my experience, been some of the best sounding LPs I have heard. Sadly, many are... Read More
Leaf Hound- Growers of Mushroom; Famous Obscurity; Interview with Peter French
Leaf Hound- Growers of Mushroom; Famous Obscurity; Interview with Peter French Some albums develop a mythology based on rarity, the relative lack of commercial impact at the time of release and later recognition as an influence to other, more well known records by other bands. Leaf Hound’s “Growers of Mushroom” is one such album. It’s a famously “obscure” album, with original copies easily fetching well over $3,000 US. Apart from its desirability as a collectible, it’s actually a great hard rock album, its members drawn from Black Cat Bones,... Read More
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