History

starting at the beginning

Decided to build a recording studio.  It won't cost me a ton of bread. I heard that it's important to…

14 years ago

Fkkng magnets. How do they work?

I had often heard of primitive 'field-coil' speakers, but it was not until i was confronted with a pair of…

14 years ago

Service Call

Why do some of us (audio enthusiasts, recording engineers, musicians) choose to use old vacuum tube equipment?  The reasons vary…

14 years ago

Prepare The Piano! With a synthesizer?

'Prepared Piano' is a time-honored technique of altering a Piano's sound "by placing objects (preparations) between or on the strings…

14 years ago

Microphone (hand) signals

Picked up this pair of circa 1951 Electro-voice 655A mics for $25 at the flea market yesterday.  These were the…

14 years ago

TECH: antique theater equipment

It’s a sign of real accomplishment for an artist to have a monograph of their work published.  I would imagine…

14 years ago

Saul Marantz and The Roots of Great Design

A few years ago I bought a pile of old electronic parts from an anonymous junk dealer.  Random stuff- 5…

14 years ago

The Limits of Control

How much control over their audio do music-listeners want and need? At the very least, we can agree that they…

14 years ago

The Incredible Past Lives of Our Favorite Tools

A client recently asked me to service an antique piece of audio equipment: an Altec 438A.   This device belongs to…

14 years ago

ICONS: rca and evaporating knowledge

The story of RCA is a great American industrial story.  From its origins in WW1 to decades to breakups and…

14 years ago