Monk's Music by the Thelonious Monk Septet was recorded in 1957, simultaneously in mono and stereo. A new mono reissue showcases the importance of microphone placement and recording methodology.

Being a fan of Japanese Sludge/Doom/Stoner/Drone/Psych/Pop-Metal power trio Boris can be exhausting, especially if you’re a record collector. Since forming in 1992 these industry veterans have racked up 29 full-length studio albums alone, not even including their dozen or so collaborative albums and countless extended plays. Having casually heard this band mentioned by friends who were enthusiasts of punk and metal over the years, sometime in 2012 or 2013 I found... Read More

At a hotel adjacent to company headquarters, Bill Voss, Technics' American Business Development Manager, introduced the new $2199 "next gen" SL1200GR turntable featuring a revolutionary new Delta Sigma drive control technique said to produce smooth, accurate rotational stability and a new power supply similar to the one used in the top of the line SL-1000R, said to produce an exceptionally low noise floor. Based on the informal listening session... Read More

Here are notes on a selection from my favorite books on the history of recording technology, the history of the record business, and the interactions between recording technology, the record business, and the art of music. One example of what I mean by all that is, in the late 1920s, piezoelectric “crystal” microphones supplanted carbon microphones for radio broadcasting. Crystal microphones had a better signal-to-noise ratio than carbon microphones. Therefore, the... Read More

Gillian Welch's Grammy Nominated fifth album "The Harrow & the Harvest", originally released in 2011 finally got an all-analog vinyl release in 2017, with lacquers cut on a lovingly restored lathe; the project overseen by producer/musician David Rawlings and his partner Gillian Welch. Now their Nashville-based Acony record label is again releasing the album, this time on reel-to-reel tape, produced to the same high standards. The tapes are real time... Read More

Perhaps the most immediately noticeable upgrade I’ve ever made to my system was replacing my Rega wool slipmat with Stein Music’s The Perfect Interface Carbon Signature turntable mat. Exactly why it works seems to elude everyone who’s written about it, but the Stein mat produces noticeably greater soundstage depth and separation, quieter backgrounds, and improved realism. The Perfect Interface line uses Japanese paper from the “tapa cloth tree” (paper mulberry),... Read More

The iSonic CS 6.1-PRO is an ingeniously designed, relatively compact 1.55 gallon capacity cavitation-based $999 record cleaning machine capable of rotating up to ten 12" or 7" large hole 45rpm records in a stainless steel tank for up to fifteen minutes after which you drain the distilled water into a bucket and actuate a dual-speed high speed spinning mechanism that spins the records dry (a new reservoir with pump station will soon be available to make easier and more convenient, vat draining and refilling). In a relatively short time you should have up to ten cavitated clean, dry records. "Should" is the operative word.

Even Steely Dan deniers admit that Aja is a masterwork of composition and studio production. It's the "crown jewel" in the rich catalog and the one that Analogue Productions had to get 110% correct. Bernie Grundman cut the original pressing and he cut this UHQR reissue too. He knew his way around the recording.A full review will appear when the finished LP arrives but based on this test pressing, Bernie and Chad knocked this one out of the park and into... Read More

Los Angeles, CA (September 14, 2023) – Craft Recordings honors the inimitable Wes Montgomery on his centennial with an expanded edition of his classic 1962 LP, Full House. Captured at Berkeley, CA’s Tsubo coffee house, the album marks the influential jazz guitarist’s sole live session for Riverside Records and features stellar performances by all, including tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin, pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb. Presented... Read More

Charles Mingus’ format as a deeply spiritual, playfully inventive and stylistically uninhibited composer, bassist and bandleader is very much in evidence on Changes: The Complete 1970s Atlantic Recordings, an 8 LP (or 7 CD) box set of his late-era recordings for the label. 

Tracking Angle went live on September 12th, 2022 with a "welcome" post that ever since has been pinned to the top of the home page. It's now retired to its correct timeline position. So much has happened this past year, I do know where to begin: with a grateful thank you to our readers/subscribers, a large percentage of whom made the switch to Tracking Angle. And of course we are continually welcoming new reader/subscribers. Reader comments here are always informed and most often add useful information. It's a community I'm proud to be part of as I think are all of our readers.