As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I’ve been using a Henriksen Jazz Amp, but I decided to order a Fender ’65 Princeton Reverb vacuum tube guitar amp from Sweetwater to use with my Collings Eastside LC Deluxe jazz guitar. The Henriksen is a nice sounding solid-state guitar amp for jazz, but I've been wanting to get... Read More »

I had a really nice visit to England and Wales over the last couple of weeks, and just got back. If you were wondering why I was slower than usual answering comments and emails, that's why, and I still might be a little slow catching up on answering email and messages as I'm really jet-lagged! If I... Read More »

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I laid down my guitars a few years ago and haven't played them since then, as the focus of my time was helping my Mom and Dad through some difficult times healthwise. I decided I needed to pick the guitars back up as I was really missing that... Read More »

I've been thinking a lot about the guitar and guitarists lately, and after an almost four year hiatus of playing the guitar, I've picked back up my guitars, dusted off my mental cobwebs, and tried to make some progress in my playing again. The highlight of my week back before I laid down my guitars... Read More »

Today's essay on the Art of Tone is intended to be both a practical and a thought adventure about what it means to optimize musicality in a high-fidelity music system, as opposed to the usual audiophile emphasis of optimizing the non-musical artifacts of the recording process, like imaging and sound-staging information, for example. I've realized I made... Read More »

It's always fun to get out and about for an adventure, particularly when it includes music! Friend and fellow Westminster owner, Leo, and I were in Seattle yesterday for a brief visit and stopped in at Jazz Alley to catch the Bob James Quartet's performance, and it was awesome! You might remember that multi-Grammy winning... Read More »

This has been a busy weekend for me, and I'm finally getting a chance to just sit down this evening and listen to music and relax, just for the fun of it. At this moment I have no reviews I'm thinking about, no listening impressions to record, no other duties of any kind, I'm just listening... Read More »

I just got back from the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2015 in Denver, Colorado. Kudos to Marjorie and everyone else involved, they really did a great job of putting on the show! It's been quite a while since I've ventured out to an audio show. I got burned out on them years ago, but I... Read More »

I like to bring my Mom & Dad over to visit on the weekend, fix them a nice dinner, and spend some time catching up. They've been through a hard time the last few years, starting with when my Dad took a bad fall at home, ended up in the hospital, then a skilled nursing facility,... Read More »

It's always a great evening of fun & games when Stephaen Harrell (6Moons) and Pete Riggle (Pete Riggle Audio Engineering) host the Annual ANVIL Awards celebration, and the fun continued in 2015! In case you’ve never heard of the the ANVIL Award, it’s the ultimate annual audio award for the Audiophile Not Very Intelligent Lately, and... Read More »

You just can't beat unamplified live chamber music in a cozy intimate acoustic like the Camerata Musica series of concerts to remind you of what enjoying music is all about. After Cindy told me about the Camerata Musica concerts (thank you Cindy!), I immediately became a sponsoring patron, and we have been going to every concert this year, and... Read More »

Last night I thoroughly enjoyed listening to São Paulo's Brasil Guitar Duo - João Luiz (left) and Douglas Lora (right) - playing unamplified classical guitars in a small, intimate, auditorium setting in Richland, Washington. (photo below courtesy of the Brasil Guitar Duo website) The Brasil Guitar Duo was presented by  Camerata Musica as the kick-off for their 2014-2015 chamber music concert season. I was... Read More »

Today's Fresh Catch is the Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall 2-LP reissue set that was mastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound from the original 3-track master tapes, and pressed at Quality Record Pressings. I've been away for four day road trip to Boise, Idaho, getting my parents' house prepped for sale after they moved into assisted living... Read More »