Mike Mettler

Analog Gear News
Insider Report: German Handmade Rekkord Turntables Finally Get North American Distribution Deal With VANA
Mike Mettler  |  Nov 28, 2022  |  First Published: Nov 28, 2022  |  17 comments

Who doesn’t like German design and manufacturing when it comes to turntables? It’s certainly hard to argue with the pedigree behind Rekkord turntables, which have been handcrafted in the company’s factory/facility in the Black Forest for close to a half-century. Read on to find out more about the company’s all-new North American distribution deal with VANA, and then check out all the specs you’d want to know about Rekkord’s reasonably affordable lines of automatic and manual turntables alike. . .

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Interviews
Bryan Adams Does Everything for You Until It Hurts, and He Does It on Classic 180g Vinyl Too
Mike Mettler  |  Nov 23, 2022  |  First Published: Nov 23, 2022  |  6 comments

Bryan Adams is a consummate and restless performer, so when the lockdown happened, he got right down to work in his home studio to keep himself busy. Not only did he come up with an album of all-new material — March 2022’s So Happy It Hurts, a 180g 1LP offering via BMG — but he also took a long, hard look at the four-plus decades of his recording career and decided to recut over a dozen of his favorite tracks under the umbrella of Classic. Initially, these classic Adams songs, with all the vocals sung anew and essentially all the instrumentation played by the man himself, were released digitally in two increments as Classic and Classic Pt. II, and they will soon enough be combined into a 180g 2LP set in January 2023. Adams got on Zoom with AP editor Mike Mettler to discuss why he not-so-secretly always wanted to be a drummer, why vinyl remains such an important touchstone to him to this day, and what songs of his might make the cut for the next installment of Classic — and, of course, much, much more. . .

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News
Video Report: Capital Audiofest 2022 Showcases a Score of Top-Shelf Turntables, Tonearms, Cartridges, and More
Mike Mettler  |  Nov 21, 2022  |  First Published: Nov 21, 2022  |  13 comments

Capital Audiofest 2022 was held in Rockville, Maryland on November 11-13, 2022, and our man Ken Micallef was on hand to take in all things analog. Check out his video package to see the best sights and sounds of the show. . .

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News
Holiday Gift Guide Sneak Preview: Paul McCartney Readies Massive 7-Inch Singles Box Set With 80 (Count ’Em!) 45s Inside for December 2 Release
Mike Mettler  |  Nov 17, 2022  |  First Published: Nov 17, 2022  |  13 comments

The opening salvo ahead of our upcoming holiday gift guides is here! To wit: Paul McCartney recently announced the limited-edition release of The 7″ Singles Box, which features 80 (count ’em!) 7-inch Paul McCartney singles culled from all across the full wingspan of his long and winding solo career, for December 2. The preorders have already been fast and furious, so read on to see if you can secure your own copy now in advance, and/or need to get all buddy-buddy with the retailer of your choice ASAP. . .

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Analog Gear News
Insider Report: Juke Audio’s Juke-6 Multiroom Streaming Amplifier Addresses Our Vinyl Playback Preferences in Multi-Zone Listening Applications
Mike Mettler  |  Nov 08, 2022  |  First Published: Nov 08, 2022  |  4 comments

Who’d want to stream vinyl playback to other rooms? Well, if you’re in a living situation where multiple listeners are constantly involved in the decisions behind what’s being played and where, it’s something you have to consider, regardless of your own individual sweet-spot-only listening proclivities. Juke Audio understands the inclusionary inclinations for modern multiple-member household scenarios, which is why the burgeoning company is now offering the Juke-6, a multiroom streaming amplifier as a possible gateway device to get other listeners involved, and interested, in what we analog lovers listen to. We peek under the hood of Juke Audio’s philosophy to find out if the Juke-6 is something you can apply to your own home listening setup in order to get and/or entice other household listeners into enjoying the benefits of our preferred aural playback choices. . .

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Interviews
Jim Kerr of Simple Minds Gets Directly to the Heart of the Vinyl Matter
Mike Mettler  |  Nov 04, 2022  |  First Published: Nov 04, 2022  |  6 comments

Jim Kerr, lead singer of Simple Minds, is one of us. As a kid growing up in Glasgow, Scotland in the early 1970s, collecting vinyl was of paramount importance, and he got himself a day job just so he could buy records and go see concerts. (Sound familiar?) Read on to find out all the things he said, he said about how important buying vinyl was (and still is) to both him and his Simple Minds songwriting partner, guitarist Charlie Burchill, why it was crucial to shape their new LP Direction of the Heart specifically as a two-sided record, and how important an influence David Bowie albums remain as part of his creative life to this day, and more. . .

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Analog Gear News
Andover Audio’s SpinBase MAX Turntable System Looks to Up the Performance Ante on Its Predecessor
Mike Mettler  |  Nov 01, 2022  |  First Published: Nov 01, 2022  |  8 comments

Considering how well the original Andover Audio SpinBase all-in-one turntable system fared in our hands-on review, we figured the company’s updated SpinBase MAX was worthy of bringing to your attention. Read on to learn more about this updated all-in-one playback system that becomes available in mid-November. . .

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News
The Flaming Lips Prepare Massive 180g 5LP Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots: 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Box Set for April 14, 2023
Mike Mettler  |  Oct 26, 2022  |  First Published: Oct 26, 2022  |  12 comments
The test begins — now! To wit: Oklahoma’s favorite weird sons The Flaming Lips have announced a massive 180g 5LP box set to commemorate the 20th anniversary of their landmark July 2002 album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. The deluxe LP box features 40 tracks never before available on vinyl, and it will arrive like a rocket ship on April 14, 2023. Read on to find out more about all the cool B-sides, demos, outtakes, live material, and, of course, the pressing details. . .

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Analog Gear News
Insider Report: Ortofon Concorde Elite Moving-Magnet Cartridge Seeks to Live Up to Its Vaunted Name
Mike Mettler  |  Oct 24, 2022  |  First Published: Oct 24, 2022  |  6 comments

When it comes to making elite MMCs, Ortofon knows a thing or two about coming up with an elite thing or two. To wit: the company’s new Concorde Elite is a premium moving-magnet cartridge based on the legacy of the well-respected Ortofon Concorde MkII series — and the Concorde Elite sports an SRP of $439 to boot. Read on to find out more about the Concorde Elite MMC and what it can do for you and your turntable. . .

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Record Stores
Sneak Preview: AnalogPlanet’s Forthcoming Favorite Record Stores Series Will Commence With Our Site Visit to Atlantic Sounds in Daytona Beach, Florida
Mike Mettler  |  Oct 19, 2022  |  First Published: Oct 19, 2022  |  15 comments

Yesterday, I visited one of my favorite record stores in the country — namely, Atlantic Sounds in Daytona Beach, Florida — and I sat down with owner Mike Toole for a two-hour conversation about his lifelong passion for listening to and selling music on vinyl, the long and storied history of the shop itself, and why Atlantic Sounds has endured and continues to see growth to this very day, ever since it first opened in the exact same location 40 years ago on October 15, 1982. Read on to get a sneak preview of the full story to come, and also find out how you can have your own favorite record store featured here on AnalogPlanet. . .

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