Michael Fremer

The Emil Berliner Studios Direct-to-Disc recording team supervised by Rainer Maillard, responsible for the D2D Brucker 7th symphony with Bernard Haitink conducting the BPO, shipped its entire disc cutting system exactly one year ago to Bamberg, Germany (the first time the gear had left Berlin) to record for Accentus Music at Konzerthalle Bamberg, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal D2D at 45rpm Czech composer Bedřich Smetana’s symphonic cycle “Má vlast” (My Homeland), best known for including “Vitava” (“The Moldau”), with The Bamberg Symphony, conducted by its musical director Czech-born Jakub Hrůša.

Rhino will release on September 4th two new early Fleetwood Mac box sets: an 8 CD set Fleetwood Mac 1969-1974 that includes 7 studio albums plus an unreleased 1974 concert, and two versions of an all analog 4 LP+ 7" single set cut from the original master tapes by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering.

Monday, July 20, 2020 (Asheville, NC) - A full circle revival is underway for Asheville, NC’s Citizen-Times building. Once home to the daily paper’s printing facility and offices, the historic site will soon be unveiled with a new identity as a boutique vinyl pressing plant, record store and bar/cafe (and a new name):Citizen Vinyl. Founded by veteran music producer Gar Ragland and supported by a dream team of industry professionals and craftsmen, Citizen Vinyl is slated to become North Carolina’s first on site pressing plant, though its mission goes beyond just manufacturing great quality records.

Back in 1972 the original Thorens introduced the TD 160, a triple spring-suspended sub-chassis design that quickly became a long-in-production classic and the blueprint from which many other turntables, er, sprung—Linn for instance.

The original AR XA turntable designed by Edgar Villchur and introduced way back in 1961 for $58 was, to the best of my knowledge, the first to place the platter assembly and tone arm on the same sub-chassis isolated by a three point spring mount from the rest of the turntable (and from the outside world).