Rick Hautala, 1949-2013

I've just heard about the death of horror writer Rick Hautala, and I'm shocked and saddened.  64 is no age.

Back in the 1990s, the Horror Writers' Association had an online presence using the GEnie service. I got to know Rick a bit there and we chatted back and forth.

At the time, I managed 2nd Hand Tunes, a record shop at 818 Dempster in Evanston, Illinois.  I'd gotten in a scarce copy of The Beatles' self-titled LP, the "White Album," in its mono mix, on Japanese red vinyl.

These being the days before ripping LPs to digital, and being long before the mono mixes of The Beatles' albums were available on CD, I made a cassette copy of it for myself.  That was one of the perks of running a record shop!  One night on GEnie, I mentioned it, and Rick asked if he could borrow it, so he could finally hear the differences in the mono mix which he'd always heard about.  So I sent him my cassette, and told him to keep it.  He was thrilled.

I hope he enjoyed it many times, as I did.

Rest in Peace, Rick.  My condolences to your friends and family.

3/21/2013

Tweaking an Audio-Technica AT-LP120 Turntable

About 4 years ago, I purchased an Audio-Technica AT-LP120 turntable based off the great online reviews I read.  (Yes, yes, I know -- hindsight is 20/20, Rega and Music Hall fans.)  Since then I've been in a battle to get it to sound its best, and I've won the fight. I'd like to pass on a few things I've learned.

1) Replace the felt slip mat with a rubber mat. This shouldn't be too hard, even though rubber mats aren't something you can just find at a local shop anymore. They seem ridiculously expensive online, but check your local thrift shops for used turntables. Here in Phoenix, turntables seem to go for about $10 at Goodwill. Find one with a decent thickness rubber mat, and you're all set.

2) Change your cartridge and stylus.  For best sound with this turntable, I recommend getting a microline stylus such as a Shure M97xE with a Jico SAS stylus upgrade, or the fantastic bargain that is the AT440MLa.  At the very least, go with a Nagaoka MP-110.  It's not a microline, but it sounds great for its price bracket.

3) Audio-Technica manufactures an official, heavier replacement counterweight which will increase stability and improve tracking.  It's an easy and official way to improve your table.  I suggest you do this even if you ignore the rest of my blog.

4) When replacing a cartridge, use a Stevenson protractor, not Baerwald. The AT-LP120 has Technics arm geometry, and Stevenson alignment works best for clean sound from the beginning to the end of an LP.  Here's the way to get a custom protractor which will give you perfect alignment:

Download the following zipped program, which is a custom protractor generator: http://conradhoffman.com/TemplateGen.zip.  Go ahead and unzip it and run it.

Now, you'll want to enter the following values:

Pivot to spindle distance = 214.500
Inner groove radius = 57.50
Outer groove radius = 146.050

Finally, choose Stevenson A alignment, and print your protractor.

You'll wind up with the most accurate protractor possible for the AT-LP120.

5) Remove the built-in preamp, as per this video by Steve Hoffman Forum member Frankie P.

Yes, you heard right. Open up the bottom of your TT and yank that sucker out and then utilize an external phono stage, either a dedicated pre-amp (for those of you on a budget, the ART DJ PRE II is a little wonder for only $50) or a receiver/amplifier with phono input. The built-in preamp is absolutely lousy. If you're using it, it adds an unpleasant digital tone to the playback, almost a graininess. Believe it or not, it also accentuates surface noise and sibilance. If you bypass it using the switch on the back of your turntable, there are still capacitors in the signal path which will make it sound dark and closed-in when their capacitance is added to that of your external pre-amp.

You'll be amazed by the difference.

These are the changes I've made to my own AT-LP120.  Trust me, they've worked wonders.

Updated 1/7/15

Neil Young - Trans

Trans is a vastly under-appreciated LP, scorned by the majority of Neil Young's "old hippy" fans at the time of its 1982 release.  Young had obviously been listening a lot to DEVO, Kraftwerk, and other electronic acts -- and he got what they were doing.  More than any other artist from the '60s, Neil understood how to apply electronic textures and rhythms to his music.

The often-criticized use of a Sennheiser Vocoder on six of the LP's tracks stemmed from Young's desire to find ways to communicate with his son, Ben, who was born with cerebral palsy.  Viewed in that light, the experimental, "computer-oriented," songs on this record -- like the repetitive yet highly melodic "Sample and Hold"  -- suddenly become some of Young's most deeply personal and human.  Young also recasts his Buffalo Springfield-era classic, "Mr Soul," as a synthesizer based track, with his altered voice hanging mournfully over the music at a distance, like a requiem for humanity's ability to connect with each other.

The remaining three songs on the LP were originally meant for a completely different project, Island In The Sun, which was meant to be "a tropical thing," according to Young.  The song obviously meant to be that project's centerpiece, "Like An Inca," is the closer to Trans. Its Santana-inspired, hypnotic guitar riff repeats for nearly 10 minutes, while Young sings lyrics that depict the end of civilization, and desires to return to a simpler era where he could be "like an Inca, or a runner in Peru."  It harks back to earlier Young guitar epics like Zuma's "Cortez The Killer," and is an absolute stunner.

Trans is an unjustly maligned record which deserves a critical reappraisal.  As far as I'm concerned, it's one of Neil Young's finest LPs.

3/21/2013