Category Archives: music

“Electronic Sound” magazine cites 1981 as a pivotal year

How come we’re still feeling the musical & cultural aftershocks from the pivotal times of the early 1980s? “Electronic Sound” magazine’s latest two issues feature Steve Strange & Rusty Egan’s “Blitz Club” and the pop music highlights of 1981.

“Electronics & Music Maker” – archiving a demo cassette from 1982

“Electronics & Music Maker” (E&MM) was a magazine aimed at home/hobby music makers that started in the early 1980s and was produced as an offshoot of the mighty Maplin electronic component distribution empire. The idea was that it would promote more sales and engagement with Maplin’s component business through projects & DIY features based aroundContinue reading ““Electronics & Music Maker” – archiving a demo cassette from 1982″

A Life-long Love Affair with “Compact Cassette”

I was saddened to learn of the passing of Lou Ottens, a Dutch Engineer credited with inventing the humble cassette tape format whilst working at Philips in the 1960s. Crucially Philips had the foresight to licence the format and it quickly became the de-facto standard for consumer audio recording. It made me reflect on justContinue reading “A Life-long Love Affair with “Compact Cassette””

Replacing the white LED stylus target light on Audio-Technica AT-LP120X

I recently bought a new turntable, the Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB. I wanted direct drive, decent mid-range quality (didn’t need the absolute highest spec due to my ageing & damaged hearing – I blame the school discos of the 1980s, and Roni Size gigs 😦 ) and USB built-in so I could hook up recording/streaming devices. IContinue reading “Replacing the white LED stylus target light on Audio-Technica AT-LP120X”