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Releasing a second album so soon after a Mercury Prize–nominated debut is the kind of action a band from a previous decade would have taken—no waiting three years between releases as is common today. But then, the brand of rock produced by Dublin's five-piece Fontaines D.C., which received much positive press for last year's debut, Dogrel, has been compared to the post-punk of the late '70s, when frequent releases were common.

Speed…

Though complicated and time-consuming, Wayne's methodology produced outstanding results. His goal was not just to clean a record but to restore it to as-new condition by removing from it every contaminant found on and, in some cases, in the vinyl—impurities baked into the groove…

Obviously, this half-hour procedure is not a casual record-cleaning process to be used after returning from a garage sale with a nice haul!

According to Kirmuss, even though new records are assumed to be free from baked-in cleaning fluids, the heat and pressure of the pressing process can cause mold-release compound—a chemical added to the PVC to make records easier to remove from…

What I remember most from that period was how much I loved Phil Rizzuto and Yankee baseball on AM radio and how often I burned myself on the soldering iron.

Except for each brand's unique wiring layout, chassis construction, and finish, the tube amps I repaired were mostly boring. Circuit…

The Sunvalley SV-EQ1616D uses a simple, conventional, capacitor-resistor (CR) RIAA equalizer with two switchable inputs and six selectable presets to match the various equalization curves used in past and…

Krystall is a veteran of hundreds of recording sessions, in all music genres and media types. You have heard his playing even if you don't know it; in this respect, he's typical of other world-class musicians you may not have heard of:…

Krystall: We started out in 1979, and we would book four hours of studio time and record a whole album. If you could edit, you could make a record—razor blade, cut the tape. The greatest records ever made were done by people with watches. The session is called, people show up at the same time, they record it, and they leave. Everything that's done is done to the clock. When you have three hours to do it, all of a sudden you become really focused. Money is at stake, and everyone's career, so…

Krystall's home is also a studio, with a Steinway L piano and a 1964 Ludwig drum kit in the living room. The adjacent music library serves as his mastering room, recording booth, and office. There, Krystall has a pair of Klipsch RP-600M loudspeakers driven by a Schiit Vidar amplifier, his most recent hi-fi purchase. In the living room are a pair of BC Acoustique floorstanders, driven by a Counterpoint SA 220 hybrid amplifier. Preamplification is Conrad-Johnson's PV-11. For a small-speaker viewpoint during mastering, Marty uses a pair of small, self-powered PSB…

The ensemble Tashi—later known as the Tashi Quartet—consisted of violinist Ida Kavafian, pianist Peter Serkin, cellist Fred Sherry, and clarinetist Richard Stoltzman. Krystall joined the group on tour, on tenor sax, performing Anton Webern's Op.22 Quartet for Violin, Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone, and Piano and playing contemporary compositions, including Krystall's "Igor's Blues"; those with a subscription can find a review of a performance on the New York Times website.

The group recorded the Webern on Tashi Plays Webern and Takemitsu (RCA Red Seal ARL1-…

Big Drum, Buell Neidlinger Quartet (K2B2 3069, 1992)
Recorded live in 1990, with Vinnie Colaiuta, drums, and Hugh Schick, trumpet. Neidlinger addressed the liner notes to the departed Herbie Nichols. Compositions by Neidlinger, Krystall, and Thelonious Monk.

Blue Chopsticks, Buell Neidlinger Quintet (K2B2 3169, 1995)
A smoking, all–Herbie Nichols program. Neidlinger is on cello, his first instrument as a child prodigy. The music swings light and hard at the same time. Excellent sound.

Across the Tracks, Buellgrass (…