Category: Neville Roberts

Lyn Stanley’s Black Dress Ballads on copy-master tape reviewed by Neville Roberts

February 22, 2024

In which hi-fi journalist Neville Roberts reports on jazz singer Lyn Stanley’s latest release, mastered by none other than the great Bernie Grundman… Another set of copy-master tapes from the LA-based, internationally-acclaimed jazz singer Lyn Stanley arrived on my doorstep in December 2023. These tapes were the pre-production set of tapes for her latest album … More Lyn Stanley’s Black Dress Ballads on copy-master tape reviewed by Neville Roberts

“The macro and the micro in complete detail”: Chasing The Dragon’s new tape recording of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade

July 14, 2023

Scheherazade is without a doubt my absolute favourite piece of classical music. It’s packed with passion and sensuality in spades as it journeys through an utterly captivating story. And what a ride of heavenly and hellish contrasts! You’ve got hellfire dynamics and the menacing sultan’s theme. Then there’s the tempestuous storms at sea, the shipwreck … More “The macro and the micro in complete detail”: Chasing The Dragon’s new tape recording of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade

Lyn Stanley – Novel Noel – A Cool Jingle Jazz Celebration

November 6, 2022

Yes folks, it’s that time of year again. If you’re gearing up towards getting into the Christmas spirit, or looking to drop some tape-related hints to your gift-buying loved ones, here’s Neville Roberts on Lyn Stanley’s new seasonal jazz album on tape (which, it turns out, it ‘not just for Christmas’). It’s quite a triumph … More Lyn Stanley – Novel Noel – A Cool Jingle Jazz Celebration

Neville Roberts on Bert Kaempfert’s ‘Bye Bye Blues’ from Horch House

March 23, 2022

The Austrian-based Horch House has a well-earned reputation for producing very high quality copy-master tapes directly from legendary analogue recordings. These recordings include classical works, jazz, blues and easy listening. Following meetings between Horch’s Volker Lange and Doris Kaempfert, the daughter of the well-known jazz and easy listening orchestra leader and composer Bert Kaempfert, Horch … More Neville Roberts on Bert Kaempfert’s ‘Bye Bye Blues’ from Horch House

An “incredible” new tape with a difference: Chasing The Dragon allows listeners to compare recording techniques of Mendelssohn’s Octet

March 11, 2022

by Neville Roberts A new tape with a difference from the British audiophile recording company Chasing The Dragon! Mike Valentine, the brains behind the Chasing The Dragon audiophile recording label, is frequently asked about the best way to record music and the differences between various recording techniques. Of course, he has his own definite views … More An “incredible” new tape with a difference: Chasing The Dragon allows listeners to compare recording techniques of Mendelssohn’s Octet

Those Studer battery blues: Neville Roberts saves his beloved deck with a chip, a board and little help from his friends

October 13, 2021

This is a tale of how a relatively simply upgrade to Neville Roberts’ Studer A810 turned into a major problem, and how it led him to find a company that specialises in Studer MPU boards – solving all his issues! Over to Neville… While scanning interesting pages on eBay recently (as we do!), I happened to … More Those Studer battery blues: Neville Roberts saves his beloved deck with a chip, a board and little help from his friends

Neville Roberts reviews ‘Yuko Mabuchi plays Miles Davis’ from Yarlung Records

November 30, 2020

The audiophile recording label Yarlung Records is all about helping young musicians. Once such musician – Yuko Mabuchi – has just released another album for jazz aficionados; this time, as a homage to Miles Davis.  Yarlung offer their recordings in a variety of formats, including superb quality copy-master tapes. The album ‘Yuko Mabuchi plays Miles … More Neville Roberts reviews ‘Yuko Mabuchi plays Miles Davis’ from Yarlung Records

Neville Roberts reviews Chasing The Dragon’s new Sampler Tape

September 21, 2020

It seems quite the norm these days for audiophile recording labels to offer a sampler or demo tape that contains extracts from their tape library, and the UK’s Chasing The Dragon is no exception. Run by the husband and wife team of Mike and Françoise Valentine, Chasing The Dragon offers a wide range of classical … More Neville Roberts reviews Chasing The Dragon’s new Sampler Tape

Reel to real: Neville Roberts discusses the very real R2R resurgence at StereoNet – with a great overview for those new to tape

January 3, 2020

Thanks to the recent vinyl revival, ever more people are realising that the purest way to enjoy music is to keep it in the analogue domain in its journey from instrument to brain, says Neville Roberts, in his recent article for audiophile webzine www.stereonet.co.uk A decade after the vinyl revival began, “the same started to happen … More Reel to real: Neville Roberts discusses the very real R2R resurgence at StereoNet – with a great overview for those new to tape

Recording the Bach Cello Suites: behind the scenes and a free sample download

December 27, 2019

Making high-quality audio recordings in a recording studio is one thing but making audiophile recordings at a remote venue has its own particular challenges.  Neville Roberts visits London’s Temple Church to attend one such recording session featuring two of the Bach Cello Suites, performed by the renowned and award-winning cellist, Justin Pearson. I’ve been fortunate … More Recording the Bach Cello Suites: behind the scenes and a free sample download