Did you grow up with a record player/console in your house, did your family listen to much music? 

I was an 80s baby so I grew up with cassette tapes mostly. For my 3rd birthday all I wanted was a pink tape player and a Bon Jovi tape. I can’t help but think that this moment was where my love of music and quirky design came in. As far as the music in my family, my dad was a huge Zeppelin, Van Halen, Lou Reed fan so those are some of my earliest musical memories. My mom loved people like Queen, Bowie, Skynard, and Aerosmith. However, I think my the person who had the biggest impact on my musical taste was my older brother, Jason, who sparked my love for a lot of weird alternative and indie bands. He taught me about The Pixies & Frank Black, Nirvana, all of Steve Albini’s projects, My Bloody Valentine, Magnetic Fields (Stephin Merritt), Jesus & Mary Chain and so many more that I could go on about this question alone for 10 pages! Also, I’m from Texas and have a lot of family members who play country music so there was a lot of Willie Nelson and classic country music happening during family festivities!

FUN FACT: I one time got hired for a job assisting a famous Japanese rock star because I told him that my favorite music was Nirvana and Garth Brooks. He hired me on the spot because he thought it was so ridiculous!

What was the first vinyl record LP that you purchased?

I believe it was Queen “A Night at the Opera” for .99 at Goodwill.

Do you have a listening room in your house, what’s your current setup like?  

We have about 10 “listening rooms” at our house thanks to Dan. Every room in our house has a record player/audio system of some sort. Even our bathroom has some sort of hybrid tube amp contraption Dan set up. Our living room has a Soundburger / Mister Disc portable record player that comes through our surround sound. Our bedroom has a Barbie Disco suitcase style record player I got at Goodwill that we refurbished and it actually sounds fairly good all things considered. Our office has a U-Turn turntable that Dan uses to test out a lot of our new speakers and listen to when he’s working. Last but not least, we finally just brought home one of our KC27 consoles that lives in our dining room. It sits at the end of our 12 foot dining table so it’s the perfect entertainment and conversation piece. (We would have brought the EGB2 but it didn’t fit properly, that thing is a beast!) We even currently have it voice activated so you can yell at it to play stuff for you which is pretty fun after a few cocktails!

What did you do before you started LUNO?

I moved to Los Angeles from Texas in 2003 to go to acting school – isn’t that why everyone comes to LA?! After a year of that, I realized that it wasn’t for me and I really like being behind the scenes. My boyfriend at the time was in a band and his manager also managed The Killers so I started helping him out occasionally. Also, all of my friends that I had met when I moved out here were musicians. I wasn’t even really aware of the “the industry” side of things before moving to LA nor had I considered it a career option, but found it fascinating and it seemed like everything was pointing me in that direction. I enrolled in MI and studied music business and interned at Interscope Records. From there, I went on to do radio promotion, marketing for a startup music platform, promotion for live venue, assisting a famous rock star, and artist relations for a guitar company. I dabbled in a bit of everything on the marketing side of the industry and absolutely loved it. It’s still my dream to someday own a beautiful live venue that I can design and Dan can do sound – future LUNO Lounge idea!? Working on the live side of things was by far my favorite experience. Everyday was something different and it was never boring. I loved being able to create experiences that allowed people to have a good time, which is something we try to do with LUNO. After I got laid off from my last industry gig, I had decided that I didn’t want to work for anyone ever again – it was natural for me as I’m stubborn as hell and both of my parents are entrepreneurs so it is in my DNA. While I was working on a startup I’d wanted to do for a while called BandPass (similar to MoviePass but for music) and trying to figure out my plan, I started painting vintage furniture in my garage as a hobby. I ended up putting some of it on Craigslist for fun and it sold. So I did more, and it sold. BandPass soon took a backseat. People soon started asking me for custom pieces, then started asking me build stuff for them (WTF) so I just sort of figured it out by being extremely obsessive and persistent! It was a very organic process and nothing I ever intended to do, but I fell in love with the design process. I studied and stalked everyone I could who knew anything about it sometimes hanging out at paint stores for hours on end. Just a few years later, we now have 2 successful furniture lines and LUNO has allowed me to combine my love of music & design. We’re planning on launching new products at ICFF 2019 and talking about doing a design show in NY this October, as well.

It sounds like you’ve met a lot of celebrities in your work, any stories you can share?

I think it’s inevitable that living in Los Angeles, you’re going to meet and know celebrities especially when working in the entertainment industry. One that stands out in my mind is when I met Paul Stanley of KISS when I was working at Daisy Rock. It was Halloween and I had no idea he was coming by and I was wearing a Kurt Cobain costume, as I would. He was not in a costume. It was such a random experience and he was super nice! I also got to meet Shonen Knife, who I had been a fan of for a while. We ended up becoming friends and they sent Dan and I a wedding gift that we still have, a beautiful Sake Set! Meeting Davey Havok from AFI deserves an honorable mention too because he’s one of the nicest people on the planet.

If you could make a custom hifi console for anyone, who would it be, describe the style and design for us?

My original intention of doing a lot of the custom designs (such as Prince, Bowie, etc) was to make them for the artists, sadly they never came to fruition. I really love the design and customization process and the ability to make something so wild that totally reflects a specific person’s style. I’m currently obsessed with trying to make a Yeezy console for Kanye. Dan and I are HUGE Kanye fans and Kanye is also a huge interior design and furniture fan and I recently read that he’s opening up a Yeezy architecture branch so I think it’s in the realm of possibility?!

What speaks to you about mid-century modern style?

Mid Century Modern style evokes a nostalgic feeling. When we launched at ICFF almost every person that came into our booth (one of them being Terry Crews) immediately would smile and say “this brings back some memories.” This is the exact feeling we wanted to create and the Mid Century Grandma aesthetic brought that to the table.

If you could choose one record to describe yourself, what would it be and why?

Neil Young’s ‘Harvest’ because damn near every song on that record is perfect and relatable.

“Think I’ll pack it in and buy a pick-up

Take it down to L.A.

Find a place to call my own

and try to fix up.

Start a brand new day”

Can you explain to someone what the experience of having one of your record consoles is like?

From someone who doesn’t know much about audio, I can say that they sound like being at a live concert. Dan is a phenomenal live sound engineer and really makes it feel like an immersive experience. We even had a customer once say as soon as we turned up the volume “Sounds like a concert!” – there is a video to prove it! In terms of the design, we tried to take a lot of aspects of the vintage players that we liked and clean them up a bit. I used Marshall Grill Cloth to really make it feel as authentic to the old stereo cabinets as possible. For our custom consoles, the sky’s the limit, you want me to wrap one in hundred dollar bills or add a mini-fridge – let’s do it! The funkier, the better! I’m up for the challenge.

What was your first concert, who did you see and what impression did that have on you?

The first concert I saw alone with friends was The Smashing Pumpkins Zero Tour in 97 or 98, I believe. I was hooked from that day forward. I remember going to the after party at a local club called Numbers hoping they would be there (they weren’t.) I’m still upset about that. Call me, Billy.

Can you tell us about the creative process of making one of your record consoles? Where do you take your inspiration from?

Typically it starts out with me seeing something I like and trying to incorporate it into one of our pieces somehow. No matter if our cabinet makers tell us it’s not possible, we always figure out a way! I’ll send my sketches to our designer and he’ll make them actually look good (and realistic) not like a 5 year old drew them. From there, my cabinet makers and I figure out what is and isn’t doable – the former always wins if I have anything to say about it! Dan spent a lot of time developing the audio components and sound quality of the consoles so we do have certain restrictions we’re working with but in terms of the cabinets & design aspect, we can get pretty funky (within reason) as long as the materials don’t affect or hinder the sound in any way. It’s a bit of trial and error when working on new designs. Most of my inspiration comes from pop culture, I would say, I’ve always been fascinated by it.

You’ve designed a lot of very unique custom hifi record consoles, can you tell us about a couple of your favorites?

My favorite to date by far is the new Limited Edition piece we just designed. I can’t get too much into it until we announce it but it’s stunning and was an extremely complicated process. It took multiple people with various skills to pull it off.  Besides that, I did a really cool Louis Vuitton piece that I’m in love with, and the Bowie was very interesting because the base had a welded constellation pattern which looked really amazing.

Can you tell us a little about what’s coming up for LUNO?

We have a new Limited Edition console coming up that we collaborated on with a famous artist so keep your eyes peeled for that! I’m extremely proud of the design, it was a long  process but the end result is phenomenal and some of the best work we’ve done. We also have a desktop/portable type console that we’ve been working on for a while that will be announced soon, as well as several cabinet designs sans equipment. We also collaborated with a whiskey company on multiple pieces that they’re using for a giveaway so you may have a chance to win one! Lastly, we’re in the process of moving our listening room aka “LUNO Lounge”, production facility, showroom, all under one roof so that’s really exciting! We’ll be able to hold inventory, have listening parties and all that cool stuff that’s been difficult to do so far.

I hear you’re also a musician, can you tell us a little about that and your current project?

I wouldn’t really call myself a “musician” per se. I learned to play bass for a band called Ghostel than Dan, I, and our friend Bryce had for a little while. It was super fun and our song “Buckley Get Your Gun” got a placement in the trailer of an Oscar nominated film called “Mustang” so that was pretty wild and got us a decent amount of attention. I’m not formally trained on any instruments and pretty much only know how to play our songs! I sort of made up my own tablature and Dan worked with me and taught me in a way that I understood.  It’s a really fun experience and I love the rush of being on stage and hope to do it again soon. The full album entitled 1414 was just released on Spotify. Currently, we’re so busy with LUNO and MVV that Dan and I write some songs here and there for fun and hope to turn those into a new project at some point in the future and release it on vinyl!

If you could give anyone a single piece of advice what would it be and why?

My dad always told me you gotta spend money to make money! So basically buy one of our damn consoles and it’ll make you rich!!!! No, but seriously, in the words of one of my favorite professors “Try to make one room in your house as beautiful as possible.”

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Electrohome Apollo 711

Electrohome Record Console – Mid-Century Modern Hifi Record Consoles

These bubble-domed record consoles proved to be a lasting style icon of the 1960’s, with its futuristic sci-fi design, it could blend in your typical mid-century modern home or on the deck of a interplanetary space craft. Electrohome, was well known for having manufactured the first phonographs in Canada, and would later go on to become a television broadcaster in their country. By 1965 after a period of tremendous growth Electrohome products would be available in 23 countries around the globe, and they would become very well known for producing the Electrohome Apollo 711, named for NASA’s famed launches. During the lounge music revival of the 1990’s this striking record player from space would end up on album covers, magazine photo shoots and featured in films that wanted to reference this incredible era of style and design.

David Bowie’s Custom Brionvega Record Player

david-bowie Brionvega turntable – Mid-Century Modern Hifi Record Consoles

This custom record console, made for Mr. Stardust, was conceived as a “musical pet.” This incredible turntable was able to fetch a whopping $324,000 at a recent auction. Brionvega an Italian company that also produced other notable designs, including the “Cubo” television, which is on permanent display in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Clairtone Project G

Clairtone Project G – Mid-Century Modern Hifi Record Consoles

One of the most unique designs from the mid-century modern era of stereo consoles is this series of players, known as Clairtone Project G. With its instantly recognizable globe shaped speakers, and space aged minimalism. This was an extremely high end console when it sold originally, with a price tag around $2000 in the mid-1960s. Clairtone, a Canadian company, became an extremely well known design of the day, even though only less than 400 units were ever made. It gained notoriety from features by celebrities like Frank Sinatra and a feature on the set of The Graduate.

PAAM Tube Turntable

PAAM TUBE TURNTABLE – Mid-Century Modern Hifi Record Consoles

Europe provided of the most interesting designs of the mid-century modern era of style, with this French design from 1968. The aeronautics-trained designer created this eye-catching cylindrical stereo turntable, with built-in speakers on both sides.

Weltron 2007

Weltron 2007 – Mid-Century Modern Hifi Record Consoles

Appropriately referred to as the “spaceship” this unit added an AM/FM radio and cassette deck built into one compact unit, it is said that the Weltron 2007 was inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey. The Weltron 2007 made it’s debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in 1975, and sold for $399, which today is equivalent to over $1,800 adjusted for inflation.

If you enjoyed this tour through some of our favorite turntables and record consoles of the space age mid-century modern era, take a look at our versions of their modern day counterparts, such as our EGB2 Record Console,  KC27 Record Console, J2B2 Record Console, and the beautiful standalone cabinet (without turntable) THE SHELL.

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SELECT A STEREO CONSOLE

The stereo console is the centerpiece of the listening room, make no mistake it is an investment, but it’s meant to be an heirloom piece, and the hours of enjoyment that this sound system brings are priceless. Not to mention the style points that a piece like this brings to your home are off the charts! LUNO’s flagship model, EGB2, is a timely update of the classic record consoles of the 50’s and 60’s. The beautiful Mid Century inspired design, boutique minimalist turntable, pull out MiniBar and custom gold rimmed whiskey glasses effectively evoke the luxurious style and modernist design of the Mad Men era. Each EGB2 is crafted by skilled artisans and craftsmen in Los Angeles, CA using American Walnut and would undoubtedly be a conversation piece based on it’s stylish design alone.

FIND A MATCHING LISTENING CHAIR

Once you sit in a listening chair, you’ll realize why they were made, and you may not ever want to get up from it again. Our Buckley Listening Chair is the perfect companion piece for our consoles. Built with the speaker height in mind, it’s positioned for you the get the maximum listening experience, so kick back with a glass of whiskey and enjoy your favorite record! Ottoman included. No mid-century modern listening room is complete without one of these!

FIND STYLISH MID-CENTURY MODERN ACCESSORIES

Finding utility in accessories and room decor makes the piece all the more cool. This simple vinyl storage solution is made of solid walnut and solid brass. It’s perfect to sit on top of your desk or credenza and makes flipping through your collection ever so easy. Choose your favorite records and add them to your everyday rotation. When you start equipping your mid-century modern listening room you’ll recognize the value of having record storage that keeps a selection of your favorite vinyl LP’s accessible.

YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH RECORD STORAGE

Once your begin developing a vinyl record addiction, this storage solution and decorative piece will not only make sense, but it may save your life. This stunning modern storage unit is for the serious and stylish collector holding up to 500 records. Made from exotic Zebrawood with black lacquered legs, it’s a one of kind showstopping item that will hold a large record collection with sophistication. Custom finishes & sizes available. This is an essential item for any mid-century modern listening room!

The post How To Create A Mid-Century Modern Listening Room | LUNO appeared first on Luno.

The Hidden Whiskey Bar

Let’s get started with a bang, easily our favorite feature of LUNO’s mid-century modern style record console, the discrete whiskey bar. It’s your own hidden turntable powered speakeasy, and comes with 4 beautiful gold rimmed whiskey glasses. It has the capacity to hold 4 full average sized whiskey or wine bottles, just in case you want to change it up. It really is the perfect complement to your favorite classic vinyl LP, check out the whiskey bar on one of our most popular consoles The EGB2.

Standard Marshall Salt & Pepper Grill Cloth

One of the coolest things to know about LUNO’s record consoles is that they come with the standard Marshall salt & pepper grill cloth, it doesn’t get more classic than that, Marshall amplifier grill cloth! You actually have one of the most iconic elements from the history of rock & roll music built in as part of the DNA of LUNO’s record consoles.

Apple & Airplay Compatibility

Airplay compatibility means you can connect your other Apple compatible devices and stream them on your high quality LUNO stereo console, giving you an extremely full and rich audio experience. One of the comments people frequently make is how impressed they are by the enveloping sound that comes out of our consoles. Which actually gets at another feature that we didn’t have room to include, which is high quality audio components, that are hand-wired by our in-house audio gurus.

Deceptively Large Vinyl Storage Capacity

When you slide open the cabinet doors, you will see a perfectly measured space to store your copious vinyl collection. This baby holds 150 standard size vinyl records, and believe me you’re going to need after you hear one of these record consoles in person. Every record you currently own in any other format, you will begin a mad hunt to track it down in its original pure analog format.

Line-In Other Media & Audio Sources

The thing I love most is being able to connect other older analog tape players through the built-in amp and console speakers. It makes even these old tapes sound rich and warm, and the EQ controls it gives you, allow you to adjust for some of the deficiencies and decay that can be found as tapes age. Also, if you want to have the coolest looking home theater setup known to man, this unit can act as the core of your surround sound, and then some.

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“One Stop Vinyl Listening Room Shop”

The first piece you need, and the centerpiece of any vinyl listening room is the hifi record console. This is the meat and the potatoes, it determines a number of factors beyond just the style, but it’s crucial to understand how the quality is going to effect the over all immersion into the listening experience. So for our purposes of creating the ultimate luxury listening room, we’ll start off using our flagship the EGB2 as the example.

So please note that some of the coolest features can’t be see at first glance. Not only does this sonic powerhouse have storage for 150 vinyl records built-in, but it also has one of the coolest features you’ll ever find in any hifi record console, a built-in discrete whiskey bar! Talk about taking the listening experience to the next level. We also include 4 gold-rimmed whiskey glasses, a bottle of one of our favorite whiskeys, and a selection of personally curated classic vinyl records that we know you’re going to love to put this console through its paces.

We can complement this gorgeous luxury console perfectly with our Buckley Listening Chair. The style and comfort are unmatched, once you enter its comfort zone, you will never want to get up. But, here’s where we’ve optimized it for the ultimate listening experience, the chair is set to the perfect height to optimize the range of our record console’s sweet spot, so you can achieve THE SOUND!

Next up, decorate vinyl storage units, that not only look good, but are on par with the quality and luxury or the rest of your listening suite are essential, not that there’s anything wrong with it, but you don’t want to go IKEA on this element, because it can be such a beautiful decorative opportunity and personality piece that ties everything in together. For this vinyl listening room we suggest our JAX Vinyl Storage Unit, made with beautiful exotic zebrawood, available in some gorgeous finishes.

If you have less space or you’re looking for a way to display a curated set of records at time time for guests to flip through, and see what incredible taste in music you have, we offer our Flip Tabletop Vinyl Storage unit. Not only is it one of the most functional and style pieces we’ve come across, but it gives you a way to showcase 35 of your favorite albums, and rotate collections for theme and mood of your gatherings when you entertain.

Last but not least, you need to clean and maintain this precision piece of audio equipment, and considering our custom Groovewasher kit not only matches the incredible style of your vinyl listening room, it gives you the best set of tools to ensure your records sound great, but will give you the greatest possible life from your investment.

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Luxury design brand LUNO has teamed up with the Frank Zappa Estate on the creation of the SSKL Soundwave, FZ Limited Edition. This uniquely designed record console–only 10 of which will be available for purchase–is highlighted by a solid brass soundwave from Frank Zappa’s “Sofa No. 1” musical composition that is meticulously inlaid by hand and made flush with the walnut door.

The SSKL Soundwave, FZ Limited Edition also features a selection of vinyl recordings from Frank Zappa’s extensive recorded catalog, a minibar with Zappa whiskey glasses and space for four liquor bottles, storage for 150 records, a Groovewasher Kit, and a certificate of authenticity (signed, numbered, and dated). The console comes fully equipped with a Pro-Ject Esprit SB turntable, 2.1 speaker system, 100w subwoofer, 2 aux inputs and AirPlay so you can stream from any Apple device. The console design is the newest addition to LUNO’s luxury hifi console range. Featuring top of the line craftsmanship, the unit truly is a work of art.

Each SSKL Soundwave, FZ Limited Edition console is handcrafted and hand-wired in Los Angeles by experienced craftsmen and engineers. They are available by request only via LUNO’s website.

“We are big Zappa fans and when our paths crossed, we jumped at the opportunity to collaborate! We immediately went to the drawing board to present some ideas. After months of back and forth concepts, the idea of clipping a soundwave file from a song and applying it to the unit was born. We then spent another several months figuring out how to make that vision come to life. And while it looks effortless, complicated techniques were involved in making it happen. At LUNO, we pride ourselves on innovative designs and we’re extremely proud of the final result and are honored to have created this unit with the wonderful folks over at Zappa.” said Jennifer Farmer, co-Founder of LUNO.

“When I first came across LUNO’s record consoles, I immediately started drooling and knew I had to get my hands on one,” Ahmet Zappa says. “I telephonically stalked LUNO headquarters and was invited over for a visit to hear one of their consoles in all its glory. I was blown away.  Thus began the dream of collaborating. Our goal was simple, let’s make something unique for Zappa fans and all true audiophiles everywhere. Jennifer and Dan were up for the challenge and amazing to work with. We love the end results and I’m very proud of our Zappa LUNO Console. At Zappa Records, we take the manufacturing of our vinyl very seriously and it’s equally important to have an exceptional record player on which to play it. We conduct extensive testing for quality audio control during production and this console–capable of making sweet, sweet audio love to your ears–is being used for just this purpose. From the wood finish, to the original speaker fabric (authentic Marshall Salt & Pepper Grill Cloth, the same one used on vintage Marshall amps), to the brass inlaid soundwave file from Frank’s ‘Sofa #1,’ it’s just what The Grand Wazoo would want for you.”

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They’re calling it Blackened American Whiskey, named after the opening song on their 1988 album, …And Justice for All. It’s only available in select stores in the U.S. this week, in a few cities on their upcoming American fall tour, and can be bought online. What makes Blackened different from all the other whiskeys on the market, other than being associated with Metallica?

“We are obviously not just slapping a Metallica label on a pre-existing mediocre whiskey,” said the band in a statement on their website.

For several years, Metallica collaborated with Dave Pickerell, a Master Distiller with a deep understanding of how sound can shape flavor. Through a sonic-enhancement process known as ‘Black Noise’, Metallica played a curated playlist of some of their heart-pounding music at the distillery, through a proprietary subwoofer engineered by Meyer Sound. By blasting the whiskey with their distinctive music, the low frequency sound waves disrupt and shape the whiskey in the wooden barrels on a molecular level. Not only does this process make the whiskey taste better, it gives it a unique Metallica taste.

Although many people know how to drink whiskey, and may even call themselves whiskey connoisseurs, what’s the best way to drink Blackened?

Metallica’s Blackened American Whiskey. Photo by Lion & Lamb Communications.

Knowing how music and whiskey are two things that people love, we at LUNO collaborated with the Frank Zappa Estate to design and build a limited edition record console. Handcrafted at a factory in Los Angeles, the SSKL Soundwave, Frank Zappa Limited Edition is just under six feet long and made of American Walnut, with a hand waxed finish. It is equipped with a turntable, a subwoofer, a speaker system, two auxiliary inputs, and can be used to stream music using AirPlay.  On the doors of the record console is a solid brass sound wave, inlaid by hand and embedded into the walnut door. The sound wave comes from Frank Zappa, an artist that Rolling Stone listed as 22^nd greatest guitarists of all time in their top 100 ranking, just 11 spots back of Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, who they listed at number 11.

SSKL Soundwave, Frank Zappa Limited Edition by LUNO

Frank Zappa’s sound wave from his “Sofa No.1” musical composition, on embedded on the doors of the SSKL Soundwave, FZ Limited Edition by LUNO.

The Pro-Ject Esprit SB turntable of the SSKL Soundwave, Frank Zappa Limited Edition by LUNO.

Zappa’s unique sound wave of his “Sofa No.1” musical composition is not the only inspiration on this record console. There’s also a selection of vinyl recordings from his extensive recorded catalog, along with storage for 150 records. For the whiskey connoisseur, the record console also includes a minibar, with space for four liquor bottles, and some of Zappa’s personal whiskey glasses.

The best way to drink Blackened would be at the end of a long day of work, sitting on custom-built furniture, sipping out of a Zappa glass, and luxuriating in the moment while playing Metallica on the record console. Just sit there and indulge Blackened, forged by sound, as it comes alive within you, like a musical relaxant for your soul. While you feel the music in your stomach, listen to the authentic analog sounds pulsating from the SSKL Soundwave of two musical greats, as they immerse you in an unparalleled experience, within and without.

The SSKL Soundwave, Frank Zappa Limited Edition and this snug arm chair need an owner!

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Keep this in mind: LUNO created only 10 SSKL Soundwave, Frank Zappa Limited Edition record consoles. Buy yours while you still can, before people figure out the buzz you get while drinking whiskey and listening to that precious sound.

Keep this in mind 2: Visit blackenedwhiskey.com to see which restaurants and bars near you are serving Blackened.

The post Metallica Are Launching A Whiskey Called Blackened, And Here’s The Best Way To Drink It | LUNO appeared first on Luno.

In Part 1, we looked at design.

In Part 2, we looked at fabrication.

Finally in Part 3, we’ll look at: DELIVERY.

1 – How do you want it shipped?: LUNO deals with many white glove delivery services, but remember that prices depend on your location. From our factory near Downtown LA, we ship to anywhere in the United States or Canada. We can’t determine the shipping price nor the delivery time, so keep that in mind. We recommend the best white glove delivery options for your luxury piece. Your order is properly blanket wrapped, secured, crated, and fully insured. Also, we recommend making delivery arrangement within 14 days of completion of your order.  We’ll notify you when it’s done, so that we have time to decide on a shipping arrangement.

2 – Consider storage options if you need to: If you’re moving into a new penthouse soon or will be away on business, you probably won’t be home to accept your order, right? Once your order is complete, the reason that we recommend making delivery arrangement within 14 days is because after that deadline we typically charge customers a storage fee. Since we don’t have unlimited room to store a lot of undelivered orders in our factory, we’ll have to find someplace secure to store your order until you are ready to have it delivered. If for whatever reason, you feel that you won’t be able to accept your order within the two-week period after it is completed, we recommend that storage of your order be arranged until a delivery time is convenient.

3 – Before you start playing that funky music right, do an inspection: Once your record console gets delivered, we know that you’ll be anxious to start playing some records. But before the fun begins, inspect your order. During transit, things might have shifted, so look closely for any damage. Since you helped design your order, this should be easier than you think. Please, if you see any defects, contact us immediately, and we will resolve the issue. If you accept the record console without inspecting it and you find out later that there is damage, LUNO cannot be held liable.

LUNO makes high end record consoles, stereo consoles, and related audio accessories for the discerning analog audiophile. Our handmade products are built by craftspeople who have perfected the art of creating luxury furniture, as well as sound engineers who know their stuff. We hope that the customization process for designing a record console with LUNO is much clearer for you, and that most of your questions have been answered.

To design your own record console today and get it delivered to you, START HERE.

The post Designing a Record Console: Part 3 | LUNO appeared first on Luno.

Beyond the nostalgic feeling of having a great collection of your favorite records, not all collections are as worthless as you think. Sure, you can walk into a local record store and buy an album for a buck. But there are albums that are worth much more than a buck. Sometimes, tens of thousands or more.

How about two million? That’s the number of reasons why you need a record console, and those reasons come in the form of dollars. To date, and not on the black market, that was the most anyone ever sold a vinyl record for. The exclusive record is a one and only copy of Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, sold to a dude who is now locked up, and is currently serving a seven-year sentence in a federal prison. He was ordered to forfeit $7.4 million in assets, which includes that rare $2 million US album.

Photo from Vice

Obviously, that Wu-Tang album is the exception, but there are other albums with high enough values to make you want a record console worthy of a rare vinyl collection. Why spend a year’s salary for most people on an album without getting a luxury record console to match?

Now high-end furniture is high-end furniture, but what gives a vinyl record its value:

1 – Exclusive releases: Limited pressings of albums of popular musicians can be worth thousands of thousands. If a band released tens of thousands of copies of an album, those will not be worth much. However, if a band only released a limited number of albums, those will be of a higher value. Makes sense. The more popular the band, the more the record will be worth. Even for albums with lots of copies, there are only a handful of copies that can be considered the first out of the batch, and their earlier birth, if you can think of it that way, makes them exclusive. Ringo Starr owned the first copy of The Beatles (White Album), from 1968 when it was released until 2015, when he sold it for $790,000 US. Now that’s what you call foresight!

Taken from Wikipedia Commons

2 – The fandom is still alive: If a band was popular 40 years ago, and they happen to still be popular now, then limited editions of their albums will be worth quite a lot. If somehow that band is more popular today than in its heyday, and they have caught lighting in a bolt with the younger crowd, that album will be worth even more. Whereas most people will have access to the digital sound, you will have the rare vinyl sound, and that rarity is worth a lot.

3 – Unique artwork: Even though there may be thousands of copies of a band’s record all with the same cover, there might a few copies that have a different cover. Those rare copies become prized possessions, because of their different design. Most Beatles fans are familiar with the look of their 1966 album, Yesterday & Today, with the band around a massive open chest. Fewer people are familiar with the earlier releases of that album cover, with the band covered in slabs of meat and Paul with headless babies on each shoulder. What? Yes, that was released, before sensible people realized that it wasn’t a cool look, so they changed the album cover. A copy of the ‘meat-lovers/headless babysitting’ album sold for $125,000 US in 2013.

4 – Test discs: Some records get made, but are never duplicated or sold, because they were only used to test the sound leading up to the final composition. These unfinished artifacts can be worth quite a fortune, because there may only be one or two out there. A test disc of Aphex Twin’s Caustic Window sold for about $46,000 US in 2014. A test pressing of The Beatles ‘Til There Was You’ 10” acetate, with ‘Hullo Little Girl’ misspelled on side ‘b’ in Brian Epstein’s handwriting, went for £77,500 in 2016, or $100,804 US in today’s currency.  A test pressing of Elvis’ ‘My Happiness’ sold for $300,000 in 2015. Think of the cars that you could buy with sums of money like that! (Although not a test disc, an original 1967 copy of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, signed by the whole band, sold for about $290,000 in 2013, proving how much handwriting by the right people associated with a band can greatly increase the value of an album).

5 – Destruction of records: For whatever reason, record labels destroy records. It is believed that there are only five remaining copies of Frank Wilson’s single, ‘Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)’ of the 250 that were originally pressed. What happened to the other 245? Whether they were destroyed by Wilson himself or by his boss, Berry Gordy, is still a mystery. So where are those five rare copies of that single and how much would you have to spend to get one? Gordy may have one, which would make sense. At a 2009 auction in the UK, one is confirmed to be have been sold for £25,742, or about $33,492 US in today’s currency.

6 – Destruction of master tapes: Once the original, analog master tapes have been destroyed, there is no way to reproduce that authentic sound. Don’t be fooled by digital masters, because they are not the same. We mean the original audio format used to make the record in the first place. Once the master tapes are destroyed, the value of rare copies of a record are very high. In 2013, a 78-rmp copy of ‘Alcohol and Jake Blues’ by Tommy Johnson sold for more than $37,000 US. The shrewd buyer said that it as worth it because he knew that the master tapes had been destroyed.

7 – Death: On Monday, December 8th 1980, John Lennon was killed in tragic and unexpected circumstances. Hours before his death, he signed a copy of he and Yoko Ono’s Double Fantasy. For an artist who loved signing records, that specific copy was the last copy that he ever signed. In 1999, that copy cold for $150,000 US.

Taken from Wikipedia Commons

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If you’re like many people this time of the year, you’re probably thinking about what to buy someone you love for Christmas, but don’t have a clue what to get them. You know you have to buy them something (because you love them), but you’re not sure what sort of message your gift will send.

Will they think it’s corny?

Will they think it’s cheap?

Will they think your going overboard?

We don’t know, but only you know how far you will go for love. But we’ll try to help you figure out what to buy that special person in your life. We took Cartier’s iconic LOVEbracelet and compared it, in general, to our record consoles. Both are fantastic Christmas gifts for someone that you love.

Here are 3 things a Cartier LOVEbracelet and a LUNO record console have in common:

1 – Both are instantly recognizable products

When you see a Cartier LOVEbracelet, you just know it. Whether it has yellow, white, or pink gold (wow), with diamonds or screws, it’s something that you just can’t mistake for something else. Our record consoles are made the same way. Other companies make record consoles too, but none of them can make high-quality modern furniture like us. Like Cartier, we have the craftmanship that sets us above the competition. When you look at a LUNO record console, you just know it. Both are well made, handcrafted products, that can’t be mistaken for something else made by somebody else.

Cartier LOVEbracelet

LUNO KC27 record console

2 – Both are for men and women

Don’t think that the Cartier LOVEbracelet is just for women. Men can wear them too! And why not, especially if your loved one has a matching one. The same goes for our record consoles. Sure, we blog a lot about cars, cigars, pools, records, and other stereotypical guys stuff. But we know women like those same things too. And they both like record consoles too.

Cartier LOVEbracelet

LUNO EGB2 record console

3 – Both are timeless in appearance

Even though the Cartier LOVEbracelet was designed in 1969, it looks like it could have been created today. For our record consoles, like the EGB2 or KC27, they look like they could have been built 50 years ago, but they still look modern for today. Same for our J2B2 record console. Whether you put something onto your wrist or place it in your home, you want it to age well.

Cartier LOVEbracelet

LUNO J2B2 record console

So what’s it going to be? The Cartier LOVEbracelet or a LUNO record console? Why not both?

Choose from one of our FOUR record consoles today. 12 Days Until Christmas!

It won’t arrive by December 25^th, so Santa’s elves will have to work overtime.

Sucks for them – good for you. Order a record console today at iamluno.com.

The post 3 Things a Cartier LOVEbracelet and a LUNO Record Console Have in Common | LUNO appeared first on Luno.