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In Reply to: RE: Well, two separate issues... posted by John Marks on September 22, 2022 at 19:17:38
. . . was based on various private email exchanges and phone conversations with Robert Witrak (sp?).
Follow Ups:
I can believe that HDTT might (every now and then) have access to tapes that weren't available from record clubs.There's an amazing Mahler DLvdE that can be heard today only because it was a radio broadcast and the conductor got a courtesy dub that decades later was discovered when his estate was being wrapped up.
HOWEVER, even though there have been lots of stories of rather low-level studio or record label employees stealing tapes, I'd be very skeptical that HDTT had access to a 3rd-gen KOB tape. (In-machine 3-channel master is 1; Studio Stereo Mixdown is 2; and an LP cutting copy sent to the UK or France would be 3.)
HDTT supposedly has the best available playback electronics, which might go a long way toward explaining the happy customers, if, as I suspect, HDTT's original source was a pristine early 7.5 ips commercial four-track stereo tape.
amb,
john
Edits: 09/23/22
John, Bob as posted on his KOB webpage that the source was a 15ips 2-track tape. AFAIK, such a consumer tape was ever commercially released. Beyond this, who knows? A safety master? A courtesy copy? Whatever the source, it sounds better to my ears than any other digital release in my music library.
Not certain I understand why some would expect these to be from an original master tape. AFAIK that's not even implied on the website.
Every HDTT track has a short sample available; have found that what I hear on the samples, played on a small desktop system, does convey what I hear when the full track is played on my large audio rig, just more so on the latter.
My impression is that the transfers seem to be much louder than the original recordings, with a somewhat hyped HF range. You hear all the original tape hiss and then some, and you hear every little bit of distortion that was on the original recordings, including mic and mic pre-amp overloads. Stereo separation also seems more extreme than on the original recordings. If listening to jazz, as I do, you will hear the spittle on the saxophone reed. Spot micing sticks out like a sore thumb.
As Analog Scott says, if you like these recordings, buy and enjoy. With the free preview of everything, it's hardly as if you won't know what you're getting.
There is a reason the company's address is in Canada while the recordings are made in the US, but I'll leave that to be deduced by those who are so curious about the provenance of the original tapes.
Kind of Blue was both an instant hit, and a title that kept on selling for decades.
In order to meet worldwide demand, everywhere Columbia had a pressing plant, they had to send a 15 ips 1/4 inch two-track for LP cutting. Worldwide.
At some point, in many markets, those LP cutting tapes became obsolete.
Go look in eBay! There are master tape copies by the busload! See the link to a Vic Damone (purportedly) backup.
No prob.
amb,
john
And you're also right about HDTT's playback electronics. From time to time, they've made improved versions available of some of their earlier releases - and sometimes the improvements are really ear opening. I asked Robert one time what exactly he did to get such an improvement between an earlier version of one of his titles and the updated version (which they sometimes call a "redux" version). He answered that they didn't really "do" anything to the updated version - they had just gotten better equipment in the meantime! ;-)
HDTT is currently working on a new issue of Jascha Horenstein's Mahler 3 (LSO), which was originally released on Unicorn (and on Nonesuch in the USA). The original release had some very odd balances, but apparently someone else was permitted to use a totally different mic setup to record the sessions, and those tapes are what HDTT reportedly has on hand. I heard a substantial sample from the first movement, and it was certainly a sonic improvement.
This performance used to be my favorite Mahler 3 (I like some others better now), but I'm eager to hear the whole thing once HDTT releases it.
"I'm eager to hear the whole thing once HDTT releases it."
Yes, I am, too. This sample sounds very encouraging. BTW, the sample, at 24-192, is available on HDTT's website along with a lengthy post from John Haley about what he's doing to get this into form for release. Just look for the blog post by John.
nt
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