Master Tapes News and Discussion

[robwpdx]

Hope this can become the reel to reel content listening topic.

There are a few new audiophile reel to reel hardware makers including very expensive ones. There is good availability of vintage tape machines. Usually the brakes wear and the capstan rollers need replacement.

Recording studios and labels and places like national archives need properly maintained and calibrated machines. That includes multitracks to remix, remaster, or even convert to spatial: 4, 8, 16, possibly 24 track.

Back when analog and vinyl were the market, the original 2 track masters might be copied and sent to other labels to press vinyl masters. An Italian company Hemiolia has bought the rights to make tape copies for end consumers from the French label Ermitage archive. ~$1000 a copy.

There are also a lot of unauthorized and copyright-illegal tape exchanges.

 

[MacCali]

I was pretty skeptical about R2R players, but honestly it really is definitely one of the top presentations.

I wonder how DSD compares, and this maybe a very ignorant thought, cause I think dsd or SACD which is some form of dsd I believe always says original master recording. But I don’t think I’ve actually ever heard an SACD, and for certain no DSD files.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Of course provenance of non-licensed material is an issue. RTR was great. LP was a sow's ear in comparison. Digital can copy reel tape to levels that are audibly indistinguishable from the reel tape.

I purchased a Revox at an estate sale once. It had been refurbed to new condition just prior to the owner's passing. He had several thousand reels. Several hundred were from a local arena that was big enough all the big groups toured there in the 60's and 70's. Some were copies of the live shows, and some were rehearsal sessions. He also had some copies from sessions at Muscle Shoals Sound studio. I don't know if they were 2nd gen copies or how he got those. This was before affordable digital recording devices were around. I ended up selling them to some collectors. If I had them later, I would have digital copies of them, but that would have eaten up a ton of time.

I sort of lament the idea of reel copies at $1000 a pop. Digital would let more people hear the same sound at much lower prices and be used by many more people. RTR is a very niche product more so than ever. These are also remasters. Is it better or not? Depends upon who did it and how.

Kind of Blue is one of my favorite ever albums. I am not setting up an RTR for that now days however. This guy is full of it of course in regards to analog being inherently better.