Re: arsclist Assistance for Armenian Ethnomusicology Archive

["Steve Green" <sgreen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'd like to thank *everyone* for their quick and interesting responses to
the original posting, and just want to say that I think the last few
responses in particular are helping move the discussion in the right
direction. Although I have no first hand knowledge of the circumstances this
person faces, I have felt that technical issues (such as EQ settings) are of
much less concern than just locating *something* appropriate to use in
playing and copying the recordings. Possibly--  probably--  most readers on
this list are oriented toward the audio engineering world where one's
understanding of electronics, analog and digital audio, and the historical
evolution of sound recording technology all come together in day to day
practice. But my suspicions are that the situation may call for a temporary
suspension of what well-equipped studio owners and engineers would think of
as "normal" or "necessary" in terms of equipment. This person is faced with
salvaging cultural materials that are probably irreplaceable in many cases
and it makes little difference whether they are on cassette, open reel tape,
or instantaneous discs. Having worked in nearly a half dozen archival
settings in the US where sound recording collections have been predominantly
of folk and traditional music and ethnographic content I can relate to the
difficulty of finding funds to support stabilization and reformatting of
material that many powers-that be have long considered marginal and of
little value or interest. I can only imagine what the situation might be
like for this person in Armenia, a situation somewhat confirmed by the
posting from Will Prenctice.

All of which is to say that before becoming preoccupied with issues of line
voltage and EQ, I'm hoping that maybe someone out there will be able to
perhaps find out more about the situation and offer some guidance for this
institution relating to sound archives. A few short emails is not much to go
on in assessing the needs and what's appropriate for this person, and I
didn't mean to imply that by sending or delivering a tape deck to her door
that this would solve the problem.

Come to think of it, I'm not really sure what I'm suggesting. I just feel
that here is someone who needs some help from the audio community, from
people like us who care about sound recordings and the legacy they might
contain and want to ensure that cultural treasures are protected. Perhaps
someone would be able to offer transfer services to get this material off of
deteriorating tapes and on to something fresher and more stable. Perhaps
someone could offer to house copies safely at some other site. Perhaps there
is someone who has ideas about where to apply for funding to support staff
training or a sound archivist position. Perhaps there is someone who would
be able to arrange a visit for the purpose of taking a closer look at the
situation and making a series of recommendations of steps to take.

Hard to say, but anyway, thank you again to all who have shown an interest
in this. I plan to forward your replies to Ms. Sarksyan in Armenia.

Oh yes-- I guess *I* was the one who asked about US versus European
compatability, so the remarks about voltage, tape speeds, and EQ issues may
have been more for my benefit than suggestions intended for Ms. Sarksyan--
thanks!

Best wishes,

Steve Green
Western Folklife Center
sgreen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


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