[ARSCLIST] Certification (was Re: [ARSCLIST] Wire recorders)

[Mike Richter <mrichter@xxxxxxx>]

At 08:34 AM 7/20/2004 -0500, Karl Miller wrote:

> Which brings up the question (at least in my mind) what should be the
> criteria for certification (assuming this is a good idea) in audio
> preservation and restoration.

Mmm - a good one!

There is a first qualification: to do minimal harm. Equipment, methods and
experience are such that one expects minimal damage to the source material.
So certification would surely have to be by medium. Unlike medicine, where
a podiatrist may legally practice psychiatry in most states, in this field
there would be qualifiers for LPs, "78s", transcription discs, cylinders,
wire, and so on.

There is a second parameter of qualification, proficiency. That would be
similar to Bachelor, Master and PhD levels of conventional academia. The
first level would entail transcription (presumably including digitizing)
without editing. The second would qualify based on elementary denoising,
repitching and otherwise processing to return the signal as nearly as
possible to its original form. The third would entail 'improvement' on the
original: rebalancing, equalizing and so on to provide the preferred
listening experience to the customer.

The medium parameter can be assessed largely objectively. The first level
of proficiency is largely objective, the next is mixed, the last almost
entirely subjective. (E.g., from multiple-choice to essay exam. <G>)


Mike
--
mrichter@xxxxxxx
http://www.mrichter.com/