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Re: [ARSCLIST] Cassette obsolescence - digitizing standards
Tom Fine wrote:
I think copying ANYTHING "on autopilot" is a bad idea. We're paid to be
the ultimate quality control regulator. The work is actually done by the
machines. So our only really important job is NOT to hit play and go get
a cup of coffee or pick up the phone. Throughout the history of recorded
sound, nearly or every bit of great-sounding material was done very much
hands-on.
One man's opinion.
-- Tom Fine
Not everyone on this list fits that description. More to the point, at
times the criteria for a job may vary from those one would like to
maintain.
I have a friend with a priceless collection of recordings he made fifty
to sixty years ago. One of his jobs was as audio director for what was
to become NBC-TV. (Another was playing fiddle in Toscanini's band, but
that's several other stories.) He is a perfectionist in transferring his
tapes and will let no one else handle them, but at his age and with the
obligations he has assumed - and those his wife has assumed for him -
his output is a trickle. He has already lost a substantial number of
recordings to a 'flood of the century' and is in danger of losing more.
I have tried to persuade him that a safety copy is the first
requirement, but he is adamant. I respect his position, but I agonize
each time I read of a storm on the East Coast. I am also fearful that he
is relying on the accuracy of his hearing aids not only to equalize but
also to set level and to detect flaws. The first recordings he sent me
(the Toscanini memorial concert with its three conductors) went into
clipping at several spots - and he was unaware of the error.
Are those tapes worthy of archival transfer? By my judgement, they are
and at far better than 44/16. But they must be transferred while he is
still alive since I've no confidence that his widow will rescue them if
he predeceases her. Between ideal digitizing and getting something onto
disc, I have no doubt which is more pressing.
Mike
--
mrichter@xxxxxxx
http://www.mrichter.com/