Re: [ARSCLIST] Soviet audio tech standards

[Tom Fine <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Will:

I'm not sure if this will help, but the Soviet tape machines observed by the Mercury engineers in 
Moscow in 1962 appeared to be copies of Telefunken machines. If that were the case, then perhaps the 
avenue to follow is the old Telefunken machines of the 50's and 60's.

-- Tom Fine

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Prentice, Will" <Will.Prentice@xxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2006 10:39 AM
Subject: [ARSCLIST] Soviet audio tech standards


Colleagues

An acquaintance is undertaking a digitisation project in various parts
of the former Soviet Union, involving digitising many hundreds of hours
of 1/4 inch analogue tape, recorded between 1953 and 1991. Recording
speeds are generally low (1 7/8 & 3 3/4 ips), all are mono, mostly full
track.

What equalisation standards are likely to have been used? My vague
understanding is that much (most? all?) Soviet audio technology came
about through reverse-engineering western products, and thus any
standards would accordingly be western derivatives. Is that overly
simplistic? Would that mean European standards or US? If it's of any
use, the recording/playback equipment which survives carries either a
"Romantika" or "Tembr M3" brand name.

The archivists there could shed no light on the question, and in my own
experience in former Soviet Republics, basic AV technical expertise is
often very thin on the ground today.

In view of the difficulty in obtaining and maintaining quality machines
with such slow playback speeds, they're thinking of ingesting at
double-speed. This obviously throws up questions of appropriate EQ
curves, hence my question.

(A long shot I realise, and while I half expect tumbleweed in response
to this message, I also know not to underestimate the collected
experience of the list ;))

Regards

Will

..............................................
Will Prentice
Technical Services
British Library Sound Archive    Tel: +44 (0)20-7412-7443
96 Euston Road                   Fax: +44 (0)20-7412-7416
London  NW1 2DB                  http://www.bl.uk
UK                               http://cadensa.bl.uk (online catalogue)

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