Re: [ARSCLIST] National Recording Preservation Board (NRPB) Study

[Mike Richter <mrichter@xxxxxxx>]

Tom Fine wrote:
> Hi Mike:
>
> Can you think of a large number of these examples? I can't. Almost any 
> jazz tune put out on 78 after the advent of the LP was put out on LP, 
> and was probably recorded and/or mastered on tape. So the 78 is the 
> worst-case example in that case.

My interest focusses on classical vocal recordings. There are many such 
instances of 45-rpm sets never issued on another format. There are fewer 
only on 78. Issue on LP depended in part on RCA's slow adoption of the 
format and in part on whether the collection fit comfortably. Although I 
gave away my collection of 78s several years ago, I have had to keep 
(and often to digitize) many 45s not available on concurrent issue or on 
later reissue.

In many cases, the tapes were not preserved so the question arises where 
there are several which is the better source for archiving - or should 
both (or all)?

Note that from the archivist's point of view - and often from that of 
the serious collector - the publisher's own reissue may be inferior to 
the original. For an obvious example, the partial review of Caruso's 
recordings issued by RCA Italiana (12 LPs) was the best of a bad lot of 
reissues, all of which were inferior to properly transferred originals. 
Some of the CD "complete" issues were similarly unacceptable, though the 
best of them, such as Naxos's recent set, are taken from original issues 
and processed with care.

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