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Re: [ARSCLIST] commerical reels history (was Boston Pops question)



I do not have 'golden ears' and I would expect your judgement to be better than mine. I have recently upgraded my system and will listen again to the two versions of 'Tabor'. However, the difference of opinion here is really between Mark Obert-Thorne and yourself. With respect, his reputation is second to none. Any comments from other parties would be most welcome.

Steve Abrams

----- Original Message ----- From: "Tom Fine" <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, April 08, 2007 4:34 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] commerical reels history (was Boston Pops question)



Well, to each their own. The critics did not agree with you in most cases. The Mercury mono reissue CD's sold very well worldwide and are now available again as a 4 or 5CD (forgot which) set, all the Kubeliks. I personally greatly prefer the CD's to the original LPs (which we have excellent-condition copies of). Again, everyone's entitled to an opinion. I'll grant you that the master tapes were over 40 years old in 1996, but it was amazing how they played back OK. The LPs noisy surface may mask some of the limitations of tape, machine and microphone.

If the "Tabor" is what I heard, we have very different opinions. I heard all sorts of digital artifacts, obvious tape degradation and a non-realistic stereo pickup. But again, to each their own.

-- Tom Fine

----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve Abrams" <steveabrams@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, April 08, 2007 10:18 AM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] commerical reels history (was Boston Pops question)



What I am saying is that the Mercury Living Presence CD issued in 1996 of "Ma Vlast" does not sound good. I remember the LPs sounding better though I only had them on a cheap reissue in the UK on the Wing label. The stereo issue of "Tabor" that I know came out last year on Music & Arts and was restored by Mark Obert-Thorne. It sounds much better than the mono version.

Steve Abrams

----- Original Message ----- From: "Tom Fine" <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, April 08, 2007 3:02 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] commerical reels history (was Boston Pops question)



Hi Steve:

Thanks for the RCA clarification. It was the same set of sessions I thought but different works.

Yes, Bert Whyte was permitted by Mercury to bring his 2-track Magnecorder and place a pair of U-47 mics at the Kubelik session. Some of the tapes were issued on a small label CD in recent years and sound terrible to my ears. Could be the tape is deteriorated, could be the playback or transfer equipment wasn't good. Could be the engineer didn't properly line up the staggered tracks, etc. They definitely over-used digital noise-zapping tools so there are digi-artifacts galore. I imagine the tapes sounded better when they were new and played back on that Magnecorder.

Bert's tapes were a personal experiment. Never intended for release. Not particularly praised or lauded by the professionals involved in the session. In fairness to Bert, this was pioneering in many respects, as was his pioneering use of magnetic film recording for Everest. Bert wrote a really nice column for Radio & TV News in 1956 about the day he was invited to the studio to hear the first Mercury 3-track tapes that were ready for release. He was treated to a full-monty 3-speaker extravaganza.

-- Tom Fine

----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve Abrams" <steveabrams@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, April 08, 2007 8:18 AM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] commerical reels history (was Boston Pops question)



Not quite. The Munch Damnation of Faust in February 1954 was recorded in stereo but only issued in mono. Something happened to the stereo tapes. The Reiner recordings of Heldenleben and Salome's dance were recorded on March 6th. Zarathustra came two days later on the 8th. However - and you should be able to shed some light on this - some stereo recordings were made by Bert Whyte at the December 1952 sessions of the Chicago Symphony recording Ma Vlast under Kubelik. 'Tabor' recorded on December 6th has recently been issued on Music and Arts in a transfer by Obert-Thorne. The very unpleasant overload distortion on the Mercury Living Presence mono set, very evident on the CD issue, is not evident in the stereo version.

Steve Abrams

----- Original Message ----- From: "Tom Fine" <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, April 08, 2007 12:10 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] commerical reels history (was Boston Pops question)



I'd be interested to know what's on them and who released them. I do not believe you'll find that they are in fact 2T stereo. They are likely half-track (2-sided) mono. If they are stereo, it would be very interesting to know who put them out as in 1952 only a few people were experimenting with 2-channel stereo recording of music. No major labels yet, although I believe RCA started making 2T masters in 1954 or even 1953 -- I think Zarathustra with Reiner was the first 2T session.

-- Tom Fine

----- Original Message ----- From: "Jack Palmer" <vdalhart@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, April 08, 2007 12:29 AM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] commerical reels history (was Boston Pops question)



I bought my first 2 track tapes for my reel recorder/player in the Base Exchange in Sidi-Slimane, Morocco in 1952. I still have a couple of them in fact. Jack

----- Original Message ----- From: "Tom Fine" <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, April 07, 2007 9:40 AM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] commerical reels history (was Boston Pops question)




Ampex developed their own, was developed by Leon Wortman in NY and detailed in a 1951 Radio & TV News article. Wortman's line made full-track or half-track tapes. Commercial half-track tapes were available as early as 1951 or 1952, but there was only a very small consumer market for reel to reel machines at that point. > Because this was a new format sold at a premium price, a lot of QC attention was paid by the reputable companies in this era, so the net quality is very high. Akin to what happened when stereo LPs came along.
.






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