Tom Fine writes:
The LP has just too many limitations -- fuzzy midrange on peaks, ticks
and pops, rumble
and surface noise, poor channel separation at certain frequencies. It's
always amazing to me when
the things sound great -- I tip my hat to the mastering folks and
pressing folks who make that
happen. I'm old enough to remember the era before CD's. NO THANKS!
I’m right there with you, Tom. I’d never go back.
I hope it was clear from my postings that I am not *advocating* using
disc
restorations as the preferred method of transferring older recordings to
the digital realm. I am only noting that, in some cases when the master
tapes have deteriorated far enough, disc restorations can yield a more
listenable product than the bad masters. OF COURSE digital re-issues
should be made from original source materials if those materials are
well-cared-for and in good shape. However, I have heard (and own a few)
major label CD re-issues that suffer from all sorts of problems that the
same material originally issued on LP does not exhibit—and it’s not just
poor quality-control at the digital remastering stage.
The LP as a medium has all kinds of problems that bug me (as LPs always
have!), but some of my old LPs when thoroughly cleaned and played through
the LT with DSP EQ, etc. yield a more listenable product than some of the
CD re-issues that supposedly use original masters. Properly manufactured
vinyl will generally hold up better than audio tape. It’s just physics.
I am booked up pretty solidly for the next little while, but if I can put
together a few A-Bs, I’ll be happy to share ’em.
Chas.
--
Charles Lawson <clawson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Professional Audio for CD, DVD, Broadcast & Internet