George J
Herefordshire member
EMI's Anthony Griffith wrote at some length about transferring 78s to LP [via analogue tape] for the 1973 complete Elgar electrical recordings [1926 to 1934] on HMV RLS 708 and 713, concerning the challenge of suppressing the noise inherent in the metal masters enough but not too much, so as to avoid crushing the upper partials in the signal cut on the wax disc originals [then processed into first generation metal masters]. By 1934 [using AD Blumlein's revolutionary moving coil microphones and cutting heads] EMI were producing recordings that had a respectable 10K Hertz response and some above that.
Griffith notes in his article that LPs have their own surface noise, and tape also brings additional noise, so some 78 noise is "covered" by the LPs replay! This required considerable judgement about taking away too much of the 78 noise, and considering the interaction with additional noise in the new LP mastering.
This changed in the Digital era when the Elgar Foundation funded a new restoration for CD release in 1993 of the same recordings. Griffith - though by then retired - was a consultant in the process, and he was delighted that high-resolution 24/96 digital remastering at last freed the transfer engineer from the inherent additional noisiness of analogue tape and LP surface, and allowed for a truer reflection of what was in the metal master grooves!
But nobody is rightfully going to claim that any pre-1939 78 recording represents Full Frequency Range Reproduction. Decca coined that, but EMI did the same without advertising it. 78s made towards the end of WW II had effective top frequencies of 14 K Hertz, and gradually in the early LP era recordings claim a satisfactory top frequency up to 16 k Hertz ...
To rumble on about any competent digital format not being able to cope with the highest possible frequencies in commercial 78 recordings is plain wrong. The only higher frequencies are noise - surface noise - and cold wax chatter, which could occur towards the end of a long side [after say four minutes] as the wax cooled during the cutting duration, or if there was a slight delay from setting up the wax on the cutting table that also could cause a 16 k Hertz whistle at the end of a side. Sometimes this was left in for LP transfers, but it is easily suppressed in the digital domain without damaging the musical signals, and adds nothing useful "musically speaking."
What is certain is that a successful digital transfer of a clean 78 recording, will sound far better than the commercial shellac discs available to the public. Strangely the best shellac discs were pressed in India, where the shellac was better and quieter than that available in Europe. London made famously noisy shellac discs, compared to their Indian counter parts.
In the transfer process, new vinyl pressings are made from the best metal master parts, held in the EMI vault at Hayes, or Camden [RCA vault] or even the Indian [EMI] vaults. The digital Elgar re-issues were taken from all three sources [of EMI] master parts as well as clean unused original 78 pressings where damage or corrosion was apparent even on the best original metal master source. The work was truly a labour of love for the remastering team in that case, and much was learned and subsequently used in later digital transfers done in the 1990s by such luminaries as Keith Hardwick, who took over from Anthony Griffith as chief EMI transfer "artist" at the time. These men had grown up and were apprenticed in the 78 era, and it is probably true to say that that decade produced the best quality of 78 transfers of ever achieved on a large scale, before or after. Fortunately most of the great EMI recordings [such as those of the Busch Quartet] were re-transferred in this period.
Warner has seen fit to release these by now historic digital transfers in unmodified form in their subsequent re-issues from the former EMI Classical catalogue. By now there is not the money to spend on the hours of work put in on each four minute side [correcting pitch, reducing surface noise that varies in the duration of a side and varying frequency response which rolled off more towards the end of sides in some cases], or the experience of engineers who knew from the inside the original 78 recording techniques. This is not to say that some independent transfer artists have not done stellar work working from clean commercial pressing that sometimes rival and even sometimes seem to surpass, tonally, the metal master based transfers done then at EMI. Comparing the Appian CD issues of Edwin Fischer playing Mozart Piano Concertos with the same recordings transferred by EMI show what is possible for example.
I think one thing that marks out direct cut 78 recordings is that in effect they represent live performances as no editing was possible to correct [via edited snips] any fault in playing, so if something went wrong the whole side had to be re-recorded there and then! It lends an immediacy to the performance that comes closer to listening to a live concert on the radio than any modern recording [with the perfection of technical quality presented from the players possible with editing] brings. Even live modern recordings are usually heavily edited from rehearsal takes to cover imperfections. This robs the sense of continuity and swing of a performance and does not always disguise music slips all the same.
Anyway, sorry for the ramble. Best wishes from George
Griffith notes in his article that LPs have their own surface noise, and tape also brings additional noise, so some 78 noise is "covered" by the LPs replay! This required considerable judgement about taking away too much of the 78 noise, and considering the interaction with additional noise in the new LP mastering.
This changed in the Digital era when the Elgar Foundation funded a new restoration for CD release in 1993 of the same recordings. Griffith - though by then retired - was a consultant in the process, and he was delighted that high-resolution 24/96 digital remastering at last freed the transfer engineer from the inherent additional noisiness of analogue tape and LP surface, and allowed for a truer reflection of what was in the metal master grooves!
But nobody is rightfully going to claim that any pre-1939 78 recording represents Full Frequency Range Reproduction. Decca coined that, but EMI did the same without advertising it. 78s made towards the end of WW II had effective top frequencies of 14 K Hertz, and gradually in the early LP era recordings claim a satisfactory top frequency up to 16 k Hertz ...
To rumble on about any competent digital format not being able to cope with the highest possible frequencies in commercial 78 recordings is plain wrong. The only higher frequencies are noise - surface noise - and cold wax chatter, which could occur towards the end of a long side [after say four minutes] as the wax cooled during the cutting duration, or if there was a slight delay from setting up the wax on the cutting table that also could cause a 16 k Hertz whistle at the end of a side. Sometimes this was left in for LP transfers, but it is easily suppressed in the digital domain without damaging the musical signals, and adds nothing useful "musically speaking."
What is certain is that a successful digital transfer of a clean 78 recording, will sound far better than the commercial shellac discs available to the public. Strangely the best shellac discs were pressed in India, where the shellac was better and quieter than that available in Europe. London made famously noisy shellac discs, compared to their Indian counter parts.
In the transfer process, new vinyl pressings are made from the best metal master parts, held in the EMI vault at Hayes, or Camden [RCA vault] or even the Indian [EMI] vaults. The digital Elgar re-issues were taken from all three sources [of EMI] master parts as well as clean unused original 78 pressings where damage or corrosion was apparent even on the best original metal master source. The work was truly a labour of love for the remastering team in that case, and much was learned and subsequently used in later digital transfers done in the 1990s by such luminaries as Keith Hardwick, who took over from Anthony Griffith as chief EMI transfer "artist" at the time. These men had grown up and were apprenticed in the 78 era, and it is probably true to say that that decade produced the best quality of 78 transfers of ever achieved on a large scale, before or after. Fortunately most of the great EMI recordings [such as those of the Busch Quartet] were re-transferred in this period.
Warner has seen fit to release these by now historic digital transfers in unmodified form in their subsequent re-issues from the former EMI Classical catalogue. By now there is not the money to spend on the hours of work put in on each four minute side [correcting pitch, reducing surface noise that varies in the duration of a side and varying frequency response which rolled off more towards the end of sides in some cases], or the experience of engineers who knew from the inside the original 78 recording techniques. This is not to say that some independent transfer artists have not done stellar work working from clean commercial pressing that sometimes rival and even sometimes seem to surpass, tonally, the metal master based transfers done then at EMI. Comparing the Appian CD issues of Edwin Fischer playing Mozart Piano Concertos with the same recordings transferred by EMI show what is possible for example.
I think one thing that marks out direct cut 78 recordings is that in effect they represent live performances as no editing was possible to correct [via edited snips] any fault in playing, so if something went wrong the whole side had to be re-recorded there and then! It lends an immediacy to the performance that comes closer to listening to a live concert on the radio than any modern recording [with the perfection of technical quality presented from the players possible with editing] brings. Even live modern recordings are usually heavily edited from rehearsal takes to cover imperfections. This robs the sense of continuity and swing of a performance and does not always disguise music slips all the same.
Anyway, sorry for the ramble. Best wishes from George
