gavreid
Pretty Words...
That's funny
I bet there's more digital in recordings from about 1980 onwards than people ever realise beginning with delay and then reverb.
Mobile Fidelity, ‘One Step’ etc
- Thread starter Tony L
- Start date
That's funny
I bet there's more digital in recordings from about 1980 onwards than people ever realise beginning with delay and then reverb.
paulfromcamden
Baffled
That's funny
Good point and I've wondered about this before. Lexicon 224 was launched in 1979 and must be on thousands of albums. It's not quite the same thing as recording everything in the digital realm. But still...
gavreid
Pretty Words...
Although, I think the 3-M all digital system came in about 1979 too. Ry Cooder - Bop Till You Drop and Donald Fagen -The Nightfly, were among the first mainstream digital albums.
ToTo Man
the band not the dog
As with S/T and Desperado I've plumped for the SACD version of On The Border and One Of These Nights. Roll on Hotel California and The Long Run!
If I spun vinyl I'd probably buy the One Steps as S/T and Desperado have been very well received, but it's a bit of a luxury to buy them for shelf art only! (I do own a turntable but seldom use it due to the laboriousness of vinyl hygiene. When you have cerebral palsy, digital playback is a no-brainer!...
Mo-Fi abandoned half speed mastering years ago. They just go for that smooth audiophile sound...
Levitation by Hawkwind and I Can't Stop It by The Beat too...both good albums in my book. Also Toyah and Haircut 100..not quite to my taste.
daytona600
Registered User
The first commercial digital recording was Nippon Columbia NCB-7003, "Something" by Steve Marcus, released January 1971.
The first digital communication Bell Telephone Laboratories (BTL) transform voice signals into digital 1936
The first digital communication Bell Telephone Laboratories (BTL) transform voice signals into digital 1936
gavreid
Pretty Words...
It has 'Digital' hand etched on side 1, my copy does anyway. It was released by Arista so could be...
Tony L
Administrator
Yes, just checked mine, same here, A//1, B//2 UK pressing. Never noticed!
Agree totally Graham. But look at the majority of what these audiophile reissue houses are putting out - Eagles, Thriller, Santana, Dire Straits, Donald Fagen, etc. These aren't exactly rare records in their original pressings and even in this ridiculous overpriced market, can be found at a fraction of the audiophile reissues (and indeed sometimes, of the bog standard non-audiophile reissues). And for many years, say up to maybe 5-10 years ago, one could still find reasonably priced Strata East, Impulse and later BN pressings (e.g. non-ear pressings, Liberty/UA). That's largely gone now of course.
I think it's important and useful that reissue labels put out otherwise rare and expensive albums. But premium reissue houses e.g. MoFi, Analogue Productions have little interest in doing so. They keep reissuing the same old tired favorites that they know they can sell again to gullible audiophiles. It is left to the smaller non-audiophile oriented guys to do the interesting stuff, i.e. Now Again, BBE, Mr Bongo, Strut, Superfly etc. I was happy to be able to pick up for instance Arthur Verocai s/t album from Mr Bongo. Little chance in hell of finding this one otherwise.
I think it's important and useful that reissue labels put out otherwise rare and expensive albums. But premium reissue houses e.g. MoFi, Analogue Productions have little interest in doing so. They keep reissuing the same old tired favorites that they know they can sell again to gullible audiophiles. It is left to the smaller non-audiophile oriented guys to do the interesting stuff, i.e. Now Again, BBE, Mr Bongo, Strut, Superfly etc. I was happy to be able to pick up for instance Arthur Verocai s/t album from Mr Bongo. Little chance in hell of finding this one otherwise.
I've always liked Speakers' Corner reissues. All of their LPs that I have are nice sounding and good enough for me, although I've not done any comparisons. There is no over the top BS marketing verbiage, their pricing has been reasonable and most importantly, they cover a very range of titles rather than the usual audiophile favorites.
Kevin Gray did quite a number of their reissues before he became well-known.
Kevin Gray did quite a number of their reissues before he became well-known.
Tony L
Administrator
Speakers Corner are too warm and syrupy for me. I’ve had a few albums I know very well pass through e.g. Mingus Black Saint, Coltrane ALS etc, and felt they sounded like what those who do not know any better think valve amps sound like; warm, smooth, polite, laid back, pipe & slippers etc. I’ve still got a few, but I’d swap any of them for US originals or 70s Japanese which capture the life and dynamics of jazz so much better to my ears. My Black Saint is an RVG-stamped US original and sounds amazing. A totally different presentation. That said I can see why folk like the Speakers Corner stuff, they always are nicely pressed and I can imagine might suit a smaller brighter system than mine quite well. I want to be hit by the full-force impact of the drums, brass etc, which goes a long way to explain why I’m such a fan of RVG-cut originals. They kick!
daytona600
Registered User
In various media, even including the Washington Post, a discussion has arisen about the non-transparent mastering methods of various audiophile LP labels.
With regard to this, Speakers Corner Records should like to emphasise that all of its nearly 700 releases since 1993 have been produced purely using analogue technology, beginning with the microphone right up to the finished LP. At no time were digital files used or was digital processing carried out.
The only exception is Alan Parsons’ Eye in the Sky, which occupies a unique and special position in their catalogue. Although this album was recorded digitally, it was mixed using analogue technology, and an analogue master tape was created from which our LP was made.
Speakers Corner Records pledge not to alter their commitment to the principle of “pure analogue” in the future
Speakers Corner 30 Years Pure Analogue
pure-analogue | Eine Vinylschallplatte entsteht
With regard to this, Speakers Corner Records should like to emphasise that all of its nearly 700 releases since 1993 have been produced purely using analogue technology, beginning with the microphone right up to the finished LP. At no time were digital files used or was digital processing carried out.
The only exception is Alan Parsons’ Eye in the Sky, which occupies a unique and special position in their catalogue. Although this album was recorded digitally, it was mixed using analogue technology, and an analogue master tape was created from which our LP was made.
Speakers Corner Records pledge not to alter their commitment to the principle of “pure analogue” in the future
Speakers Corner 30 Years Pure Analogue
pure-analogue | Eine Vinylschallplatte entsteht
And Neumann's version was introduced in 1978. As you say, a digital delay has been in the signal on most records since then.