Does vinyl need an Analog certification agency (like the organic certification)?

I don't think any of these stickers guarantee the type of all-analogue path this thread is aiming for.

 

Threads like these warm a cold analogue heart.

 

Any digital step in production from, say 1979 to 1986, was still quite rare. Only major labels with big production budgets had access to studios with digital mixing and/or mastering at that time.

 

Yes for sure, I don't need to know if it's Ampex 499 Grand Master, etc.
If I know it's an album recorded to tape, I like to know if the vinyl was CUT FROM the original stereo master. The "remastered from" is usually very telling that it's digitally mastered, unless it also says "cut from"

 

Correct, the Analog Spark sticker doesn't, it isn't carefully worded. But their website has the details that do "guarantee" it:
I suppose if you knew anything about Analog Spark, the sticker would be enough.
The problem (the point of this thread) is that with some LP's in the store is that without any stickers at all,
a customer wouldn't even know who made it, or what website to look for more info
if they happened to want to know more.

But then again, I suppose you could be critical of this Monk listing
if you had no idea who Kevin Gray was, or what an RTI is.
I think the assumption here is that the premium reissue labels know
who their customer base is, and what they're reading on the web.

Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk (180 Gram Vinyl Record)
Limited Edition AAA Pressing.
Mastered and cut from the original stereo tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio.
180-gram LP plated and pressed at RTI.
Housed in a Stoughton old style tip-on jacket.


The other one says "Cut from" which is regarded as the proper term for
when the lacquer is cut using the tape, as opposed to he more general
"remastered from the original tapes" that digital versions use.

 

True. Doesn’t have the readership to make that push at this point.

 

For clarification to the consumer, all hype stickers should read something like: "AAA. NO DIGITAL STEP."

 

The problem with sayings like "cut from original analog masters" is that there is no guarantee that it has not run through a digital stage before or while being cut.

 

Yes, it needs an Analog Certification agency. Because nothing makes things better than making it more complicated.

 

While we're focused on the the problem with the full analog guarantee,
it also should be said that it's no guarantee the analog record will sound great.
Pure Pleasure has done disappointing sounding records and they're full analog.

For the most part, I think the credibility of the mastering engineer is the best
thing i can point to as a guide for how a record may sound without actually
hearing it - even more so than if the process was in the analog or digital domain.

This is especially true these days, digital has gotten better, and the fact is that
not many contemporary recordings are captured on tape. So i guess the
adherence to tape is great for folks who don't want to listen to much recorded
in the last 25-30 years.

I'm not at all saying it makes sense to convert pristine quality tapes to digital
to make records - that's not what i believe. It does't make sense to do that.
But there are lots of tapes missing, damaged, degraded. There are lots of
fantastic recordings captured in the digital domain. So i'm all for the information
being transparent, but for me the point isn't to exclude everything unless it
is pure analog.

 

Great mastering and AAA still remains the goal. Along with great production, recording techniques, and sound engineering. But maybe a new analog tape machine/format for mixing, editing, and mastering that doesn't require splicing tape is needed at this point. What George Martin did in the Sixties is a lost art and not worth bothering with...for most artists. As digital gets "better"...in some ways the sound becomes too sweet and perfectly processed. I still maintain that traditional analog instruments, guitars, and synths like the Moog require AAA...but digital keyboards require digital recording. And these days, more digital instrumentation is taking place as the foundation for the music.

 

Can someone explain what this means? I think I understand all the words and phrases in this sentence but (as a total layman) I don't understand why you would need digital delay (or analog delay) when cutting a laquer.

 

How true. Most of my favorite albums wouldn't of worked in the 100% analog realm.