Star Trek-TMP soundtrack.Analog or digital?

On June the 5th there's a new release for the soundtrack for Star Trek The Motion Picture. I always thought this was one of the earliest "full digital recordings" but apparently it was tracked to analog. This new release is sourced from the original analog 16 track multi-tracks, while I always thought it was tracked and mixed-down on Sony digital equpment.
Does anybody have more information about this recording?

More info about this new release here: http://trekmovie.com/2012/05/17/3-c...ming-in-june-hollywood-launch-eventscreening/

 

Producer Mike Matessino:

 

Thank you very much for your information, I appreciate it.

 

I forgot to post it, received it over a month ago, absolute sonic bliss.

 

Interesting to know - I always thought this was a digital recording, but it looks like it only got copied into digital from the 16-track analog recording and then edited from there.

As Spock would say, fascinating . . .

 

So I got the 3-CD set in the mail today - it includes both digital and analog versions of the 3 tracks that were digitally recorded back in '79 - the Main Titles, "Leaving Drydock" and "The Enterprise".

It's interesting! The analog and digital versions definitely sound different, even when the takes are identical. I'm assuming some equalization has been used on the analog tracks, and it also sounds as though they were slightly compressed. MediaMonkey indicates that's likely as well - the analog "Main Titles" has its track volume adjusted by -1.9dB, whereas the digital version is calling for a boost of +1.7dB. Even with the adjustments taken into account on playback, the digital version is notably quieter. Hiss is present on the analog tracks, but completely absent on their all-digital counterparts (at least, at my normal listening levels). Some of the analog tracks that were mixed down to digital on the original soundtrack are also on this CD, to compare with their all-analog counterparts ("Spock Walk" is a good example to use, since it begins with silence). There's a bit of hiss on the '79 digital versions, but not nearly as much as on the all-analog tracks on this release.

Surprisingly, the ancient digital recordings do not sound especially harsh, although the analog versions are somewhat warmer. This could have more to do with equalization and any processing though than with the recording technology itself. The bass seems a little more pronounced on the analog versions, but perhaps a bit more crisp on the digital - I'd probably need a better system to tell for certain. In all though, I'm impressed with how good early digital could sound, at least for this kind of material. Not what I expected. Any digital downsides could arguably be negated by the complete absence of noise - it's quite striking, and something that isn't really apparent until you do a side-by-side comparison like this.

The other fascinating thing is just how much many cues differ between the '79 soundtrack and what was actually used in the film, which we're finally getting here for the first time. Goldsmith was quite a composer, and this has to be one of his most inventive and effective works. Many would argue it's the best (or even the only good) thing about this movie.

 

The Main Title were mixed differently for the movie and the soundtrack album, percusion is more prominent on the movie version (and thefore, more bass-heavy) while they were reduced for the album version, but I'm 99% sure both are sourced from the same take/takes.
Jerry Goldsmith composed for Star Trek TMP a big and bold Main Title which is as iconic that the one John Williams composed for Star Wars, while Alexander Courage original Star Trek TV series theme sounds dated and like the typical 60's campy-suitable for TV of the time, for Star Trek die-hard fans only, but nothing outstanding musically-wise as 1979 Goldsmith theme.

 

I feel that "Ilia's Theme" from this soundtrack, is still one of the greatest themes ever written for a motion picture. Jerry Goldsmith took everything I love about John Williams beautiful scores and condensed them all, into one of the most simple and beautiful themes ever!

For those that have never heard it or need a refresher ...

 

The 3 CD set contains two versions of the old LP mix of the Main Titles - one of them made from the analog multitracks recorded in '79, the other the digital 2-track mixdown done in '79. They also have several other tracks presented in both "soundtrack LP" versions, digital and analog ("The Enterprise" and "Leaving Drydock"). It's just interesting to compare the differences between the two.

 

For those interested in Vinyl, the original US pressing was mastered at Capitol by Wally Traugott and sounds amazing!

 

Interesting thread on Wally here. I had that LP, and it did sound great.

 

I think both analog and digital versions sound well in its own way, Botnick is a real master at what he does. I prefer the analog versions though, but its interesting to hear that the digital versions from 79 don't sound harsh and thrill, as was the case with most early digital recordings.

 

Yes, I was quite surprised by how good the digital tracks sound. They're quite crisp and clean and noiseless, but not harsh to my ears.

Of course, I recall the original CD sounding pretty good to begin with - the primary interest I had in this 3 disc set is getting all of the bonus material.