A tale of the (wrong) tape when remastering Don't know if this has been posted before ~ interesting read (by Roger Nichols) regarding the Aja, Gaucho tapes etc. http://www.granatino.com/sdresource/18crime.htm
Thanks for the link. Very interesting! I had read Nichols' comments about the MFSL CDs elsewhere, but not the rest of it. Here is something I found interesting from the above link: Deteriorating analog masters? Really? Didn't UMG use the original master tapes for the hi-rez Gaucho releases? Didn't Nichols work off the original master tapes for the 2000 remastered CDs? Isn't UMG going to work off the original master tapes for the upcoming Steely Dan SACDs? So, was the Steely Dan catalog issued on CD from "flawed" source tapes in 1991 and then reissued in 1992? Can one actually find two different remasters of Aja from the early '90s, for example? Everything I've read about those early '90s Dan issues says that they all suck. I have a CD-R of a '91 or '92 reissue of Aja, and it's awful. Loud, loud, loud.
I think Mr. Nichols may be blowing the "master tape deterioration" thing out of proportion. Perhaps I'll eat my own words, since I'm not a recording engineer, nor have I actually seen or heard a Steely Dan master tape. But I just don't see how those DAT transfers done back in the early '80s would sound better than the original analog masters. I mean, what's the point in doing a hi-rez release of the stereo mix from DATs?? What would Steve do (WWSD)? If he was in charge of mastering SACDs for Steely Dan's back catalog, would he use these supposedly deteriorated analog masters or from DAT copies? Hmm...
I think Steve would work off the analog master tapes or he wouldn't bother with the project. Just my $0.02. What's ironic in all of this is that Becker and Fagen are known to be so meticulous in the studio in order to get top-notch sound quality in their recordings, and now the master tapes may have deterioriated. You would think that Becker and Fagen would demand that the analog tapes be stored under ideal conditions. Regarding DAT copies, I question if they would be more robust over the years than the analog master tapes. Of course, it depends on how the two media are stored, but DAT is known to be a fragile medium, and Nichols' DATs are 19-20 years old! I remember Steve saying that he mastered Aja and Katy Lied to digital tapes that had a shelf life of "ten minutes".
That Roger Nichols essay has popped up in this Forum several times. The last time, Steve weighed in briefly to say that the essay was all wet, though he didn't elaborate.
I've read this entire thread and no one has mentioned the disc I found today: Aja DIDX55 MCABD 37214 Manufactured in Canada by Cinram Says "Previously released as MCAMD 37214" Has a date of 1984 I have not listened yet. Probably a Nichols, eh?
The more I hear about how hard and how long Roger Nichols and the band worked on these digital "transfers", the more I suspect that they are not "transfers" at all, but remasters...and having a different tonality than the master tape ("deteriorated" or otherwise). If so, it's no wonder that SH (and MFSL) chose not to use them.
What you have is a later Canadian issue. The "B" in the catalog number stands for "budget". MCA released a number of classic catalog titles in the MCABD series years ago. The MCAMD version may have been the first official Canadian release years ago, but I suspect that the first version available in Canada back in the day was the MCAD-37214 DIDX-55 Japanese pressing. The MCAMD version probably came out in the mid-to-late '80s, when CD manufacturing started to branch out worldwide. Your disc is probably a Nichols mastering. Given that it bears "DIDX-55", it probably has the original '84 Nichols mastering that was used for the Japanese pressings (again, assuming that Nichols did the original work) and not the '91 Nichols mastering. How does the disc sound?
I listened to my Canadian one last nite, and it's great. Much better than the latest remaster, which sounds veiled in comparison. VERY WIDE soundstage. Steve Gadd's drums on the title cut were just thundering, without being boomy. It sounded glorious. Seemed to have that "midrange magic". If this ain't Steve's, it's still one someone can be very proud of.
Time for me to jump in, I guess. I just found a 1984 US made MCA disc of Aja. On the disc is the number MCAD-37214. No mention of DIDX 55. However, on the last page of the booklet (the page which has one photo each of Fagan and Becker, in the upper right corner is....MCAD-37214 and below that DIDX 55. The back inlay has a bar code STICKER on it, just like the Gaucho I found last week. The back inlay also has the DIDX 55 number. The disc is made in USA. The info on the CD ring is MCAD-37214-1 1C14 MFD by JVC. The disc sounds wondereful. Fantastic soundstage, though a little less stereo separation that PL or G. Guess we're never going to get to the bottom of this, are we?
The only way to solve this is by making copies and sending them to a "referee" (preferrably Steve, but it could be any well-know forum member). At least, we could then categorize all the existing versions by comparing the bits. (Same bits ==> same mastering.)
I don't believe so. With only Steve's ears that can truly be the only reference for definition and no definite confirmations on identification of any copy that exists so far, it's not looking too good for those of us that really want to know. I'm willing to bet that yours is the Roger Nichols version. It's just a little lacking in the mid-range according to Steve IIRC so it would still sound decent. Just not as good as it could have.
Peter, I don't want to speak for the guy, but in these times, it's best to get all the work you can get. His position is best served when he's working on all kinds of projects, big and small, for little or all the glory. And glory goes much deeper than a name in a 2 page libretto. He gets plenty of credit too, gets more good work the further he goes and his work is wider than what we know. It's been eons since he's done Aja, and his work has gotten 3X better since in comparison. Gotta root for a hard worker!
Guys, if you think you have a SH Aja then send it to Steve at RTI so he can take a listen. That is how we finally indentified his Katy Lied. I plan to send him an Aja here soon. . .
I DO think I have an SH Aja. I am sorry, despite all of the "evidence" presented here, it sounds SO good, that I cannot believe it is NOT mastered by SH. Just MHO. Evan