SH Spotlight I was asked "What album have I mastered the most?" I had to really think about it..

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Steve Hoffman, Apr 14, 2022.

  1. ti-triodes

    ti-triodes Senior Member

    Location:
    Paz Chin-in
    Thanks to my mother, who loved Nat, I grew up listening to this album. I love the sound of the AP.


    Thanks, mom!
     
  2. fortherecord

    fortherecord Senior Member

    Location:
    Rochester, NY
    I still have the DCC LP as well as The Very Thought of You DCC lp. I bought some of the AP reissues as well.
     
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  3. Gregalor

    Gregalor Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    All the white people loved Nat King Cole, for better or for worse. He was fully aware that he was the model “safe, unthreatening black man” who white people would actually feel comfortable inviting over for dinner, and got some blowback from his community for it. They were tired of hearing “Why can’t they all be more like Nat King Cole?” and accused him of whitewashing himself. I watched a documentary call Color Correction about the portrayal of black people on television that touched on this.
     
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  4. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    My late Grandmother, and my Mom are why I am a Nat "King" Cole fanatic. It's in my DNA.
     
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  5. paulmock

    paulmock Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hollywood, CA
    Without a doubt, those 45's and SACD's are your finest hour! And IMHO at the top of that pile of Nat's great albums, Love is the Thing reigns as King!
     
  6. supermd

    supermd Senior Member

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    That was my first thought. :agree:
     
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  7. Clark V Kauffman

    Clark V Kauffman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Des Moines, Iowa
    My all-time best bargain purchase is this copy of Steve’s long-out-of-print DCC version of “Love Is The Thing” …. for $15! The highlight for me is the inadvertent inclusion of the otherwise unreleased dry mix of “Stardust.” Such a great disc.

    [​IMG]
     
  8. TheRunoutMatrix

    TheRunoutMatrix I'm sticking with you, cause I'm made out of glue.

    Loved reading this! Really cool historical tidbit of info. :righton:
     
  9. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Capitol really didn't know what they were doing with "stereo" stuff in 1956. One microphone for the left side of the orchesta up in the air and the same for the right side of the orchestra. The third mic was on NAT for the center channel. Recorded dry, no reverb, that would be added later at the mixdown to two-track.

    They were "covering" the Nat session but gear problems meant they missed the first two songs done at the first session. That's why the stereo LP has 10 songs and the mono LP has 12. The mono control room got it all but the temporary binaural experimental work station (IOW the upstairs snack bar/lounge) was just a bare room with a tape recorder and primitive set up. They didn't even have a mixer up there, and there was no way to monitor the session except with a mono headphone plugged into one channel of the Ampex 300-3. Not even a talk-back intercom with the main studio down below. Geez..

    I don't know how they got anything down on tape but they made a beautiful recording once they got the bugs out.

    1956 stereo is really early (but not for RCA-Victor, etc.) so we can cut them some slack. The idea to cover EVERYTHING recorded at Capitol in "binaural" didn't happen until 1958! That's why songs like "All The Way" by Sinatra in 1957 are mono only! Hard to believe but true..

    Oh, the reason for making stuff in stereo was for the open reel tape market in which RCA was making a KILLING!
     
  10. mwheelerk

    mwheelerk Sorry, I can't talk now, I'm listening to music...

    Location:
    Gilbert Arizona
    Thanks Steve. That back room information is very interesting...
     
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  11. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    The DCC is one of my prized possessions. My girlfriend rarely comments on the sound, but on this DCC she exclaimed WOW!
     
  12. hbbfam

    hbbfam Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chandler,AZ
    A lot going on in this thread. Without pouring it on, this DCC is what music is supposed to sound like. And I wonder if there is a better group of "gorts" on any other forum out there of any kind?
     
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  13. TheRunoutMatrix

    TheRunoutMatrix I'm sticking with you, cause I'm made out of glue.

    Wow, thanks for the reply, Steve - this is all really fascinating. I love this sort of stuff.

    In your initial post you said, "The old DCC Versions I worked on are now selling for $500.00 (Gold CD) and $900.00 (180 Gram LP). Yikes!"

    With some trepidation, I am guessing that the old DCC 180 Gram LP is the one to get if my preference is vinyl. Quite a purchase but my interest is very much piqued, and sometimes it simply is what it is. :agree:
     
  14. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    I'd get the Analogue Productions 45 RPM LP version from Acoustic Sounds. Should be like 50 dollars.
     
  15. FlorentinePogen

    FlorentinePogen Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin, Texas
    In the albums that you frequently mastered, did you notice any deterioration in the master tape? Were you ever given a master tape for one remaster and then given a safety copy of the same record for a seperate, subsequent release? If so, how big of a difference in sound quality are we talking about?
     
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  16. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Only a few times, usually tape problems are caused by bad storage by a past engineer, uneven rewind, etc.
     
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  17. mpayan

    mpayan A Tad Rolled Off

    $500.00 and $900.00??

    Steve, I may cave and part with the sealed stuff!





    Wait, nevermind, that will only buy me three used one-steps ;)
     
  18. mpayan

    mpayan A Tad Rolled Off

    Seriously though, I miss DCC. Some may say "______ is the best reissue series ever!" To my ears, that was and still remains the DCC golds and lps.

    The Nat's were the cherry on top.
     
    WHMusical, BeatlesBop and hodgo like this.
  19. Doctor Jimmy

    Doctor Jimmy From Bach to the Beach Boys

    Location:
    South Korea
    I'm always amazed when I hear these early three track stereo recordings of the 50's.
    Not only Capital's recordings of Nat King Cole, but also those lovely sounding recordings from RCA Living Stereo, Columbia etc.
    These early stereo recordings are so natural and lifelike!

    It may be the best period in history of music recordings.
    It is depressing that most of today's recordings are not reaching the sound quality that was possible almost half a century ago.
     

  20. AP SACD is the Thing.


    [​IMG]


     
  21. hodgo

    hodgo Tea Making Gort (Yorkshire Branch) Staff

    Location:
    East Yorkshire
    I adore that album. I'm especially fond of the mono mix with it's added detail due to the extra mics that were used. Just listen to the beautiful spine tingling cello on "When I Fall In Love", it's so much less audible on the stereo mix.

     
  22. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    And in terms of Capitol, that tape line was called the "Z" series. For those without 2 track Stereo tape machines or the budget to buy one or the tapes, there's one track on Stereo LP with the original mix, which isn't DCC or Audiophile Productions. This one track is on "The Stereo Disc". Capitol later remixed "Love Is The Thing" for Stereo LP disc release and 4 track Stereo tape release. This remix never sounded as good.
     
  23. lax luthior

    lax luthior Forum Resident

    Some years back, and I don't recall what publication it was in, I read your article about the challenges of remastering Cream's Wheels Of Fire.
    I haven't heard the result. How did it turn out?
     
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  24. AnalogJ

    AnalogJ Hearing In Stereo Since 1959

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    It wasn't uncommon back then for the mono versions of LPs to have a couple of added songs. Billie Holiday's Lady In Satin on Columbia, for example.

    Having both the DCC LP and AP 45, I prefer the 45. It has a 'you-are-there'-ness that the DCC doesn't quite have. The inner detail on the AP is astonishing. The DCC sounds a bit syrupy in comparison, though still quite lovely. And you'd stick bonus tracks on the DCCs, which I loved. You can't go wrong with either.
     
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  25. exoendria

    exoendria Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toulouse, France
    This is amazing how a 40 years old, than a 53 years old tape, made of iron and plastic can last so long and still deliver the beauty of the art.
    I hope we are, today, taking a good care of those treasures.
     

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