SH Spotlight How do I fix a damaged analog master tape without digital step? Jethro Tull, Nat King Cole, etc.

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Steve Hoffman, Jul 21, 2022.

  1. Briskit

    Briskit “I don’t know karate, but I know ka-razy!”

    Location:
    St Kilda
    Do you know if they have the facilities to cut from tape "in-house"?

    I was watching Mr Fremer's latest video earlier.
    He speculated that whilst Mofi's Miles Davis reissues sound spectacular, perhaps even more could have been achieved with all analogue cuts. Seems like an opening for Sony to start their own "tone poet" style AAA jazz series. Assuming they have the gear.
     
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  2. jasonsouza77

    jasonsouza77 Vinyl Enthusiast

    Location:
    Portland
    wow. outstanding work Steve + all out effort to fix and use the master tape.
     
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  3. dachada

    dachada Senior Member

    Location:
    FL
    Is right to say that the CLassic/UHQR are from the USA Cutting master?
     
  4. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    The original first version MoFi is from the USA Cutting master. The later versions are from the UK original.
     
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  5. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    They used to be able to cut a record, not sure now..
     
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  6. jewelsnbinoculars

    jewelsnbinoculars Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    Is this equivalent to what they are doing at MOFI? Is that the sound they are after with the DSD into analogue chain? Sorry I know nothing about this and I’m still scratching my head.
     
  7. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    No.
     
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  8. DPM

    DPM Senior Member

    Location:
    Nevada, USA
    If I may chime in, I believe the guys at Mobile Fidelity are converting the 4X DSD copy to analogue and then running that analogue signal straight through their mastering gear to the lacquer cutting setup. So no dupe tape in their process. According to their interview with Mike from The Inner Groove they didn't like working from dub tapes.
     
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  9. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    45 inches of dupe tape. That's a heckofa lot..
     
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  10. Peter K

    Peter K Forum Resident

    Love that record, I haven't to it in a while, I will have to give it a spin tonight!
     
  11. gregorya

    gregorya I approve of this message

    Steve, have you ever had to work with digital masters that were stored to tape, such as three-quarter inch U-matic used in some of the early iterations of digital recording? If these have deteriorated, can they baked? Or should they be nuked?.. :)
     
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  12. AnalogJ

    AnalogJ Hearing In Stereo Since 1959

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    Music Matters essentially did that for their 45rpm reissue of Horace Silver's Song For My Father with the title cut.
     
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  13. AnalogJ

    AnalogJ Hearing In Stereo Since 1959

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    I remember the invites, always being jealous of those who lived nearby.
     
  14. FlorentinePogen

    FlorentinePogen Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin, Texas
    Did you get to listen to the US cutting master and the UK original tape to compare? Just trying to wrap my head around why Tull UK LP’s are so vastly superior to US originals (DCC, UHQR, and MFSL aside of course).
     
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  15. John Buchanan

    John Buchanan I'm just a headphone kind of fellow. Stax Sigma

    The MFSL Aqualung was terrible - extreme boom and tizz exaggerating the micro drop-outs in the recorded sound of the cymbals at the start of Aqualung. Not sure what caused this, but Island UK associated recordings of the time sometimes had this especially on the first track of the album (ELP's The Barbarian as an example as well Aqualung) - both later fixed in remixes.
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2022
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  16. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Yeah, used some of those. They could be baked and would work but it was dicey because the moving parts were fragile inside. Glad those days are over..
     
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  17. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    It was fun sometimes but I bet a few found it as boring as watching plants grow..
     
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  18. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    The original UK Tull AL was cut with the original tape always, a cutting dupe was made but I doubt it was used much. Not a GIANT seller in the UK..
     
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  19. FlorentinePogen

    FlorentinePogen Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin, Texas
    This thread is incredible. I can't believe I'm getting to ask questions about the Aqualung tape. Thank you, Steve.
     
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  20. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Happens all the time, at least 10 years ago or older. Now they just dump to digital and fix there. What's the fun in that?
     
  21. AnalogJ

    AnalogJ Hearing In Stereo Since 1959

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    Right. And you were part of that process, although were you directly involved with the Plangeant fix to the first track?
     
  22. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Never been involved with Plangent, even though I don't like recordings in H sharp..
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2022
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  23. dachada

    dachada Senior Member

    Location:
    FL
    Yes the Umatic machines use a spining drum head. Cassetes tape should not be sticky and storaged under low humidity conditions . this video shows the machine
     
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  24. AnalogJ

    AnalogJ Hearing In Stereo Since 1959

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    Not a fan of Horace Silver, eh? (There is an 'H' on the keyboard. B-natural was sometimes noted as 'H' in the Baroque era.).
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 23, 2022
  25. tootull

    tootull Looking through a glass onion

    Location:
    Canada
    I had to check my amp at the time to make sure the loudness button wasn't on.
     
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