interesting SPARS code on a CD I was lent

AD D AD

I'd never seen such a code before. Usually there's no code or some code that doesn't really reflect what the recording/mixing/etc. was done on.

Example: I believe U2 record on sync'ed analog and digital machines, to get the best of both worlds.. drums and maybe guitars on analog, everything else on digital (or so I've heard, this might be wrong). Yet even though I don't have any U2 stuff I don't recall ever seeing codes like the above on friends' CDs.

This looks to me like either the band, or someone involved, or both, care. Kudos to them.

It's a local band, BTW. Los Brujos. CD is from 1994-ish .. never heard it yet. Supposed to be good stuff and I believe completely OOP.

Cheers

 

The folks at Sony Music have apparently reached the decision that published codes are not very useful because so many different production techniques are used before a mix is released. Very few are merely recorded, mixed and mastered using a streight analog or digital process.

Richard.

Richard.

 

The strangest SPARS code I have on a CD is on Reference Recordings "Dick Hyman plays Fats Waller". This was recorded directly from the piano via microwave to the CD Master.
It simply says «D».

 

But even there, the mic was most likely analog, along with the mic pre-amp. Then there was at least on analog to digital conversion along the way, assuming the master was merely 16 bit 48 Mh sampling rate.

Richard.

 

Yes, of course there is a conversion but neither an intermediate data storage (tape, disk, whatever) nor a mix involved, therefore the simple "D" SPARS code may still apply...

 

I like the code Rykodisc used to put on it's cassettes: "AAA"

Evan

 

"Yes, of course there is a conversion but neither an intermediate data storage (tape, disk, whatever) nor a mix involved, therefore the simple "D" SPARS code may still apply... "

But the fact that an analog to digital conversion was involved shows how useless, and perhaps misleading, these code representations are. (I guess there are pure digital mic's out there), but some really good sound came out of those old tube supported mic's.)

Richard.

 

Not sure about that. Microphones are transducers, and I think a transducer has to be analog, by definition. They translate one form of energy (mechanical, the pressure exerted by the air stream on the diaphragm) into another (electrical variation at the output).

This is a continuous process, it's not broken into small bitty fragments like digital is. Therefore it's most likely analog.

Even if there was such a thing as a digital microphone (as in a microphone with a digital output), a D/A conversion would still have to take place somewhere, even if it's just inside the microphone itself.

Just a thought

 

Ah yes, the infamous "Fonzarelli Code!"

 

Can someone help me please; what does SPARS stand for?

 

'Society of Professional Audio Recording Services', I think.

 

Ahh, thank you Damien for that answer. And of course we are talking about all those AAD, ADD,DAD codes that appeared on the older CDs but are not found that often anymore, right?

 

Yup.

 

You could probably say that today, Rykodisc has "jumped the shark"!

Evan