an audio engineer's comment

[Deleted User]

Hello,
I'm a member of an Ampex forum, you might find this comment, from another member interesting:
"As one who has made records at both extremes (Bill Evans to the
Circle Jerks) I've come to the conclusion that records are a cartoon
of reality anyway. Nothing, for instance, can beat sitting in the
first row at Jazz at Pearl's in SF on a Monday night right in front
of the sax section of a 20 piece big band. And I've recorded live in
that same venue several times. So I don't try to achieve exact
reality, but a sort of bigger-than-reality that will get beyond the
speakers; this is the goal of most mixers who want to make their
clients and public happy. And Stereo is a big part of that.

As soon as I got my hands on 16 track recording in 1969 (on a
MM1000), I began experimenting with stereo vocal tracks and
instruments, culminating in 1970's 'If I Could Only Remember My Name'
with David Crosby. I recorded many stereo acoustic guitar tracks with
two mics, and either used them to make a bigger space (helpful when
there was no more accompaniment) or to give me coverage on the guitar
sound.

Funny thing about that album; I never sought out to make a hi-fi
record, just a good sounding one. I didn't cut back on the EQ or
compression-indeed some of it was absolutely bright and squashy. Yet
The Absolute Sound has put it on a list of all-time best records.

And of course, we had Ampexes to record it all!
sqb"
Regards, Ken

[Deleted User]

Here's a follow-up comment:
"Whatever you did, you did it perfectly. That's one of my all-time
favorite LPs. (long before TAS picked up on it) Never knew it was
recorded on Ampex machines until now.

I especially enjoy what you did with Crosby's voice and the tape
delays. That's a short track, but it is breathtaking.

If you want to go into further detail about the technical
particulars, I'm all ears. <pun intended>"

If there are some additional details from the recording engineer I'll post them.
Ken

TroyD

Another great read, Ken.

BDT

RuSsMaN

Ken, do you ever just miss your Silvertone? A simpler time?

[Deleted User]

Actually, you're not too far off the mark, Russman. When I was a kid my dad had a job as a jukebox repairman for Supreme Amusement Company in Western Maryland. A few times, on Saturdays, I went with him while he fixed jukeboxes in bars all around West Virginia and Maryland. We'd load new 45's and replace worn needles and check out the amplifier tubes. Some of these places had bear's heads on the wall, really rough hewn. He took an old jukebox amplifier and hooked up an RCA 45 changer and connected a speaker to it. Everything was put on an orange crate and my mom made a yellow cloth wrap around cover. This must have been in the middle 50's. I had Roy Rogers records and even some Elvis later on. Loved it. Probably got me hooked on sound.
Have fun, Ken

dkg999

Bing Crosby, Teresa Brewer, and Elvis from a turntable whose brand name I don't remember, a Bogen mono tube amplifier, and a big Utah speaker. It made my parents very happy! I'm setting here with several thousand dollars of audio equipment, and I don't think it makes me any more happy than they were. Sometimes simple is highly under-rated

[Deleted User]

I know what you mean, sometimes everything seems too complex. Wait 15 minutes for the air compressor to get just right to let the tone arm float correctly. Turn on the heater Voltage first, wait 5 minutes to turn on the B+. Take the plastic bags off the screens, then turn on the amplifiers and turn on the power filter for the speakers. Nothing like making life simple? Turn on the power supply for the turntable, clean the record and the stylus, put some Last on the stylus. Now I can listen to a record. Talk about ritual? I think I want another, more simple system, AR turntable, NAD 3020 integrated amp and a pair of Large Advents. Simple.

[Deleted User]

Here's another copy of a thread on the Ampex group. This is from Tom Fine, who is the son of Wilma Cozart Fine, who, along with her husband, William Fine, made all of the famous Mercury Living Presence records:
"Bernie Grundman also did an awesome job on the limited-release of Mercury Living Presence LPs put
out by Classic Records. My mother oversaw that and we all agreed that Bernie's mastering was as
great as George Piros's original job, and the Classic heavy vinyl plays better and quieter than the
original LPs. Those records all long sold out of their limited release. Personally, I still prefer
the sound of the CD's (and yes, I've heard the LPs on a very tweaky system, as well as my own
system, which I like very much). A properly remastered CD simply sounds better than an LP to me, but
most CD's are far from properly remastered.

If you do still love the vinyl, there are a few good options. I think Hobson usually does very well
at Classic Records. I have a bunch of Speakers Corner records I like very much, and I think Brian
Roth's friends in Kansas, Analogue Records, do some very good work. Analogue is a good chance to
hear very close to what the master tape really sounds like; they seem to do minimal sweetening or
loudness-enhancement. Their reissues of "Basie Jam" on Pablo, Johnny Hodges/Duke Ellington "Side By
Side" on Verve and the box set of Riverside Monk albums stand up very well indeed to both the
original LPs and the CD reissues. All of these labels make some, um, exaggerated advertising claims
and all are pricey (as in all things audiophool, exaggerated claim = higher price). But it's still
very thrilling to hear great music jump off the surface of super-quiet vinyl. I just got Speakers
Corner version of Quincy Jones "Birth of a Band," which was done at Fine Recording. This is the best
version of this I've heard because the mastering preserved the dynamics and frequency balance of the
original Mercury LP but took it another step because the s/n is so much higher with that quiet
vinyl. They also managed to cut the brightness of the full-blare horns into the grooves without
making it splashy (uh oh, perception terms).

Ampex content: I'm pretty sure "Basie Jam" and "Side by Side" were mastered on Ampex decks; the Monk
albums were made at Reeves which used Fairchild until the stereo era (talk about a great-sounding
mono album -- "Monk's Music").

-- Tom Fine
Enjoy, Ken

heiney9

Great read...again Ken!

H9

SKsolutions

Kenneth Swauger wrote:

Ampex Quote follows:
"As one who has made records at both extremes (Bill Evans to the
Circle Jerks) I've come to the conclusion that records are a cartoon
of reality anyway. Nothing, for instance, can beat sitting in the
first row at Jazz at Pearl's in SF on a Monday night right in front
of the sax section of a 20 piece big band.

A very a propo analogy (cartoon). I know that there is much music that I enjoy that I cannot listen to. It is as if most recordings are an amalgam of ideals instead of a group of musicians.
Just because the ability to manipulate a signal exists, doesn't mean you should. It's stretched and disproportionate. Cartoon-ish and hot-roddy.

Sean

steveinaz

Kenneth Swauger wrote:

Talk about ritual? I think I want another, more simple system, AR turntable, NAD 3020 integrated amp and a pair of Large Advents. Simple.

There you go, now thats the stuff dreams are made of. I had an AR turntable, loved it.