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The Tape Project


blajay

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This is my first post, so I'm a little nervous, but here we go...

Although he isn't nearly as interested with Jazz as I am, my roommate is a true audiophile. He can always hear if a record is from digital rather than analog, just by listening. He works at a recording studio in downtown San Francisco and told me one day a month ago, "Hey, Jay, how would you like to come into the studio some night next week. I am working on this new thing called 'The Tape Project,' and, if you want to, you can come by to listen to the actual original master tapes of some classic albums we are using for it." Distracted, I said, "Maybe, I'll see what my schedule is like... what do you have for Jazz?" He replied, "Saxophone Colossus by Sonny Rollins and Waltz for Debby by Bill Evans." My heart started racing. Visions flashed through my mind of exorbitant prices for first pressings of these remarkable titles on eBay:

http://www.popsike.com/php/detaildata.php?...nr=380002349523

and

http://www.popsike.com/php/detaildata.php?...nr=330161999797

I never thought I'd be able to afford to own or even hear an early or original pressing of either of these albums, let alone the actual master tape! Obviously, I accepted the offer. He extended the invitation to my girlfriend and her father, who was visiting for the week.

We arrived, my roommate let me sit in the sweet spot of the room, and he set up the reel to reel tape of Saxophone Colossus on the studio's machine. It was without a doubt the most extraordinary listening experience I've ever had. Everything was crisp, warm, clean, and cookin'. Roach sounded particularly tight and clearer on drums. I was literally blown away by Rollins. Waltz for Debby was next. I felt like I was sitting in the Vanguard. I could hear glasses clink and people talk--almost to the point where it was annoying. My mind ran along the board of LaFaro's bass trying to catch up with Evans as they inevitably crossed harmony again and again. A big Bill Evans fan, it nearly put my girlfriend's father to tears--needless to say, I am now welcomed into the family! ;)

It was one of the most memorable nights of my jazz appreciating life.

I thought I'd share this as a nice introductory story, but also to see what people think of the idea of the Tape Project, and if any of you are subscribers.

Basically, the way it works is that they are the first and only company leasing original master tapes to write 15ips half track analog reel to reel tapes for normal consumers who have the cash and interest (only about $200 per album--still too much for me, considering I don't have a tape machine, though). I think it's a great idea, though. For those of you who are tired of searching for original pressings and dissatisfied with the quality of the vinyl in audiophile reissues, it seems like a reasonable solution. You can either subscribe to have them send you every album in their catalogue (per year--including other genres), or select albums among their catalogue. Here is the website:

http://www.tapeproject.com/

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Did you notice the positioning of the piano on the Evans tape? I thought that the piano was centered in the original release but off to one side in the newest cd

box set. (Though I guess the tape wouldn't necessarily indicate where it actually where it was in the room.)

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Did you notice the positioning of the piano on the Evans tape? I thought that the piano was centered in the original release but off to one side in the newest cd

box set. (Though I guess the tape wouldn't necessarily indicate where it actually where it was in the room.)

It was pretty centered--perhaps to the right a bit though.

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Did you notice the positioning of the piano on the Evans tape? I thought that the piano was centered in the original release but off to one side in the newest cd

box set. (Though I guess the tape wouldn't necessarily indicate where it actually where it was in the room.)

It was pretty centered--perhaps to the right a bit though.

I'd imagine they have had standard set-ups for recording at the Vanguard. I'm not really sure where the piano was though.

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Did you notice the big dropout on the Rollins tape? Been there for 20+ years and reproduced (at least) twice on cd.

I say, play the primary source tapes every couple of months 'til they die!!!! Money can be made, so why not?

I did notice the dropout; in fact, it scared the crap out of me! I here ya about playing them again--sounds like a plan.

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Did you notice the big dropout on the Rollins tape? Been there for 20+ years and reproduced (at least) twice on cd.

I say, play the primary source tapes every couple of months 'til they die!!!! Money can be made, so why not?

I did notice the dropout; in fact, it scared the crap out of me! I here ya about playing them again--sounds like a plan.

Think Chuck was being facetious... wonder why they haven't fixed that dropout in all this time?

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I say, play the primary source tapes every couple of months 'til they die!!!! Money can be made, so why not?

I here ya about playing them again--sounds like a plan.

Think Chuck was being facetious...

Facetious, eh? :beee: As far as I understand it, the master tape was played and copied once to one other 2 in. tape, losing as little information as possible because it is tape to tape. That second tape then copies all the subsequent ordered tapes. So, besides my one lucky listening session, the only time the original source was played was to make the first copy. If you had been me, would you not have accepted an offer to listen to the original just once? Is it too sacred never to be enjoyed? Of course, I understand that every time you play a tape, just like a record, on a miniscule level it destroys it at the same time, but I don't feel responsible for the almost certainly unidentifiable damage done for my evening there. Also, for a project like this, I am pretty sure profit is not the first thing on their minds.

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I say, play the primary source tapes every couple of months 'til they die!!!! Money can be made, so why not?

I here ya about playing them again--sounds like a plan.

Think Chuck was being facetious...

Facetious, eh? :beee: As far as I understand it, the master tape was played and copied once to one other 2 in. tape, losing as little information as possible because it is tape to tape. That second tape then copies all the subsequent ordered tapes. So, besides my one lucky listening session, the only time the original source was played was to make the first copy. If you had been me, would you not have accepted an offer to listen to the original just once? Is it too sacred never to be enjoyed? Of course, I understand that every time you play a tape, just like a record, on a miniscule level it destroys it at the same time, but I don't feel responsible for the almost certainly unidentifiable damage done for my evening there. Also, for a project like this, I am pretty sure profit is not the first thing on their minds.

P.S... well aware of your experience, which I am not contesting, so no need for the speech:

I am probably the only one here who's manufactured lps for 30+ years. I've dealt with most of the classic mastering studios (RVG, RCA, Masterdisk, Sterling, etc) and pressing plants (Columbia, RCA, Capitol, All Disc, Wakefield, etc). Gee, I didn't mention plating plants. Where does pre-echo come from? Is it a tape problem? Could it be a plating problem? Is the source of the "clicks" a pressing problem, a plating problem or a bad batch of lacquer discs? Which lacquer supplier has the best product this month? Which resin formulator has the purest solution at the moment? How many of you have rejected 14 sets of plates? How many of you have rejected numerous mastering "tests"?

There are precious few operations delivering the services mentioned above and to think they are of the "highest quality" is a joke. Competition in the marketplace does make a big difference.

Please do not tell me about vinyl.

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I'm not interested in defending the project, I just thought it was interesting and worth passing on to all of you--people whose opinions I (mostly) respect, having read the forum as a non-member for awhile. I think it is overly-reductive and naive to describe the finished product as a dub of a first generation copy, though. If you have listened to 2" tape before, and I understand a very small percentage of people have, you understand the significant difference the medium makes.

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