Symphony no.35 in D major, K.385. "Haffner"
I: Allegro con spirito ~ II: Andante ~ III: Menuetto ~ IV: Presto
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Alfred Wallenstein
Concerto no.5 in A major for Violin and Orchestra, K.219
I: Allegro aperto ~ II: Adagio ~ III: Rondo - Tempo di minuetto
Oscar Shumsky, violin - The Little Orchestra of New York conducted by Thomas Sherman
2 files 16/44 zip FLAC Mega Download
World Record Club T 21 1958 Oriole pressing/Philips UK matrices: W6558/9 -1. From: Music-Appreciation Records MAR5613.
Original surfaces/CD-RW transfer (Shure M95HE -1st time used for transfers) . Sleeve-note/label >>>
Frank, I do not intend ANY disrespect to you or your exceptionally valuable blog, nor wish to discourage ANYBODY from making a contribution. However, I feel impelled to tell you why *I* don't feel motivated to do so.
ReplyDeleteFirst, your blog is one of the top three I choose for MAGNIFICENT, accurate transfers of CM Lps. No doubt about that! I perceive that you adhere to what I'd term the "documentarian" approach, i. e., "First, do no harm..." You give us what comes out of your phono preamp, with an absolute minimum of any further adjustments, corrections, or changes. This is sometimes the approach of the most *purist* and intellectually admirable CM transfer engineers, such as Seth Winner.
Second: for me, THAT is the, um, "problem".
Every time I go back to LPs, I tend to suffer from intense frustration (as a recording engineer who began to use digital processors to make live symphonic and chamber recordings in the late 1980s, and to start doing my own digital transfers -- or "restorations" to use a rather pretentious phrase -- of ancient 78s, early Lps, and flawed tapes in the mid/late 1990s. Prior to that, I made umteen thousands of hours of analogue tapings for radio broadcast stations of the only widespread commercial source material we had at hand, long play vinyls. (So called "pre-recorded tapes" were nearly always too hissy; had dropouts and pitch flaws, and were very limited in repertoire.)
And, even then in the analogue period, I had no limit of challenges that required INTERVENTION. Equalization and compressiion effects were non-standardized. Some labels had their own "hot" company curve (Mercury, Decca Phase4, etc.) that made their records sound ghastly -- shrill, bizarre, unrealistic -- when mixed with other 'normal' Lps in succession. Other labels had constantly-expected surface noises that were endemic to their processing (remember RCA's "Miracle Surface"? It was frankly a miracle that you could HEAR any music at all in many of their releases of the 1970s. And, the American version of Decca, "London" records, had a crinkly, crumbly, noisy, swishy sound from start to finish on nearly every pressing: when examined closely by eye, I could *see* clearly that a coating on the plastic inserts in the paper folder jackets had imprinted a distinct pattern of "wrinkles" on the vinyl that seemed to be related. No amount of cleaning could get rid of this gunk--AND the half-speed mastering often created a very audible mains hum that wasn't much softer than the pianissimi in the music.)
The American Capitol-pressed Angel-Melodiya releases were GHASTLY: metallic, shrill, beyond endurance. In every case I tested, the HMV pressing was cleaner, "sweeter" in tone. But...TRY to get them here in the US!
more in installment no. 2...
Angel pressings were also weak on the low end, and somewhat boosted in the upper mids, compared to HMVs. For years I really had trouble appreciating Klemperer, because THE ANGEL PRESSINGS SOLD IN THE USA SOUNDED SO AWFUL.
ReplyDeleteSo, I *had* to try to fix some of these things when producing classical programming for radio distribution.
With 78 disks, it seemed to me that the UK pressings were almost always NOISIER than American ones, though. HMV disks were always horribly crackly--while if you were able to secure a mid-thirties Victor (American) scroll pressing, the background level was sometimes near dead-quiet. I was reminded of this just last week, when I spend FOUR HOURS of my own time, trying to reduce the crackles in your HMV 78 set of Stokowsky's 1934 Sheherazade, without at the same time making the sound hollow, artificial, or colored. (I *almost* succeeded.)
Compared to what comes out of my Nakamichi preamp directly, from a Shure or Stanton cartridge -- with the SAME disks as you've used -- I hear a lot less "info" in the range of about 7 to 20 kHz than on YOUR transfers. I don't know exactly what the measured curves may be in your system, but obviously IT SOUNDS GOOD TO YOU and by extension, surely sounds very good to your fans, supporters, and financial contributors. FINE!
With 78 disks, it seemed to me that the UK pressings were almost always NOISIER than American ones, though. HMV disks were always horribly crackly--while if you were able to secure a mid-thirties Victor (American) scroll pressing, the background level was sometimes near dead-quiet. I was reminded of this just last week, when I spend FOUR HOURS of my own time, trying to reduce the crackles in your HMV 78 set of Stokowsky's 1934 Sheherazade, without at the same time making the sound hollow, artificial, or colored. (I *almost* succeeded.)
Compared to what comes out of my Nakamichi preamp directly, from a Shure or Stanton cartridge -- with the SAME disks as you've used -- I hear a lot less "info" in the range of about 7 to 20 kHz than on YOUR transfers. I don't know exactly what the measured curves may be in your system, but obviously IT SOUNDS GOOD TO YOU and by extension, surely sounds very good to your fans, supporters, and financial contributors. FINE!
more in installment no. 3...
Apologies for duplicating two ending paragraphs, an editing error when cutting my LONG reply into three short parts that would fit into the 4000-character limit. - 8HH
DeleteBut, I do not like the extended, extreme upper end balance that often (on my system, with speakers tuned by a 1/3 octave equalizer) seems to be a sort of "signature" of your transfers. If I get one, and decide to burn it and play it later, I almost ALWAYS have to re-EQ it, reducing the energy above 8K and often cutting off anything about about 16K; this takes time. I also find that your turntable MIGHT be belt-driven, for it has a consistent repetitive LF signal (on any and every LP no matter the label) that is down around 15-20 Hz. To avoid bass IM, I cut this off too. More work...
ReplyDeleteSo, in nearly every case, I have to do MORE WORK on your transfers, to keep and enjoy them in future, to satisfy my picky, biased, accumulated tastes and ideas--MINE alone. I don't think ANYBODY ELSE would agree with ME about this--not you, not any of your blog readers. This is MY set of ideas and tastes, and MY preferences. Since I need to do "value added work" on your transfers, I do not feel obligated to pay you for your fine, skilled, PRELIMINARY raw transfer processes. Maybe 999 out of 1000 of the followers of your blog wouldn't even recognize or perceive the things that BOTHER ME INTENSELY...so you needn't do it for THEM. For me? Yeah, I'm sorry. I *need* to do more work...
That doesn't even acknowlege that many old LPs have horrible EQ with sound that is either boomy and muddy on the one hand, or shrill and irritating on the other--I need to CHANGE that, too, at least slightly so that it tends to "fit" with the average better quality recording of the time period.
Keep up the good work, Frank. Thanks for your efforts and for selecting so many INTERESTING albums.
Yours,
8HH
Now, let me give you some opinions of mine about your, um, "competitors".
ReplyDeleteFor a few years, "Pristine Classical" offered demo copies of certain releases, and I'm pretty darned sure I dl'ed EVERY one of them. I checked with a friend who had purchased the same item, and the sound was identical--so the freebies were not different.
AND...I DID NOT LIKE THE SOUND OF EVEN *ONE* of them! I saved a dozen or so of these freebies, and not one time could ANY intervention or correction on my part create a sound quality that was even IN THE BALLPARK of being recognizable as the original LP's sound quality. Not once! Of course, the artificial stereo is beneath contempt, but one could at least fold the channels into mono before burning/saving. But THAT did not work correctly in most cases. The noise reduction is so extreme that it cannot be undone. The overall sound balances -- even in the examples that had not been butchered by the automated computer tone-matching method -- were always so colored by phase distortions that any attempt by me to improve them to MY taste and standards was just useless. "Lipstick on a pig". And, you have to PAY top prices for them...so the fact that he uploads a lossless format is inconsequential. His "losses" have occurred long before he finishes the editing process...bah.
Continuing...
ReplyDeleteThe bloggers who "intervene" to try to correct the flaws they perceive, are almost NEVER competent, and ALWAYS go way too far. The odious and idiotic "Abbedd" (now deceased) claimed he was able to -- gag, choke, puke -- "remaster" the great Decca ffrr and ffss records and make them listenable...and his process was, by definition, the SINGLE WORST ONE EVER EMPLOYED BY ANYBODY IN THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF SOUND RECORDING, period.
There is at present an oriental blogger (from Japan, perhaps?) who uploads nearly every week a new, valuable item. HE IS SO STUPID, INCOMPETENT, and SHIFTLESS that he isn't even aware that some of them have SEVERAL MINUTES OF STUCK GROOVES that go "click, snap, thunk" over and over, dozens and dozens of times. What is even worse: is that HE GETS READER RESPONSE *PRAISING* THEM! Now, seriously: can you enjoy a Beecham Mozart Lp transfer where the needle gets stuck and repeats a second or two of music DOZENS OF TIMES?
I told him, after 2 years' frustration, that I was sorry to feel impelled to state that HE WAS THE WORST CLASSICAL RECORD BLOGGER of all time! (In addition, his preamp has a heavy, irritating buzz.)
A northern European blogger has separate Lp, 78, opera, and jazz upload sites. For some years, EVERY transfer had a grotesque noise signature that consisted of at least three dozen discrete buzzes throughout the audio spectrum up to the point of the digitizer's lowpass filter. I devised a complex filter to take these out in very narrow "slices" but of course it added some phase distortion and coloration. Finally, I broke down and told him in his comments--and he TOOK THE BLOG DOWN for a couple of weeks, while he fixed the problem! (I also suspect that he runs several other blogs: for the SAME precise distinctive noise pattern is present also on the uploads of, for example, the Mercury Living Presence record blog--and that noise is often LOUDER THAN THE MUSIC. Yet he brags about the high end gear, super costly tube preamp, etc--is he DEAF????????? One thing is evident: he's a fool who is clueless about the very rudiments that are REQUIRED to do this kind of thing.
Another blogger whose "efforts" I've had to try to repair obviously does not listen closely to what he does; he'll cut off the first measure, or the last one--and be oblivious to his butchery.
I've even found bloggers who upload THE WRONG MUSIC, or records that have reversed labels--they do not even know STANDARD REP and can identify, say, a Brahms or Beethoven symphony and recognize the proper structure and organization of movements.
No flaws of this sort are EVER committed to you, Frank! Kudos...
8HH
I guess it's fortunate that I've just finished watching Phil Silvers in "Carry On - Follow that Camel" and see your comments, Mr. Waldee, in my Inbox!
DeleteFascinated that you refer to 'my turntable', with its apparent Sonic Signature; I've used more than ONE; 3 in last few weeks - others never used here are Linn LP12/Garrard 301 GB/Thorens 124/II.
The phono-stages are restricted to 2 - although have many more though 78 transfers went straight into the Terratec 24/96 DMX6Fire flat phono-stage
The pickups used are numerous over the blogs (though only Shure V15-3 78E for shellacs.
Sorry you don't like HIGH FREQUENCIES (sound like ANSERMANIAC (deceased) there: as the LP's sound fine, whether listened on QUAD ESL57... QUAD 77-11L... Cambridge Audio R50 (Tonegen Ribbon Supertweeters) or B&W DM7 (bought in '78..); my hearing going to at least 16kHz..
I'm up to message THREE at this point...
I'll have to see if there are any compliments later on....oh; the others blogsters are Worse..poor old SATYR got in the neck, ages ago, didn't he - in fact in pretty similar terms! BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.. the 'Oriental Twat' is presumably CHINESEY: Garish Colour/Graphics sense; take your word for these comments about other bloggers - as I don't download their stuff!!!!
I really will have to paste yours into notepad and read the lot again!
Sorry you won't be getting the complete Glazounov no.3 - nor will numerous Japanese - only 1 has kindly contributed (twice)...
Think I'll now watch "Carry On Up The Khyber"...
Oh; I'm immune to Cranky Behaviour!
ReplyDeleteAnd it's nice to get some 'feedback'....folks just download my efforts: wonder if they ever listen to them - what with all the 'competition'.
'HiFi', in your case, appears to mean diminished resolution; so no different to Jeffrey Powell/Andrew Rose - who offer/ed 'homely' Console-style playback. Not for me: except as an 8yo. High-Resolution LP playback is all I require -since my Teens.
And I'd never consider listening to That 'Paris' as have the original Columbia ML/Philips ABL + CBS Classics - not to mention the Delius Society 78's/WRC box-set (have Vol.1/2) -but you would've 'fiddled with' my transfers, if I'd ever uploaded them so as to match your 'casual listening' preference!
Typed on my 4th Dell Inspiron 6400 - new, 2006, top spec, logitech M180/posh Dell Case - $14 + post - so didn't need your - or 100's more - non-contribution for my Classy Efforts..
8HH, et. al. - I don't have any dog in this fight and maybe this post is off-topic - but am just seeking some information. What software do you use to analyze the wav, flac, or even mp3 transfers? I've tried Audacity but either I'm using it wrong or else it doesn't give the info I would like to see.
ReplyDeleteOne-sided: I can't be arsed.
DeleteUsing Audacity (DON'T upgrade past 2.1.3 - the current release has defective code) you can take a 'snapshot': highlight a small section then use Analyse - then..(Algorithm:Spectrum /Function:Hanning /Axis: Log Frequency/Size: take your pick - each value shows a differing plot).
To see a 'real-time' display you can use Foobar - the screen can mostly be devoted to the Spectrum - just go into Layout..play about a bit and you'll get something like this screenshot added above. You'll see most Orchestral material is limited to 14kHz - only using something like my 24/96 mono Decca will you see Cymbal's/Violin harmonics go above the 25kHz range there - so there's no particular point to 'filter' high-frequencies above 16kHz - they mostly aren't there!
Thank you for making this available. I am a big fan of Shumsky's playing -- a fantastic artist and virtuoso!
ReplyDeleteMy only Shumsky!
DeleteAs you say - a very fine artist. This is on 'Forgotten Records' (+ another item) - though probably not from this particular LP.
Thank you for this great Shumsky release!!
ReplyDeleteThink I gave-away most of these very-early WRC issues - but this one obviously is of interest.
DeleteMuchas gracias por esta joya, saludos.
ReplyDelete