TP-028, Nat Adderley's Work Song is now available

Author Topic: Another, rather high level, mention of the TP.  (Read 7025 times)

Offline Topper

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Another, rather high level, mention of the TP.
« on: December 28, 2008, 08:43:30 PM »
Buried in the Asylum I came across a link to this:

http://philoctetes.org/Past_Programs/Deep_Listening_Why_Audio_Quality_Matters

with the quite appropriate warning that one needs to set aside a few hours before clicking.

The Tape Project gets a quick mention just past 47 minutes in, though not quite by name.  Chris Whitley's "Dirt Floor" would also seem to rise out of here to become a front runner for a series 2 title.  Greg Calbi is the moderator for this roundtable discussion, BTW.  Extremely good stuff, especially if you find yourself snowed in somewhere and can dedicate the time.

Walter
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Guy in New England with more tapes and vinyl than digital, though he does have pretty good playback capability as well as the means to record digitally when needed.

Offline Ben

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Re: Another, rather high level, mention of the TP.
« Reply #1 on: December 28, 2008, 11:30:00 PM »
While one can assume 'computer access' on this list,
bandwidth for streaming video for some is not a option.
*Kicks Modem* Go faster ...

I think part of the problem is reminding people that you have
loss with digital recorded media  and very few people have the chance
with digital to compare just how bad it can be compared to the real source.
I would like to see a bunch of sound samples that at one time you could find
once on test records just to compare audio equipment.
That I think would be a better use of bandwidth than compared to online streaming
video.

PS: The books "High Fidelity Techniques, James Langham, 1950"
and "High Fidelity Techniques, James Langham, 1950" found here
http://www.pmillett.com/technical_books_online.htm  make interesting reading.
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Offline ironbut

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Re: Another, rather high level, mention of the TP.
« Reply #2 on: December 29, 2008, 02:33:20 AM »
Hmm,.. I haven't had a chance to watch that video but I did take a quick search of the artist Chris Whitley and it seems a little bit like the tape that CV had mentioned a while ago (sorry Charles but I still haven't gotten around to getting one,.. I hear that memory is the second thing to go). I do remember that it was an Texas singer songwriter but there are more than one from what I understand.
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Offline steveidosound

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Re: Another, rather high level, mention of the TP.
« Reply #3 on: December 29, 2008, 01:59:13 PM »
Hmm,.. I haven't had a chance to watch that video but I did take a quick search of the artist Chris Whitley and it seems a little bit like the tape that CV had mentioned a while ago (sorry Charles but I still haven't gotten around to getting one,.. I hear that memory is the second thing to go). I do remember that it was an Texas singer songwriter but there are more than one from what I understand.

If you mean the person that was issuing a new reel to reel tape of his work in quasi "lo-fi" format, no it's not the same person. The story of this recording is part of the round table discussion and a sample is played off of CD and vinyl.

I did watch the whole LONG round table and I guess it is worth it. It is sort of about the art and psychological / sociological implications of music and it's reproduction. It also touches on the market forces that tend to run counter to deep appreciation of music in a high quality format.
I will also say that the distinguished panelists are somewhat full of themselves and there is a lot of oversimplification and misinformation from people who are supposed to be technical. I guess they are to a degree, but when somebody who is supposed to be an engineer says 24 bit 96Hz instead of 24 bit 96 KHz by mistake you have to wonder. If you have a couple of spare hours and an interest in this from a philosophical point of view I would recommend it.

One more interesting point, they talk about 'the document" as in "the original". Interesting thing is, from their background in the music industry, that does not always (or ever?) mean the "master tape". In older music they make the point that it is (or was) the vinyl pressing that meets the approval of best conveying the original intended artistic vision of musicians, producer, etc. Beyond that they talk about the absolute original moment of creation of the music live in the studio and how that is or is not the intended final "product". They did say that analog tape (or high bitrate digital) was the closest to accurately capturing "the moment" in the studio.

BTW, I would suggest downloading the quicktime movie rather than watching it streaming over the net. That way you can view it in chunks if you like without staying connected to their site.  The actual production is full of all the flaws with audio and video that come with this sort of thing. It was not a high production value capture! And why did the moderator have to keep gesturing by placing the palm of his hand on his chest repeatedly whacking his clip-on mic? As a recording engineer you would think he would catch on... ;-)

Oh, and Ben, thanks for that other site - quite the treasure trove of books available!
« Last Edit: December 29, 2008, 02:53:33 PM by steveidosound »
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Offline ironbut

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Re: Another, rather high level, mention of the TP.
« Reply #4 on: December 29, 2008, 04:45:01 PM »
Thanks Steve,.. good idea regarding downloading it as a QT movie. I have a tough time watching something like that all in one sitting. I'm a fan of just about every aspect of music and sound so I do want to check it out. I'm currently reading a book called "This is Your Brain on Music" by Danial Levitin that's very interesting. Probably old news since it was a NY Times best seller (2006) but , being the cheapskate I am, I waited till it was out in paperback.
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Offline Romo

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Re: Another, rather high level, mention of the TP.
« Reply #5 on: January 11, 2009, 03:33:11 PM »
That is a great discussion. Thanks for sharing.
btw, the Chris Whitley album they are talking about is on my short list of recommendations for future releases. As Well as his " Living With The Law"
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