Tape Project Forum
General Category => Prerecorded Tapes => Topic started by: Gkar on March 11, 2010, 12:45:30 PM
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I thought it might be of interest to start a thread about some of your favorite tapes, particularly with regards to sound, One I am running now is a fairly common tape on the RCA Living Stereo label, that is the Berlioz Symphony Fantasique, the sound is really good, although thru my current setup there are spots of compression. Compared to the SACD version, which is also an earlier recording (1954 verses 1962), the tape just smacks down the SACD, much more open and clear sounding... more to come...
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just listened to the "Nutcracker Suite" with Reiner on RCA Living Stereo, excellent sound spacious and tight sounding...
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Hey Randy,
As far as old tapes go, I have to say that many of the Barclay-Crockers see a lot of playing time.
The "Latin American Symphonette"/"Night in the Tropics" Gould/Gottschalk is a tremendous tape. Luckily, it was one of the BC's that a large number of copies were made of so it isn't too tough to find one.
As many of the members here already know, I'm a big fan of these tapes and I've been concentrating my resources to complete my collection but you can be assured that the RCA Living Stereo and Mercury catalogs will be next in line.
If you're collecting the 2 track versions of these releases, be sure and add plenty of leader at the beginning and end of each reel since they are acetate backed and will have become brittle with age.
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Thanks, Steve, I hope to be getting more of the BC tapes in the future, they have been a bit pricy at times though, my luck with the RCA's and Mercuries have been a bit spotty, but when I get a good one, it really sounds great! A recent tape that knocked my socks off is the Wagner w/Antal Dorati on Mercury ST-90287, a Bel Canto tape, excellent sound!
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Randy,
On my 2 track stereo tape list (available in the files section of the Yahoogroups reel-to-reel chatroom) I added a simple A thru D (or so) sonic rating to all the tapes I was able to audition.
Charles
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Just picked up "That Newport Jazz" on Columbia. Great soundstage and clarity. Not to mention the music is awesome.
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thanks, Charles, I give it a look, sounds great!
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Charles, I could not find the file you are talking about, there seems to be about 12 files in the yahoogroups and none are like what you describe, any way to help me zero in on it? thanks, Randy
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Gkar,
The yahoogroup is "Reel_Tapes". List is in the files section - just checked. Sorry if I may not have been clear.
Charles
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Gkar,
The yahoogroup is "Reel_Tapes". List is in the files section - just checked. Sorry if I may not have been clear.
Charles
The file name is tapeindex07.xls for the newest one I could find.
-Mikkel
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Thanks, Mikkel, I'll check out that file. BTW, heard another great tape, Dvorak Symphonic Variations and the Golden Spinning Wheel, Kertesz and the LSO on London, this particular tape is a Dolby...
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just got a new tape today via eBay, it is Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique on Command Classics, excellent sound, the brass and woodwinds are a bit forward sounding, very low hiss and no distortion/compression in the tuttis, something I find too often with Living Stereo recordings. Some recent recordings I have bought that sounded suprisingly good are Ray Charles Live In Concert on ABC Paramount, really nice live sound, and Cheap Thrills, listening to the recording on tape it is surprising how much detail is in the recording that I have not heard on the CD...
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Thanks for the tips Randy.
I've bought a few Command Classics and have always had bad luck on getting a decent copy. I know that they were duplicated by Fine Recording so that end of the equation should be good but unfortunately, the luck of the draw has resulted in badly stored/treated copies. Now that I know a good recording, I can look for that one in particular.
I'll also keep an eye out for Cheap Thrills ( a record I just plain wore out way back then) and the Ray Charles. I do love a good live recording!
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Your welcome, Steve. My luck with the Command Classics has been iffy as well, not so much damaged tapes as just not good sounding, it seems to me that the Steinberg/Pittsburg recordings are "boxy" and not that great, not bad, but not super either, although I have found that the hiss level is pretty low. Cheap Thrills is a recording that I am trying to get my bandmates to cover some of, the recording is from live material, it just seems to have a nice sound, probably pulled from the soundboard during the performance. While my in-process upgrades to the Otari have made substantial leaps in the sound quality from many tapes, I wonder just how much better that tape would sound thru your Bottlehead ; )
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just received another great tape, Prokofiev's Piano Concertos 1 & 3 with Graffman and Szell MQ 861. Really clean, if in your face, sound typical of a lot of Columbia's, unlike a lot of RCA's, there is no overload in the tutti's. Very nice performance, the 1st piano concerto is one of my favorites with that "big tune" writing and it's explosive exposition in the score...