Steve Deckert
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Hehe... if he was doing crack we can be pretty sure he couldn't afford it either!
In fairness though, it IS a live two track recording at 15IPS so you get two 10.5 inch reels. They are also hand copied at a 1 to 1 speed from the session master. The blank tape and reel runs $200 leaving $200 per reel to make it perfect. It helps to realize that these are direct to tape masters with no compressors, limiters, mixers, or anything else... just great tube microphones going through custom tube electronics directly into the tape head of some of the worlds finest machines. This is as close to the real music as you can get without being at the recording personally.
I tried to explain this the other day.... when listening to digital we tend to localize the instruments because the sound of those instruments is what draws our focus. When we listen to these master tapes, we tend to localize the people playing the instruments because the emotion is so strongly communicated that it is the emotion that draws our focus... the very creative force that underpins the music.
I've seen DSD albums go for $50 a pop. This is 12 times that amount. Is it twelves times better... possibly. Does that make it worth it, probably not. Would I still buy one, probably. Why? Good Master Tapes are special, you don't need very many (You can't afford very many). You only listen to them when you want a real special experience. Not for daily consumption. Bottom line, if you can find one with music you love and you've got a good machine, it will be your prize possession. In fact it may bring more pleasure than most $600 audio purchases...?
It's about $200 more than I'd like to pay, so it would be the scarcity combined with finding music I loved that would push me over the edge.
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