The Electric Recording Co. meticulously recreats 1950s and ’60s records

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WGH

Fun article about The Electric Recording Co. in London

The Vinyl? It’s Pricey. The Sound? Otherworldly.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/28/arts/music/electric-recording-co-vinyl.html

"The Electric Recording Co., which has been releasing music since 2012, specializes in meticulous recreations of classical and jazz albums from the 1950s and ’60s. Its catalog includes reissues of landmark recordings by Wilhelm Furtwängler, John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk, as well as lesser-known artists favored by collectors, like the violinist Johanna Martzy.

But what really sets Electric Recording apart is its method — a philosophy of production more akin to the making of small-batch gourmet chocolate than most shrink-wrapped vinyl.

Its albums, assembled by hand and released in editions of 300 or fewer — at a cost of $400 to $600 for each LP — are made with restored vintage equipment down to glowing vacuum-tube amplifiers.."


Mikey likes them.

S Clark

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He may be doing something right, but the article send up red flags to me.  I don't see any indication that he has access to the original master tapes.  They talk about the mastering process actually cuts the grooves... not unless he is doing direct to disc, which would be tough to do with guys like Coltrane since he's dead. His magical tape machine is 1/4" instead of the usual 1/2. 
I don't know, Mikey might like it, but the article sounds like hype.  I'd love to hear one to judge for myself, but that's unlikely at those prices. 

Bemopti123

From what I got from the article, it delved into getting original equipment and refurbishing it, among them a tape player from 1965...I surmise that he has some sort of tape in order to use that as his source, but I am wondering, where does he even go to get original masters or copy of masters from mid 1950s releases like that from a violinist that does Brahms?  The only details the article goes into at the very end is how the owner of the venture is preoccupied getting silks and other materials to replicate the packaging that the records originally came with.  While I get novelty of getting remastered and improved records from this outfit...one might be better off getting a NM historical vinyl recording that he sells at $500-600 a pop.

But then...this might be oriented for those people who have the disposable income to afford to splurge on this sort of purchases...there are many people who are moneyed. 

The article also mention Fremer and his "$100.000" speaker.  If that is not a red herring of a journalistic description, I don't know what is. 

While I get that there are hardcore vinyl collectors....describing audiophiles such as the article did, perhaps does a disservice to our hobby. After all, how many people really own those types of setups?

Maybe...maybe I am wrong about my interpretation of the article.   :thumb:

Scroof Neachy

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Unless they release the entire catalogs of Gary Pucket and the Union Gap, and Gary Lewis and the Playboys, I’m not interested.

WGH

 Interesting comments guys, just dig just a little deeper before you  post, please.
https://electricrecordingco.com/

"A longtime collector of rock and jazz, Hutchison was entranced by the sound of the decades-old originals, and found newer reissues unsatisfying. He learned that Peacefrog’s distributor, EMI, owned the rights to many of his new favorites."

"Officially Sanctioned Heritage pressings mastered from the original analogue master tapes."

"All of which underscores what a major coup the Electric Recording Co. have pulled off in licensing key catalogue titles, almost exclusively from the aforementioned ‘golden age’, in order to reissue them on audiophile quality vinyl."

"The reissues, all fully sanctioned by the original copyright owners, are to be divided evenly between mono and stereo recordings"

"To achieve their scrupulous sonic ends, Electric’s engineers have worked directly from the precious original studio master tapes, maintaining a purist, simpatico approach at every stage."

S Clark

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Now that's a different thing entirely.  I suspect that the guy who wrote the article for the Times was just sloppy in his description of the process, as the grooves in the vinyl had little to do with the mastering mix. 
Anyone who has the access to the master tapes gets my attention... wish it wasn't out of my price range.