some kick ass rock on tape

[JCOConnell]

https://youtu.be/w1vfnkPgFQY

[Bruce B]

I've got a couple of these tapes. They DO rock. Certainly takes you back in time.

[JCOConnell]

do those reels look like they are runnin at 7.5 ips or 15 ips?

[mep]

15 ips.

[Alrainbow]

Can someone explain what a half speed master is. I remember buying some years ago , also tapes all 1/4 inch

[Bruce B]

Can someone explain what a half speed master is. I remember buying some years ago , also tapes all 1/4 inch

In overly simplified form, the master tape is played back at precisely half its recorded speed while the cutting lathe is similarly turned at precisely half the desired playback speed. This process gives the cutting head twice the time to cut its musically complex and physically demanding analog groove into the lacquer. This luxury affords considerably more accuracy with matters such as frequency extremes and microdynamic contrasts

[astrotoy]

A short obit of Stan Ricker who died last year at the age of 79 and was considered by most the greatest 1/2 speed mastering engineer. If you have a 1/2 speed mastered album, there is a good chance that Stan mastered it. You can tell by his distinctive initials in the dead wax of the record, SR/2, the /2 of course meaning half. Stan mastered many of the great audiophile favorites from Mobile Fidelity and Reference Recordings as well as many others.

Stan was a regular participant in the phonogram vinyl discussion group and was very generous of his time and knowledge. He was also a pretty good string bass player. I asked him about the Moscow Sessions albums he engineered with Keith Johnson of Reference Recordings for Sheffield Labs. It was done on location in Moscow with the Moscow Philharmonic in 1986. It was one of the rare tape session that Sheffield did (they are famous for their direct to disc recordings). He said that after the end of one recording session, he started jamming and one of the french horns of the Moscow Phil joined him. The session was captured on tape and appears as the last cut on Sheffield's Gershwin Celebration album. The analogue tape version was used for the vinyl issue, while a parallel digital version was made for the CD issue.

Larry

One of the last great mastering engineers has passed away


LP cutting genius Stan Ricker has died, aged 79.
The loss of Stan Ricker, within months of the death of fellow mastering engineer Doug Sax, is sad news for the music industry.
Stan became known for his mastering and engineering achievements on landmark vinyl releases by The Beatles, Frank Zappa, Electric Light Orchestra, Stevie Wonder, Pink Floyd and countless others.
He was a pioneer and strong advocate of half-speed mastering, a technique where the cutting lathe turns at exactly half the intended playback speed. This enables the cutting head double the time to cut complex analogue grooves into the lacquer, thereby maximising sonic accuracy.
Ricker refined the process, helping to usher in hi-fi labels like Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, Reference Recordings and Windham Hill. [via Acoustic Sounds]
A genius in his field, Ricker continued to cut lacquers until his passing.

[MylesBAstor]

Can someone explain what a half speed master is. I remember buying some years ago , also tapes all 1/4 inch

Little more on 1/2 speed mastering here.

https://www.audionirvana.org/forum/the-audio-vault/analog-playback/3752-half-speed-mastering-at-abbey-road-studio