Recording, Music Transfers, Restoration & Archiving To CD
(828) 692-5758
Audio Rescue Samples
To give you an example of the
audio transfer, noise reduction and enhancement that we do, we chose
the oldest 78 rpm record in the worst condition that we've had brought to us to
restore. After being
played hard for 30 years, this record may have seen use as a Frisbee, spent some
years as a dog bowl
and finished up at the bottom of a birdcage for a decade or so...then they
brought it to us! That's a joke of course, but you'd be amazed at some of the
conditions that so many old recordings have suffered, and at some of the saves
we've brought back just before they hit the circular file (trash can).
Before we go on, it's important to state a disclaimer of sorts. Audio archiving
is the process of carefully transferring and preserving rare recordings in as
close to their original condition to save for historic purposes and for future
generations to enjoy. There are strict guidelines for archiving and often
preservationists frown upon and disagree with any "enhancement" of the original
recording. We have great respect for this preservation and these guidelines and
we do this kind of audio transfer also, so it's important to mention.
Meanwhile, there are many plain old folks that simply want to hear their old
audio memories as clear and detailed as modern technology can restore them.
After archiving an original transfer, we can also make a copy and then go
further to reduce noise, bring more detail up and enhance certain frequencies to
make an old recording more intelligible and easier to hear and listen to. The
following audio samples offer you the opportunity to hear a very old recording
go through various stages of archiving, noise reduction, compression and EQ
enhancement.
Sample #1. This is about 40 seconds of an old 78 rpm recording by the
Carter Family. The recording was thoroughly cleaned and transferred with the
proper stylus (needle). So this is a straight transfer with no edits of any
kind. The signal to noise ratio is about 50/50. This means that you're hearing
about half music, half noise.
Sample #2. This is the same
recording, but the noise has been digitally sampled in the computer and removed.
You hear much less noise, and there is a slight loss of high end in the music;
this is common to even the best noise reduction.
Sample #3. Again, the same recording, but it has been lightly compressed (a
process that bring small details forward in a recording). You can hear more
details in the guitars and in the background vocals, but you'll notice that the
noise has also come back a little bit.
Sample #4. This time, we've carefully boosted an cut certain frequencies to
enhance the music, and again used another level of compression. You can hear
even more details in the guitars and harmony vocals, but the trade-off is some
additional noise. In order to hear more details in the high end of the music,
sometimes the compromise is a little noise. The up side is that the signal to
noise ratio is now better that 90/10, over 90% music, less than 10% noise.
Sample #5. This is a further variation of Sample #4, the same techniques only
more so. The noise floor has come up, but you can hear something close to what
they may have sounded like in the room where they recorded so long ago. The lead
voice is full, the guitars and harmony vocals more present and detailed; you can
even hear the room acoustics, the sound of the voices reverberating slightly off
the walls as they sing. Again, this is an extreme enhancement of an old
recording that preservationists would rightly frown upon, but we would never
have heard such details in a battered old recording if we
hadn't pushed the envelope a little.
As you can hear, there are a lot of possibilities in the restoration process.
After preserving an original copy of the recording, we can also venture into the
more creative realm to see what else might be done to hear even more of an old
recording. To sum it all up, each recording has it's own challenges, but it's
amazing how often a recording can be saved and (if desired) enhanced to allow
the listener a much more pleasurable experience.
We treat each recording as if it were the only one like it in the
world...because it often is. If you'd like to discuss rescuing your old
recordings, give us a call.
Acoustic Audio
(c) 2007 AcousticAudioTransfer.com
Flat Rock, NC
(828) 692-5758
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