[78-L] Silence (no 78 hiss) on CD issues

[Michael Biel]

Martha wrote:
> When recording acoustically, performers DID hear surface noise.   The sound 
> of the stylus against the wax is projected through the recording horn. 
>   
This is a forgotten part of the history of sound recording.  It was a 
unique experience to make an acoustical recording, and is why some 
pioneering performers like Billy Murray found electrical recording 
disconcerting at first.  The performer not only heard the whurring sound 
of the stylus against the wax but also heard their voice echoing and 
resonating in the horn.  You've heard me talk about horn resonances in 
acoustical recording, well, they're there in the recording horn, and the 
experienced performer learned how to work with them much like a 
performer in a concert hall hears the resonating sound of the hall or 
the amplification system.  The microphone in a dead studio gives you 
nothing back, and the acoustically treated dead studio further  reduces  
what the performer hears.

Likewise, it is an interesting experience to hear a metal master or a 
fine vinyl master pressing of an early acoustical recording because the 
sound feels like what the performer might have heard inside the 
recording horn.  There are subtle acoustics that are masked by the 
shellac.  And I agree with Joe Salerno that the CD reissues might have 
been mastered from either vinyl or metal.  Additionally, some of the 
high-level computer restoration systems can take the sound of the 
surface in the blank grooves at the start of the record and use that as 
the model of the sound to be removed.  If you LIKE hiss, especially if 
you feel that this is a reassurance that the high frequencies of the 
music haven't been removed, some restoration engineers bring back a 
touch of surface hiss at 13K or 14K.  But shhhhh, it's a secret.

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com