Of course they should have used the session tapes, not later mixdowns.
 That's a given.   The part I don't get here is doing DA and AD conversion
just to use the analog mixer, if I understood that right.  The resulting
192/24 signal has thus been unnecessarily converted twice already and
subjected to a bunch of old analog electronics.  Also, I don't get the need
for a mono version derived from the same tapes, and personally, instead of
that I would much rather have had a three-track SACD version, which they
have precluded, but that's me.

Best,
John Haley



On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 6:44 AM, Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_p7Qbb_LAo
>
> Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" archival transfer made by Mark Wilder on an
> ATR-100.
>
> This text (below) copied from the Kind of Blue description at HDTracks.com
> (HIGHLY recommend the new 192/24 downloads of BOTH stereo and mono, they
> sound fantastic): The new mono mix is also in the new Miles Davis Mono CD
> box set. As I understand the description below and in other interviews with
> Wilder and Berkowitz, the 192/24 transfer from the 3-track was a straight,
> high-quality NAB playback. Then all remixing and remastering was done by
> bringing the 3-track high-resolution digital back out to analog, mixing and
> processing using analog equipment, and then back to a 192/24 stereo (and
> mono) master.
>
> -----------------------------------------------
> Kind of Blue Becomes Digital, by Engineer Mark Wilder
>
> "Since the Kind of Blue mixed masters are multiple generations from the
> original (due to excessive play/wear), we decided to go directly to the
> original session reels. Not only does this put us at the original session
> as a starting point, but it also allows us to deal with the pitch issue as
> well.
>
> The three, 3-track half-inch tapes are in good condition, but age has
> force them to "scallop" a little, meaning that the edges curl away from the
> tape head. This changed the initial focus from mixing from the originals to
> archiving them before mixing and working from the archive files. This
> allowed us to gently guide the tape against the playback head to get
> optimal contact and fidelity.
>
> The archiving was done at 192kHz/24 bits, played from a modified Ampex ATR
> 104, and hard-wired to HDCD Model 2's directly patched to a Lynx 2 sound
> card.
>
> An upside to working from the archive files was the ability to chase the
> original fader moves done during the mix in 1959. We constantly compared to
> an early pressing - mono and stereo - and worked bar by bar to duplicate
> the level moves on the three tracks to match as well as possible.
>
> Each channel was converted to analog and passed through a GML mixer,
> bussed to stereo or mono - depending on the release format - and converted
> once again to 192Kc/24 bits. At the GML, we inserted processing where
> needed."
>
> - Mark Wilder, Battery Studios
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------
>
> -- Tom Fine
>