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I agree.  But Hancock used his skill to make a couple of records where the
speed kept changing during the side.  I recall the early Stokowski Beethoven
7th as an example.  It came out on Parnassus.

Steve Smolian 

-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Karl Miller
Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2012 4:04 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Reducing crackle from 78 rpm records the analogue
way on 70's reissue LP's

----- Original Message ----
From: Dennis Rooney <[log in to unmask]>

Absolute pitch is not necessary in order to obtain the correct playback
speed. Any device that will verify the pitches or key is enough, provided
you know what the original key was. 

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But you may need to know the frequency used for the tuning of the
instruments...especially if it is an older recording.

I have encountered many transfers, of both privately made and commercial
recordings from the 40s, which were pitched assuming  A=440 when, according
to research, they were not playing at A=440. So you may know the pitch, but
if you match it to A=440, you could be wrong. The range of tuning has been
sufficiently wide that it could account for, in some instances, as much as a
half tone difference.

For me, one of the funniest examples of an improperly pitched transfer was
the Everest reissue of the Ferde Grofe Atlantic Crossing. The original
release was on, as I recall, the London label. The Everest reissue was
pitched way too high...and the narrator ended up sounding a bit like one of
the chipmunks. Of course, if the person making the transfer had the score,
they would not have made that error.

I remember one scholarly article being critical of a Seth Winner transfer
(Seth being one of the more meticulous people in the business) as being a
half tone off. 

Karl