Hi Mr. Moore Jr. Sir,
I just wanted to say that, being a mixing/mastering engineer myself, you are way off in this assumption, pardon me to be so blunt.
Mixing 16 or way more MONO tracks in surround in infinitely more complex than copying a single analog stereo tape to digital, even if it's 40 years old. And it doesn't cost a lot either, you can do it for a couple hundred quids at the top facilities or even less if there aren't any problems. It just demands a good experience (and good hardware).
Mixing is more complex than mastering, which is in turn more complex than copying a tape to digital. And I would say mixing to stereo is more complex than mixing to surround, but that's just me.
Hi Thomas,
Thanks for the great information.
I poorly chose my words, no offense meant, I apologize. My point was in regards to expecting 96/24 flat transfers of 2nd gen 2.0 SH masters and 5.1 remixes and the pitfalls 40 year old tape cause. A flat transfer can't be done if the original tape doesn't exist! But.... Once it is ripped, we can have our expectations.
I never should have used the word "infinite". I was trying to point out that once a 2nd gen 2.0 master has been ripped to digital, us fans can rest easy knowing that its coming! No RIP? Then many bad things(for us fans) could be the reason for the absence.
With a multi-track original master plastic tape there is no promise the tape can be ripped
at all and there are many problems(less than infinite
) that could prevent that crucial first step. Once the RIP has been done and in the hands of yourself, SW or Jakko, it is a piece of cake for us fans!
We just wait until you conjure out of thin air all the inserts, missing cut & pastes, sort through hundreds of takes, etc... and let us listen.:music.
If the source tape is missing or too damaged to even RIP, then us fans have
no hope for a release. Between the reformulation of 1970s tape and the lack of proper archiving of tape and the reality that back in the day record companies had no way of knowing that there would be digital magic in the future that would make the tape so valuable as an archive item. ... Tape was just used as a production tool to get a project done and then move on to the next. Lots of variables that work against us fans, 40 years later, who demand that original tape to start the whole process of a high fidelity remix.
In the case of a ripped HD, us fans can rejoice in the fact that the music is coming! The mixing engineer works his magic and we are ready! And as you correctly say, sometimes the remix is very complex and involves a great deal of work as well.
Sadly some tapes aren't in good enough shape even to RIP in the first place so no amount of sleuthing in digital can deliver a product. Alex Lifeson has hinted that this was a problem with RUSH - Hemispheres and other RUSH multi-tracks. For me as a music lover, my worst nightmare.
My point was, since the Steve Hackett Box set offers NO information for us, I was pondering two fates:
Missing or deteriorated tape = No chance = Ultimate music lover's nightmare.
RIPPed tracks already on HD = mixing engineer doesn't sleep for a month while mixing = Music lover gets remix to treasure for ever.
That was all I was trying to say.
