From: IainNG@kolumbus.fi   
      
   "Phil Allison"  wrote in message   
   news:95qksiFj0cU1@mid.individual.net...   
      
   > Acetate or vinyl coated on a metal plate and cut by a standard disk lathe   
   > produces the same result as the very best LPs.   
      
   First of all, do not confuse two totally different materials - acetate   
   and vinyl.  The latter is used only for pressings.   
      
   Acetates, or disc masters, used in cutting comprise of a fine layer of   
   nitro-cellulose laquer spun on to both sides of a 14" auminium disc.   
   The mastering engineer may decide and choose by visual comparison   
   which side is better.  Only one is used.   
      
   Furthermore, your statement above is nonsense.   
   The LP, which is three or four electro-mechanical   
   processes further down the line, is greatly inferior   
   to the acetate master which has a lower noise floor,   
   and is almost totally free of ticks.  Anyone who has   
   had the chance to compare an acetate with a vinyl   
   pressing (as I have, hundreds of times) cannot fail   
   to notice the difference.   
      
   A test cut is usually made for comparison with the   
   master tape.  Acetates used for mastering are subject   
   to careful visual inspection, by *never* played.  Due to   
   the softness of the material, the groove wall detiorates   
   very rapidly.   
      
   Flipper:   
   >>>> Frankly, this fuss about transcription discs is irrelevant to the   
   >>>> topic of consumer Hi-Fi   
   >>>   
      
   Phil:   
   >>>** You raised it  -   
      
   Flipper   
   >> No, I 'raised' the story of Bing Crosby using tape for his radio   
   >> broadcasts as a testament to it's fidelity.   
      
   Indeed. Crosby had a very high level of aural perception.   
   In the late forties, he worked in close co-operation with   
   Alexander Poniatov, the founder of Ampex. Bing could   
   see the superiority of even the elementary Ampex 200   
   tape recorder over transcription discs.   
      
   Cutter head technology at that time was not "high fidelity"   
   and 14" transcription discs were cut at 33 1/3 or 16rpm.   
   The quality was inferior to tape, and there were no editing   
   possibilities between takes.   
      
   I have been priviledged to work as an engineer on two of his   
   albums.  On "Southern Memoir" he did not want to overdub   
   his vocals afterwards, as is the standard practice, to allow   
   for unlimited retakes over a backing track. He wanted   
   to sit with the band and sing live,.  He maintained this was   
   the way to produce the best result. He asked, "Can I sit with   
   the saxophones, and added with a wink, "Don't worry, I   
   won't screw up"   
      
   Iain   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)