The White Stripes "Icky Thump" new LP, adventures in mastering: 1" tape breakthrough!

i heard the new single over the weekend. sounds like Jack White's been sleeping in Jimmy Page's pajamas. can't wait!

double can't wait!!

 

Those 1" modified ATR-102's are pretty sweet! Was it an ATR Services machine or an MDI Precision Motor Works machine?

 

Would anybody happen to know if the CD will come from the same master as the vinyl, or will it be further molested into the modern 'norm' of CD mastering?

I'm hoping the LP for Icky Thump will be cheaper than Stadium Arcadium.

 

He's "son of Ken Townshend".

 

What a great story! I betcha this one won't be in the liner notes for the remastered CD in twenty years (while the price for copies of this LP go through the roof!).

Thanks for sharing Steve!

A big Bravo to Mr. Gray for his idea!

I'm really looking forward to hearing this one!

 

"(Jack is an audiophile and loves recording and mixing in analog.) In Nashville (where this new album was recorded)"


Cant wait for this album, (was looking forward to it anyways, now that Steve is mastering, thats a massive bonus).

 

And you call this "simple terms"? Not for an idiot like me...

Still, it sounds like you've pulled off something big, and, as you imply, unprecedented.

 

When you cut a record with a modern cutting system (IE the Neumann system or Ortofon system), there is a "computer" that looks at the level of the signal. If it sees a loud sound, it tells the motor moving the cutterhead across the record to move faster, making the groove wider. If it sees a quiet signal, it does the opposite. In order for this system to work, the signal needs to arrive at the computer before the cutterhead. When cutting from analog tape, this is easy. A second playback head is mounted behind the actual playback head. This "preview" head feeds the cutting computer, and the actual playback head feeds the cutterhead. Since the 1" tape machine has no preview head, Kevin worked his magic, recorded it into a digital workstation. He then synced the analog tape up to the digital playback. The digital playback fed the cutting computer and the analog signal fed the actual cutterhead.

 

1" tape, the 70 mm of analog? Why did they use such a wide tape?

 

Its 6 dB quieter than 1/4" tape. It also has far more dynamic range. It would seem that it was an aesthetic choice. 1" 2 track sounds really full and punchy.

(Woops...sorry Steve, I keep answering for you. I will shut up now... )

 

I was being "facetious". No, I'm not an idiot, but to someone not versed in the mastering process and/or audio jargon, I would hardly call it simple terms upon first reading. It'd probably be the same way if I wrote in legal jargon to those not in the legal field.

Anyway, back on topic...

 

It is very cool that our host is involved in mastering contemporary/current recordings by terrific/important/talented and relevant artists of our time (Red Hot Chili Peppers/White Stripes) New adventures in Hi-Fi indeed! Thank you!

 

Very cool Steve.

I heard the song "Icky Thump" last week and it has me stoked to hear the rest of the album. This may be the WB title I am looking forward to the most.

 

Great story Steve, and way to go Kevin . O really can't wait for this one to be released.

 

Wow, I never realised that no one has cut directly from a 1" tape before. I had always assumed that Tim DeParavicini's 1" 2-track monsters had a preview head. The sound on this must be killer!

 

I just read that thickness of tape is what improves sound quality, and width allows more tracks to be added....does width improve sound quality too? Or should I enroll into audio tape 101 for asking obvious questions !?

 

Looking forward to it. If this keeps up my credit card is going to explode.

Jason

 

I don't doubt the sound will be fantastic, however the music...I saw the WS back in Detroit for 5 bucks 10 years ago, and I wasn't too impressed. I do have Elephant on cd, however. That one isn't bad. I hope this one is at least as good.

 

A wonderful story with a great ending. Thank you Steve & Kevin - marked on my calendar and I'm counting down the days

 

Looking forward to hearing the results.

Should be teriffic.

 

Great story, I love hearing about stuff like this. Thanks for sharing Steve.

 

Great story.

Thank you for not going the easy route and using a digital delay. You guys really understand the importance of all this audiophile nonsense.

Next time I wait in line with Jack during lunch at Baja Burrito I'll have something to talk about.

Can't wait to give this one a spin.

 

What a great story! I can't wait to hear this one. I've just been getting into them lately with "Elephant" on Vinyl, and it sounds preatty Freakin' amazing, warp and all. Sounds like what Kevin did was make a digital copy and use that to tell the computer how wide to space the groove's. Brilliant!
You guy's have a great gig!

 

I bet it will sound awesome, Steve!

I didn't know the White Stripes had a new album in the works.

I can't wait to hear it.