"Miraculously Free of Tape Hiss" - Not Such a Miracle

I was reading my latest issue of The Absolute Sound today, and noted this snippet on the sound quality of a Fats Waller box set (If You Have to Ask, You Ain't Got It, recordings from 1926 - 1943:

"Miraculously free of tape hiss...blah bah blah full blooded presence blah blah blah hefty bright blah blah."

Miracles come pretty cheap these days. Why should a recording made before the widespread commercial use of magnetic tape have any tape hiss at all?

 

Steve-0, can you help us out here?

 

Regards
Robert

 

Dubs of the original 78's to magnetic tape? Wasn't that standard practice until fairly recently when people started playing back the original stampers to make fresh dubs?

Derek

 

I believe this must be the set that Orrin Keepnews told us about last year: Orrin Keepnews on Fats Waller