Sold Date:
June 1, 2018
Start Date:
May 27, 2018
Final Price:
$37.00
(USD)
Bid Count:
5
Seller Feedback:
3266
Buyer Feedback:
1188
Label: Contemporary
Catalog Number: S 7521
Product Condition: EX/ Excellent
You're bidding on Barney Kessel's "Music To Listen To" (STEREO)
Original Master Lacquers which were cut from master tapes provided to
Contemporary Records for the LP reissue. (1 per LP side - 2 sides: S1,
S2) As shown in images, minor chipping of the lacquer from the metal plate on the lead in, but not affecting playback of first song on each disc.
Lest Koenig, the founder of Contemporary Records was know to save
everything and in this case fortuitously. The Contemporary Records
Lacquers listed here come directly from the stash of things left over
when Contemporary was sold to Fantasy Records in 1984. The lacquers
were kept in their original sleeves (date stamped) after processing
which produced the masters and stored in temperature controlled storage
until they were obtained by TheMusic.com. The original 14" discs have
been professionally trimmed to 12" discs which allow these super
rarities to be played on a normal turntable and packaged in new sleeves
that include the original dated sleeves to provide additional
authenticity.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to own a true piece of
history directly from the Contemporary Records studios were Roy DuNann
and Lester Koenig made all those great recording and LP's from same!
Contemporary Records History: (
excerpted from Wikipedia)
Contemporary Records was a jazz record label founded by Lester
Koenig in 1951 in Los Angeles. Contemporary was known for seminal
recordings embodying the West Coast sound, but also released recordings
based in New York. Koenig maintained extremely high audio standards. He
hired Roy DuNann from Capitol Records in 1956, who, out of the label's
shipping room turned studio, turned out some of the best sounding
records of the time. DuNann provided some details of his techniques in
a Stereophile article nearly 50 years later. He said Koenig provided him
with German (Neumann/Telefunken U-47) and Austrian (AKG C-12) condenser
microphones and he immediately noted the very high output of these
microphones, especially close-in on jazz musicians' dynamic playing.
DuNann achieved his signature sound—crisp, clear and balanced without
distortion or unpleasant "peak presence"—by keeping his microphone
setups very simple (generally one per musician) and avoided the use of
pre-amplifiers for them. He built a simple passive mixing system that
directly fed the electronics of his Ampex 350 and 351 tape machines.
One of a kind original master lacquers cut from the original master
tapes and used by Contemporary Records to produce stampers that pressed
their vinyl reissue editions.
Here's how it works: In real time, the master tape was running
along with the cutting lathe cutting the groove modulations in the
master lacquer. The master lacquer was then electroplated and produced a
Master plate used ultimately to make stampers that press vinyl
records. Once the master lacquer has made its metal master it can still
be played like an LP and represents the CLOSEST transfer to the
original master tape used to cut it! A "lacquer" of an LP is simply the
original 14"-diameter, nitro cellulose-coated aluminum disc that the LP
mastering engineer "cuts" with a heated stylus assembly from either the
master tape, or in the case of a "direct-to-disc" recording, literally
from the live microphone feed. If any mistake is made when cutting the
lacquer, it must be thrown out and a new one started. The lacquer is
then used to start the plating process for making standard PVC LP
records, and then stored for possible future use. Lacquers are actually
playable on a standard phonograph system if trimmed to 12" in diameter
to fit the turntable, as they are a "positive" of the recording, just
like the final finished LPs that come from them. HOWEVER, they are VERY
fragile, as nitro cellulose is a very soft material. The process of hand
trimming the 14" processed lacquers is very delicate and can result in
small chips around the trimmed are which generally does not affect
playback using a standard cartridge. While
fragile by nature, processed lacquers are the highest-fidelity
source of the music except for the original master tape itself. The
sound of lacquer is as close to the sound of the master tape as you can
ever get - with the least amount of information lost in the transfer and
the highest fidelity. For these special sets, the master lacquers
have been delicately trimmed down from 14" to 12" in diameter so that
they can be played back on any modern turntable. Each disc is single
sided and perfectly flat for playback sound that is nothing short of
breathtaking. This is a rare opportunity to procure a collectible that
will only grow in value over time!
Each lacquer is packaged in a white jacket to preserve their collectibility.
ULTRA RARE item... Good luck!
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