When you mention the hammer hitting the strings it reminds me that digital has often 'missed' some of the earliest parts as well as the tail off of the notes,with resulting slight emphasis on the 'center body' of the note--which obviously some listeners enjoy (and may make the ultimate appreciation of a phase reverse switch somewhat less appreciated than with a revealing analog setup?). Connective tissue,sound board detail,flow,rythmic pulse,breath. I believe a lot of analog guys will relate strongly; I do. (I don't know if any analog tape that old won't suffer some bleed)
Bach Goldberg variations played by Glenn Gould analogue master
The 1981 recording of the Goldberg was released on CD and was all digital. I've listened to it for years.
this past week I purchased the vinyl release of the analogue safety tape.
Its warmer and has more connective tissue than the CD. I hear more of the wooden sound board. It flows a bit better too and I can hear Gould singing in the background just like the digital recording. The silence between the notes seems more interesting too. With the CD I hear more of the hammer hitting the strings. The CD has more focus on the attack of the piano which I find interesting as well. Both CD and vinyl have something to offer. The vinyl allows the very strong rhythmic pulse of Glenn Gould too breath a bit more than on the CD.
I can also hear that the analogue tape was stored improperly- occasionally i can hear the bleed through of the next musical passage. Some tape speed variation can be heard as well. Overall it's a very nice record to have.
this past week I purchased the vinyl release of the analogue safety tape.
Its warmer and has more connective tissue than the CD. I hear more of the wooden sound board. It flows a bit better too and I can hear Gould singing in the background just like the digital recording. The silence between the notes seems more interesting too. With the CD I hear more of the hammer hitting the strings. The CD has more focus on the attack of the piano which I find interesting as well. Both CD and vinyl have something to offer. The vinyl allows the very strong rhythmic pulse of Glenn Gould too breath a bit more than on the CD.
I can also hear that the analogue tape was stored improperly- occasionally i can hear the bleed through of the next musical passage. Some tape speed variation can be heard as well. Overall it's a very nice record to have.