| Pink Floyd - See Emily Play Acetate #2 (2015 Transfer) (Neonknight) |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notes |
| Transferred from an acetate. Excellent SQ. From the info file: Pink Floyd 1967-05-23 See Emily Play Acetate number 2 (16bit/4.1kHz) Pink Floyd See Emily Play Acetate number 2 23 May 1967 xACT used to create FFP Lineage: Acetate > Michell Engineering TechnoDec > Rega RB202 tonearm > Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge > Musical Fidelity Integrated Amplifier M3si > Focusrite Saffire Pro 14 > Reaper v4.61 > WAV > ClickRepair 3.9.2 > WAV > Reaper v4.61 > FLAC (16bit/44.1kHz) xACT used to create FFP Total running time 2 mins 53 secs From a genuine acetate with a different mix and slightly different ending. I uploaded a previous transfer to Y! in May 2013 and this transfer is significantly better. I recorded in stereo and dropped the right channel because that side of the groove is worn. It will probably be the last time I play my acetate. After exporting from Reaper to WAV, I used ClickRepair - automated, declick 20, decrackle 20, x3 method; a non-destructive approach to removing some of the clicks and crackles. Then, once back in Reaper, I applied gain of 2.5dB. An acetate resembled a normal playback record but was, in fact, a metal plate covered with a layer of nitrocellulose lacquer. These were one-off records – essentially rough copies of the day’s work and they could only be played a limited number of times before the sound quality quickly deteriorated. Each day, numerous acetates were requested by EMI’s artists and producers. Their main offices often needed sample discs as well. There was no right way to cut these discs: it involved a great deal of creative imagination and skill, much like arranging or engineering and each person favoured different settings and approaches, so the resulting record was unique to the performance of that individual on that day. The disc seems relatively hardy but it was evidently not particularly well looked after before I acquired it. There is a small chip on the outside edge suggesting it has been dropped at some point and the vinyl has a bit of a white sheen to it. I'm not sure whether the whiteness is under the surface and showing through a thin layer of vinyl or would come off with cleaning. I am not prepared to try it. Sorry for not posting up a photo - I don’t like seeing all the fake acetates that do the rounds nowadays. 23 May is handwritten on the label of the acetate. Back in October 1991 I had a job near Oxford Street in central London. As some people reading this may recall, there were two principal destinations in the locality for independent record shops back then - Soho and Hanway Street. I found my acetate in Vinyl Experience, one of the three shops in Hanway Street - the clean and bright one that didn't last very long for those who remember it. There were two Floyd acetates for sale there - Arnold Layne and See Emily Play. Both had been obtained by the owners who had cleared out an old record warehouse the day before. They also had hundreds of other acetates for other bands for sale. See Emily Play and Arnold Layne were behind the counter in sleeves on the wall when I went in on one of my regular visits. I asked the guy behind the counter to play Arnold Layne. It was edgier sounding than the official version but that might just be because it was an acetate. He then played See Emily Play and my heart skipped a beat when I heard the ending. It was instantly obvious that it was something special. I wanted both acetates but couldn't afford the pair. The seller had no idea how special the See Emily Play acetate was and wasn't a fan. I played it cool, agreed a price and promptly returned with the cash. Y’s emmapeelfan made some interesting observations on Yeeshkul! about my acetate back in 2013: “The differences for the main part of the song are subtle - I detect slightly different reverb used on Rick's sped up section and the vocals on the final chorus are more upfront and drier. Acetates were cut generally for reference purposes... this was probably listened to by either the band, management or Norman Smith after which they made odd little tweaks for the final mix we all know. They clearly thought it needed to be faded out a little earlier! Also, it's lacking that final magic which would had come at the disc cutting stage, that extra bit of compression.' Neonknight, December 2015 |