Naturalness of Sarah McLachlan Vocals - Analog Versus Digital

[Ron Resnick]

Ron, I don’t have Fumbling on LP. Sounds like a future purchase!

I asked you a loaded question, because I think Sarah's digital voice on Surfacing is significantly inferior to the naturalness of Sarah's analog voice on Fumbling Towards Ecstasy.

 

[Ron Resnick]

I wrote to Pierre Marchand to solve this mystery:

Dear Mr. Marchand,

I hope this finds you well!

I have loved your recording and engineering work on Fumbling Towards Ecstasy and Surfacing for many years. You have always done a fantastic job of capturing Sarah McLachlan's beautiful voice!

I read in an interview you gave years ago that you recorded "Fumbling on a Studer 827, and Surfacing was all done on a RADAR.” I know that the Studer 827 is a multi-track analog tape recorder, and that the Otari RADAR is a multi-track digital recorder.

I am an audiophile, and I write reviews of high-end audio components.

I saw recently that Analogue Productions, the re-issue label of Acoustic Sounds, a purveyor of vinyl records, is selling a vinyl re-issue of Surfacing. In the advertisement of the Analogue Productions release I see:

"Now, hear Surfacing on its definitive vinyl version — two 200-gram LPs cut at 45 RPM by legendary mastering engineer Bernie Grundman from the original analog tapes."

But, Mr. Marchand, if Surfacing is a digital recording, how can there be any "original analog tapes"?

Any light you can shed on this mystery would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you very much!

Best wishes,

Ron Resnick

 

[Ron Resnick]

Mr. Marchand very kindly replied:

Hi Ron
It was recorded on a digital multitrack, a radar , not sure now, the mixes might have been transfered to half inch tape for mastering. It was mastered by Bernie in 2008, its been a while! Those analog half inch tapes might be what they are referencing to.
I am not involved in these reprints , so I can't really answer for them.
Cheers
Pierre

 

[Lagonda]

Mr. Marchand very kindly replied:

Hi Ron
It was recorded on a digital multitrack, a radar , not sure now, the mixes might have been transfered to half inch tape for mastering. It was mastered by Bernie in 2008, its been a while! Those analog half inch tapes might be what they are referencing to.
I am not involved in these reprints , so I can't really answer for them.
Cheers
Pierre

Busted ! We had Radar in my studio in Miami, it was very good.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Tonight I did a direct, level-matched (Reed R8050) comparison of Witness and Angel on Classic Records 180g LP on Denon DP62L/Hana SL/Octave Eq.2 versus CD on Pioneer DV-47Ai/Baltic 4.

I think the CD is slightly more resolving and detailed and slightly more transparent than the LP, but a touch drier.

I think I am losing resolution with the LP playback set-up versus a higher level set-up. The LP was slightly warmer and slightly more human-sounding. In this case the vinyl did warm the sound up a bit.

My very general view is that digital recordings should be played back in their native format. There are many exceptions to this starting view.

This was a very close comparison. The Baltic 4 definitely was pulling its weight. Overall, I still preferred the slightly warmer, slightly less dry presentation of the vinyl.

 

[morricab]

Tonight I did a direct, level-matched (Reed R8050) comparison of Witness and Angel on Classic Records 180g LP on Denon DP62L/Hana SL/Octave Eq.2 versus CD on Pioneer DV-47Ai/Baltic 4.

I think the CD is slightly more resolving and detailed and slightly more transparent than the LP, but a touch drier.

I think I am losing resolution with the LP playback set-up versus a higher level set-up. The LP was slightly warmer and slightly more human-sounding. In this case the vinyl did warm the sound up a bit.

My very general view is that digital recordings should be played back in their native format. There are many exceptions to this starting view.

This was a very close comparison. The Baltic 4 definitely was pulling its weight. Overall, I still preferred the slightly warmer, slightly less dry presentation of the vinyl.

This is with the AS-2000 TT, Ron?

 

[Ron Resnick]

This is with the AS-2000 TT, Ron?

“Denon DP62L/Hana SL/Octave Eq.2”

 

[morricab]

“Denon DP62L/Hana SL/Octave Eq.2”

Ok, nearly the same…

 

[morricab]

“Denon DP62L/Hana SL/Octave Eq.2”

All joking aside, at least compare your Baltic to a really good Japanese direct drive. The DP62L was right in the middle of its overall mediocre lineup (not counting their broadcast decks). A Kenwood KD 990 with something like a ZYX R-100 would probably already have a clear advantage with a bottom end Allnic phono.

 

[Rt66indierock]

I am a big fan of Sarah McLachlan’s vocal performances and lyrics. I like several of the songs on Fumbling Towards Ecstasy and I think they are pretty well-recorded.

I like several of the songs on Surfacing, but I think they sound like typically bad-sounding digital. I can never just listen to those songs and relax and enjoy them. (As Kedar famously observed, I appear not to relax when listening to digital recordings. And he is correct.)

Pierre Marchand, a musical collaborator with, and the recording engineer for, Sarah McLachlan, said in an interview that he recorded “Fumbling on a Studer 827, and Surfacing was all done on a RADAR.”

The Studer 827 is a multi-track analog tape recorder. The Otari RADAR is a multi-track digital recorder.

I think the vocals on Surfacing (1997) sound dry, menthol and typically digital. I think the vocals on Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (1993) sound better — less dry and more organic and natural.

I think the songs on Fumbling Towards Ecstasy may have digital sampling mixed into them, but they are not totally digital recordings like the songs on Surfacing.

What do you think?

Michael Fremer sold out all you guys who believe digital damages the sound in his review of Patricia Barber’s “Clique. ” The Tracking Angle, January 25, 2023.