UltraAnalogue Recordings to offer digital downloads of selected tapes.

Surfski

Member
Apr 7, 2020
31
66
23
Yay. I've often drooled over these releases and bemoaned my lack of a tape player. Something very nice to look forward to ...
 

Edward Pong

Industry Expert
Jun 24, 2013
386
195
348
Locust Hill, Ontario
Edward Pong
Industry Expert

Yesterday at 5:44 PM
#39

kswanson27 said:
Downloaded the Narita recording last weekend. Superb sonics and performance. Virtually quiet--no tape hiss or background noise. Great dynamics too. I'll be a buyer for more when Ed releases them.

I'm very happy to announce I have 3 more digital downloads on the website now!
1) Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with star violinist Alena Baeva & Van Cliburn winner Vadym Kholodenko (Steve loves this tape)
2) Beethoven Violin Sonata No.5 (Spring) with Alena & Vadym
3) Beethoven Violin Sonata No.7 with violinist Xiang Yu & Yun-Yang Lee

Please have a look! https://ultraanaloguerecordings.com/new/shop-digital-downloads/
More coming soon!
Enjoy!
Ed
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ovenmitt

Ovenmitt

Well-Known Member
Nov 21, 2017
285
406
170
I hope that I am not asking too much.... I am a classical music neophyte. I wonder if someone with more knowledge of these violinists could give me some guidance on which recording/performance might be a good one to start with. This definitely seems like a nice way to enjoy some of these recordings if you're a person like me without a tape machine.

Thanks in advance for any help!
 

Edward Pong

Industry Expert
Jun 24, 2013
386
195
348
Locust Hill, Ontario
Thank you for your interest...!
You can see some of these performances on my YouTube channel...UltraAnalogue Recordings..
Here's a link to the Mendelssohn Concerto...(obviously, it's normally played with an orchestra, but this is with a piano playing the orchestra part..)

Here is the video of the Beethoven Violin Spring No.5 "Spring"

The analogue tape was recorded at the same time as these videos & these digital downloads are from these master tapes...
Hope this helps give you idea of the music & performance!
Enjoy
Ed
 
  • Like
Reactions: Steve Williams

Ovenmitt

Well-Known Member
Nov 21, 2017
285
406
170
start with this one......

1) Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with star violinist Alena Baeva & Van Cliburn winner Vadym Kholodenko


Thank you Steve and Ed! That's very helpful.
 

Edward Pong

Industry Expert
Jun 24, 2013
386
195
348
Locust Hill, Ontario
I'm happy to announce I've released 2 more digital downloads on the website:
https://ultraanaloguerecordings.com/new/shop-digital-downloads/

1) Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto played by star violinist Xiang Yu & pianist Noreen Polera
2) Beethoven Piano Trio No.4, Op.70 No.1 (Ghost) with violinist Xiang Yu, cellist SJ Weijenburg & pianist Li Wang
(The Beethoven Piano Trios are some of the most beautiful pieces of music in the whole repertoire & this is one of them!)

Enjoy!

Ed
 

Edward Pong

Industry Expert
Jun 24, 2013
386
195
348
Locust Hill, Ontario
I'm very happy to release 2 downloads of my first solo recordings of Van Cliburn winner, pianist Vadym Kholodenko!

These are recordings are from a live concert of the Godowsky Studies after Chopin. Godowsky wanted to make the Chopin Etudes even harder to play, so he composed a series of transcriptions where the melody is played by the left hand...& to make it even more difficult, some of these are played ONLY by the left hand...! You need to watch this to believe it...

This is the video of the keyboard camera...

The 15ips tapes were recording at the same time & these digital transfers are directly from the masters...

As Larry Toy said here in WBF:"This tape is a tour de force of piano playing. In many places I was asking myself - how can he be playing that? This tape is something very special - and before a live audience."

Please check it out: https://ultraanaloguerecordings.com/new/shop-digital-downloads/

Enjoy

Ed
 
  • Like
Reactions: Steve Williams

Edward Pong

Industry Expert
Jun 24, 2013
386
195
348
Locust Hill, Ontario
I'm happy to announce I've released 4 more Digital Downloads of the young Japanese violin virtuoso, Tatsuki Narita.

In 2016 he played a live concert of the 24 Caprices of Paganini... with 2 intermissions, it was an unbelievable feat, never played in a live concert...

That video us here:
. He's playing gut strings in these recordings, true to Paganini's time...

We also made a "studio" recording of the 24 Caprices, which has a slightly softer, more musical sound...it is these studio recordings in the downloads.

The 4 downloads are:
1) Paganini Caprices No.1-8
2) Paganini Caprices No.9-18
3) Paganini Caprices No.19-24, Sarasate - Habanera
4) Violin Favourites: Kreisler - Prelude & Allegro, Tartini - Devil's Trill, Sarasate - Carmen Fantasy

Violin Favourites was also recording using gut strings... also amazing performances!

2016 was an great year for Tatsuki & UltraAnalogue Recordings, we had so much fun..

Please have a look: https://ultraanaloguerecordings.com/new/shop-digital-downloads/

Enjoy

Ed
 

audioguy1958

Well-Known Member
Feb 8, 2015
139
45
160
I'm very happy to release 2 downloads of my first solo recordings of Van Cliburn winner, pianist Vadym Kholodenko!

These are recordings are from a live concert of the Godowsky Studies after Chopin. Godowsky wanted to make the Chopin Etudes even harder to play, so he composed a series of transcriptions where the melody is played by the left hand...& to make it even more difficult, some of these are played ONLY by the left hand...! You need to watch this to believe it...

This is the video of the keyboard camera...

The 15ips tapes were recording at the same time & these digital transfers are directly from the masters...

As Larry Toy said here in WBF:"This tape is a tour de force of piano playing. In many places I was asking myself - how can he be playing that? This tape is something very special - and before a live audience."

Please check it out: https://ultraanaloguerecordings.com/new/shop-digital-downloads/

Enjoy

Ed

I've watched Vadym and Alena performing at Ed's home, and I knew I was seeing one of the greatest pianists in the world. I will be ordering this tape. I keep thinking of a particular piece of music I wish Vadym would perform, Ed you know which one I'm referring to, if the stars are in alignment maybe some day we will hear it!
 

Edward Pong

Industry Expert
Jun 24, 2013
386
195
348
Locust Hill, Ontario
I've had some requests to hear some Sample sound from these downloads....

So I have uploaded 2 free Samples (DSD & FLAC) to the site for you to hear the sound... They are real downloads, so you have to enter info, but after you checkout ($0.00) the download is just below, so please scroll down to the bottom of the page & download the clip...

https://ultraanaloguerecordings.com/new/shop-digital-downloads/

It's the opening of Danse Macabre on the "Tatsuki Narita" download...

Enjoy!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Steve Williams

Edward Pong

Industry Expert
Jun 24, 2013
386
195
348
Locust Hill, Ontario
A word about digital... DSD cannot be edited as a DSD file. I believe since all commercially available recordings have some degree of mixing & editing, all recordings available in DSD have been converted to PCM to edit, then reconverted back to DSD... to sell...

With my DSD files, there has been no such conversion, the files are directly from the digital recorder with only the metadata added, so you have a chance to hear a very pure DSD file... my sense is, it is quite analogue like...

It's not tape, but for a fraction of the cost, it is very very good... IMHO
 

Edward Pong

Industry Expert
Jun 24, 2013
386
195
348
Locust Hill, Ontario
I'd like to share the story behind of one of my favourite recordings, which Steve Williams said, "I can say unequivocally that if you are into Reel 2 reel this album is not only a must have but for my ears it is truly the best tape I have EVER heard. Period. End of story."...it's a tape/download called "Tatsuki Narita"....

Just a bit of insight into this young Japanese virtuoso, Tatsuki Narita... his career is mainly in Japan & the Far East. I met him a couple years after he came 2nd in the QE Comp in Belgium... many thought he should've won... He's a passionate artist & once told me the only person who can rehair his bows is a bow maker in Paris, so every 3 months he goes to Japan to the atelier of Alain Herou. So a few years ago, I met Tatsuki in Paris just after the new year to meet Alain.... well, it was immediately, so obvious Alain's talent... Tatsuki was playing a concert in my place later in March & Alain said, "I'm coming!" Never did I think he was serious... but he came & spent 1 week with us!

This is where the story gets very interesting... I have a rare bow which was not so much liked by many violinists I showed it to... Alain after looking at it said, "let me rehair it, do some adjustments & you will see, this is one of the best bows I have ever seen".... This was Friday before the concert on Saturday.... Tatsuki played a few phrases with this bow for us… We all felt it was fine, but nothing special... then we went to my basement workshop (I also make violins..) and Alain rehaired & adjusted it slightly...
We came upstairs, he handed Tatsuki the bow & after the 1st stroke, we all looked at each other in astonishment... there was so much depth, colour, texture & dynamics to the sound... In audio, it was like we just got new tube amps! Tatsuki was shocked & so happy... with Alain sitting at the back of the hall, we decided to record these 5 pieces to commemorate our 4 years of making music together. They are literally 1st takes one after the other... Amazingly, the Saturday concert program was completely different!

First the key is really, not so much the recording equipment we’re using...(that is very important) but what are we recording? What is the source creating the sounds? Every violin is different & it's the combination of the artist, violin & bow that creates the sound & almost no one is aware of the importance of the bow in this equation!

The magic in these sounds is captured by the signal path we have built. Literally, we’ve built everything from the microphone cable to the record & playback amps for the Studers. The microphone pre-amp is the magical component that lets all of the low level signals thru which creates the naturalness & air in the recordings... this mic-pre is based on a pair of WE437a input tubes, a pair of NOS 1956 WE300b output tubes, and all silver transformer coupling….

This is the background story about those 5 tracks... Danse Macabre, Zigeunerweisen, Nigun, Introduction & Tarantella, Meditation

Magic happens rarely & I was so happy to capture it that afternoon!

Ed
 
  • Like
Reactions: Steve Williams

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Indeed Ed, that tape recording done by Narita is my favorite tape of yours

As for bows you made me a believer last year when in one of your productions by your new cellist he played a piece with one bow and then with another very old and very expensive bow. I was stunned at the sonic difference so just like in putting together an audio system where everything counts, so also itthe same for these musicians

Finally I almost passed out when you told me what some of these bows sell for
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing