Half speed mastering has nothing to do with what speed you play it back at. It’s simply cut at a slower speed and the music is cut at half the speed, so when you play it back it’s back to normal. It just halves frequencies as they’re cut into lacquers which is meant to produce more robust dynamics and less feedback. I’ve heard great ones and others where the difference is negligible.
Half speed masters. Are they worth the extra scratch?
I just purchased a Dire Straits Brothers in Arms half speed master. I'm using a Pioneer PL530 TT. Can this album be played successfully on my TT? I put it on 45 rpm but there is no way to tell if it is spinning at the right speed. The speed control is working but not keeping a steady reading like when I play a normal 33 record. It sounds good but I'm wondering if they should be played on a different table. Also is it worth it to pay extra money for these? I payed 50$ for this album. Thanks for any information.
Showing 3 responses by au_lait
I've mastered a handful of releases at half speed, have one to do in 2 weeks time for a composer from the Bavarian State Opera who's completed a modern chamber music / electronic hybrid 2xLP. I find that works with vast dynamics suit half speed, as well as very quiet works where surface noise is a real threat, not to mention pre-delay. And then there is DMM. There was a moment after the Apollo Pressing plant burned down where it was assumed there'd be an uptick in DMM, but thankfully none of my business was with Apollo so I got out unscathed. However, there are still DMM diehards, if you can find the machinery. I recently saw this article (below) and this studio offers DMM dubplates for 700eu! Not to say I don't have $1000+ records and loads of one-off dublplates, but nothing this extreme and purist! Might have to try it someday. https://www.psaudio.com/copper/article/copper-listens-to-copper-stockfisch-records-dmm-dubplate-vol-... |