The Classical music world starts to wake up to Har-Bal

This area of the Forum is where you can post your suggestions and ideas for future update releases of Har-Bal, as well as any gripes you may have on the software, its useability and its interface.
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PristineAudio
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The Classical music world starts to wake up to Har-Bal

Post by PristineAudio »

For around a year now i've been using Har-Bal in a very unusual and pretty much classical music-specific way to fix the very wayward EQ usually heard on historic recordings fifty years old or greater, a technique marketed as using "Pristine Audio XR" remastering. I've been refining the techniques and come up with some pretty impressive recordings, which are now getting taken very seriously indeed, as well as passing on some of my ideas to other restoration engineers.


Thus in the new issue of US magazine 'Fanfare' you'll find the comments such as these from the hugely respected critic Henry Fogel:

"...This is the best of Furtwängler in this batch of releases, and given the quality of this restoration anyone who collects this conductor should obtain this. I have never encountered such rich orchestral timbre on a Furtwängler recording, and given the importance of color to his conducting this becomes a very significant release..."


and:


" If you want to go to Pristine’s Web site and learn about their process you may do so; they offer comparison listening, and they explain a great deal about their methods (carefully avoiding giving away trade secrets). It would seem that they have developed a method of extracting a wider frequency response from older material than has been possible before, and doing it without also bringing forth noise. The method is based on computer analysis of what might be called a harmonic fingerprint unique to every piece of music—no matter who the performers and where the recording was made. This is done using modern digital recordings of a specific piece of music, which apparently match each other very closely. Again, using computer technology, Pristine then equalizes old recordings to match, at a fine resolution, the harmonic profile of each piece. It is clear from the Web site and, more important, from listening to these discs that Pristine has managed a more evenly distributed and fuller range of frequency response than has been possible in prior restorations of historic material.

...In every single case here I found myself astonished at the naturalness and richness of the orchestral, instrumental, and vocal sound that came from these transfers. In some cases (Furtwängler’s Beethoven Fourth from 1953, for instance) the sound was a revelation.
"


...and from Marc Mandel's "Want List" in the same Nov/Dec 2007 issue of Fanfare:

"...a terrific new re-mastering on Music & Arts of the nine symphonies and selected overtures from Arturo Toscanini's famed 1939 Beethoven cycle with the NBC Symphony Orchestra, as restored by Aaron Z. Snyder using Andrew Rose's "harmonic balancing process." As I understand it, this process effectively enhances the limited sound of the original source materials by using a sort of audio fingerprint (let's call it a "sound-print") developed by averaging the characteristics of modern digital recordings of the specific musical work under consideration, and then applying that information to the recording being restored. I own three previous CD incarnations of this cycle, on Nueva Era, Relief, and Naxos, and this re-mastering surpasses them all...."


Meanwhile we've scooped Musicweb International's CD of the Month award (out of 210 discs reviewed):

"This Pristine Audio Bartók release was thrilling from the first hearing. Without reservation I recommend this issue. It’s the closest to analogue sound by a genius that you will hear. If you like Bartók’s music or are just getting to know it then you must have this CD. It’s the very reference model of the works in sound so close to real that it’s truly amazing. Simply essential."


...and for another CD from the same batch:

"The sound is excellent - full praise to Andrew Rose for his remastering. Having heard this performance I could not live without it."


Gramophone magazine in the UK has also been full of praise:

"I've been mightily taken by the XR treatment...hugely impressive"


So big, big thanks to Earle and Parvo for providing the key tool that makes this possible. It's revolutionised both the way I work and the results I'm able to get.
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Post by HarBal »

Hi Andrew,

I've got to say, you're clearly making the right impact on audio restoration work. It seems you have a lot of very satified people out there! Thank you for mentioning us in your process. It seems pretty clear Pristine Audio is winning much admiration for the work you do with your detailed approach to CD restoration.

Once again, thank and congratulations and be sure to send us your thoughts on processes you might find of benefit and we'll consider them for future revisions of Har-Bal.

Cheers,


Paavo.
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Post by HarBal »

You made me curious so I had to listen to some of your XR samples from the Toscanini collection. For 30-40's vintage recordings they had a very natural tone and a well extended top end. You've done a great job removing noise too! Very impressive and a joy to listen to!

Paavo.
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Post by har-bal »

Hi Andrew

I just had the opportunity to listen to some of your XR re-masterings. You have accomplished two things:

You have captured both the true essence of the music without compromising a bit of dynamics and the era of that time period. What an amazing listening experience.

Thanks you so much for the kudos and Paavo and I wish you much success. It's plainly obvious that your passion for classical resurrection has elevated you to another level.

Cheers

Earle
Last edited by har-bal on Sun Nov 25, 2007 10:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
PristineAudio
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Post by PristineAudio »

Hi Guys

I've just spent the afternoon putting together various clips and excerpts for a talk I'm giving in the UK in a couple of weeks time, where I'm going to have to try and put across the gist of how Har-Bal works to an audience of perhaps 150 classical music buffs, without any visual aids.

Suffice to say I have some very compelling audio which I hope will convince them, even if the technicalities remain somewhat baffling!

Andrew

P.S. I'm awaiting confirmation of the expected use of a Har-Bal-treated classical music track in a major upcoming Hollywood blockbuster movie (currently nearing the end of shooting, I understand). I'll let you know if they do use it - given the director's reputation for his use of music and my understanding of the music's place in the narrative, it could be quite a big deal. Alternatively, it might end up on the cutting room floor....
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Post by HarBal »

Good luck on both counts! I have much admiration for the quality of many film soundtracks. Unlike the popular music industry they have no fear in preserving dynamic content. On the contrary, they make great use of it.

Cheers,


Paavo.
PristineAudio
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Post by PristineAudio »

I'm afraid that, given the recording dates from 1902, there's not a huge range of dynamic or frequency content in this particular item! :lol:
PristineAudio
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Post by PristineAudio »

BTW that Fanfare article is available online until the end of this month:

http://www.fanfaremag.com/content/view/22236/10204/
HarBal
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Post by HarBal »

That is an interesting article. He seemed to have more complaint about the actual performances than the recordings themselves. Going by his closing quote you should be very proud!

"I think that I can best sum up Pristine Audio’s achievement by saying that a solid weekend of listening to nothing but these 15 discs brought about absolutely no listening fatigue. "

If that isn't an endorsement of your work then I don't know what is!

Cheers,


Paavo.
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