Kudos To Ultra Analogue Recordings, Edward Pong and Tony Ky Ma

[Steve Williams]

IMO one of the wonderful things about WBF is the diversity of our members and their roles in the industry. Two of our Canadian colleagues Edward Pong and Tony Ky Ma are such examples. Over the past few years Tony has offered up excellent advice in all things reel to reel as well as repair and modification of tape decks. The two have formed Ultra Analogue Recordings and have begun to offer up tape for sale.

I received a brief tape sampler from Ed Pong a few days ago along with a CD for my listening pleasure. Boy was I astounded by what I heard. The tape contained the following...

1. Mozart Duo In G Major, K423, Handel-Halvorsen-Passacaglia

2. The Chaccones, Vitali-Bach, Monti-Czardas

3. Debussy-Claire de Lune

The CD which was DSD transfer contained the following.....

Beethoven Ghost Trio,Opus 70 No 2-Allegetto
Mozart Duo In G
Claire De Lune

The first thing that struck me was the dynamics of the tape recording and just how well it sounded. Ed Pong gives the following explanation,

These master tape duplicates are recorded on RMG SM900 tape at +4 dB above 250 nWb/m. which equals 396 nWb/m. This will give you the most realistic dynamic range and best S/N ratio possible. The output level of your tape deck must be adjustable and needs to be calibrated to this level to realize the best playback of these tapes. I have recorded a 30 sec track of 1 kHz tone behind the leader to help you calibrate your tape machine. Use this to set the output level of your tape deck to show 0 VU.Tapeproject tapes are recorded at 250 nW/m so have 4 db less range..Since the tapes they are duplicating are older, likely those masters were recorded at 185-250 nW/m.


The group performing much of the music was put together by Ed. They were truly superb. According to Ed, these are young musicians who he knows & met a few years ago....the violinist Xiang Yu was the Menuhin winner in Oslo Norway 2 years ago...he has a Boston Symphony debut in March 2014. He met the cellist Sietse-jan Weijenberg in Paris at the Rostropovich competition a few years ago. This was the 1st time he got them both together & they hit it off right away....the Passacaglia is special for him as he waited 2 years to get them together for that...

This is one remarkable tape. I kept playing it over and over before I listened to the Cd which was derived from DSD source. This contained some of the music from the tape and it too was exceptional.

I want to give a big shout out to Ed Pong and Tony Ky Ma in their endeavor to bring us closer to the music and I must say that this was as good or better than anything I have previously heard.

For those looking for the best sound possible have a look to buy at www.ultraanaloguerecordings.com

 

[Joe Galbraith]

+1
I have started acquiring tapes from Ed as well and have been very impressed. I have the Rossini Concerto for Double Bass which is so well recorded, with a great performance. Ed's CDs are created with the same passion they put into their tape products. Highly recommended.

 

[Steve Williams]

I completely agree. I must admit that what I heard was better Than any Tape Project Tape I have.

 

[RogerD]

I completely agree. I must admit that what I heard was better Than any Tape Project Tape I have.

Wow!

 

[Steve Williams]

Wow!

This is not meant to disparage The Tape Project tapes as they are excellent. I just thought that what I heard yesterday was better. I believe the tape they used as well as how it was recorded to give that extra 4Db of gain is a significant factor.

 

[Steve Williams]

According to Ed, "Tony's electronics are magical! The mic pre-amp especially, is so sensitive, it lets all the detail thru. There are no caps, the whole chain is silver interstage coupled transformers thru the whole record & playback electronics to the duplicating Studer A80."

 

[Bruce B]

The SM900 tape is just a better sounding tape.

 

[Asamel]

I'm a big fan of these recordings. The care that is taken in the recording and dubbing of these tapes is first rate. They are as close as I have ever heard to being in the room with the musicians. Modern analog recordings using modern tape and great performances. Tony and Ed are pushing the analog envelope. What could be better?

Bruce in PA

 

[NMMark1962]

Did I read their website correctly?? $210 for each Bach Cello Suite??? $1260 for all 6 Cello Suites??? That seems to be extremely expensive for a single musician playing....maybe $210 for the set???

Cheers,

 

[Edward Pong]

Did I read their website correctly?? $210 for each Bach Cello Suite??? $1260 for all 6 Cello Suites??? That seems to be extremely expensive for a single musician playing....maybe $210 for the set???

Cheers,

Unfortunately, the cost of making new recordings, of world class musicians is not cheap... I think you would have a hard time trying to even buy 6 metal reels of new RMG 900 tape for $210, let alone have software on it...... I don't understand "too expensive for a single musician" ......How much would you pay for 6 Bach Suites by YoYo Ma?
Edward

 

[tony ky ma]

The SM900 tape is just a better sounding tape.

If people do not tape recording by themselves will pay less attention to the sound quality of the tape, they won't have the choice for the pre recorded tape's quality, SM900 is the the highest quality and the best sound for high out-put tape which still in production but in high price . we had done in 5 different bland tapes before to make the decision. we hope the production can go on because they had changed hand to a new owner in France
tony ma

 

[Bruce B]

If people do not tape recording by themselves will pay less attention to the sound quality of the tape, they won't have the choice for the pre recorded tape's quality, SM900 is the the highest quality and the best sound for high out-put tape which still in production but in high price . we had done in 5 different bland tapes before to make the decision. we hope the production can go on because they had changed hand to a new owner in France
tony ma

For the last month during the change over, tape was hard to get. Now it seems to have stabilized and we just got 6 cases the other day. SM900 now is $58 for 1/4" and $84 for 1/2"

 

[Steve Williams]

Point of Clarification......

after talking with Ed more about his recordings, I've learned that Ed does all the mic setups, recordings, editing etc. Tony is a good friend who's passion in DIY audio has helped him in building the electronics for his audio system & recorders but is not an owner in the company.

Sorry for the confusion

 

[NMMark1962]

For the last month during the change over, tape was hard to get. Now it seems to have stabilized and we just got 6 cases the other day. SM900 now is $58 for 1/4" and $84 for 1/2"

So, if tape is $58 and $84, why are we seeing $400-$600 tapes?? And people accuse cable manufacturers for severe markups...

cheers,

 

[Steve Williams]

Mark

IMO you are way out of line

Have you ever heard of licensing, labor etc

If you think you can produce a world class tape for less money, then I say have at it

 

[Bruce B]

Mark

IMO you are way out of line

Have you ever heard of licensing, labor etc

If you think you can produce a world class tape for less money, then I say have at it

+1.. With licensing, machine maintenance and time, it's a losing game. To set up 2 machines for a transfer with tones, azimuth and 1:1 transfer, we're talking a minimum of 1-2hr. per reel. And remember, a reel is only ~32min.

 

[NMMark1962]

mark

imo you are way out of line

have you ever heard of licensing, labor etc

if you think you can produce a world class tape for less money, then i say have at it

woo hoooo...rudeness!!!!!!!

Adios!!!!

 

[Greg Beron / UHA]

I talk to people at the shows that have their panties in a bunch over a $300 album on 2 tapes. Seems like a reasonable price for what is involved, not to mention the sound is better than any other medium!!

Have a look at the $900,000 LP on ebay, yes that is no typo, $900,000 for one LP!!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-REC...1232894?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item518f949efe

If you think that example is a fluke, look at this British pressing of The Beatles Sgt. Pepper for $12,000. I can tell you I have one of these British pressings of Sgt. Pepper and the tape is way better!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BEATLES-Sgt...7086249?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item4d0fc58b29

 

[Steve Williams]

What people fail to realize is that this is real time taken to produce each copy.

Tapes are not cheap nor is labor or the machines used to record the copies

I would have to wonder what profit margin is in a $20 CD put out by a music company who owns the licensing rights, can buy blank discs for pennies each and make thousands of copies as quick as it takes to copy one tape and then compare that profit margin to what a tape album costs that is on 2-3 reels

 

[ack]

Where would one buy this tape? Amazon seems to have some http://www.amazon.com/RMG-Studio-Mastering-Series-2x2500/dp/B00890FASA and http://www.amazon.com/RMG-Studio-Ma...tudio+Mastering+Tape+900+Series+1/4x2500+10.5