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Old 2007-05-07, 02:47 AM
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Audioarchivist Audioarchivist is offline
Recording/Mastering Engineer
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Victoria, BC, Canada
Arrow Re: Are mp3 master recordings allowed @TTD???

Recently, there was an mp3 master sourced Riders On The Storm show posted. It was most likely recorded in mp3 format originally. It was pulled for being lossy. Duh. But it's master was mp3, and there was no better recording made. I don't think it should have been torn down. I guess what it really boils down to is that mp3 is a lossy recording format. If it begins as an mp3, however, things are a bit different.
I am sort of in the camp that thinks if the master recording was an mp3, it ought to be ok, in that a cassette master is ok, or a MiniDisc as a master (ie:format originally recorded to live) is ok. Would an old bootleg vinyl album be turned away? 78 rpm recording? Wax cylindars? I think if it was originally the only recording format, as a master only, it should be allowed. Not encouraged, but allowed.

Having stated my opinion that mp3 masters should not be turned away, starting as an mp3 and converting to wav or flac or any lossless form is kind of a waste of space, I guess. Wasted in that as an mp3 to begin with is small by eliminating certain parts of the music, and bloating the size of the mp3 file to a wav, while not losing any of that original mp3 quality, it doesn't make it any better than the original mp3. It's way bigger, but never worse.

Going the other way, from wav quality to mp3 then back to wav, is definitely a big nono here, as most know. That's where the "lossy" stuff should get tossed in the trash. Going from CD wav audio quality down to mp3 lossy, there is no going back!

If only everyone could upgrade their recording gear to suit YOUR needs!

Sometimes, a shitty walkman was all there was to tape that show in 1978, instead of that Nakamichi deck. Today, sometimes a shitty mp3 recorder is all that's around right then to record with. If that's all there was, I'm gonna be happy with it until that 24bit/96kHz taper falls out of the sky!
While the files' data will be bloated for flac trading, as a master, I think an mp3 would do in a pinch, just as long as the taper promises to think about taping future shows on better gear!


If there's a vote to be had, I vote that the Riders On The Storm torrent (first show with their new singer) be re-allowed and reseeded!
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