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Restoration
Restoration is far more than copying your old recording onto a CD. Yes, you can just pop a disc into a recorder and fire up the old tape machine.
But you'll be disappointed, even if the tape machine still does function. If you're really unlucky, you might even watch the tape's oxide peel off and form a pile of rust on the floor!
Remember how strange it felt when you went back to your old first-grade classroom? Everything looked so small and narrow and worn and uninteresting. Well, in the years since you recorded that wedding chorus or placed a microphone in front of Grandma, your ears have grown up, too. That old recording will sound small and narrow and worn and uninteresting.
How do we change that? We analyze the sound both by ear and with software. We take out noise, expand the sound, smooth out unwanted changes (say, when Grandma comes in the room to shout at Grandpa), compensate for old, nasal-sounding microphones, warm up the sound, and give it some breathing room.
Our techniques will also discover hidden sounds that were previously buried in tape noise and room ambience. There really is sound still present underneath that air conditioning fan, and we can find it.
You can tell us what level of detail you need. If you just need that old 8-track tape transferred before it jams up for the last time, we'll just do that. Or, if you have -- as the Vermont Historical Society had -- reels of paper tape from the late 1940s, we can treat them with care, recover the sound, and clean up the result.
What Can We Restore?
Records up to 12-inch; 16-2/3 through 78 RPM (special pre-electrical speeds and stylus size available); mono/stereo; dbx II.
Reels, 1/4-inch tape, mono, stereo, & 4-channel; full-, half- or quarter-track; Dolby B & C, dbx I & II; 15/16 to 15 ips; all thicknesses and backings; type I, II & IV; endless loop.
Cassettes, stereo and 4-channel; Dolby B/C, dbx II; 15/16, 1-7/8 and 3-3/4 ips; type I/II/IV; Elcaset (requires removal of tape from cassette).
Cartridges, 8-track; stereo and 4-channel.
Videotape, 8mm, VHS-C, Beta, VHS, DV, miniDV; digital, hifi, Dolby, mono/stereo; U-Matic.
Digital formats, DAT, 32/44/48KHz; Minidisc; CD (CD-R, CD-RW, VCD).
Special scheduling: 16-inch platters, audiotape wider than 1/4-inch, dictation formats, Portapak/Betacam, PCM F-1, DCC, ADAT, DA-88, DVD.
These examples are for the copying of audio only; video is not copied, nor are game discs or cartridges.
You are responsible for any copyright requirements. We will not copy any clearly commercial material currently in production, nor break any anti-copying locks.
Please read on to learn about our restoration packages, or jump right to our fee schedule for new and Vermont clients.
Available: Classes, seminars, and lessons in restoration, and in oral history interview methods and recording techniques. Please contact us. |
Restoration Packages
- Restoration of existing, souvenir, and historical recordings.
- Conversions of most formats from all eras, from shellacs to CDs.
- Noise reduction, click removal, and other options to clean up your recording.
- Optional equalization, filtering, warmth, and stereo spread.
- Two final, fully cued copies on CD.
- Cost depends on original material; personal recordings at special rates.
Example:
White's Relatives
1950
Original sound clip, and after restoration. The original was a 7-inch 78rpm home-cut record. The plastic had shrunk back from the metal base, leaving spidered areas that caused skips and completely broken grooves. It could no longer be played through, and was filled with noise. Most of this recording has been restored to listenable condition, even while some of the end was lost.
Example:
Wedding Music
1960s
Original sound clip, and after restoration. The original was on a 3-inch reel of 0.5-mil tape, recorded with an inexpensive portable recorder in the 1960s. It could no longer be played at all without great care. We have brought this recording from a fragile souvenir to listenable music on CD.
Example:
Vermont Storyteller
1953
Clip after restoration. The original was on a 7-inch reel acetate tape, recorded with an inexpensive portable recorder in 1953. Note the sense of presence introduced by putting the speaker in a stereophonic room, and the absence of noise.
Example:
Bach Chorale
1960s
Original sound clip, and after restoration. The original was recorded on an inexpensive monaural tape recorder and privately released on an LP. This LP was well-worn. At the request of one of the singers, we brought this recording into a warmer and quieter state.
Example:
Vermont Author
1952
Original sound clip, and after restoration. The original was on a 7-inch reel acetate tape, recorded with an inexpensive portable recorder in 1952. Of particular note is the restored warmth of her voice.
Example:
Motivational Speaker
1949
Original sound clip, and after restoration. The original was on a 7-inch reel paper tape, recorded with an imported portable recorder in 1949. This was one of the first public recordings made in Vermont.
Example:
Mother of Sue
1980s
Original sound clip using after basic software noise reduction, and then after restoration. The original was recorded badly using terrible tape with a cheap portable cassette recorder in the 1980s. The tape was stored poorly as well. The result is audible, but still an unhappy oral history. We can advise you in oral history methods to avoid these problems! Spend a few dollars and take a little time before your parents & friends are gone forever!
Useful links:
- Preserving the Future's Past: EA Artists Must Take Care of Their Own Archives, conversation and recommendations about archiving audio artworks. By Dennis Báthory-Kitsz
- Don't Destroy The Archives!, essay on the value of not destroying original recordings once they have been transcribed to digital media. By Michael Gerzon
- Storage & Preservation, from the North Carolina Exploring Cultural Heritage Online
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