Calling Cadence Calling Cadence Master Quality Reel To Reel Tape (NAB)

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Calling Cadence is a rare band in our increasingly digital world: they have recorded their intriguing new album all-analog without a single computer. This "old school" approach provides a listening experience unlike anything else in modern rock today.

Calling Cadence the album's debut single, "Throw My Body", is a powerhouse of musicality, swirling late '70s rock, soul, and modern pop into an intoxicating blend of California summer bliss. Calling Cadence is made up of singer/guitarist/songwriter Oscar Bugarin and vocalist Rae Cole, with accompaniment by a wrecking crew of West Coast studio pros that represent the foundation of the Los Angeles music scene. This combination of authentic vibe and analog warmth makes Calling Cadence an instant American classic album.

This is an authentic, full-analog recording. Entire songs are performed almost entirely live to tape. Though live analog recording is a more challenging process, doing so here was a conscious decision made by the band and producers David Swartz and Matt Linesch (of the famed Hi-Res Music label) because of the incredible caliber of musicianship, as well as the studio being a full-analog facility. Recorded on 2" magnetic tape through a Studer A827 tape machine, then mixed analog through a 1972 API console through a world-class collection of outboard gear and effects, the tracks were finally mixed down to ¼" magnetic tape on an Ampex ATR 102 tape machine. The ¼" reels were then taken to copy on STUDER A80 machines for your personal reel to reel tape.

Not just another "stuffy audiophile reissue," Calling Cadence is a rocking, soulful trip full of evocative lyrics, earworm hooks, and a retro vibe perfect for the lovers of '70s music and modern vinyl music. For the ultimate experience of this music, pick up the reel to reel tape. It is unlike any you have ever heard in contemporary music.

WHAT EXACTLY IS AN 'ORIGINAL MASTER TAPE'?
Good question. The term is sometimes misused or misinterpreted, so it's worth getting clear on what's what. When an album is recorded, whether in the studio or on stage, it will either be a multi-track recording using several microphones and/or different sessions to record each individual element separately (instruments, vocals), or a live or semi-live recording in which one or several microphones capture the performance as a whole. The recording engineers will then bring the various elements together, editing and mixing them to achieve the desired sound and to remove unwanted noise, culminating in the album's first final arrangement. This is the original studio master tape, of which there will be not just one, but several: each of these is considered an 'original master'.

This original master is then used as the 'blueprint' for all subsequent copies, pressings, remasterings, etc. But of course with each subsequent treatment, something of the original information and hence sound quality is lost. Which is why nothing sounds quite like the original studio master tape. It's the original source of the album in its completed state.

DOES HORCH HOUSE DO ANY KIND OF REMASTERING DURING THE COPYING PROCESS?
Absolutely not! Why mess with the best? The whole point of what they do lies in capturing the magic of the original analogue master tape in its purest, most faithful form possible.

'Remastering' can be compared to using computer software to edit an original photograph. The benefits are that you can remove unwanted marks or noise, clean things up, remove distortion and boost clarity. The downside is that in doing so, you often lose the natural essence of the original and the result can seem rather synthetic, lacking in real life character.

The unfortunate fact is that tapes, like photographs, do tend to age over time, and most analogue masters are now between 30-80+ years old.

So Horch House undertake a painstaking 'soft refurbishing' process, which is key to recapturing the original quality of a master tape.

CAPTURING THE MAGIC OF MASTER TAPE
How exactly does Horch House translate an original analogue master tape into faithful copies on reel-to-reel tape and vinyl records?

They use a process that's been meticulously researched and developed by their expert team of sound engineers, with input from some of the world's leading specialists.

The first step is to carefully assess the sound quality of the original master tape, which their experts do in great detail. The unfortunate fact is that tapes do tend to age over time, and most analogue masters are now between 30-80+ years old. What they're looking to do, therefore, as an integral part of their copying process, is to restore the sound quality back to its original level. They want you to hear exactly what the first sound engineers heard (and indeed the musicians themselves), on the day that the original recording was made. This is in stark contrast to any kind of 'remastering', which they most definitely do not do! They're not looking to 'improve' the recording in any way, but rather to return it as closely as possible to its full original beauty.

They call this their 'soft refurbishing' process.

HOW CLOSE ARE HORCH HOUSE COPIES TO THE ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES?
Horch House believe that they're as close as it's possible to get - not simply to the master tape in its current condition, but to that master tape's original condition. Thanks to their detailed 'soft refurbishing' process, their master tape copies could, in a sense, now be considered as better than the current originals because they've been lovingly restored to deliver the same sound quality that the originals had on the day they were first recorded.

WHAT ABOUT COPYRIGHT? ARE MASTER TAPE COPIES LEGAL?
All Horch House master tape copies are fully authorized, licensed and approved by the relevant record label/music publisher.

** It is standard practice in all recording studios to keep the tape "tail out". This reduces "pre-echo" and it means that the tape should be placed on the right hand side of the recorder, re-wound and then played.

Bask in its musical sophistication, straightforward vocals, instrumental cohesion and sonic excellence.

A veritable smorgasbord of sonic exploration and goodness. Whatever you want. There's something here for everyone.

It's about as 'how-they-used-to-do-it' as you could get, and you can tell. It's warm, it's punchy, it has a vibe, it feels alive.