⌈ DIGITAL SOUND RECORDING, a method of preserving sound in which audio signals are transformed into a series of pulses that correspond to patterns of binary digits (i.e., 0’s and 1’s) and are recorded as such on the surface of a magnetic tape or optical disc. „ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA”, → www.BRITANNICA.com; accessed: 28.11.2025. ⌋

IN 1978, THE AMERICAN COMPANY 3M – Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company – presented its own digital tape recorder. It was actually something more, because it was an entire recording and mastering system consisting of a 32-track multitrack tape recorder (16 bits, 50 kHz) using 1-inch tape and a 4-track, 1/2-inch mastering recorder (also 16 bits, 50 kHz). These tape recorders went down in music industry history as the basis for many rock music recordings. But that’s not all.

They were also among the best devices of their kind. Developed in collaboration with the BBC, they were ahead of what Mitsubishi and Sony would present a few years later with their tape recorders operating in the ProDigi and DASH systems, respectively. The 3M system was also the first tape recorder of this type with a fixed head, which was a significant change from the two earlier digital tape recorders from Denon and Soundstream, as well as the tape recorder developed in parallel by Decca.

‖ In 1984, Mark Knopfler recorded the Brothers in Arms with Dire Straits on an early Sony DASH digital tape recorder, but he had been fascinated by digital technology even before that. In 1982, he recorded the soundtrack for the Local Hero movie using a 3M tape recorder.

In the first part of this three-part series, we presented the most important information about its development, technical data, and methods of application. In the second part, we will look at six albums recorded using this system, important both from the point of view of technological development and music, largely shaped by the technique they used, which back then was ‘state-of-the-art.’

In the third part, we will take a closer look at two titles, including all their most important reissues and remasters: ABBA’S The Visitors, released on November 30, 1981, and Local Hero by Mark Knopfler from April 1983. We will see how record labels dealt with the unusual sampling frequency of 50 kHz when switching to 44.1 kHz and DSD, as well as how different LP pressings from a digital master sound.

Wikipedia says about the first one that “it was one of the first albums recorded and mixed digitally,” none of which is true. The truth is that it was the second title in history released in Compact Disc format. The second album is an interesting example of a recently discovered master, previously known only from a digital copy made on a Sony PMC-1610 mastering tape recorder. In addition, this album, “digital” from A to Z, also includes a recording made using an analog Nagra IV-S tape recorder...

▓ THIRTY TWO

ONE OF THE SPECIAL FEATURES of the recordings made using the first digital recording systems, namely NHK/Denon and Soundstream tape recorders, apart from the rotating head, was their purpose. This was more a result of practice than design, but was a simple extension of their limitations.

‖ In the early years of the digital revolution, it was also important that the album was mastered directly to digital tape, usually Sony PCM1600/1610; the GRP label specialized in such releases.

And it’s not at all about the sampling frequency or bit depth of the signal. These two values differed from system to system, but after the “digital” market was divided between three players – 3M, Mitsubishi, and Sony – they were generally (except for 3M’s 50 kHz) common to all digital systems and unchanging: a sampling frequency of 44.1 or 48 kHz and a 16-bit bit depth. This did not change until the second half of the 1980s, when 24-bit tape recorders were introduced – Mitsubishi’s stereo X-86HS and Sony’s multi-track PCM-3348HR, but not until 1997.

The limitations I am referring to were technical in nature, but related to the number of tracks. Denon initially developed stereo tape recorders, and in 1972, it offered the eight-track DN-023R model. When portable versions was introduced, it was possible to connect two tape recorders to use sixteen tracks. The Soundstream system, on the other hand, was four-track from start to finish. Eight tracks were recorded on the tape, but they were combined in pairs to minimize errors. Its advantage was digital editing using a microcomputer.

The small number of channels recorded directly translated into the type of music recorded – it was, almost without exception, classical and jazz music. And this type of music was most often recorded without overdubs, often in one or a few takes, from which the complete piece was then edited.

It was different with rock music. From the very beginning, it demanded more and more (and more), turning recording into a new form of creativity, in which the studio was referred to as another “instrument.” It is no coincidence that Samantha Bennett titled one of the chapters of her work unambiguously: Constructing Recordings.

‖ The first tape recorder to offer 48 tracks was the Sony PCM3348 digital recorder – shown here in the HR version • photo: Sony press material from: Bram Jacobse → www.BRAMJACOBSE.nl

The point was that the recorder was an element of creative music making that was not possible outside the studio. It was about overdubbing vocals, instruments, manipulating speed, pitch, timbre, etc. The National Museum in Liverpool website provides a good definition of this type of recording:

”

Multitrack recording (or ‘multitracking’) is a way of recording music in which separate recordings of multiple sound sources are made, which are then used to create a single recording. Within this process, each instrument or voice is recorded onto an individual ‘track’ (often at different times) and can then be played back simultaneously.

Each track can also be mixed to the correct volume through a mixing desk, and a variety of audio effects (such as reverb, delay, compression, etc.) can be added. This is the most common method of recording popular music, and virtually all popular music is now made in this way.

⸜ Emergence of multitrack recording, → www.LIVERPOOLMUSEUMS.org.uk, accessed: 29.12.2025.

The change in question was really quick. Even Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) was recorded on a four-track tape recorder, but the White Album from 1968 was an eight-track production, and Abbey Road from 1969 was recorded on a sixteen-track tape recorder. However, the British music scene was somewhat late in this respect, as the revolution had already taken place in the US.

The first of Ampex’s eight-track tape recorders was sold to Les Paul for $10,000 in 1957 and was installed in his home recording studio by David Sarser (today it is worth over $117,000). The second, model 5258, was purchased by Atlantic Records at the end of 1957, as demanded by Tom Dowd. Atlantic was thus the first record label in the world to use an eight-track tape recorder.

The first commercially available 16-track analog recorder was the Ampex MM-1100, introduced in 1968; that same year, 3M unveiled a prototype of this type of machine at the AES convention in October 1968, challenging Ampex. These devices used 2-inch tape and revolutionized recording, allowing artists such as the Grateful Dead (on the albums Aoxomoxoa and Live/Dead) and Motown studio artists to create complex, multi-layered sounds. They became widely accepted in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

‖ Chasing tracks—two 24-track 3M M79 tape recorders coupled together when recording Michael Jackson’s album Thriller • photo: Bruce Swedien/Facebook

The 1970s saw the dominance of 24-track tape recorders, often combined in pairs to offer 47 tracks (one was used for synchronization; Depeche Mode’s album Violator was recorded similarly). The 1982 album Toto IV was recorded using three synchronized machines, which offered seventy tracks! However, it was standard practice to use a single tape recorder, and connecting them was a big challenge because the devices were constantly becoming misaligned.

▓ 3M DIGITAL AUDIO MASTERING SYSTEM

THE 3M TAPE RECORDER WAS A REVOLUTION IN THIS RESPECT. It gave sound engineers as many as 32 tracks to use (!). And although this might seem like a dream come true, initially, there was considerable push-back to this solution from sound engineers and producers. There were several reasons behind it. Among them, the most important were the techniques developed previously and the habits of sound engineers – the digital tape recorder required a completely different approach to sound engineering, but also the sound of recorded material was different.

The Record Plant studio was chosen for the official premiere of the full 3M Digital Audio Mastering System. In February 1979, the first tape recorder of this type was delivered to Studio C, and on February 7, the first multi-track recording in history was made using a 3M digital tape recorder. The artist was Stephen Stills, and the track was Cherokee.

In this way, he became the first major label musician in the history of phonographic industry to digitally record his album; earlier recordings by Denon and Soundstream included classical and jazz recordings. As we read in the Buzz Me In monograph, dedicated to this studio, 3M chose it for the world premiere, and Stills wrote several new songs with it in mind. Expectations were high, as was the producer’s optimism.

‖ The first digital recordings were often treated as direct-to-disc recordings – pictured here is the label from the Flim And The BB’s album (Sound 80 Records DLR-102).

In contrast, Michael Braunstein (Stephen Stills, Frank Zappa, Crosby, Stills & Nash, The Eagles, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney, etc.), who produced the session sitting behind an analog API console, called it “the night the music died.” That wasn’t true, but the statement accurately reflected the mood of some experienced sound engineers:

”

Digital audio changed everything. We knew that on that particular night in Studio C. Not only did it change the way the signal was recorded, but more importantly, it transformed the way music was “made.” Gone was the method of personal collaboration between musicians standing face to face, able to react instantly to the nuances of their colleagues’ playing. Not to mention the fact that early “digital” recordings offered poorer sound quality.

⸜ MARTIN PORTER, DAVID GOGGLIN, Buzz Me In. Inside the Record Plant Studios, Thames & Hudson, London 2025, p. 251.

Without denying the personal experiences of Braunstein, one of the most experienced rock music producers, it should be noted that the “face-to-face” method he mentions had been rare for years, and it can be said that it already belonged to the past. Ever since the first four-track (and even three-track) tape recorders arrived in studios, recordings have been constructed in multiple sessions, with individual tracks, rather than recorded in a single take with all the musicians in the studio.

The aforementioned Bennett called this approach, “traditionalist” and associated it with attitude rather than objective assessment. After the aforementioned recording, Stills and the producer sat down in the studio in front of the speakers and made a direct comparison between the digital recording and the analog recording made in parallel (all early digital recordings were also recorded analogically, as backup). As Braunstein says, the musician then wrote on the back of the sheet music for Sharpie: “Scientists, you have failed!”

‖ Opinions on early digital music varied – some were against it, while others boasted about it on their album covers, as did the label behind Brothers in Arms

This division between musicians and producers of “true” analog sound and scientists trying to convince everyone of the “future” and superiority of digital recording continued throughout the 1980s, and its reflection can be found in discussions still ongoing today in our audiophile industry. It was not true then, and it is not true today.

If I wanted to comment on it in one sentence (although a whole book would be more appropriate), I would say that it was about something else. Namely, a lack of competence related to digital technology and a fear of new technology. As the examples below show, the 3M Digital Audio Mastering System had incredible potential, which was understood and exploited by many engineers and producers.

▓ Part 2 ‖ MUSIC

˻ I ˺

A Comparision in Sound. Digital vs Analog Recording

3M Company S80-1515 (31867) ⸜ 1978 (?) Long Play

A SAMPLER IS A TYPE OF RELEASE featuring selected tracks, similar to how sound samples are recorded on a device of the same name. Discs of this type were used to present record label catalogs in a condensed form. Their other function was to present new technical solutions. Such discs were prepared, for example, by Denon, which used them to advertise PCM digital recordings. Similar discs were also produced by Philips and Sony, when they launched the CD and then the SACD.

Most likely prepared in 1978, the 3M Company album was recorded at Sound 80 on a 3M stereo tape recorder and, at the same time, on an M-79 analog tape recorder, also in stereo, from the same company. It was a recording of a Bösendorfer piano, played by the studio’s owner, Herb Pilhofer. He used two Sony C-37 P transistor (FET) condenser microphones and a Trident analog console for the recording.

The front cover featured a photo of a prototype 3M tape recorder (16 bits, 50.4 kHz), and the back cover featured graphs and technical data. This approach was intended to emphasize the scientific pedigree of the technology and its advantages over the “old” analog technology. There is no information about this, but I assume that the digital side was cut directly from the digital tape – Studio 80 had its own lathe.

▒ Sound

I LISTENED TO THIS ALBUM together with many „High Fidelity” readers during the Tour de Pologne, a series of meetings organized by Pylon Audio and audio showrooms. It was an opportunity for a direct comparison of digital and analog recordings, made simultaneously and pressed on one disc. During these meetings, I asked you to make direct blind comparisons and vote for the one you liked best. In 90% of cases, the participants chose the digital version as the better one.

Listening to this album at home, alongside other digital recordings, I cannot disagree. There is nothing wrong with the analog version; it is an excellent piano recording. The velvety midrange and treble, as well as the richness of the Bösendorfer piano’s low end, are unambiguous. This speaks well for the transparency of the recording. But when you listen, you can simply hear that the analog version is more blurred. From the very beginning, from the first notes, you get the impression of a slight phase shift, not only in the sound, but also in the noise.

This is not the case with the digital version. The instrument has a solid body, and it is clear and powerful. Its sound is also much better weighted. The softness of analog, which often beautifully emphasizes the natural sound of acoustic instruments, also works its magic here. I liked it. Until I heard the version recorded on the 3M Digital Audio Mastering System. That’s the right one, and it’s also the more pleasant one.

This was the biggest surprise for me, because nowadays it is believed that “digital” equals a “cold bitch,” (pardon my French) while ‘analog’ is a warm, cozy “safety cocoon.” My experience, backed up by this listening test, shows that this is not the case and that this stereotype stems from the improper use of digital technology and its degeneration in an era dominated by DAW computer stations. And this first, experimental recording showed the potential of the new 3M tape recorders.

»«

˻ II ˺

AARON COPLAND, CHARLES IVES Appalachian Spring/Three Places In New England

Perf. by Charles Ives, Davies Orchestra, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, conductor Dennis Russell

Sound 80 Records/Pro-Arte PAD-140 ⸜ 1978/1983 Long Play

THE HISTORY OF THIS ALBUM’S CREATION is both symptomatic and apocryphal. Symptomatic, because it repeats the story of several other digitally recorded titles, and apocryphal, because promoters and supporters of new techniques used it to construct a kind of “founding myth.”

Thomas Fine, author of the pioneering and still best-known work on early digital techniques and recordings, quotes it in its entirety. As he writes, what exactly happened during this recording session “is the subject of some controversy.” Almost certainly, the session for Studio 80 took place in July 1978 and was intended to be a direct-to-disc session, i.e., fully analog, with a shortened recording path and an MCI JH-528B mixer at the “center.” Scott Rivard, chief engineer at Sound 80 Studios, was responsible for the sound of this version.

However, Tom Jung, who founded DMP, a label dedicated exclusively to digital recordings, in the 1980s, had an idea for an experiment. He brought a 3M digital tape recorder, still an experimental prototype, to the session, hoping to use it to record a so-called “backup” or “safety tape.” This was easy enough, as direct-to-disc recording requires mixing the signal live and outputting a stereo signal. It also did not allow for editing. And the first version of the 3M machine was stereophonic and it also did not allow for editing the material.

Former SPCO musician Bill McGlaughlin, quoted by Fine, recalled it this way:

”

The band had previously recorded several direct-to-disc sessions for Sound 80. This session was also supposed to be recorded directly onto disc, but at the last minute, the guys from 3M showed up with a digital machine they wanted to try out in parallel with the main production... We did three takes of each song – one didn’t work out with Copland, and the other two were fine from a technical point of view (...).

⸜ THOMAS FINE, The Dawn of Commercial Digital Recording, „ARSC Journal”, Volume 39, No. 1, Spring 2008, p. 9.

Similarly, in Recording Engineer/Producer magazine, the studio itself described this situation, referring to digital backup systems for both the album in question and the album we will move on to in a moment, namely Flim And The BB’s (Sound 80 Records DLR-102).

However, the cover of Appalachian Spring/Three Places In New England (Sound 80 Records DLR-101) tells us something else, that the digital master was planned from the very beginning: “This groundbreaking album is a unique combination of the ‘direct-to-disc’ recording philosophy and exciting new digital recording technology.” These recordings were to be “completely spontaneous and unedited – played in real time (including breaks between parts)” – as if they had been recorded directly onto the lacquer.

What really happened? Based on experience, I would say that both versions make sense and that Jung took the opportunity to try out a new “toy.” By chance and fortunately for 3M, some of the direct-to-disc recordings turned out to be technically flawed. They could have been repeated, which is normal for this type of recording – these are high-risk sessions. However, something about the sound of the new digital system was so good that the digital recording, rather than the analog one was ultimately chosen for release.

The album was a success – it was the first commercial digital recording in history to win a Grammy Award. The album *Appalachian Spring... * was nominated for three Grammy Awards, winning in the Best Chamber Music Performance category. This success opened the doors to large recording studios for 3M digital tape recorders, albeit in their final version (16 bits, 50 kHz, with editing, etc.).

Thanks to this collaboration, in 2004 Sound 80 was recognized by the Guinness World Records as “The World’s First Digital Recording Studio.” This is obviously untrue, as Nippon Columbia studios in Japan were the first, but the rumor spread around the world.

▒ Sound

WHILE THE ALBUM COMPARING digital and analog recording techniques, which we mentioned above, is a single instrument in a small studio, Appalachian Spring is a powerful orchestral work, performed in a large space. One might therefore expect different effects. And yet – I heard pretty much the same as before.

That is: fullness, density, and excellent sound focus. The latter seemed particularly interesting to me, because it allowed me to follow not only entire sections of instruments, but also individual sounds. This is something that is often written about in the context of contemporary recordings. Here, however, it is something different from what you probably have in mind. The sound of this album is dark, saturated, and almost warm. It does not cross that line; the attack is precise, without rounding, and the midrange is not overemphasized. But still, one gets the impression of emphasis in the middle of the band.

‖ On the reissue by Pro Arte, the word “digital” was written in a distinctive font, similar to the one used in the Compact Disc logo; in the 1990s, it was used by the Polish band Ziyo and Natalia Kukulska to write the titles of their albums (Tetris, 1994 and Puls, 1996).

This immediately reminded me of listening to Denon recordings made on DN-23R and DN-23RA reel-to-reel digital tape recorders; more → HERE. Similar technology, albeit with completely different technical solutions, produced a similar effect. The effect evoked the stereotypical “analog sound”. But analog with the precision that allowed you to hear the long sounds of wind instruments to the very end, without blurring. And on top of that, the bass response – wonderful!

I will just add that the stereo effect was precise, but more in terms of the depth of the stage than its width. As if the focus of the sound shifted our attention to what was further ahead and in front of us. The dynamics were also wonderful, because they were neither exaggerated nor overly timid. It seemed that everything was under control and someone was keeping an eye on it. The presentation wasn’t muddied, but I also didn’t feel the pressure of contemporary productions, which, in a flood of details, forget that information is more important than detail.

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˻ III ˺

FLIM AND THE BB’s Flim And The BB’s

Sound 80 Records S80-DR-102 ⸜ 1978 Long Play

ON THE COVER OF THE Flim And The BB’s, to leave no doubt as to what we are dealing with, it says: “A special ‘Direct-to-Digital’ Recording” and “Sound 80 Digital Recording.” The idea was to emphasize that we were dealing with a “new quality” – a digital one. Tom Jung was responsible for the sound and production.

In the 1970s in Minneapolis, bassist Jimmy “Flim” Johnson joined forces with two other studio musicians, Billy Barber (piano) and Bill Berg (drums), and formed a jazz group they called Flim & The BB’s (Billy Barber, Bill Berg = BB’s). Woodwind player Dick Oatts was also an integral part of the group, but his name was not included in the band’s name. Johnson played on countless outstanding sessions with artists such as Stan Getz, Ray Charles, James Taylor, Dominic Miller, and Chris Botti.

Tom Skipper writes on his blog Vinyl Discovery:

”

Their music is best described as fusion or contemporary jazz, which would normally make me run for the hills. But these guys are different: They are inventive, technically superb, and seem to always inject a touch of whimsy into their playing. As one reviewer put it, "Their playing is the perfect combination of tight and loose." The whimsy shows up in the band’s name, of course, but also in their album titles and artwork; more → HERE.

The use of the phrase “direct-to...” obviously refers to direct-to-disc recording, i.e., recordings made directly onto lacquer, without the use of tape. As we mentioned earlier, celebrated for their fantastic dynamics and natural tone, they required recording entire sides of the album without breaks or overdubs. In the case of the reviewed album, the point was probably that the tape was not edited and that the songs were recorded in one take. However, I would not rule out the possibility of recording different takes – it is, after all, tape...

On the back of the album, next to the track list, personnel, and names of everyone involved in the making of the album, we also find a list of the equipment used, including microphones, a lathe, lacquer, etc. The description also includes the name “3M Digital Audio Mastering System.” As we know, this is a description of a complete system, with a 32-track recording tape recorder and a 4-track mastering tape recorder. However, we also know that in 1978, when this recording was made, this name was used for a prototype stereo tape recorder.

Let us recall that the prototype tape recorder used for the three albums mentioned above, shortly after their recording was dismantled, and the tapes cannot be read today. Flim Johnson explained this in the “notes” accompanying the album Tricycle:

”

In 1978, we recorded a direct-to-digital album using one of the prototype digital devices. The device worked quite well, but it was soon dismantled, rendering our master tape useless. No device was able to decode this particular code. The album (Flim & The BB’s – ed.) thus automatically became a collector’s item.

▒ Sound

TO CALIBRATE MY RECEPTION of this sound, I listened to several Denon CDs recorded a year earlier in New York, also on third-generation digital tape recorders. On this basis, it is quite easy to say that the sound of these systems is significantly different. Perhaps not the systems themselves, but the way they were used and the music recorded.

The Flim And The BB’s album has much more lower midrange and upper bass. The lower parts are also clearer with it. Denon’s recordings are somewhat vintage, as they are based on a “tube” midrange. Although there was no mention of any tubes in the circuit. The Sound 80 Records album is therefore very “American.” The bass extends quite low and has a lot of energy. But the kick drum has even more energy. The cymbals are also clear and differentiated between tracks. Sometimes weaker, but generally clear and powerful. The snare drum, on the other hand, is downright muted.

But it’s the electronic instruments, i.e., the Fender Rhodes piano, Oberheim, Arm Omni, and other synthesizers, that sound the best. It’s b>powerful, dynamic playing with a clear foreground, i.e., the saxophone, but when necessary, for example in piano solos, with more breath. But, it’s a different sound than that of Denon’s recordings. More distinct, more “here and now,” with a strong lower range and something that is referred to as “punch,” or bass energy. Less refined in terms of tone, but also more energetic. And still excellent.

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˻ IV ˺

RY COODER Bop Till You Drop

Warner Bros. Records BSK 3358 ⸜ 1979 Long Play

WHEN YOU ENTER the artist’s name and album title into a search engine, in 99% of cases, you will see a text that includes the following quote, repeated, copied, and pasted without restraint: “The album was the first digitally recorded major-label album in popular music.” This is true. Although it was neither the first ever nor the first multi-track album, it was the first popular music album recorded on a multi-track digital tape recorder.

Multi-instrumentalist Ryland Peter Cooder, best known for his slide guitar playing, is an American musician, songwriter, film music composer, music producer, and writer. His work is highly eclectic, encompassing blues, gospel, calypso, and country, as well as ragtime, rock, and pop. The album Bop Till You Drop, released by Warner Bros. Records, consisted almost exclusively of covers of earlier rhythm and blues and rock and roll classics, including Elvis Presley’s Little Sister.

A major label – this is the first of two main differences compared to previously discussed albums. The second concerns the 3M tape recorder itself. For the first time, the company’s complete mastering system was used, consisting of a 32-track recorder and a 4-track master tape recorder. Crispin Cioe, reviewing this album in the American magazine „High Fidelity” (yes!), said that it was “not only the first rock or pop album to use a digital recording process, but also the most polished and satisfying LP in Ry Cooder’s distinguished, though unassuming, career.”

The album, co-produced by Cooder and produced by Lee Herschberg, was recorded at Warner Brothers Studios in North Hollywood, California. The musician, quoted by the aforementioned journalist, was very pleased with the sound of the album:

”

For the first time, we hear exactly what we played. Instead of noise, we hear every little sound perfectly... In the case of guitars, you can hear their texture. We also got the real sound of fingers on the strings, the sensation of brushing them (ibid.).

⸜ CRISPIN CIOE, Ry Cooder’s Digital Rock, „High Fidelity”, October 1979, p. 139.

The LP lacquer was cut at Warner Bros. studio on a Neumann VMS-70 lathe with an SX-74 cutter head. Since the album was released in several countries simultaneously, we don’t known whether the matrices were made from the same lacquers or whether a different one was prepared each time. It is also unknown whether they were made in the USA or by local publishers. It is also unknown whether the final master tape was from a 3M tape recorder or a Sony PCM-1600 system.

▒ Sound

THE SOUND OF THIS ALBUM broadly foreshadows what we will later hear on Donald Fagen’s album The Nighfly. But not entirely so.

It is reminiscent primarily of its sound saturation and the close perspective of the instruments. It really sounds as if the studio has been moved into our room. This is aided by the not-too-strong reverberations. It is only more pronounced on the vocals. Ry Cooder is shown in perspective, but has quite a lot of volume. The strong and rhythmic bass also helps to build the sound. It doesn’t go very low, but it feels like this is the sound engineer’s choice rather than a limitation of the system.

The coolest thing about this performance is its coherence. The focus of the instruments is excellent and free of artifacts in the form of “cutting” them out of the background. I would even say that they create a kind of indivisible whole with it. And when, as in ˻ 2 ˺ Go Home, Girl, there is a distinct acoustic guitar, here in the right channel, it has a sweet but clear character. Something hard to find in analog recordings from the 1970s.

The bass is also great. Strong and clear, without any annoying contours. This is part of the dynamics, which on this album is somewhat subdued when compared to jazz recordings, but wonderfully developed when compared to other rock recordings. At the same time, it is very compact, never sloppy. It is as if it were about showing the digital sound in the best possible light – clean, dynamic, but also natural.

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˻ V ˺

CHRISTOPHER CROSS Christopher Cross

Warner Bros. Records BSK 3383 ⸜ 1979 Long Play

CHRISTOPHER CROSS, born Christopher Charles Geppert in San Antonio, Texas, USA, is an American singer and composer. He has released fifteen solo albums and three live albums, and has also written the soundtracks for five films. In 1981, he won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for the song Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do) for the film Arthur. In the same year, he won five Grammy Awards in the categories: Recording of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist, and Best Arranger.

As we read in Mix magazine, his debut album, which made Grammy history, might not had been even made if Cross hadn’t discovered in time that Michael Omartian, who would ultimately produce the album, also produced Steely Dan’s albums. We read:

”

At the meeting, when Omartian told Cross that he would be producing him, Cross was less than enthusiastic. Omartian was fairly new at Warner Bros., and he guesses in retrospect that Cross had envisioned someone like Ted Templeman or Lenny Waronker taking the reins. When Cross left his office, Omartian told his assistant he just didn’t know what to make of Cross’s reaction, and she told him to blow him off.

“About a half hour later, I hear a knock on my door,” Omartian recalls. “It’s Chris. He says, ‘Oh, man, you’re going to have to produce my record.’ I said, ‘What happened?’ He said, ‘I found out you played on all the Steely Dan stuff, and that’s all I needed to know.’”

⸜ ROBYN FLAN, Classic Tracks: Christopher Cross’s “Ride Like the Wind”, „Mix”, 23.05.2025, → www.MIXONLINE.com, accessed: 5.01.2026.

The musician made his debut on December 27, 1979, with the album in question. Like Cooder’s album, Cross’s debut was released by Warner Bros. Records (BSK 3383) and was created on a complete 3M system. The recordings were made in three studios: Amigo Studios in Burbank (which, after some time, began to be called Warner Bros. Studios), The Aspen Studios (Aspen, CO), and Studio South (Austin, TX). The demo of the song Ride Like the Wind was recorded on two 24-track Ampex analog tape recorders.

The mastering was done by Bobby Hata, but it is not known in what form – whether on a 3M tape recorder or on a Sony system. An interesting fact – the solo parts by Tomas Ramirez and Eric Johnson were recorded at Pecan Street Studios, Austin, and it was probably an analog recording that was later transferred to digital tape.

▒ Sound

THE WAY THIS ALBUM SOUNDS does not fully prepare us for how the 3M Digital Audio Mastering System can be used to record rock music. We will see how it sounds on the albums by Ry Cooder and Donald Fagen. It’s a good sound, to be clear. Because it is organized, clear, and well-defined. It also offers, as is characteristic of this digital system, an excellent focus on sounds, without unnaturally isolating them.

However, it is also a little too bright and not saturated enough at the bottom of the range. Brightness does not mean ‘overdoing’ the treble, but rather boosting the 2-5 kHz range, which opens up the sound. The lower bass is precise, but lacks energy. The dynamics are also subdued. Cross’s vocals are a little withdrawn, which makes them seem to lack a lot of energy. The treble is clearly cut off, so there are no sibilants. And even the trumpet, with a very nice solo in ˻ 2 ˺ I Relly Don’t Know Anymore, does not come through as it should.

The stereophony of the recordings is focused on the listening axis, and although the keyboards and drums broaden it, this broadening is not sufficient to speak of a wide soundstage. Its depth is good, but also limited by the compression applied to the vocals. And yet it is a really nice recording. Compared to most analog productions, it is neat, compact, and well-organized. It’s just that, knowing what this technology is capable of, we are left with a slight feeling of disappointment that it could have been done even better.

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˻ VI ˺

DONALD FAGEN The Nighfly

Warner Bros. Records 92-3696-1 ⸜ 1982 Long Play, CD, SACD

DONALD FAGEN’S ALBUM ENTITLED The Nightfly was recorded on 32-track and 4-track 3M digital tape recorders at Soundworks Digital Audio/Video Recording Studios in New York, Village Recorders in Los Angeles, and Automated Sound in New York. Most sources also mention a digital mix, but this is not true – the mix was done using an analog mixing console. Perhaps the confusion was caused because the CDs featured the SPARS code D|D|D, which could suggest it.

The sound engineer was Roger Nichols (interesting fact – Nichols was a former nuclear engineer who became a producer and sound engineer). The mix was done by Elliot Scheiner, a 23-time Grammy Award winner, and the original mastering, done at Masterdisk in New York, was prepared by industry legend Bob Ludwig. In later years, Scheiner was responsible for remixing albums by Steely Dan, Sting, and The Eagles in 5.1 format.

One of the most interesting technological innovations used at the time was the Wendel II automatic drum machine. This particular 16-bit (50 kHz) version featured digital inputs and outputs that were used to connect to a 3M tape recorder. This made it possible to synchronize the rhythm with ultra-precision and edit individual fragments of the drum track. The device was based on a CompuPro S100 computer running the CPM/86 operating system.

Michael Braunstein, mentioned in the descriptive part of the 3M system, author of the first commercial recording on the company’s 32-track system, expressed his disappointment with the sound of the digital recording he made. Nichols, however, felt differently:

”

We booked the Village Recorder in 1981 to cut tracks for The Nightfly and decided to try the 3M digital machine. We ran a STUDER A-80 24-track analog machine in parallel with the 3M for the test. After the band laid down a take, we performed an A-B-C listening test. The analog and digital machines were played back in sync while the band played along live. We could compare the analog machine, the digital machine, and the live band.

The closest sound to the live band was the 3M digital machine. We re-aligned the Studer and gave it one more chance. The 3M was the clear winner. We rolled the Studer out into the street (just kidding) and did the rest of the recording on the 3M 32-track machine. When it came time to mix, we mixed to the 3M 4-track machine.

⸜ source: → GEARSPACE.com, accessed: 5.01.2026.

The Nightfly was released on October 1, 1982, on vinyl and cassette tape. It was also available on half-inch Beta and VHS cassettes, released by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, and today also on DVD-A and SACD. The first CD release was flawed because it used a digital copy of the 3rd or 4th generation master.

All subsequent releases come from a digital copy of the master made using a Sony PCM-1610 tape recorder (16 bits, 44 kHz). The same source was used to prepare some of the LP releases, including the new Mobile Fidelity 1-step version; the rest were made from analog copies (unfortunately, it is not known which releases these are). There is also an SACD version. This time, we chose the first CD version from Germany and the SACD from Japan for comparison with the original release.

▒ Sound

LONG PLAY • I am familiar with this album from many digital releases, but it was only when I heard it for the first time on vinyl that I understood what it was all about. The vinyl sound is set low, and the bass has a very nice fullness to it. The sound is precise and accurate, yet not tiring. The treble is slightly boosted, lacking the resolution known from the best analog recordings. However, they are not irritating, but simply precise.

The combination of selectivity and resolution that characterizes this album comes out best when we listen to the snare drum. It is a difficult element of percussion to record because it is incredibly fast and explosive, but here it is well articulated and dense at the same time. It never overdoes the attack, nor is it dominant. It has a rock edge and feistiness, while also providing a deep sound.

The same goes for the keyboards and vocals. Fagen is mixed quite far from the foreground, as was the norm for mixing vocalists in the 70s and 80s. Despite this choice, he is clear and selective. The backing vocals come across even better, widening the soundstage and increasing the volume. The same goes for the aforementioned backing vocals. They are soft and blend in with the instruments.

The whole performance seems slightly calmed down in terms of dynamics. Although it may not occur to us immediately, after a while we will notice that the producers – or the mastering engineer – have applied considerable compression, perhaps to make it easier to cut the lacquer onto the disc. The result is not fatiguing, on the contrary, thanks to this solution, the presentation is well-controlled, it does not impose itself on us with its presence, but simply calmly, without any ‘jumps’, draws a deep panorama with very nice, almost warm colors.

COMPACT DISC • The first CD release in 1983 was completely botched (Warner Bros. Records 9 23696-2). As Roger Nichols recalls, shortly after it hit the stores, Stevie Wonder called him to ask what had happened that made it sound so bad. As it turned out, an analog copy of the 3rd or 4th generation digital master was chosen for the production of the CD... It was not until a year later that a corrected version was released in Japan, and in the same year, a new CD version was also released in Europe and the US, which is the version we are listening to.

As it turns out, changing the master to a better one did not help much. The 1984 Compact Disc version is even more subdued than the LP. It sounds downright senile, but not in the style of a spry marines major in his sixties, but rather one, who spends days in his chair with a beer in his hand. The nice tone has been preserved, although there is no longer any sign of the rich bass that I liked so much on the vinyl. The backing vocals also broaden the soundstage here, but not as much as on the LP.

However, what bothered me the most was the emotional detachment of the music. It had nothing to do with what I heard on the LP. The whole thing seemed placed further away from me; it didn’t have such tangible colors and such a saturated sound. It sounded correct, but the snare drum I mentioned was clearly slimmed down. I also didn’t find much low bass. This version had nothing to do with the original.

SUPER AUDIO CD • The 2011 Super Audio CD version is much better in this respect (Warner Music Japan Inc. WPCR-14170). The dynamics and saturation have returned, as has the width of the soundstage. It is still the same degree of emotion as the LP, but the difference is not as great as between vinyl and early CDs.

The most important thing is that the foreground is closer to me again and that the perspective resembles the one I know from the vinyl version. It differs from it in Fagen’s less well-defined vocals and lesser differentiation of the edges of the instruments and their depth. Nevertheless, I think it is the best digital version on the market. What is interesting is that it is still significantly inferior to vinyl. I think that neither in 1984 with CD nor in 2011 with SACD was the transfer of the digital master to the new medium done truly successfully.

˻ VII ˺

THE GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA The Digital Mood

GRP GRD-9502 ⸜ 1983 Compact Disc

In The Digital Mood IT IS AN ALBUM RECORDED by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, which re-recorded famous big band hits such as In the Mood, Chattanooga Choo Choo and Moonlight Serenade. It was recorded and produced by Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen. The digital master from which the LP records were pressed, and the tapes and CDs were made, was prepared by Bob Ludwig.

GRP Records (Grusin-Rosen Productions) is a jazz record label founded by Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen in 1978. Distributed by Verve Records, it is known for its digital recordings. Hence, the CD cover bears the inscription “Digital Master,” and the disc itself, to leave no doubt, “Full Digital Recordings.” Unlike usual, the material was mixed not on a 3M tape recorder, but on a JVC Audio Mastering System.

This is a big change, demonstrating the search for the best possible sound. The JVC 900 mastering system was considered to be much better than the commonly used Sony PCM-1610. Similar to its rival, JVC developed a digital tape recorder (CR-850U) using ¾“ U-matic tape (16/44.1) and a BR6800U tape recorder using ½” VHS tape. It was the top system of its kind at the time, with a small digital mixer, computer editing, etc. JVC used it for digital remasters of albums in the K2 system, released both on HD-CDs and later XRCDs.

The album In The Digital Mood was originally released on LP, cassette tape, and 8-track cartridge. Discogs states that a year later, in 1984, the CD was released, the one we are listening to. However, the album itself bears the year 1983, so it is unclear what really happened. In any case, the cover screams “digital” – it uses ‘digital’ tricks to spell out the name “Digital” in advertisements.

WHEN SOMEONE USES THE WORD “DIGITAL,” they usually mean something bad, especially if they are involved in the world of perfectionist audio. And yet, originally, it was synonymous with better sound. And it meant better without quotation marks. Listening to this album, it is easy to understand why – it is a dark, dynamic sound focused on the midrange.

It has a lot of internal energy and power. This energy is not directed towards the top of the band, but rather towards the transition between the midrange and the bass. The high frequencies are clean, but they don’t have any special resolution or weight – this is something that will be repeated in all recordings made with the 3M recorder. Another characteristic feature is the sort of closing of the vocals on the listening axis. It is clear that the producers took advantage of the excellent separation between tracks and recorded the vocalists in separate sessions, without the orchestra present.

An orchestra of this type is a challenge for a system. And for sound engineers. Here, they managed to master it perfectly. It is a very distinguished sound, a nice sound, a sound with the flair of the upper classes. There is not much reverberation in it, which is also characteristic of this system, giving it an intimate and close sound, but also a little too little expansive. But not because of the dynamics – it’s excellent. The same goes for the powerful bass – perhaps not very saturated at the very bottom, but dense enough higher up so that you don’t lack anything.

▒ Summary

RECORDINGS MADE using the 3M digital mastering system share several common features. First and foremost, there is perfect order. Something normal in contemporary, but good, PCM recordings made using DAW stations, and which was an exception at the time. The much-cherished analog recordings had a lot of instability and inaccurate attack of distorted decay sounds. In this respect, all the discussed recordings are perfect.

The absolute surprise is the internal warmth and density of this sound. Those who described it as “bright” were referring to specific implementations in which the aim was to emphasize the treble and open up the sound, often to the point of exaggeration. That is not the case here. Although not as “tube-like” as in Denon or Soundstream recordings, it is rich and dense and has fantastic bass. Because it is low, dense, and controlled. So it is not a sterile sound. Nor is it bright. It is more “analog” than many truly analog recordings from the 70s and 80s.

‖ One of the most famous albums recorded on a 3M tape recorder was 1982 ABBA’s The Visitors

All of the albums I listened to also shared their own stereophony. The space is generated deep into the scene, really far away, and less to the sides. This is, of course, also the choice of the producers, but with technology “behind them,” as I see it. It is as if the focus of sound offered by 3M tape recorders allowed for a longer perspective. A very similar effect can be achieved by toeing the speakers sharply in. This is aided by the outstanding dynamics. Only one of the reviewed albums stands out in this respect; the rest repeat this feature.

The 3M Digital Audio Mastering System proved to be a very, very good method of digital sound recording, which opened up the rock music market to the world. In the following years, there will be more recordings of this type, including those made using Mitsubishi’s Pro-Digi and Sony’s DASH recorders, and only ADAT tape recorders, which are cheap, compact, easy to repair, and replaceable, will chang