From Analog Tape

Bass

Dieter Ilg

24,9930,99
(1 customer review)
(1 press review)
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Original Recording Format: Analog Tape
Quality and Channels Help

Bass is a two microphone recording featuring Dieter Ilg on Double Bass. For this new edition of the album at Native DSD, the Original Analog Master Tape was transferred to Stereo DSD 256 using the Playback Designs Pinot Analog to DSD 256 Converter.

The album was recorded at Schloss Elmau in April 2008 with two microphones – a Neumann SM 69 FET (X-Y) for the Double Bass and a AKG 422 (Blumlein) for Ambience. It was originally released on Vinyl LP and is now available as a Stereo DSD Download at NativeDSD.

Producer Dirk Sommer tells us “A solo double bass album is no small challenge – in more than one respect. First off, of course, is the musician, who has to rely on his own skills and inspiration all by himself. Dieter Ilg can draw on a huge repertoire of technical virtuosity, and the fact that he is his only dialogue partner on stage does not scare him: “The essential part of life consists of self-talk.” If these are run with so much wit and circle around such interesting topics, it would simply be unforgivable to withhold them from the public. The disc is also a challenge for the producers. Because this is about great music and not about great deals with a mass-produced, all-purpose product.

The technical challenges were lots of fun. Since there are naturally few sounds in a solo bass that could mask any band or amplifier noise in the mid-high range, technical purism was the top priority: The signals of two stereo microphones were transferred to a quarter inch tape, a so-called session tape, through a mixer with the sound control switched off. The pieces were then cut out of their environment and glued together in the correct order. The copying of the songs from the session tapes would have only worsened the distance between them. And we have also renounced dynamics processing or filtering out hard-to-reproduce frequencies. Although the record would have sounded reasonably passable on mediocre systems as well, it considerably diminished the enjoyment of a high-quality reproduction chain. Therefore, the music was played without any mastering from the tape directly into the cutting system. After a direct cut, this is the shortest path from the instrument to the cutting stylus: cut directly from the session tapes.

Our search for purism didn’t stop there however – after several conversations with Dieter Ilg we ultimately settled for nine cuts separated by only one single edit. After that I made the direct-to-DSD256 transfer of the Analog Master Tape. It’s almost impossible to get any closer to the musical spectacle: You get to hear exactly what the artist was playing into the microphone!” 

Dieter Ilg – Double Bass

 

Tracklist

Please note that the below previews are loaded as 44.1 kHz / 16 bit.
1.
Guter Mond Du Gehst So Stille
05:03
2.
Hanami
03:32
3.
Cousin Mary
04:05
4.
Arirang
02:04
5.
Animal Farm
04:09
6.
E-Blues
03:39
7.
Ilgoretto
05:10
8.
Savanah Samurai
05:01
9.
Es, Es, Es Und Es
04:21

Total time: 00:37:04

Additional information

Label

SKU

sds0013

Qualities

, ,

Channels

Artists

Composers

, ,

Genres

,

Analog Mixing Desk

Acousta P100

Analog Tape Recorders

2 Studer A-810 Tape Recorders

Analog to Digital Converter

Pinot, Playback Designs at DSD 256

Mastering Engineer

Dirk Sommer – Direct Analog to DSD 256 Stereo Transfer of the Analog Master Tape

Microphones

Neumann SM 69 FET (X-Y) for the Double Bass, AKG 422 (Blumlein) for Ambience

Monitoring

Beyer Dynamic Headphones, Marantz LD 50 Speakers driven by a Bryston 2B Power Amp

Notes

This music was released as a LP (vinyl) but never on a SACD, now it is available as a DSD Download at NativeDSD

Instruments

Original Recording Format

Producer

Birgit Hammer-Sommer and Dirk Sommer

Recording Engineers

Dirk Sommer & Birgit Hammer-Sommer

Recording Location

Schloss Elmau in April 2008

Recording Type & Bit Rate

Analog

Release DateOctober 5, 2018

Press reviews

Amazon.Com 5 out of 5

What an artist!

Often, the bass is seen as ‘just’ a rhythm instrument. Oh how wrong that view is, as aptly proven by a master of his art here.

1 review for Bass

    I heard Dieter Ilg on Otello Live on Qobuz and it is absolutely fantastic. Then I listened to Nightfall, also fantastic. I figured I would go through the list on Native DSD and purchase all of the Dieter Ilg albums they have, one at a time. I started with the first recording available there, Bass. Bad Idea.

    Does it sound good? I suppose, why not; it should considering, but…..the lack of taste in the selection of pieces????? Awful. Complete lack of imagination. Reminds me of Bromberg when he gets lost. Wasn’t there a producer that said, “Nope, sorry, no. Please Don’t do that,!!!” Apparently not.

    I was planning of buying Otello Live today, as well, but I am in pain considering $24 just left my pocket and is blowing on the ground. I am not saying stay away from Ilg, but do yourself a favor and stay away from Ilg “Bass”. Sorry I am so negative, but I wish someone had warned me.

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