The CD masters I created in 1990 for the 13 original Bob Marley & The Wailers albums were also from the original analog mix masters.
At first, Island sent me a few cartons of digital copies (in 1630 format on 3/4" U-matic video cassettes - the format commonly used for CD masters back then). I called them and said the CD masters we were creating would be what folks listened to for years to come and I asked them what they were saving the original masters for. Their response: The next day, FedEx delivered cartons of original analog tapes. ;-}
For those masters, I did not use a "proprietary" console. In fact, I used no console at all. (Never heard one that didn't exact a sonic price.) I wired directly from the output of the analog machine to the EQ I was going to use and directly from the EQ output to the input of the Apogee retrofit filter-equipped Sony 1630 A-D converters. There was nothing else in the signal path. No patch bay, no switching, no other processing and most certainly, no dynamic compression. Monitoring at the time, was a pair of Dahlquist DQ-20s in a room full of MIT cables.
What a thrill it was to work on those masters! One of my all-time favorite projects.
When it came time to do "Legend", I called Island again. This time to ask if they really wanted to use the edited versions of the songs that were used for the original vinyl release of the album or if we might use the full, unedited album versions. They gave me the go-ahead to use the full versions, so we ended up with a "Legend" CD with an additional 11 minutes of music. Or, more correctly, a "Legend" that did not have those 11 minutes removed.
And what a marathon too. Thirteen albums delivered inside of the six-week deadline. Silly me, I was living on Coca-Cola and Marlboros. Well, "living" might be pushing it. I ended up with duodenitis, which happily resolved once I resumed a healthier diet. In those moments of "stomach" pain, I recalled that Bob Marley died of stomach cancer. I wondered if what I was feeling was a sign from Bob. I really hope he liked what I did. ;-}
Best regards,
Barry
http://www.soundkeeperrecordings.comhttp://www.barrydiamentaudio.com