Downloads
Format: DSF (Pure DSD, 128fs, 5.6 MHz/1-bit) only, while the site is under construction.
Note: PCM conversions will not be made available for titles currently in print - this project's purpose is to preserve the contents of these analogue tapes as faithfully as possible, and is aimed solely at discerning listeners with specialised hardware capable of playing back these files natively.
Technical info (for all transfers):
Source: 4-track 7.5 ips open-reel tape
Tape deck: TEAC A-3440 (serviced and reconditioned)
Interconnect: Worlds Best Cables - Mogami 2549/Amphenol ACPR Gold
A/D converter: KORG DS-DAC-10R (uses the BB PCM4202; TRUE 1-bit DSD output)
Select 3.75 ips titles may be made available in the future - due to the sonic compromise inherent in the lower speed, these will be cherry-picked and few and far between; in the vast majority of cases, the other releases (LP, CD, Hi-res digital) are superior in audio fidelity, making the time and effort put into the transfers pointless.
Speed, channel balance, channel order and phase have been corrected when necessary:
- Speed and channel balance in the analogue domain prior to digitisation.
- Channel order and phase in the digital domain without re-encoding, via invertible direct bit manipulation on the DSD data using dsfutil.
Every effort has been made to apply optimal tension to more degraded tapes to ensure the most stable playback possible; however, due to the nature of magnetic tape, some imperfections are inevitable.
In commercial digital releases, blemishes like these are usually edited out and noise reduction is used - all in the PCM domain, either from a native PCM digitisation or converted from a DSD master.
For the 4-track Preservation Project, no such alterations are made: all transfers are done flat, with no post-processing, and remain entirely within the DSD domain from start to finish. This decision was made in the interest of absolute signal purity and to preserve the true character of the original analogue tape, which I believe to be an acceptable trade-off.
If a higher-grade source tape becomes available, the title will be retransferred and the release updated accordingly.
New releases:
23 May 2025:
15 May 2025:
- Booker Little (Self-titled, 1960)
- George Shearing with Quintet and Woodwind Choir - Deep Velvet (1964)
- Oscar Peterson - Soul Español (1967)
- Presenting Thad Jones • Mel Lewis & "The Jazz Orchestra" (1966)
- Shirley Bassey - The Fabulous Shirley Bassey (1959)
Upcoming releases:
- A Journey into Stereo Sound (1958) *2-B
- Al Caiola - Spanish Guitars (1961)
- Arturo Ciolito & His Combo (Giolito y su Combo) - Lomas Que Hay (1973)
- Barbara McNair - The Livin' End (1964)
- Barbra Streisand - Color Me Barbra (1966)
- Benny Goodman in Moscow (1962)
- Bette Midler - The Divine Miss M (1972)
- Bob Leaper - Big Band, Beatle Songs *1-S
- Broadway! (Ampex Sampler Series, 1966) *3
- Buddy Cole - The Most Recorded Songs of All Time (1960)
- Burt Bacharach - Reach Out (1967) *1-B
- Burt Bacharach (Self-titled, 1971)
- Cal Tjader Plays the Contemporary Music of Mexico and Brazil *1
- Carly Simon - No Secrets (1972)
- Carole King - Tapestry (1971)
- Carpenters (Self-titled, 1971)
- Cass Elliot (The Mamas & The Papas) - Mama's Big Ones (1970)
- Charlie Byrd - More Brazilian Byrd (1967) *3
- Compilation - Jack Teagarden/Coleman Hawkins - Accent on Trombone/Tenor Sax (1955/1956)
- Count Basie - Basie's Beat (1967)
- Count Basie - Dance Along with Basie (1960) *1-B
- Count Basie - Hollywood...Basie's Way (1967)
- Count Basie - More Hits of the '50s and '60s (1963) *2-B
- Cy Coleman Jazz Trio - Cool Coleman (1958)
- Cyril Stapleton, His Orchestra and Singers in Panoramic Stereo (1968)
- Dionne Warwick - Very Dionne (1970) *2
- Eddie Harris - Jazz for "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961)
- Edmundo Ros - Dancing with Ros (1961)
- Edmundo Ros - Latin Hits I Missed (1967) *2-B
- Edmundo Ros - Latin Melodies Old and New (1965)
- Edmundo Ros - Perfect for Dancing (1958)
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Song Book (1961) *2-B
- Erroll Garner - Up in Erroll's Room (1968)
- Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim (1967) *3
- Frank Sinatra Conducts Music from Pictures and Plays (1962) *3
- Frank Sinatra - I Remember Tommy... (1961) *3
- Frank Sinatra - The Main Event (Live, 1974) *3
- Harry Belafonte - Belafonte at Carnegie Hall (1959) *1-B
- Henry Mancini - Music from Mr. Lucky (1960)
- Henry Mancini - The Pink Panther (1963) *3
- Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - !!Going Places!! (1965)
- Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - Greatest Hits (1970)
- Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - S.R.O. (1966)
- Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - Sounds Like... (1967)
- Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - The Beat of the Brass (1968)
- Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - The Lonely Bull (1962)
- Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - What Now My Love (1966)
- Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - Whipped Cream & Other Delights (1965) *3
- Herbie Mann - At the Village Gate (1961) *3
- Herbie Mann - Do the Bossa Nova with Herbie Mann (1963)
- Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra - Music for Dreaming (a.k.a. Strings by Starlight, 1959)
- Hollywood Radio City Orchestra and Chorus - The Sound of Music
- Hugo Montenegro & Richard Hayman - Soul of Mexico
- Jacques Loussier Trio - Play Bach Jazz Vol.1 (1960)
- [The Unpredictable] Jimmy Smith - Bashin' (1962)
- [The Incredible] Jimmy Smith - Softly as a Summer Breeze (1965) *3
- Joan Baez in Concert, Part 2 (1963) *3
- John Denver - Poems, Prayers & Promises (1971)
- Kenny Burrell - Guitar Forms (1965)
- Kid Ory Plays W.C. Handy (1959)
- Latin American Rhythms with Francisco Cavez and His Orchestra
- Lawrence Welk - Moon River (1961) *3
- Lionel Long - Waltzing Matilda (1961)
- Louis Armstrong - Hello, Dolly! (1964)
- Miriam Makeba - Pata Pata (1967)
- Nancy Sinatra - Nancy in London (1966)
- Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song (1963)
- Oscar Peterson - The Sound of the Trio (1962) *3
- Oscar Peterson - The Trio: Live from Chicago (1961) *3
- Oscar Peterson - Tristeza on Piano (1970)
- Perrey & Kingsley – The In Sound from Way Out! (1966) *3
- Phase 4 Stereo - Popular Music Sampler
- Phineas Newborn Jr. – A World Of Piano! (1962) *3
- Quincy Jones - In the Heat of the Night (1967)
- [The] Ramsey Lewis Trio - The In Crowd (1965)
- Ramsey Lewis - Wade in the Water (1966)
- Roger Miller - The Return of Roger Miller (1965)
- Roger Miller - Words and Music (1966)
- Ronnie Aldrich - All-Time Piano Hits (1966)
- Ronnie Aldrich - Two Pianos Today! (1967)
- Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Crystal Illusions (1969)
- Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Equinox (1967) *1-S
- Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Fool on the Hill (1968)
- Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Greatest Hits (1970) *1-S
- Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Look Around (1968)
- Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Stillness (1970)
- Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Ye-Me-Lê (1969) *3
- Shelly Manne & His Friends - Modern Jazz Performances of Songs from My Fair Lady (1956)
- Shorty Rogers - Bossa Nova (1962)
- Soundtrack - 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
- Soundtrack - Fiddler on the Roof (Sung in Yiddish, 1966) *2-BS
- Soundtrack - My Fair Lady (1964)
- Soundtrack - The Sound of Music (1965)
- Spike Jones in Stereo: A Spooktacular in Screaming Sound! (1959)
- Stanley Black - Dimensions in Sound (1968)
- Steve & Eydie - Together on Broadway (1967)
- Ted Heath - 21st Anniversary Album (1967) *2-B
- Ted Heath - Chartbusters (1966)
- Ted Heath - Hits I Missed (1958)
- Ted Heath - Pow! (1966)
- Ted Heath - The Big Ones (1969)
- Ted Heath, Edmundo Ros - Heath vs. Ros (1964)
- Teresa Brewer's Greatest Hits (1962)
- The 50 Guitars of Tommy Garrett – El Hombre (1968)
- The Happy World Of Tommy Steele (1969)
- The Jo Jones Trio - Jo Jones Plus Two (1959) *2-B
- The Mastersounds - The King and I: A Jazz Interpretation (1957)
- The Modern Jazz Quartet - European Concert (1960) *3
- The Moody Blues - Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1971)
- The New Stan Getz Quartet ft. Astrud Gilberto - Getz Au Go Go (1964) *2-B
- The Seekers (Self-titled, 1964) *2-B
- The Turtles - Golden Hits (1967)
- The Very Best of Connie Francis (1963)
- Walter Wanderley Trio - Cheganca (1966)
- Wendy Carlos - Switched-On Bach (1968) *2-BS
- Werner Müller - Germany (1965)
- Wes Montgomery - Down Here on the Ground (1968) *2-BS
- Wes Montgomery - Greatest Hits (1970) *2-BS
*1 Indicates a previously released transfer with minor issues
*2 Indicates an unreleased transfer; complete and needs tagging, or has minor issues
*3 Indicates an unreleased transfer with major issues (significant degradation, missing tape portions, etc.)
Key:
- B: Channel imbalance
- C: Channels swapped
- P: Out of phase
- S: Speed incorrect
Under construction... full site coming soon™