(Psychedelic Rock, Progressive Rock) [MC] [BL] [24/96] Pink Floyd - Halle Munsterland, Munster, West Germany, 24.02.71 - 1971, FLAC (tracks+.cue)

Lineage: Sony C-90CR Chrome Cassette > *Technics RS-B965-M > Focusrite Saffire Pro 14 > Audacity 1.3 > FLAC (24bit/96kHz)

*The Technics RS-B965-M is a modified deck - for details see the Tapeheads.net forum
xACT used to create FFP

**Approach and results**

A raw, high resolution transfer of this recently discovered partial recording. Careful With That Axe, Eugene and Cymbaline are incomplete. There are some interesting improvisations in Embryo and an unusual solo in Green Is The Colour. For the track list I have gone with the usual title of 'The Embryo' but it was announced simply as 'Embryo'.

When Hoka uploaded this recording recently the studio that worked on it for him removed hum and hiss and appears to have also dynamically compressed the music. Taking the opposite approach, the only adjustments I made were in the analogue domain. The recording now has a lovely natural, warm quality to it, which is most evident in the low end, vocals and higher guitar and keyboard notes.

Crucially with the FSP14 transfer you don't hear the distracting metallic noise reduction sound that dominated the first transfer. The NR created a hardness around the vocals, and they now sound more open. Without the compression, the recording is allowed more space and sounds less shrill. There's extra detail such as the hum from the band's amps, and the sound is generally a lot more dynamic. Listen out for the various 's' sounds in the vocals as well - they sound how they should do now.

The Technics / FSP14 transfer naturally has quite a lot more hiss than the previous transfer. There are some quiet passages on the tape - e.g. during Green Is The Colour and Careful - where this is most noticeable. These passages were amongst the most damaged by the NR applied by the studio.

Arrangements are currently being made for some work to be done on this Neonknight version, which will no doubt involve dealing with the hiss sympathetically, so there's more to look forward to from this great recording.

It's impressive how wide the soundstage is in both transfers. Evidently the mics were set quite a distance apart from each other. The new transfer seems to have a more stable stereo image; the NR on the studio copy accentuates the instabilities inherent in the original. I probably also helped things along by spending time achieving the best possible balance between the channels using the independent dials on the Saffire 14. On the new transfer the 'air' retained at the top end also seems to help hold things together, and this is lost on the NR'd version.

I must add that the original raw transfer by the studio seems likely to have been very good and if it were possible I would like to hear it. Such a shame they felt obliged to do the additional work. All the damage was probably done in the 'mastering' and I am currently trying to establish from the studio what tape player they used, etc. Some folks might still prefer the 'in your face' quality of the NR'd version. To my taste, however, this new transfer doesn't really need any other work to maximise it's qualities.

My sincere thanks to Hoka for entrusting me with his cassette and to Pottel for hand delivering it! This tape is truly one of a kind and I feel privileged to have worked on it.

**Background**

Little is known. The cassette was given to Hoka's friend for his birthday in 1978 by a guy who stopped trading in the late 1980s.

An excerpt from some comments posted by Grolsch on Yeeshkul:

"..to the best of my very limited knowledge this recording was done by the then manager of the venue, who simply put up his gear next to the board. looks like he had permission because he arranged to have a porsche police car pic up stuff from düsseldorf airport without they would not have been able to perform. have the article from the local paper somewhere ... also, there is an interview with mr. marek lieberberg of mama concerts talking about this show etc somewhere ... boy - i'm getting old ... the guy has retired a long way back and is no longer listed in the münster city authority's files. confusing story all over.

"then there's another source originally done on cassette. however, it was badly transferred to one channel of a 1/4 open reel an recorded over. unfortunately the guy "lost" most of his collection during a divorce case. his wife just took a lot of stuff away from him and nobody knows ... damn!!! funny sideline is that the taper somehow managed to sneak backstage and talk (after some "lebanese") to mr. wassers. as both of them shared a pre-occupation with GOLF, they "had a few" (there's some great local and dangerous dark beer in münster). in the end, the guy was invited to come and see the pinkies next time around and he went to the rotterdam april concert. which he taped aswell (same loss …)."

Hoka Cassette / Neonknight Tape Transfer (February 2012)