(TomP) Remaster

Soft Machine
----------------
1971-03-15
Het Turfschip
Breda, Netherlands
(T-818).

Source: Dime post by Patabubu - many thanks for the post and encouragement to remaster !!
http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=172097

Thanks also to T-remasterer who did a decent job on this one.

Soundboard >
unknown >
Reel to Reel 7 1/2 ips >
Playback Deck: Akai GX-747 >
Nikko 32 Band EQ >
Akai DR16 Digital Hard Disk Recorder >
HHB CDR-800 Compact Disc Recorder >
CDR > WAV >CD Wave Editor > FLAC
--------------------------------------------------

Changes Made (Nero 7):
Remastered & Retracked to match set list/date kindly supplied by our expert urich21

(Full details below)

Quality: Must be worth an A+
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By popular demand from Dimers, who have recently been critical of the T-series although
this one does not have the disturbing (high or low) frequencies of others. I've retracked
the post by Patabubu (to the details from urich21) and done quite a lot of remastering
(details below).

I had thought I'd finished, but then I found an excellent noise print that not only
allowed good reduction of noise, hum and the annoying clicking on the left channel, but
also IMHO significantly improved the stereo image (the echoplexes are now audible) and
the harsh sound (mentioned in OP comments) in high level parts is much improved.

It is a super performance and probably the best quality of the recent early 1971 posts -
again making one sad that this great music was apparently hated by 3/4 of this band and
the cause of their split just a few months later.

Hope you like it...Enjoy!!

Disk 1 (30:51)
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d1tr01 Facelift (9:00)
d1tr02 Virtually (8:59)
d1tr03 Slightly All The Time (9:21)
d1tr04 Fletcher's Blemish (3:30)

Disk 2 (63:04)
------------------
d2tr01 Neo Caliban Grides (9:24)
d2tr02 Out Bloody Rageous (12:06)
d2tr03 Vocal improvisation (4:08)
d2tr04 Eamonn Andrews (1:22)
d2tr05 All White (3:41)
d2tr06 Kings And Queens (4:39)
d2tr07 Teeth (10:35)
d2tr08 Pigling Bland (4:45)
d2tr09 Applause (2:16)
d2tr10 Robert Wyatt excuse for no encore (1:24)
d2tr11 (Encore?) Slightly (9/4) > Noisette (8:34) *

* Moved from before applause / excuse sections as urich21 says this was usually done as
an encore

Original Notes >>>>

Here comes a rare enough Soft Machine concert from the famous T taper. In deference to his
preference, I choosed not to retrack the files... unfortunately, most of them are badly
indexed.

I tried to provide a correct setlist (not too hard as it is the usual march 1971 set) and
timings. The performance is exactly what you can expect from this era : perfect (and not
redundant from the others recordings of this month). A pity that this line-up didn't last
a little bit longer...

I hope it will be a very good complement to Tom Phillip's series of remaster...
This one is a soundboard
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Change details >>>

Cross-mixed channels (96:4 ratio)
- Improved instrument clarity and dynamics, especially drums
- Improved stereo image
- A little more incidental noise reduction

Phase correction, 0.15msec disk1, 0.10msec disk2
- Moved instruments from extreme L / R towards the the middle stereo 'hole'
- Separated intruments more in the mix
- Instruments clearer
- A little incidental noise reduction

Noise print NR, at low setting so music quality is not affected
- Noise improved significantly
- Annoying clicking and hum much improved
- Stereo soundfield improved, can now hear echoplexes in the background

Sorted the balance offset from near the end of d2tr03 to after the beginning of d2tr05
Centred stereo image by 3-6% reduction of right channel
Fixed volume variations of around 1-2dB within tracks
Fixed glitches at 0.03 d2tr03, 0.04 d2tr08
Sorted volume variation at beginning of d2tr01
Increased volume of all disk2 tracks by +2dB
Improved the tape fluctuation at the end of d2tr10
Mid +1dB EQ to better balance higher levels at frequency extremes