Kishori Amonkar: Mharo Pranam - Meera Bhajans [STCS 850699] a cassette released in India in 1984

Here is a nice collection of Bhajans (devotional songs) sung by the great Kishori Amonkar. These sorts of collections (this one released almost 35 years ago and featuring Meera Bhajans) can sometimes have less than tasteful musical arrangements, but this one is serious and devotional without being over the top or overly prettified.

Upon listening to the beginning of the second side of the tape, I was very surprised to hear what sounded like Kishori ji underwater, whether singing or drowning I wasn't entirely sure. I picked up a small screwdriver I have in place for such circumstances and hoped I could adjust the azimuth to make the cassette sound as it should. It was close, but after I tightened the screw for the second (playback) head so that it was as far to the left as it could be, suddenly the sounds above 4000Hz sprang to life, and i was no longer worried about the safety of Kishori ji.

Anytime I hear someone complain about how bad a particular cassette sounds, I have to wonder if they have learned about azimuth adjustment and practiced it. I know that as for myself I have sold or thrown out several cassette decks in my long life which may have only had to have their azimuth adjusted. I will spare you a long post detailing every cassette deck I have ever owned.

Eventually I am going to do a YouTube video about azimuth adjustment (since YT reaches a much larger audience that this small blog). It might seem like I am always mentioning this, but in terms of cassette transfers the correct tape-head alignment (azimuth) is a much more important factor than the quality of the deck or the audio tape used.

Please note: unavoidable travel and work issues will keep me from posting to any of my blogs for at least a week. Please do not worry about me! I will just be away from home and will come back very much motivated to transfer a stack of vinyl for your listening pleasure. In the meantime, please take the opportunity to deeply listen to my uploads as well as those of my blogging comrades listed at the right. Some of them upload their delightful posts so quickly that I personally don't have the time to appreciate the music they are sharing with me. That is a shame and I will do my best to keep up with my listening. In real life if I purchase a stack of records but don't get around to enjoying them, there is a visual reminder. However, it should be obvious that with digital files there is no stack of cardboard or plastic to remind you to get back to serious listening.

Equipment used in this transfer:
Cassette Deck: Teac W890R (azimuth was carefully adjusted for each side)
Preamp: Parasound PHP 850
Recorder: Sony PCM-M10 at 24/96 resolution

Software: Audacity and xAct

24bit, 96kHz FLAC file (925 MB)

16bit, 44.1kHz FLAC file (265 MB)

320kbps mp3 file (101 MB)

N Ramani: Haunting Melodies [Keerthana C-599] a cassette released in India in 1998

As a companion to the last post, we have an N Ramani cassette from Chennai from the late 1990s. Certainly there is quite the contrast in terms of budget for graphic design. One advantage the cassette has is the possibility for greater amounts of music per side, and this tape totals about 60 minutes.

Equipment used in this transfer:
Cassette Deck: Teac W890R (azimuth was carefully adjusted for each side)
Preamp: Parasound PHP 850
Recorder: Sony PCM-M10 at 24/96 resolution

Software: Audacity and xAct

24bit, 96kHz FLAC file (1.2 GB)

16bit, 44.1kHz FLAC file (328 MB)

320kbps mp3 file (136 MB)

N Ramani: La Flute de N Ramani [ESP 165516] an LP released in France in 1978

This was the 7th in a line of very distinguished LPs of Indian music released by Disques Esperance with the assistance of the French Association of Friends of the Orient. 

The AT-440MLb cartridge was having some difficulty with this slightly warped record. I recorded the entire LP only to listen on headphones and hear a high shrieking sound in the right channel intermittently throughout the first few minutes of each side. So I re-recorded it with the M97xE and there was no shrieking (thankfully).

It's a little amusing to see the differences between the names of the tracks on the label and the back cover -- I think maybe someone's handwriting was difficult to decipher.

N Ramani: flute

Paighat R Raghu: mridangam

Joanne: tanpura

Equipment used in transfer: 

Preparation: Ultrasonic cleaning for 20 minutes in pure clean water

Turntable:  Audio-technica AT-LP-1240

Cartridge: Shure m97xE
Pre-amplification: Vintage refurbished Pioneer SX-780.

Recorder: Sony PCM-M10 at 24bit/96kHz resolution
Software: Audacity, ClickRepair, and xAct. 

24bit, 96kHz FLAC file (763 MB)

16bit, 44.1kHz FLAC file (184 MB)

320kbps mp3 file (96 MB)

Pramod Kumar: Le Sitar Indien [Arion ARN 34207] an LP released in France in 1973

This pleasant album has been reprinted in many different versions, with different titles and cover art. This particular LP has been manufactured in Italy, according to the labels. It is well recorded (as so many French albums are) and definitely deserves to be preserved and enjoyed.

There is not a tremendous amount of information on the internet about Pramod Kumar (1938-83) but he appears to have been an early disciple of Ravi Shankar and to have died at the young age of 45.

Unfortunately, the name of the tabla player is not mentioned -- a typical situation which persisted into the early 1980s.

side one: 

Raga Purya Kalyan

side two: 

Raga Shudh Sarang

Thumri based in Raga Sindhi Bhairavi

Dhun

Equipment used in transfer: 

Preparation: Ultrasonic cleaning for 20 minutes in pure clean water

Turntable:  Audio-technica AT-LP-1240

Cartridge: Audio-technica AT440MLb
Pre-amplification: Vintage refurbished Pioneer SX-780.

Recorder: Sony PCM-M10 at 24bit/96kHz resolution
Software: Audacity, ClickRepair, and xAct. 

24bit, 96kHz FLAC file (852 MB)

16bit, 44.1kHz FLAC file (231 MB)

320 kbps mp3 file (109 MB)

Nazakat and Salamat Ali Khan: Classical Music from Pakistan [CLP 1308] an LP released in England in 1959

We have here a very early LP by the vocal team of Nazakat and Salamat Ali Khan. 

For two other excellent LPs by them, I refer you to Tawfiq's superb blog posts here and here.

For a different transfer of this same album please see bolingo's wonderful blog here and for yet another LP released on the Hannibal Records label in the US, please see here. I've always wondered about that one on Hannibal -- as far as I can tell that was the only Indian Classical LP on the label. 

I have purchased a fantastic mono cartridge, the AT-mono3/LP. I've always been a little skeptical when I have read glowing reports of people listening to mono records with a "true" mono cartridge, as opposed to simply switching the pre-amplifier to mono. It is absolutely true that a monophonic cartridge designed to respond only to horizontal motion and not vertical motion will produce a sound that is cleaner and features less surface noise. The AT-mono3/LP is by far the best audio equipment I have purchased since buying an inexpensive Chinese-made ultrasonic cleaner on eBay.

Nazakat Ali Kahn: vocal
Salamat Ali Khan: vocal
Zahoori Khan: sarangi
Allah Dutta: tabla

Equipment used in transfer: 

Preparation: Ultrasonic cleaning for 20 minutes in pure clean water

Turntable:  Audio-technica AT-LP-1240

Cartridge: Audio-technica AT-mono 3/LP
Pre-amplification: Vintage refurbished Pioneer SX-780.

Recorder: Sony PCM-M10 at 24bit/96kHz resolution

Software: Audacity, ClickRepair, and xAct. 

24bit, 96kHz mono FLAC file (453 MB)

16bit, 44.1kHz mono FLAC file (117 MB)

320 kbps dual mono mp3 file (100 MB)

note: some apps which play FLAC files (such as "Golden Ear") will not play mono FLAC files. I would suggest if you are unable to play the FLAC file, then please convert to a .WAV or .AIFF file and all should be well and good. The resulting WAV or AIFF file will be approximately 4 times the size of the FLAC, however (about 40% data compression combined with doubling the number of channels).