Abbey Road's Master of Half Speed Vinyl Miles Showell Tells All
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- Опубліковано 14 тра 2024
- Miles Showell has been cutting vinyl for 40 years. Today, he works in Abbey Road studios where he has been perfecting the art of half-speed cutting, a technique which produces the best sounding vinyl ever made. In this video, we interview Miles in his mastering suite at Abbey Road about his not just half-speed cutting and its history, but also about his career, the equipment he uses both at work and at home, his work on The Beatles' Let It Be album and how he sees the future of vinyl.
Video chapters:
0:00 - Intro
1:10 - Going into Abbey Road
2:12 - Studio tour
3:03 - Miles Showell interview begins. When did you cut your first record?
5:02 - What was the first record you cut.
5:50 - When did you first come across Half Speed Mastering?
8:27 - What percentage of your work is half speed?
9:48 - What qualities you need to be a mastering engineer?
10:43 - What percentage of your work is from digital sources and what is from analogue?
14:04 - How do you know when to stop making adjustments?
15:24 - Which is easiest media to work with?
17:14 - What equipment do you use?
21:33 - How different was it cutting records in the 60s?
24:59 - Is vinyl as good as it can get and are improvements coming?
28:12 - Is the vinyl bubble going to burst?
29:25 - What system do you use at home?
31:13 - What are your favourite albums you haven't worked on.
33:32 - What was it like working with Glyn Johns on Get Back?
35:07 - What is your favourite Beatles album?
36:51 - Thank yous and outro.
Links to music and websites mentioned in this video:
Lou Sern - Swiss Boy: • Lou Sern - Swiss Boy (...
Vertere Acoustics: www.vertereacoustics.com/
Abbey Road Studios: www.abbeyroad.com/
Abbey Road Store: shop.abbeyroad.com/
Stan Ricker Cuttings (Discogs links)
1812 Overture: www.discogs.com/release/22052...
Thelma Houston & Pressure Cooker - I've Got The Music In Me: www.discogs.com/release/12291...
Virgil Fox - The Fox Touch • Volume One: www.discogs.com/release/23562...
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Thank you!
To get the most out of this video you need to play it at 0.5 speed in UA-cam.
You win for sharpest and wittiest comment. Bravo!
Best comment EVER! 🤣
😂😂😂😂😂
By contrast, playing it at 2x does not produce the expected result for She Said She Said.
I like 7:51 a lot!!
Digital is going to be the savior of these old disintegrating analog tapes. Getting good Digital transfers while they can still be run through a tape machine will allow these albums to be reissued on any format for a thousand years.
Yeah I can't see what all the hatred over records from digital sources is all about
However I'm lucky enough a few analogue records and they are magnificent but also very quiet!
Yeah I can't see what all the hatred over records from digital sources is all about
However I'm lucky enough a few analogue records and they are magnificent but also very quiet!
Plenty of vinyl records have been sourced from digital recordings since the 70's, and digital cutting equipment has been used since the days of PCM recordings being on tape. The people who make a big deal about whether an album came from a full analog process or not aren't people who care about audio quality, they care about demonizing the digital boogeyman for no tangible reason, regardless of the benefits of digital.
Yes. YES. A thousand times, *YES!*
@@Echo-Headsucks.
In 2019 I was lucky enough to part of an invited audience at Abbey Road, to hear The Analogues perform Abbey Road in Studio 1. Preceded by a great introduction by Mark Lewisohn and concluded by crossing the corridor to Studio 2 to hear the band play 3 Beatles standards. Definitely a day to remember!
The Analogs are true to their name. They must have a fortune tied up in period equipment. I had no idea they actually did a show at EMI - Abbey Road . Greatest Beatles live covers ever …
They performed the album three times on that particular day. There’s a DVD available of the show from The Analogues website.
This interview was a real eye opener. I learned a lot. I myself had long assumed that half-speed mastering was simply a matter of reducing the cutting speed. Didn't realize all the painstaking work that goes into cutting any album. A very informative and entertaining interview. Thank you, Andrew!
Thanks Tom. Glad you enjoyed it!
One thing he didn't mention was the 'cutting delay' - groove spacing (pitch) has to be adjusted ahead of changes in audio amplitude. Since the 1980s, a digital delay is typically used, meaning the audio that gets cut to the disc has been digitised, even if the source is analogue tape. This basically defeats the object of bothering to use vinyl!
It depends how much it degrades the sound in practice
Andrew, you nailed the BEST interview with Miles Showell, one of my favourite Beatles related people in the world. He knows his powers and uses them in great form when doing Beatles (and solo Beatles) remastering. A top guy. Great, great video 👏👏👏👏👏👏
Thank you, Franco. Glad you enjoyed it!
Most of the of the Abbey Road half-speed mastered vinyl I've bought have had some level of with distortion - the recent Let It Be, Get Back, and Revolver remixes in particular. Not a problem I ever have with original 60s and 70s records.
Was surprised to hear that MIles liked the MFSL versions of Magical Mystery Tour and Abbey Road. Those two albums used Capitol masters/sub masters to create their albums. In the case of Magical Mystery Tour, MFSL got Capitol Records treatment of the masters.
Yes, Andrew, a fantastic interview. Very well directed, finely edited. I liked the fact you did not include yourself there... We are there, with Miles Showell, alone, intimate. So perfect. (I'm biased, that is how I conduct my Conversation films). The question were specific enough, without becoming boring. We come out of this with tears of joy. Bravo. Thank you again.
Thank you, Antonio. Much appreciated!
He is a godsend to Abbey Road Theyve always been on the forefront of recording advancements,and Miles is certainly a great asset to them,no doubt.
This is the only channel on UA-cam where I’m looking forward to every new upload each Sunday. Love them all, but this Sunday you’ve outdone yourself. Thanks very much for a very informative and really nice video. Can’t wait for next Sunday’s upload and it’s Abbey Road connection.
Many thanks! Much appreciated!
If Miles can somehow see/hear this I'd appreciate it.... the work he did on Zhu - Dreamland is nothing short of magic. Absolutely astonishing. I cannot praise it enough. The bass and fidelity are set to 11, a true audiophile EDM record. Thanks, Miles!
Pretty cool and I have shared this with a Canadian Radio personality I know, who has also been to Abbey Road Studios and is big into vinyl.
Are their initials "T.O'R."?
@@moxievision nope, A C, as in Alan Cross. In fact if you go on is website now, yesterday's video is in a recent post
@@BlindGordie Ah, I know Alan's work as well! I will go check that out. I was thinking of Under the Influence's Terry O'Reilly, who is also one of Canada's biggest Beatles fans.
@@moxievision I hadn't considered him as I haven't listened to the podcast. I'm glad you know Alan's work as he has been doing this for a long time.
That "Artist" in that story is Alan Parsons and the album: Vulture Culture,
For some reason, I had the “He’s going to tell… He’s going to tell…” song from Monty Python and the Holy Grail in my head as I started watching this.
Fabulous video. Again!
Wonderfully informative interview of a true gentleman by another true gentleman.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I really enjoyed the video, and couldn't help wondering if that was the DMM lathe we cut our first ever Energise Records single on at Abbey Rd back in 1993. Our mastering engineer was Nick Webb, and he was surprised when .i rattled off a list of Motown albums that had his name in the dead wax. Its an astonishing place to visit. On a second cut, I was allowed to put the I.Q. bands in, by pressing the button on the desk..what a memory.
Miles Showell shows what happens when the human brain optimizes itself to the maximum. He's such an impressive person. And you're not half-bad, Andrew. 😉 Fantastic interview.
Thank you so much 😊
Absolute genius, Andrew. I think you've excelled yourself. If Miles and Doc Ebbetts want to collaborate on a whole new box set of Beatles albums, I'd be 99th in the queue to buy a copy. Assuming I could get there fast enough.
Nice work. A lot going on here. What Miles mentioned about the amplifiers is very true, the extra power greatly improves transients. I also agree that when the limits are pushed and the equipment is "working" you get awesome sound - just bursting with energy. The expertise, skill and setup take years to perfect. I feel honored and privileged to witness this, thanks so much for sharing.
Thank you for watching!
Was hanging onto every minute. Quality interview! No BS, just the straight dope from one of the best vinyl people out there. Seems like a really nice dude.
Thanks Josh!
I love Miles work, the police boxset and beetles anniversary editions are amazing!
Much better than any audio specialist interview I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot. Many thanks Andrew!
Thank you very much!
Wow , excellent, the biggest take from this is the fact a Technics sl 1200g/ae , along with the Audio-technica VM 540 ML are his go to listening tools in his cutting room, that speak absolutely volumes, that a 4k record deck and a £150 moving magnet cartridge are the choice of one of the very best engineers in England uses on a daily basis when listening to his finished records, what a massive recommendation for two superbly engineered pieces of kit , thank you so much for this video both you and miles showell brought so much info to the table i would otherwise not have known. 😊.
But like mini monitors not the highest of fi to hear it sound against the master tape
Excellent interview Andrew. I was lucky enough to be able to go inside Abbey Road studios last summer, and it's difficult to play cool while you're there. Not just because of the Beatles, but also because all the cool equipment they have.
Another great video, Andrew. Suggestion: I would like to see a deep dive video on Pete Best's curious "Best of the Beatles" LP.
Your editing and production skills are truly next level and deserving of a platform like Nebula or even Netflix rather than “simple” ol’ UA-cam. Many kudos!
Wow, thank you!
Excellent!! This was fascinating. Thank you so much Andrew for sharing with us.
Excellent interview. Something to never forget.
I'm not a fan of his work myself. I have a few HSM albums done by Miles, but compared to originals they sound disappointing to me.
Kudos to Miles and Andrew for this fantastic video. Thanks!
Informative and interesting topic! Good job Handsome.!
45rpm cuts are the way to go. Both Kevin Gray and Bernie Grundman have talked about the inherent limitations of half speed, especially in the low frequency area.
The problem for me in this new half cuts are not working because groove width, but I don't know much, I just noticed that from Technics research, the half cut method in order to be possible the groove widthness had to be expanded and a limit of 16min per side was introduced. Reading this I believe that Abbey Road is doing half speed mastering but keeping the groove dimensions to the limit, and that brings limitations, but this is what is explained by Technics research in 1976:
"2. Low speed cutting and frequency response range
In the cutting process, the cutting master tape playback speed was reduced from the conventional 38 cm/sec to one half, or 19 cm/sec, and the speed of the lacquer master disc was also reduced from 33* rpm to 163 rpm, and the cutting was made at these reduced speeds. This made possible increased volume levels and improved transient response, with the frequency response characteristics of the cutting process expanded tics of the cutting process expanded to 20 Hz-45 KHz.
3. Abundantly wide cutting pitch
In order to make the most of the above factors, the groove pitch was chosen that there would be ample clearance between grooves. The actual recording time per side is therefore some 16 minutes, and no attempt was made to compress the groove spacing. This enabled higher peak levels, and a more-than-adequate groove amplitude, so that the low frequency response, in particular, is greatly improved."
So while not aproaching step 3 at the current half cuts.. that means we are loosing indeed the low frequency response....
I stopped buying this new half cuts, because somehow the full process was losta long the way this past years... beacause they are a bit dry, specially compared to the Technics half-cut with wide groove has amazing bass. Would love to know if Miles Showell regards this factor on pitch groove or what are his thoughts on it.
CBS USA did a lot of half speed classical Lps in the 80's and EMI DMM classical have you any comments on these?
@@pauldavies6037 Hi, Unfortunatly I don't have any of those, the only half cut mastering besides this current Abbey Road ones is the Technics Audio Inspection Vol.I in which includes a booklet explaining their research on the Half Cutting process, and in order for the Half-Cut process to have the corrent low end response, it was adamant that the grooves wheren't limited in width they realised for the half cut method to work properly a12" record could not have more than 16mins per side to have ample groove width. so that became my reference when I see half-cuts .. if it comes 20mins per side, I ignore it. I tried with the Abbey Road cuts... Brothers in Arms... No bass at all it is sad, compared to the OG Portuguese pressing, same with Ziggy Stardust half cut feels dry and anemic, this where my last and I sweared I will never buy another hal cut that is more than 16min per side. I hope it makes sense, but today some want to make the best really others just want to make business as usual... I guess the 180gr fad is passing away, and now there is in need of another fad.
For sure now you mention those I will try to get some to check them out. But this simple rule of 16mins per side should be enough I believe.
Really enjoyed this - made me appreciate my ABBA half speed masters even more now - Cheers Miles
interesting interview, Andrew. thank you for taking some pictures of the studio, too.
My pleasure. Glad you enjoyed it!
Had a day with Miles at AR, mastering Superdrone and it was incredible. So many amazing stories he told us. A genuine genius and a genuine lovely soul.
AT540? not surprised, one of the best phono-cartridges! TOP INTERVIEW, Andrew, thanks a lot!
great video and very interesting interview. i really enjoyed it! Thanks a lot Andrew!
Glad you enjoyed it!
This is so cool. Great interview! Full of great info!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Fantastic, Andrew! Thanks for sharing this excellent interview!
You're welcome. Glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks for this I was wondering why they sound so good
Great video, really enjoyed it. I won't pretend I understood all of it, but at leat half (no pun intended) . Looking forward to part two of the other half. Thanks Laddy.
Caught this minutes after it went up. Great stuff
Great video as always. Mastering vinyl is a unique skill and half speed mastering even more so. Thanks Andrew.
Glad you enjoyed it, Michael.
What a fantastic video! Thanks so much for that!
Glad you liked it, Michael!
Absolutely incredible interview, thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
"Even at half-speed it's pretty good!!!" That's so perfect.
What a great interview! Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
The awesomeness continues...Thanks for this episode!
Glad you enjoyed it!
A riveting video all the way through, one of your best 🎉
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Absolutely fascinating interview. And yes, the half-speed vinyl he produces sounds brilliant (even for us folks who can't afford a Vertere turntable).
Glad you enjoyed it!
What a great interview!
Thank you!
I enjoyed this thoroughly. Another great job Andrew.....
Many thanks! Glad you enjoyed it
where would we be without nerds ? bless them and give thanks for them.
Wow this is fantastic! Such an interesting interview! Well done Andrew! 🎉
Thanks so much!
You never fail to deliver information that's entertaining as well, Andrew!
This certainly has to be a high point for you personally, as it's understood, your seeming entrenched devotion to all things Hi-Fi and in particular The Beatles!
Congratulations on a wonderful interview with a master of his art and genuinely brilliant and affable gentleman.
Us mere mortals are lucky to have such engineer/technicians to produce such high quality sonic product.
This was such a joy, thank you Andrew and Miles!
Thank you, Alan. glad you enjoyed it!
A fascinating interview. Many thanks for posting it.
Thanks Andrew. Glad you enjoyed it!
Incredible experience and a great interview! Can watch this for hours 👍
Glad you enjoyed it! 👍
Amazing! Amazing!! Thank you for that Andrew.
You're welcome, David!
Fascinating topic Andrew and great to get more info on it. Great video again, thanks.😊
Glad you enjoyed it, Adrian!
Great interview, Andrew. Absolutely brilliant!!! Thanks so much 🎯👌
Thanks Robert. Glad you enjoyed it!
I've had that Swish boy 12" record for years and love the song. Nice to know that he was involved in it
That was amazing. Great interview, and good job showing how much fun this was for you!
Thanks Davis. Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you so much for rhis video. I loved it. Also, thank you, Miles, for the fantastic work that you do and sharing your knowledge with us.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Awesome episode! This could be one of the best Sunday treats you have shared! Lots of topics were discussed and lots of my questions were answered. Great Job!!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
thanks for a brilliant and informative interview
Glad you enjoyed it!
What insight! Super informative. Nice to get a peek behind the curtain. Thank you, Andrew, and your special guest, Miles, too!
Glad you enjoyed it, Anthony!
This was very informative, I'm glad i stumbled upon it. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
Very informative and enjoyable, Andrew. What a great opportunity for you. Nice to hear the various cutting methods explained in (semi-) layman's terms. Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it, Richard!
Love how down to earth Miles is. This is a great interview, Andrew. Kudos 👏👏
Thank you!
This was such a fascinating and informative interview. I learned a lot and Miles seems such a super nice guy. Thank you so much!
Glad you enjoyed it, Simon!
Absolutely wonderfully AMAZING! Your best video yet. I could watch that all day. Thank you for sharing your fantastic experience.
Many thanks, Kevin. Glad you enjoyed it!
This is an excellent interview. Thanks Andrew.
Thank you, Sir!
Great interview!
Thanks!
Excellent Interview!
Thank you!
Greatest video of all your channel!!! So happy for you and hyper exited for whats to come!! 👍💿💙💓
Miles is really talented! I would like to see more of him
Well done Andrew! 💙
Thank you so much!!
That’s probably your best video. Well done and Miles was so interesting and I felt I learned a lot from this.
Thank you, James. Glad you enjoyed it!
That’s just Great Interview!!
Thank you!
Absolutely a fabulous interview!
My respect,Andrew
Thank you
What an amazing interview! It prompted me to come up with questions - possibly ill-informed ones - that I would have liked to ask (e.g. Could there be a better, albeit inconvenient, EQ curve than RIAA? Is anyone ever likely to design and manufacture a new lathe from scratch?). Anyway, Miles Showell actually addressed things I would never have thought of asking. Absolutely brilliant! And what a great occupation!
Fantastic video! I wish I could visit Abbey Road studio. Great interview! Love Miles’ work!! Thanks for this video!
Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed it!
Fantastic Andrew! What a great insight from Miles..👍 thx again for sharing awesome as always. All being well il be in studio 2 in August.
Thanks Brian. Enjoy your visit!
great video!!!!!
thank you so much for all the time you put into sharing your passion
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it!
Very informative and interesting interview.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Wonderful interview.
Well done. Fabulous stuff.
Barty
Many thanks, Barty!
What a lovely interview, it's a stuff of dreams to be close to those Neumann lathes and the people who do magic on those. More such videos please.
Many thanks!
FANTASTIC !!! Thanks Andrew for bring to us this great interview !! Gracias Andrew por traernos este fantastico reportaje. Saludos desde Buenos Aires
¡Me alegra que lo hayas disfrutado, Gabriel!
Miles is a great guy! Thank you for the most interesting interview I've seen on UA-cam in years.
Thank you and I agree!
Wonderfully interesting interview.
Thank you!
Super interesting Andrew. I learned a lot (as always from your episodes). You show real class and utmost professionalism giving your guest the full camera time. Excellent. Thank you! :- )
My pleasure, Sir!
Pausing at 35:56 to type this - Holy crap, this guy's three favorite Beatles albums are the exact same as my three favorites!
Absolutely a great episode...!
It's often been said there's nothing like playing records...a total Zen experience...
Reel to Reel tape can be included in that Z3n feeling compared to digital...a bit more work, but well worth the effort.
Thank you!
Hi Andrew, what an amazing video! Miles is a great guy! What a treat seeing the studios, especially studio 2! Cheers 🍻
Thank for wathcing!
Great interview with Miles! I am happy to have his half speed albums in my collection! They sounds great! Thanks Andrew!
Thabks Matt. Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks, Andrew, for this great video. Cheers, Nelio.
Thanks Nelio. Glad you enjoyed it!
Great video.
I love to listen to someone that is passionate and who also knows his craft well.
Kudos
~
Glad you enjoyed it!
Andrew, superlative interview! The technical info discussed was absolutely amazing and helpful. It served to help me understand what was heretofore a "black magic" subject for me! Cheers!
Cheers Richard!
Thank you Andrew - fascinating interview, and looking forward to your follow-up! I used to have several half-speed "masters" and direct-to-discs, including some that Miles referred to - still have a few, but I sold most of them along with most of my huge LP collection when moving 2500 miles across the US and just starting to re-build my collection with CDs in 1984 (including several that I found at Charing Cross Record's excellent selection at the time when they were still hard to find in the US). Despite having lived and worked in England and British territory and with Brits quite a bit since the early '60s, your Miles interview was the first time I ever heard the British idiom "chalk and cheese" - I had to look it up! 😄 I got to walk in the front door at Abbey Road Studios during my first visit in 1977 [no security back then], naively hoping to have a peek inside or a tour, but only got to have a short chat with a receptionist. Had no camera with me, but I recall seeing framed gold records on the hallway walls. When I returned with a camera in 1984 (a year AFTER they DID have guided tours for the public), the gates at the sidewalk were locked. But I did get some good pictures from the sidewalk and road, including zebra crossing - amazing how fast the car traffic built up from zero and had to stop for us while quickly re-enacting The Beatles' photo shoot!
Love the blur 21 box set in the background! My favorite piece of physical media I own
Hey Andrew! Fantastic top quality interview as usual. Thanks to you for doing it and for Miles who shows how modest and respectful he is, and to those who developed this facet of engineering long before him. Cheers from Oz.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!