TAPE HUNTERS

Former RRPG Editor Ian Shirley put out dozens of LPs for RC’s Rare Record Club. Here he spills the beans on the mastertapes behind some archive releases

- Ian Shirley

The first time that I came across a mastertape was back in 1981, when I went into a studio as a member of Guardians Of The Ancient Wisdom. A six-hour session at Ariwa Studios in London yielded one track – The Count. The producer of the session was Neil Fraser, aka The Mad Professor, who mixed three versions from his 16-track desk, which were then copied onto the brand-new quarter-inch tape that I’d brought along. Nothing happened with that mastertape till 30-plus years later, when I compiled everything that Guardians Of The Ancient Wisdom had recorded on a 2LP set. The mastertape was in perfect condition, so didn’t need to be baked, like so many other vintage reels, and it was used to supply the original version of The Count, as well as two dub versions that ended up on the album. Everything else was mastered from cassettes recorded at live performances or rehearsals.

Mastertapes, whether they contain music by The Beatles or the Guardians, are a vital component of the music business. They’re different from the multi-track tapes on which the original instrumentation and vocals are laid down in the studio. When the producer and artiste are happy with the mix of a track or album, they’re transferred onto mastertapes. These formed the basis for singles and albums released by record companies until almost everything went digital. After release, the mastertapes were – hopefully – stored and looked after, so when it comes to reissues on CD or vinyl, it’s the audio from the original mastertapes that, in most cases, is deployed.