sonic upstream
Master Tape Sound Lab
For going back to the roots
The revival of reel to reel is, paradoxically, related to the digital revolution that takes place right before our eyes, i.e. the transition from physical media to computer files. But it is not only and merely nostalgia - analog tape still remains the best known musical medium. Even vinyl is merely an attempt to approximate what can be found on 1/4 inch analog tape played at 15 ips.
But this is a very expensive hobby, even in such a luxurious world as audio. Therefore, the company that stakes everything on one card – or rather tape - and says "I call" to the new formats must be noticed. And if it does it so well, so endearingly as Master Tape Sound Lab, it must be awarded.
Mr. Todor Dimitrov, head of MTLS, did something that seemed unattainable – he persuaded Kostas Metaxas to make his tapes recorded over the years available to a wider audience. That is how the MTSL catalog - in many ways a reference - came to be. Congratulations!
MTSL offers high quality 1st generation master tape dubs. Currently our catalogue contains 55 titles of diverse music, from jazz to classic and other genres, all of which were recorded onto/from 1st generation master tape with strictest quality standards. The MTSL master tape dubs are recorded directly from the original master tapes, as MTSL owns those originals, and have a license to release them in limited numbers (100 per title).
Such advert would be perfectly normal in “Hi-Fi News” magazine from 1960s or 70s. It would probably appeal to music lovers with its purist approach and its guarantee that the copies had been made directly from the master tape, but otherwise it said something that would have been known and understood. For it would be using terminology related to reel tapes, and so to reel to reel tape recorders. ...[more]
