Studio Magic: The Process, Value, and Ethics of Remastering
Julian D Anderson · 2016
Due to the growth of recording technology, recorded music has become the most common form of music listening. Having high-fidelity audio is as important on audience perception of the music as the composition and the musical interpretation. As the process of recording and the final medium of the recording have advanced, the fidelity of the audio has increased, thus decreasing the listener’s awareness of the recording itself and bringing their attention to the music. However, older media is reparable to the extent that it can be remastered to decrease scrutiny on the product. What is worth remastering? What is the process of remastering and is there ever a perfect product? Through transferring and remastering Chinese opera tapes, the listener can hear a product closer to “truth” in music. What truth is, ultimately, is up to the remastering engineer’s discretion, as well as that of the