The ‘Missing Linc’

It was the best thing that ever happened to recorded music  a technology that is sorely missed today. Its “death” many years ago certainly brought sadness, especially to those whose only passion was hearing high-fidelity music. Fortunately, the sounds it recreated survived changes in music preferences and could still be heard wafting from the music rooms of today’s lucky few.

The ‘60s was the golden age of recorded music, when vinyl records reigned supreme. Recording innovations were fever-pitch. Toward the end of that era, direct-to-disk (D2D) recording was born. The “new” technology was miles away from the standard recording process where vinyl was cut from a master tape. D2D raised the quality of vinyl recording to its highest level. Audiophiles couldn’t believe their ears. How could such a recording process perfectly reproduce music?

The idea, however, wasn’t new at all. Remember when Thomas Edison spoke his first words into the horn and at the same time scratched a groove in the wax cylinder? (Unknowingly, Edison had invented the direct cut).

The fast-paced development of tape recordings at that time made it less difficult to complete a recording session. The master tape, as they call it even to this day, had buried Edison’s invention to oblivion. But in search of better recording techniques, it was perhaps destined that engineers started going back to the original process where there was no master tape, and the music went straight from mixing board to the cutting lathe. The D2D thus skirted two major flaws of standard vinyl recording: tape noise and dynamic limitation.

The D2D, though, put musical artists under tremendous pressure. They were required to record the whole one side of vinyl at once, without stopping and with no mistakes at all. Errors, technical or otherwise, could lead to recording everything all over again. But, boy, the joy that this technology brought to a handful of audiophiles was worth every drop of the artists’ and producers’ sweat and tears! Lucky buyers of the D2D records could hear their favorite musicians as they wanted them: live! They are treated to a sound unrivaled in the history of recorded music: natural-sounding instruments, and unadulterated and excellent vocals.

Because of the limited lifespan of the master lacquer on which the grooves were indented, only a limited edition of about 15,000 (more or less) copies of a recording could be distributed worldwide. No wonder then that D2D is sought-after in this particular phase in today’s vinyl renaissance. D2D’s value as a collectors’ item is fast-rising.

At the forefront of the D2D technology is Lincoln Mayorga, known first and foremost as a pianist. Mayorga — who became part owner of the legendary recording company Sheffield Lab in the late ‘60s — began issuing his own recordings in 1974. The very first D2D recoding he made, “Lincoln Mayorga and Distinguished Colleague Vol. I,” is now worth more than $1,000, and nobody’s selling. Volumes II and III of the same title could be bought via the Internet for as low as $60 to as high as $200. 

Of the three albums, Volumes II and III have been changing hands briskly in the pre-owned audiophile market.  “The Missing Linc” (Vol. 2) is the more visible of the two. Its price has gone up from $98 to $150. The success of Mayorga led other recording companies to join the D2D trend, but the demand continues to overwhelm the supply. The exclusive ownership of D2D records has only added to its snobbish stature.

In D2D, one can expect the finest not only from its excellent technology, but also from the recording artists involved in the album production. D2D forces musicians to be at their very best just to complete the rigors of only one recording session.

You can’t blame audiophiles for seeking enjoyment from by-gone years. Recorded music was after all at its pinnacle during those times. It’s ironic that at the time when man can venture into outer space and send a wireless four-wheeler onto Mars, the CD and other supposed hi-res recording technology of today couldn’t even equal the quality of vinyl. Maybe it’s about time to look back to where recording technology was during those forgotten years and finally get back to the basics.

* * *

This will be my seventh Christmas as an audio/music columnist for the Philippine STAR where I started my business writing career in 1986. I was actually one of the pioneers of this hugely successful newspaper. I left the STAR in 1989 to pursue other endeavors. It was my friend, “brother” and mentor, the late Max Soliven — one of this paper’s founders, and its publisher and chairman of the editorial board until he passed away in 2006 — who badgered me to write about our passion for music. Not too many people know that Max loved music. It was a decision that brought me friends from all over the word, and I thank Max for this unique opportunity. Your almost daily e-mails are more than enough to lift the spirit of my aging soul. 

*  * *

For comments or questions, please e-mail me at audioglow@yahoo.com or at vphl@hotmail.com. You can also visit www.wiredstate.com for quick answers to your audio concerns.