CEDAR restores the infamous 'Fred The Oyster'
10 February 1999
Ted Kendall - winner of the 1998 CEDAR Award for CD Remastering from a Vintage Recording - recently used his CEDAR Series 2 rackmount units to restore a number of well-known recordings of The Goon Shows, Harry James, and some pioneering recordings of the Mahler symphonies.
The sound effects from The Goon Shows were originally transcribed from lacquers and shellac. The Fred the Oyster effect required declicking and decrackling because the source was a Columbia shellac 78. Kendall used the DC-1 De-Clicker to remove large and small clicks, and the CR-1 De-Crackler to remove crackle from all of The Goon Show sound effects except those where the scratches were part of the gag! Similarly, the Harry James album on Hep Records was originally recorded onto 16-inch coarse-grooved vinyl discs. The unwanted noise ranged from light ticks to large scratches, practically all of which were rmoved by the DC-1 and CR-1.
Kendall has also restored the first LP recordings of three Mahler symphonies. The performances by Charles Adler were originally recorded in Vienna for the American SPA label, and have a wide dynamic range. Again, Kendall used the DC-1 and CR-1 to remove unwanted clicks and crackle, as well as to smooth odd patches of distortion.
Kendall processes the majority of his work through his CEDAR Series 2 units. He says, "The DC-1 and CR-1 are extremely effective at removing clicks and crackle, and once set up they require minimal intervention from me. In addition, the A/D and D/A converters in the Series 2 units sound remarkably good."
The Series 2 range also includes the DH-2 De-Hisser and the AZ-1 Azimuth Corrector.
For further information:
CEDAR Audio Limited, 9 Clifton Court, Cambridge, CB1 7BN, United Kingdom.
t: +44 1223 414117
f: +44 1223 414118
e: info@cedar-audio.com