Ep517: Preserving the Westbound Sound

Mastering Engineer Dave Gardner & Audio Archivist Catherine Vericolli discuss the preservation of the Westbound Records audio catalogue, including the masters of legendary recordings by Funkadelic, The Counts, Ohio Players & more.

Topics Include:

• Dave Gardner (mastering engineer) and Catherine Vericoli (archivist) introduce their specialized roles
• Mastering serves as link between creative process and manufacturing standards
• Catherine transfers analog tapes to highest possible digital quality preservation
• Physical restoration work includes extensive mold and splice remediation tasks
• Much archival work involves "audio archaeology" detective work with clues
• Working backwards from incomplete information when documentation is missing completely
• Common assumption that old records were always done "the right way"
• Reality reveals beloved records often weren't made using proper methods
• Got rare access to examine entire Westbound Records collection together
• Westbound Records started late 1960s by distributor Armin Bolodian in Detroit
• Detroit-based independent label achieved regional success with multiple hit records
• Funkadelic, Ohio Players, Detroit Emeralds were among their major successful acts
• Complete catalog reissue approach rather than cherry-picking just popular hits
• Assets moved between multiple locations over decades, not everything returned
• Found various generations and copies of tapes for each release
• Maggot Brain original masters were believed to be permanently missing
• Discovery of missing masters hidden in completely unmarked white archive boxes
• Original tape playback speeds rarely match speeds of vinyl releases
• Spent entire week meticulously fine-tuning correct playback speeds for accuracy
• Academic ethnomusicologist confirmed musical key was wrong on commercial releases
• Many recent European reissues contain fundamentally inaccurate speed and sound
• Double 45 RPM format avoids sonic compromises required for long sides
• 27-minute album sides on 33 RPM required major audio quality sacrifices
• All-analog cutting process preserves original sound character without digital conversion
• Unreleased material exists primarily in unprocessed multitrack tape format only
• Dennis Coffey played guitar on many more Funkadelic recordings than known
• Analog tape degradation accelerating rapidly, especially problematic for digital formats
• Cultural preservation mission drives their passionate collaborative archival restoration work
• Asset paranoia and trust issues affect access to important historical recordings
• Primary motivation remains saving irreplaceable music for all future generations

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