September 2021

Old Gear, Superb Production

Hello Driving Sounds clubbers! Hope you are all enjoying the new normal and getting on with your lives.
Rediscovering car audio has been a fantastic experience for us. After months and months of not using our cars much and certainly not getting the chance to sit in other people's, we are now lapping up every opportunity!

This month's not-so-hidden track is a remastering of Frank Sinatra/Count Basie's rendition of "Fly me to the Moon". This comes from an age (1964) of three- track tape machines and very expensive microphones. This is a great track to play in your car. The image is very wide to begin with and there are some really fun elements to the arrangement. Most of these details will be totally lost on pretty much any standard factory system I'm afraid! You can find out more about how the recording was made in our opinion piece at the foot of this newsletter. You can also read how it performed in an upgraded Mercedes C-Class below.

This month's excellently crafted brand new article is based around an incredibly well turned out Mercedes C-class. Bakul and Preti were extremely well behaved, so I bought them cake and coffee to thank them for their time and commitment in bringing their car to me.

We had a very lovely listening experience. You can read the article by clicking the button below. The article is rendered image-free as a text only file but you may download the finished fully designed up article, ("Download Full Article" button) if your device is man enough to handle it! Enjoy.

Fly Me To The Moon

This image of Bakul's boot underfloor demonstrates how to get astonishing bass in a Mercedes C-Class without giving up luggage space. Head off and read all about the Audison APBX 10 AS by clicking the button below.

Take Me To Astonishing Bass

This month, we are going with Bakul's Top Tunes (see article above). All of these is extremely "busy" and certainly a stiff test for your car audio system.

On a properly installed and balanced system with good equipment will render these from Tidal, extremely well and have you tapping your foot and smiling all the way to your destination. On a standard factory system, they will probably have you switching to TalkSport on AM radio instead!

Last Night - The Strokes
Wake up in the Sky - Gucci Mane feat. Bruno Mars
Survival - Muse
Remurdered - Mogwai
Lost in Thought - Koan Sound

Please feel free to drop me a Top Five list of your own. There are no rules other than they have to be tunes you have enjoyed listening to in your own car!

Drop title and artist in an email to: editorial@drivingsounds.co.uk

Fly me to the Moon - Frank Sinatra/Count Basie (1964)
Hawaii 5 O - The Ventures (1969)
Passing Strangers - Billie Eckstein/Sarah Vaughan (1957)
All Blues - Miles Davis (1959)
I've Got You Under My Skin - Frank Sinatra/Nelson Riddle (1956)

I have always been quite taken by old recordings. Having spent ten years of my life building and testing electronics for the recording industry in the 80's/90's, I was indoctrinated with the future dreams of some very clever people employed in the pursuit of making the recording process easier and more efficient. Unfortunately, this didn't always mean better! In fact, it mainly meant more profitable.

I was raised in a musical household and the radiogram, not the TV, was the centre piece of our living room. Later on, I remember my dad investing in various bits of hifi. The difference in fidelity from the same vinyl pressings was astonishing. Although a huge fan of jazz, dad would also indulge my mum's love of popular artists from the 40's and 50's.

The way of recording was quite different from the "cut and paste" approach that has now overtaken most popular music. The aim here was to replicate what the listener would hear at a live performance. Everything is played and recorded live with a huge emphasis on microphone placement and delicate balance. I recently came across a fascinating article on how to record a big band. If you share my interest, then I would highly recommend it:
http://www.auldworks.com/bbandrecord/bbandrec1.htm

If you are currently already stifling a yawn, then just listen to the recordings listed above or preferably, find their equivalents on Qobuz or Tidal.

The lesson here is that new doesn't always mean better. Quality though, carries a price tag. If quality sound in your car is important to you then the cost is easily justified.

Until next month, drive carefully and listen hard.

Carl
Editor