Archiving the 90s!

Moderator:
Jason Bitner, Traffic Entertainment Group - Somerville, MA, USA
Panelists:
Kaylie Ackerman, Harvard University - Cambridge, MA, USA
Eddie Ciletti, Manhattan Sound Technicians, Inc. - West Saint Paul, MN, USA
Kelly Pribble, Iron Mountain Entertainment Services - Moonachie, New Jersey, USA
Catherine Vericolli, Fivethirteen Recording - Tempe, AZ, USA; Useful Industries - Nashville, TN, USA

Archival practice often spotlights the challenges of working with magnetic tape and grooved media. This panel shifts focus to the formats used frequently in 1990s recording production: ADAT, DA-88 and DA-89, DTRS, 1630. Loads of great records were made on these formats, frequently in project studios with smaller budgets. Sadly, they are some of the most at-risk formats, both because the carriers are awful and the because playback machines in working order are hard to find and maintain. The fact that most of the studios using these formats were smaller project studios with minimal budgets only heightens the urgency of preserving this content. Panelists will talk about playback and preservation of these formats, specific considerations in capturing audio, timecode and other data, sourcing and maintaining playback machines, and curating releases from this content.