The music to be recorded is always recorded live, i.e. with all the participants performing simultaneously. No over-dubbing is used, no additional tracks are added afterwards and no musical changes are made to the recorded material. This process requires a high level of professionalism and discipline from the musicians, which is one of the reasons why we work with the best in the business.
Because the listening public uses a wide range of playback technologies, we make all our recordings in multiple formats. As these materials are produced independently of other formats, i.e. natively, our recording system also consists of several separate parts. Of course, there is some overlap between them, such as the studio space used, the microphones used (the quality of which we consider extremely important and therefore take particular care with), the low signal level cabling and the analogue electronics that receive the microphones' signals. From here, in turn, the electrical signals carrying the musical information travel in three separate directions.
The traditional, most widely used PCM technology is the source of the standard version of MRC publications. The raw material is recorded at a sampling rate of 96 or 192 kHz, with a depth of 24 bits, in many cases through some kind of high quality analogue audio mixer, partly mixed live, with a separate track per microphone. For these materials, post-mixing and some processing and effects are also applied for ease of consumption, but to a far lesser extent than is usual in the music industry.
Our less conventional digital versions are based on DSD technology, which is rarely used in the industry. Publishers, recording studios and even musicians avoid this solution, as there is very limited scope for post-editing and intervention, so there is less room for error on both the musical and technical side. DSD technology is also more technically demanding than PCM solutions, but in return it typically provides better sound quality. MRC's DSD recordings are made using equipment and software from Merging Technologies of Switzerland, which is currently at the forefront of the world. To operate and control them, we use a special numbering machine made by Luxor Audio. Our DSD recordings are recorded on 2-4 audio tracks, depending on the music programme, with live analogue mixing, without major post-production modifications. In order to take advantage of the dynamic and noise advantages of DSD technology, it is essential to level the recorded material, so we also need a high level of instrumentation to control the recording and set up the equipment.
Our recordings are also available in analogue tape format, without any digital conversion or interference, in their native version. This is usually done using a Nagra IV-S NQS-LSP magnetophone, recording on SM468 tape at 38 cm/s with CCIR equivalisation, under the expert supervision of Tamás Perczel. Our analogue recordings are made with live analogue mixing, similar to the DSD versions, without any post-production.
The materials produced are always subject to strict quality control, including the approval of all contributors, including the musicians and technical crew. Our releases are available directly from the My Reel Club webshop (at a discounted price for club members), the Native DSD online music store and from the most popular streaming music providers.
Our public recordings and educational events are available to a limited number of club members on our website.