Scotland 1971-05-18 Filtered Plus 16/44
As noted, only higher gen recordings of this show have surfaced thus far. Alot of higher gen hiss has built up copy after copy. When viewing the recording in a spectrum analyzer, its readily apparent where the later copies contributed the easily removed portion of the hiss. So I shaped a FFT filter designed to remove this built up generational hiss. After listening to various samples and toggling back and forth and fine tuning it, I settled on a setting that I was comfortable was not removing any content or nuance in the recording. The exact settings were different for each cassette side but essentially I used an arc starting at about 10k and ending at 11.75k at -15db, then a straight cut from there. The result is perhaps a 20% reduction of hiss.
I also applied some minor gain changes throughout to address some of the suttle level changes that occur occasionally. These were almost all within 0.5db to 2db.
I also used the PEQ to increase the level slightly at ~2k-3k by ~1.5db. This created a bit more open sound. All of these changes are intended to make this source a little more enjoyable to listen to for those who appreciate this show even though its a relatively weak recording.
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Scotland 1971-05-18
Pink Floyd
Pathfoot Building Refectory
Stirling University
Stirling, Scotland
May 18th 1971
Lineage: Cassette (Maxell XLII 90) > Nakamichi 581 > Edirol UA-1EX > Audacity 1.3 > Wav (24bit/96kHz) ----> Samplitude10 (32bit/96kHz) > Wav (16bit/44kHz) > CDWave (1.98) > FLAC
***Neonknight's Notes***
I obtained the cassette used for this transfer from a experienced Danish collector in the mid 1990s. A couple of people I have shared it with previously commented that they believe it to be clearer and found the instrument definition better. As with all versions, "A Saucerful Of Secrets" cuts before the Celestial Voices Sequence. I provided Littlepieces with a 24bit/96kHz wave file so he could adjust the speed and make other corrections.
***Littlepieces' Mastering Notes***
The objective was to make the necessary corrections with a minimum amount of processing iterations using the highest quality settings. This is a mono recording that was processed as two channel stereo as is often the case. It has a small variable phase shift throughout. Also, most of the time, the left channel was lower than the right channel. The best solution for these things, given this is a mono recording, is to eliminate the inferior left channel. No more phase shift and no more channel level differences.
I removed some repeated segments, and manually removed over 150 pops/noises and more than 20 micro dropouts (most being from 12-20ms), and then speed corrected. There were segments where a series of these micro dropouts were adjacent to one another and therefore not all of them could be removed. This left a segment during the 8th minute of FOS a little bumpy for a very short time. Also there are a few small tape drags sprinkled throughout.
All versions of this show that have surfaced are higher gens. Underneath the high hiss level is a great performance.
01 (16:05) Atom Heart Mother
02 (14:16) Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
03 (15:33) Fat Old Sun
04 (11:25) Careful With That Axe, Eugene
05 (24:03) The Return Of The Son Of Nothing
06 (13:32) A Saucerful Of Secrets (cuts)
Total Time: 94:56
Neonknight Tape / Little Pieces Production (LPP)
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***Neonknight's Background Information For This Show***
Nobody seems to have any idea who made the concert recording. Included in the list of people I have consulted about its origins is Lord Snooty. I asked him about it a while back and he noted that it had always been a bit of a mystery. LS received a copy in the mid 70's under the title of 'Strathclyde 1971' and looking back at some of his records could find no mention of Stirling or a date for many years. He couldn't recall when or why it was changed to Stirling 1971-05-18 and has never found a known lineage.
Tickets were sold far and wide for the gig but to the best of my knowledge no photos exist from the concert. So working on the assumption that what we are offering here is Stirling and not University of Strathclyde, Glasgow 1971-05-20, I will try and give you a picture of what it was like.
The stage, a temporary construction, was about 30ft by 10ft, wooden and totally covered by the band’s equipment. To the right was the group’s chau gong. At the back was a large steel installation by Mary Martin which can still be seen at the University. It must have provided a very striking backdrop (try looking up Mary Martin on google). The audience was really packed in but in keeping with the time most people sat cross-legged in their tiny amount of floor space as they enjoyed the sound spiralling around the room and the light show.
I sometimes see comments about the size of the venue possibly affecting the sound quality of the tape. I think that either the original recording equipment was the problem or the taper had their microphone concealed under clothing, possibly a coat, and they got in a better position for songs such as Set The Controls. The refectory was intimate but the ceiling was not particularly low, as I have seen some people suggest, and overall the room was short and wide so there shouldn’t have been an issue with the taper being distant from the stage. There were windows all around the room and they weren’t blacked out.
The MC for the evening and principal concert organiser was Paul Martin. For an interesting description of gigs at Stirling University in its early days after being founded in 1967 see Paul’s account at: http://www.anniversary.stir.ac.uk/memories/students/paul-martin.php
At the webpage Paul says:
"We soon also realised that by utilising University facilities, we could lay on sufficient facilities for up to 1,000 people attending a single concert. This kind of firepower at even £1.00 per ticket allowed us to consider booking bands that would otherwise not consider the student circuit... with some funds in the bank we then hired Pink Floyd on May 3rd 1971 who performed Atom Heart Mother in its entirety.”
I think the tickets for the Floyd cost £1.50 and you'll note the incorrect reference to 3 May.
Paul Martin explains: "We paid them £1,000 pounds exactly for their performance with two £500 notes which they said were using as pocket money for a golfing holiday in Scotland." A rest in the Highlands must have been much-welcomed after a long and hectic period touring. The offer of £1000 was approximately £600 more than the University had paid for any other group.
He goes on: “The line up was David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Richard Wright, and Nick Mason; they were mixed by a Scottish artist Ron Geesin, who had produced AHM, and he also did a short set on the night." Ron Geesin, like now, was a crowd pleaser and compelling according to a couple of accounts I have read. He apparently wandered onstage in overalls that he had been wearing all day and delivered some monologues much like the ones that he did at Cadogan Hall in 2008, then after a very short set left to rapturous applause.
Before the main event various student newspapers wanted to interview the band, so a room was duly set up but the plug had to be pulled because some of the would-be journalists were apparently being over-aggressive towards the group. Topping the day off nicely Edinburgh’s Student magazine apparently asked Roger’s favourite question: “Who exactly is Pink Floyd and what does he do?” It would have been good to be in the room to hear the answer.