Dear future client,
For a better experience, an informed consumer must know a few things about sound restoration before placing an order. Here is some useful information:
Please review "Our Noise Reduction Philosophy". Audio Restoration work is exactly as the name implies: returning as much as possible the sound of the recording to the original sound, when the recording was new. This is done by cleaning layers of noises that were added by age, wear, or by the inherent poor quality of the medium. It is very much like the art of restoration of old paintings or frescoes. Just like in restoring paintings, the end result can be breathtaking IF AND ONLY IF there is something worthwhile left underneath.
Besides the best possible scenario, when everybody is happy, there are two other possible scenarios;
1. There is very little (or nothing) left under all the noise. The actual substrate of the recording was long ago damaged. Cleaning the noise reveals nothing else than more noise. In a painting or fresco, cleaning the dirt reveals nothing but the canvas or the wall. We cannot fix that.
2. The original recording was lousy. We remove layers of noise, and underneath we uncover a really "crappy" recording. The restoration artist cleaned the painting, but underneath there is no masterpiece. We cannot fix that. It is not our purpose to re-engineer a lousy recording. It is probably impossible, but even if it the recording could be re-engineered, that is a completely different type of project, at a much higher cost.
The Ph.D. ("Doctor") degree I have earned, makes an analogy with a "Medical Doctor" pertinent to the field of Audio Restoration. The old recording in need of restoration is the patient, I am the "Doctor". There is more than one way of improving a patient's condition and more than one way of performing an Audio Restoration. Using medication never comes without side effects. The stronger the medicine (or sound restoration filtration), the more side effects (or altered sound) are caused. A good "Medical Doctor" will prescribe medication that will improve the original condition, without creating additional problems. Same for Sound Restoration: we will only go so far, in order to preserve as much as possible the original quality of the sound and not create a strange sounding recording.
WHAT IF
when you listen to the restored recordings we produced for you, the sound is not what you expected it to be?
What TO DO:
Evaluate if you think you would be happier with a higher (or lower) level of Noise Reduction (with the possibility of more side effects or more noise). Review our "Additional Restoration Versions" option. If you think you would like to have another version, with stronger (or weaker) filtration, order an Additional Restoration Version. We will evaluate and if feasible, we will produce another version for you (free return shipping, conditions apply).
What NOT TO DO:
Do not write an angry email, accusing us of not restoring the recording at all and/or of not listening to the recording. All recordings submitted for Audio Restoration ARE indeed restored and in the process, are obviously listened to (many times over, in BEFORE vs. AFTER manner). We have many quality control steps in our processes and it is physically impossible for a recording submitted for Audio Restoration to be returned without being listened to or without having being restored. Very infrequently we had individuals that, under the impersonal cover of the Internet, behaved ugly. We are professionals, with many thousands of successful projects under our belt, with thousands of satisfied customers (some staying with us for upwards of 10 years) and many tens of thousands of hours of experience. As such, we take a very dim view of rudeness or abuse. In fact, we would prefer that such individuals keep on surfing and not order from us.
Common Sense
We ask our customers to use common sense in what to expect from an Audio Restoration: if a recording is in horrible condition, the CD will NOT sound perfect. It will sound better than the original recording, but better than "horrible" is "very bad"! It is better to have modest expectation that will be exceeded, than to have unrealistic expectations and be disappointed. The Audio Restoration end result may be great, horrible, or somewhere in the middle. We, as professionals, will tilt the odds in favor of "quality" but we will NOT materially participate in the gamble. (Example: "I feel I wasted $60, I don't want to pay, your company should pay for working on my recordings").
We want our customers to be "informed consumers" before engaging our services. I hope the above information was useful. Should you decide to use our services, you will be in good hands: we have unmatched experience, state of the art equipment, proprietary techniques and trade secrets that others have been trying (unsuccessfully) to "borrow" from us for decades. We will treat your recordings with love and professionalism (read the "Testimonials" section and the entire web site to get a feel for what we stand for).
Thanks and best wishes,
Cristian Coban, Ph.D.
President
CVC Productions
LP2CD Division
