mistyvales
A lot of the Bowie tapes say AAA on them, yet they also say the albums were Digitally Remastered.How can they be AAA, if there was a digital chain in there?

They are not AAA. That they're labelled as such had to do with the unfortunate ambiguity that lay in the very usage of the SPARS code back in the 80s and 90s. It is completely different than how we use "AAA" today.

The modern-day interpretation of SPARS codes is: Recording, Mixing, Mastering.
The way they were used in the 80s and 90s, they were more like: Recording, Mixing, Medium.

CDs of all-analogue albums back then had a code of AAD. Back then, it seems as if the final "D" implied the medium itself was digital, not the master source. As in...the CD is digital, therefore the master is digital. Makes sense, right? After all, every analogue tape had to be transferred to a digital master before it could be pressed as ones and zeroes into a piece of plastic.

Therein lay the rub. THAT implication alone created ambiguity. The usage of the SPARS code did NOT distinguish between digitally recorded & mixed albums that were on analogue master tapes, and albums where the master itself is digital.

Unfortunately, because of the way things were back then, it stands to reason Ryko Analogue releases used the final "A" to denote an analogue medium -- NOT the master source!!! It was pretty common knowledge their cassettes and vinyl releases came from the same digital sources as their CD counterparts. Digital audio was the name of the game back then. In that sense, I'd say no, Ryko did not deceive us. Especially because they wouldn't hide these releases' digital origins.

Profile:	Ryko Analogue was a Rykodisc banner used on the label's cassette and vinyl releases.
Parent Label:	Rykodisc

Ryko Analogue

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