As I shared earlier, Dave at Betts Bookstore came up with a copy of the Mist on audio tape for me. This was an edition I had long hunted for, since it is not the mass produced "The Mist in 3D sound" stage production. This is a simple unabridged recording by Frank Muller.
.Of course, as soon as Dave sent me the tapes, I wanted to listen to them. I rushed to my office -- the last place on earth that still has a tape recorder -- and began to listen. Time is not kind to tapes, and I could tell that while Muller's voice was still clear, it was losing crispness, and soon the tape would stretch and be lost for good. Now Dave included with my purchase some detailed notes on how to perform the task of transferring tapes to CD. However, I don't change my own oil -- a rather simple task -- and I had to get a friends help to rebuild a fallen fence, so I decided I did not want to risk a "learn as you go" process in transferring my tapes.
.There are actually several companies that specialize in this. None of them are what I would consider cheap. Bottom line, if you're transferring tapes to CD, figure about $10 per tape.
.We went with "Reel 2 Reel 2 CD" and were very pleased with the results. Here's what they did:
.1. Each tape was put on CD.
.2. Each side of the tape was given it's own CD.
.3. Each CD was given short "tracts" which makes it easy to skip around and find things.
.4. This one is important: They appear to have digitally enhanced the recording. Background fuzz and the wear of the years disappeared. Muller's voice is once again crisp. Now, there are sections where what was just said can be faintly heard repeating itself -- but I don't think that is a big deal. The CD's are actually much much superior to the tapes.
.5. Each CD was labeled, clearly marking which CD it was with a picture of the original art work on the CD. So the label reads, "Disk 1, tape 1, side 1" and so on.
.The company contacted us when they received the tapes and gave us an estimate of the costs before they proceeded. As soon as the work was complete they billed and quickly sent back out.
.Anyway, from my chair, I've got to say that this was a great decision. I feel like something special was preserved, and made much better.
.
I don't suppose you would be willing to make burn some copies of the disks you purchased from reel2reel or have them make a second set of CD's. All of which I would be more than happy to pay for plus all the S&H. Let me know if we could work something out.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Dave Hendry
crystaldaveh@clearwire.net
Hi Dave,
ReplyDeleteI spoke with reel 2 reel and they said they could make copies. Probably because it's out of print, and I suspect out of copyright. I'll email you.
If you still have Frank Muller's "The Mist" on CD, I'd practically give my right arm for a copy or an MP3. I used to have cassettes I copied from a library edition, but they didn't survive into adulthood and I've looked everywhere. zaphod65@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteDavid,
ReplyDeleteBeen awhile since I've been on here but wanted to let you know that I just started using Audible recently. I noticed that they have a spot where you can request to have them include a digital recording into their inventory if it's not currently one being offered. Long story short I asked them to see if they could attain the rights to the out of print version of The Mist read by Frank Muller, I emailed all of the information I could find off Amazon including a picture of the original Recorded Books Inc. cassette case cover art and the ASIN number. They emailed me back 2 days ago saying that they are going to try and contact the publisher to see who currently holds the rights and see if they can get permission to add the recording to their inventory. I figure with Audible's resources and much greater capabilities there's a good chance it might show up in their web store soon for the whole world to enjoy.
David this is what I sent to Audible and I've included their response...
ReplyDeleteHello,
I tried finding this on my own but was unable to locate a copy or find out who currently holds the rights, Recorded Books Inc. doesn't own the right any longer. I figured with your much larger and better resources you might be able to track it down and give it the digital treatment this gem deserves. Honestly this is a much better audio version than the 3-D audio one that is currently available and one of the great Frank Muller's best works.
The Mist: Skeleton Crew, By Stephen King, Unabridged 3 Audio Cassettes, Narrated By Frank Muller
•Audio Cassette: 3 pages
•Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.; Unabridged 3 Audio Cassettes edition (1985)
•ASIN: B000JLTY9I
Thank you,
David Hendry
Thanks for your request!
Our Content Team will be contacting the publisher in hopes of receiving the rights to sell this audiobook in the Audible store. We are always looking for ways to offer more content to our customers. Please bear in mind that we may not always reach an agreement with a publisher, as this is a necessary step for us to sell an audio title on our site.
We appreciate your submission and thank you for your interest in adding titles to our online store.
-The Audible Team