CEDAR RESTORES THE INFAMOUS 'FRED THE OYSTER'
10 February 1999
Ted Kendall with his CEDAR Award
Ted Kendall - winner of the 1998 CEDAR Award for 'CD REMASTERING FROM A VINTAGE RECORDING - PRE 1950' - has used his CEDAR Series 2 rackmount units to restore a number of well-known recordings and performers such as The Goon Show, Harry James, and pioneering recordings of the Mahler symphonies.
Herefordshire based, Ted Kendall owns a CEDAR Series 2 DC-1 De-Clicker and a CR-1 De-Crackler. One of CEDAR's long-standing customers, Ted Kendall provided invaluable feedback when using early versions of this range of products.
The sound effects from The Goon Show were originally transcribed from lacquers and shellac. The infamous 'Fred the Oyster' effect required declicking and decrackling as the source was a Columbia shellac 78. Kendall used the DC-1 De-Clicker to remove large and small clicks, and the CR-1 De-Crackler to remove crackle from all of The Goon Show sound effects except those where the scratches were part of the gag!
The Harry James album (Hep Records) was originally recorded onto 16" coarse-grooved vinyl discs. The unwanted noise ranged from light ticks to large scratches, practically all of which the DC-1 and CR-1 removed with appropriate adjustment.
Ted Kendall has also recently restored the first LP recordings of three Mahler symphonies. The performances by Charles Adler were originally recorded in Vienna during the 1950s for the American SPA label, and the recordings have a wide dynamic range. Kendall used the DC-1 and CR-1 to remove unwanted clicks and crackle, as well as to smooth odd patches of distortion.
Kendall processes the majority of his work through his CEDAR Series 2 units. "The DC-1 and CR-1 are extremely effective at removing clicks and crackle, and once set up they require minimal intervention from me. In addition, the A to D and D to A converters in the Series 2 units sound remarkably good."
The Series 2 range also includes the DH-2 De-Hisser and the AZ-1 Azimuth Corrector.
