This disc features recordings by Jim Gailloreto's Split Decison, Laurence Hobgood, Stew Cutler, Fred Simon, Ted Sirota's Rebel Souls, Charlie Haden & John Taylor, Union, Bonnie Koloc, John Moulder & Ken Hall, Patrick Noland, Tom Gullion, and John Moulder.This very special sampler is a celebration of the TRUE STEREO process for recording Naim have used for the majority of their releases over the last ten years. What Naim call “True Stereo” is, what they believe to be one of the most faithful techniques that exists to capture music in a recorded format. The final sound results from recoding with just a single pair of microphones set up in a space with good natural acoustics.The end result offers the listener a ‘live’, acoustically realistic perspective on the music without processing or electronic manipulation of any kind. Because the sound is recorded direct to stereo, there is no opportunity for mixing or manipulating it after the recording has been made.The positioning of the microphones is critical for this kind of recording: microphone placement represents the only opportunity that Naim's engineer, Ken Christianson, has to adjust the levels. For example, more or less bass is achieved by positioning the bassist closer to or further from the microphones.Ken’s techniques – developed over a period of many years – are illustrated in the booklet which accompanies the True Stereo Sampler. There are diagrams showing the placement of instruments and microphones, and details on the specific sound characteristics of the room that was used for the recording.The Naim Label concept is, and always has been, to produce recordings which are of outstanding performances. As a record label, Naim do not try to influence the artists that they record musically. Naim believe that far better results can be achieved by allowing them total freedom to follow their own artistic instincts.
