Lincoln Mayorga & Distinguished Colleagues Vol 1 - RARE - 1971 Direct to Disc LP

$

71

This is the very first of three direct to disc, laboratory series lps produced by Lincoln Mayorga and the late Doug Sax on the Sheffield Lab label. This and the other two albums in the Lincoln Mayorga and Distinguished Colleagues series introduced a sound and transparency yet, to have been heard on a mechanical vinyl long playing record. The sessions were recorded in Hollywood and reverted back to the recording technology used for 78 rpm records prior to the introduction of magnetic tape recording and development of the long playing, 33 1/3 rpm vinyl disc. While magnetic tape recording provided for many advantages over recording direct to disc, there were inherent sonic challenges with tape. By eliminating one or more generations of tape in the recording and using the best, state-of-the-art disc cutting lathes and cutting heads available at that time, this album and its two successor releases provided sound that probably approached digital CD quality. Companies like McIntosh Laboratories, the iconic amplifier company, reportedly used these Sheffield Labs records to test the sonic purity of their amplifiers. 
I have owned this album since it was new. I acquired it while I was in the USAF stationed in Washington, DC as a recording production engineer on the international acclaimed and distributed "Serenade in Blue" Air Force syndicated radio program heard on about 2,000 radio stations in the early 1970's. Our shows were distributed on lp's to the stations (I still have a complete set of the three years of programs I was involved with, virtually unplayed). The pressing plant that pressed our "Serenade in Blue" lp transcriptions was the same plant that pressed this first volume of the Sheffield Lab's series. The plant was completing the pressing and packaging of the Sheffield album when the 1971 San Fernando Earthquake struck California. The pressing plant was heavily damaged by that earthquake with a crack going through the middle of the plant. During the clean-up after the quake, the GM of the plant was handed three copies of this album, shrink sealed. They had fallen behind the assembly table during the quake. Because he loved our show and considered our master tapes to be the highest quality tapes they received to press records from, he knew we would appreciate this album and accordingly, sent the three copies to us at our studio in Washington, DC. I have one of them. My OIC had the second and my NCOIC had the third. My NCOIC died in 1980 and I have no idea what became of his copy. I am in contact with my former OIC and he doesn't know what happened to his copy. But, I still have mine. So, that's the history of this particular copy of a very limited edition record release.
This record has only been played a very few times. I haven't listened to it in years. In the early days of my 50 year career in audio recording and sound, I produced vinyl lps, cassettes and CD's. But, I've downsized and no longer have a stereo system or studio with record playing capability and haven't for probably 10 or more years. I have no interest or desire or the space to set up such a system again, so I'm letting go of all my records, cassettes and probably my CD's. I have digital copies of everything I'm interested in keeping. I'll also be selling my copies of volume 2 and volume 3 of this three record series. So, now you have the history of this limited edition recording. Happy bidding.