Found this 2006 interview with Kavichandran Alexander...http://www.tnt-audio.com/intervis/waterlily_e.html
Arvind Kohli >
Tell us about the equipment used to make your recordings?Kavi Alexander >
I had always wanted an all tube chain. When I started Water Lily, I was loaned the superb Nagra T Audio tape recorder by the manufacturer. When funds allowed I moved on to the nuvistor based Ampex MR70, of which I had both 1/4" and 1/2" decks. Tim de Paravicini of EAR, built me a pair of tube microphones, a tube mike preamp and heavily modified a tube Studer C37, converting it to a one inch, two track deck. This was my recording chain till 2003. In 2003, I sold off all my EAR equipment and purchased two Tascam DSD recorders, two Stellavox analog tape recorders (1/4 and 1/2 inch), a SoundDevices PCM recorder, Meitner DA/AD converters and Pearl ELM 8 and C mics. Mic preamps are by TrueSystems and Grace.See AlsoWater Lily Acoustics - [English]21st-Water Lily AcousticsWATER LILY ACOUSTICS WLA-WS-76-SACD [SV] May 2010 MusicWeb-InternationalArvind Kohli >
What precipitated the sudden and drastic change?Kavi Alexander >
The raison-d-etre for Water Lily is to record beautiful music with the highest degree of fidelity and resolution possible. I have always wanted to travel and record musicians from around the world. There are many highly accomplished master musicians in the East, who for several reasons would never travel to North America. These folks are masters of very old art forms, and a lot of this is about to be lost forever, when these old artists pass on. I have an urge to record them before it is too late.There is a balancing act I have to consider, given this objective. One may have the best equipment and facilities in California, but one has to bring the musicians here. They would be removed from their element, sleeping in strange hotels, eating food they are not accustomed to, away from their loved ones and daily comforts. And then I ask them to squeeze out the essence of their soul so I can record it.
Now, least somebody get the wrong idea that the current Water Lily digital/solid-state and analog/solid-state recording chains are somehow inferior to the earlier all tube, analog chain, I categorically state "it ain't so"! I prefer the new chains, both analog and digital, not just for their portability/reliability but also for their extended bandwidth, dynamic range and signal to noise, coupled to the sheer sonic superiority.
It was impossible to travel overseas with the old tube recording chain. I could have never recorded the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic had I not obtained the new setup that I have.
Arvind Kohli >
I am surprised that you made such a drastic change. I had always associated Water Lily with tubed gear by EAR, and had believed you to be a tube and analog diehard. I never thought you would turn digital.Kavi Alexander >
Alan Watts once said "...faith is not clinging to a rock, faith is learning to swim" [AK - I had to pause for a while after he layed that weighty thought on me. I think it will stay with me forever].Arvind Kohli >
I am guessing that if Tim de Paravicini of EAR had built you all that recording gear, you likely had a friendship stronger than one of a commercial acquaintance. How did he take your departure from his analog gear?Kavi Alexander >
"Sometimes, even the best marriages end in divorce." [AK - I felt a sadness in his voice and decided not to press any further on this topic].Arvind Kohli >
What is your impression of digital compared to analog?Kavi Alexander >
I was very surprised and so were my diehard tube-loving friends on how good the new hi-rez PCM and DSD sounds. This new generation of digital gear definitely has better dynamic range than analog, a very important consideration when recording symphonic music. From a practical standpoint tubed gear has huge disadvantages. I cannot tell you how many times I lost great takes during recordings because the tubes got noisy. Much of what I record is very spontaneous, and can never be exactly recreated. Moreover, it is never easy to approach musicians during sessions and ask for a retake because the equipment failed. For the most part they are very understanding and accommodating, but there is a limit to what can be asked of them [AK - Imagine that, a record producer concerned with the intimate well-being of the artist. I am sure that is also exactly how it is at the big record labels, NOT!!!].
