Oscar Peterson’s ‘My Favorite Instrument’ on tape reviewed by Neville Roberts

Posted on by Dave Denyer

Big thanks to hi-fi journalist Neville Roberts, who reports here on Oscar Peterson’s My Favorite Instrument from Horch House / Revox.

Horch House is a supplier of high quality copy-master tapes made directly from legendary analogue recordings. These recordings include classical works, jazz, blues and easy listening music. Horch House is now part of Revox and I had the pleasure of listening to a track from their Oscar Peterson – My Favorite Instrument album at the 2025 Hi-Fi Show Live at Ascot Racecourse, played on Revox’s latest B77 MK III tape recorder.

Revox B77 MkIII

The B77 MK III is the new incarnation of the company’s legendary B77 tape recorder and has many new features, including upgrades to the audio electronics, better motors and superior tape heads. I also like the modern black finish and the VU meters that are now illuminated with blue lamps!

I was completely blown away by the sound quality of the demonstration track ‘Bye, Bye Blackbird’ and couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy of the album to play on my Studer A810 tape recorder. The whole series, of which this album is volume four of a six volume set, was recorded in Germany by MPS.

The music

Peterson’s flowing and intimate playing sounds absolutely amazing on the Bösendorfer grand piano, which I understand was used for this recording. Bösendorfer pianos are made in Austria, and one of their particular features is that they have more keys in the lower register than most grand pianos. For many years, Peterson only played on this make of piano.

The selection of music on this album includes several of my personal favourite tunes, including ‘Body And Soul’, ‘Lulu’s Back In Town’ and, of course, ‘Bye Bye Blackbird’. All the tunes are all played with Peterson’s customary flamboyant style, flourish and precision.

Here’s the full track listing:

Tape 1

  1. Someone To Watch Over Me
  2. Perdido
  3. Body And Soul
  4. Who Can I Turn To

Tape 2

  1. Bye Bye Blackbird
  2. I Should Care
  3. Lulu’s Back In Town
  4. Little Girl Blue
  5. Take The ‘A’ Train

The album quality

The album reviewed here is the ‘Studio Master’ version, which is supplied on two RTM SM900 standard-play high-output, back-coated studio tapes at 510 nWb/m fluxivity with metal spools and deluxe packaging. The album is also available at a lower cost on RTM LPR90 long-play tape at 320 nWb/m fluxivity with a plastic spool as a ‘Pure Master’, or on RTM LPR90 with a metal spool as a ‘Standard Master’ with deluxe packaging. All the tapes are recorded at 15ips and with CCIR equalisation.

The album’s packaging quality is superb. The two tapes of the Studio Master edition are supplied on high quality spools that have been printed with the Revox / Horch House logos. The spools are supplied in two red plastic boxes with a folder containing the album artwork.

When played on my upgraded Studer A810, there is no discernible tape hiss during the silence between tracks on the recording, which is down to the quality of the copy-mastering process that Horch House uses for their recordings, as well as the choice of high quality RTM SM900 standard-play high-output tape. The piano produces quite a complex sound and all of the subtleties of the instrument are reproduced with a startling clarity, especially when you consider the original recording was made in 1968.  The dynamic range is totally realistic, much more so than with the LP version, as inevitably an LP requires some compression and tweaking of the equalisation in order to avoid overloading the cutting stylus or cutting the groove too deeply. The bass response is tight and well-controlled and the top end is bright without being harsh and edgy. Overall, it sounds as though Peterson is playing live in my listening room.

This recording really does offer a superb sound quality and transports the listener as close as possible back to the original performance.

More information & orders

Visit https://horchhouse.eu/en-world/products/oscar-peterson-my-favorite-instrument

The ‘Pure Master’ tape costs 325 euros plus shipping, VAT and any other import duties on a 10.5” plastic spool RTM LPR90 tape. It’s also available for 480 euros as a ‘Standard Master’ on a 10.5” metal spool and as a ‘Studio Master’ (reviewed here) on two RTM SM900 tapes with 10.5” metal spools for 595 euros.

 

 Neville Roberts is a man of many interests and talents. As well as being a regular contributor to Hi-Fi Choice magazine, he’s a retired UK National Health Service (NHS) director, electronics engineer and physicist. He’s also a lifelong audio enthusiast with a particular interest in valve/tube audio design, vinyl and tape. Neville enjoys an eclectic range of music including classical, especially baroque, light orchestral and jazz. He lives with his wife near Bournemouth in Dorset, UK, where he grows orchids and is a keen photographer.