i would assume.high gen is a near perfect copy,low gen a not to good copy.
and first gen is the original recording.
i dont know.thats just my assumption.
sort of like master tape original copy,,,,,and master tape copy but 3 times down the line?
I think it's like this:
You have your master tape (the tape you recorded with), and then when you make a copy, the copied tape is called a "First Generation Tape." Here's a chart (assuming that the master tape is in excellent quality):
Master Tape: Excellent
1st Generation: Excellent
2nd Generation: Very Good
3rd Generation: Good
4th Generation: Fair
5th Generation: Rough
6th Generation: Poor
The lower the generation, the better the quality. So when you see something like "this concert came from a 1st generation tape and sounds great" that means that the concert came from the first copy of the master tape and it sounds great (the master tape will sound even better).
Of course this is true only in the "analogue world" :-)
In the world of digital LOSSLESS recordings, every generation should be identical unless some copy errors occured
Good topic.
"High generation" is an arbitrary term for "the tape has been copied a high number of times," meaning it's not great quality. "Low generation" therefore means it has been copied very few times. Both terms are assumptions based on clues in the sound quality - some sometimes more obvious than others.
That said, a 6th generation copy of an excellent-sounding master tape may not necessarily be poor. It depends on what kind of tapes were used, cables, equipment, etc. Maybe some of the generations were DAT, not just cassette. There are a lot of variables. If transferred poorly, even a first generation cassette of a great-sounding master tape could be crap.