[78-L] 75rpm v. 78rpm.

[Steven C. Barr]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chris Zwarg" <doctordisc at truesoundtransfers.de>
> Quite true! As classical post-1945 French Columbias are very well settled 
> at 78, you never know however if that's not early cases of "sharp" 
> mastering, i.e. records *intended* to be played faster than they were 
> recorded - a well-known nuisance among 1950's and 1960's pop 45s. The 
> sound at 3 to 5 % sharp certainly has a better "cutting edge" which might 
> have been an advantage on jukeboxes in noisy barrooms, but still the 
> effect is unmusical to these ears especially with female voices (Brenda 
> Lee and Connie Francis come to mind, some of whose titles play in-between 
> keys at 45 and sound considerably less shrill and piercing if corrected to 
> the next lower musical key). I habitually correct it (to the occasional 
> dismay of some reissue producers who want the "authentic" sound on their 
> CDs).
>
As I understand it, there was also another reason for this practice! 
Remember
that "pop records" of this era were mainly promoted via radio play...and if 
a
disc played 5% fast, it took 5% less time to play it...valuable time, as it
added up, which allowed more time for commercials...which is how radio
stations made money...?! 5% speed-up on a 180-second pop hit gave 9
extra seconds of "ad time"...do this for 3.33 discs and there's another
30-second ad...!

...stevenc