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

[David Lennick]

Steven C. Barr wrote:
> ----- 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 
> 
I know of a couple of instances where the 45 RPM version of a song was 
definitely running faster than the LP, a situation that probably changed when 
the single was part of a "Greatest Hits" reissue, but some stations also 
deliberately played singles slightly sharp to "brighten" the sound (especially 
in comparison with their rivals up the street). CFTR in Toronto was 
particularly noted for this in the 70s.

On the other hand, there's a story about singer Dickie Valentine being unable 
to hit the high notes on his big hit "The Finger of Suspicion", so they did 
some tomfoolery, recording the orchestra track (when this was not standard 
practice) and playing it back slower for him to add his vocal, then speeding 
the whole thing up for transfer to disc.

dl