[78-L] Hello and a question

[Michael Biel]

Although someone did mention that RCA did experiment with film mastering
(the Monteux San Francisco Orch Scheherazade is the most notable example
where the final set was sourced from a film master) there were other
methods of recording in the 1930s besides discs.  The steel tape
Blattnerphone/Marconi-Stille was used by broadcasters like the BBC as
early as 1930.  It had a time length in excess of 30 minutes although
the sound quality would not have made it useful for mastering records. 
The Toscanini Saltzburg Festival performances in the early 30s (33-35 I
think) were recorded on a special optical film machine that was actually
restored by the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archive in order to transfer the
films about 10 or 15 years ago.  The films ran up to an hour, I think. 
Most notably is the Philips-Miller machine which I think was used
occasionally for record mastering in the 30s in Europe.  It used a
vertical-modulated chisel that cut a variable-area optical soundtrack in
a film by cutting away a thin opaque coating on the transparent film. 
It could run at least a half hour.  The Germans had improved the AEG
Magnetophon magnetic tape recorder enough by 1942 that it was used to
record and syndicate excellent symphonic and operatic recordings to the
Reich Rundfunk stations during the war.  Some of them exist --including
8 or 9 in stereo-- and some have been issued on LP and CD.  I don't
think anyone seriously used wire for quality disc mastering, but it did
have an hour time length.  

Although broadcast and other performance recordings did occasionally
become masters for the short sides of 78s, the 16-inch lacquer safeties
that U.S. Columbia and U.S. Decca used in the 40s as back-up show that
the records were recorded in 78 side-length chunks even though they
could have done continuous performances.  I want to repeat what was
hinted at, that the Stokowski/Rachmanoff Rhapsody set with the fade out
and fade in side changes were recorded in these side length chunks with
the fades done live.  The original ledger sheets clearly show this. 
That nobody like it is shown by how rarely -- if ever -- the technique
was used again.  Any other sets done this way???

The extreme irony is that even now most symphonic recordings are done in
chunks with dozens -- even hundreds -- of edits.  Back in the early days
of rock 'n' roll there were accusations that the records were put
together note by note by note since these kids couldn't sing.  Ledger
sheets and recording session tapes show that this was not the case. 
Most rock records were one continuous take or at the most made up of one
half of one take and the other half of another take.  They might need to
do 10 or 15 takes, but the edits of pop records were minimal.  On the
other hand, classical recordings had oodles of edits back during that
same era, and it is even worse now.  Even concert recordings are
"sweetened" afterwards.  Are classical performers that bad?????

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com  

  
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [78-L] Hello and a question
From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
Date: Sat, November 15, 2008 12:41 pm
To: 78-L Mail List <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>

Tape hadn't come into use when Columbia developed the LP, which was
introduced 
in 1948, and there was a ban on musicians making ANY recordings that
year, so 
there was time to experiment with tape recording. For a while in 1949, 
recordings were made simultaneously on disc and tape, and "South
Pacific" was 
issued from the disc masters..the tape version wasn't used until some
time in 
the 90s, I think (and it sounded terrible). I'm not sure when other
labels 
began using tape exclusively. But tape enabled some new record labels to
start 
up in 1949, since they gained access to German radio tapes of continuous

recordings.

dl

Pablo Varela wrote:
> Thank you for your complete information. I don't have to say that I love recording sound history but I ignore more that I believe.
> Yes, the Wozzeck set was only released in 33 and 45, as the box saids, but I remember a lot of titles offered in the three speeds.Reading another post by you I understand that in the transition between 78 and 33 some recording where taken in tape and then cutted in 78's, was it in that way?Thank you again, best wishesPablo.
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