[78-L] stereo ca 1932

[DAVID BURNHAM]

Reams have been written about these RCA sessions - apparently they were
testing new mikes and recording equipment while running two recording
lathes.  The stereo effect achieved from laboriously synching up the two
records was a lucky by-product of having the two mikes far enough apart to
produce stereo.  

Dave W. 


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If these tests actually took place, (I'm not saying they didn't, I just don't know), it seems probabable that the two mikes would either be placed one behind the other in the centre of the sound stage or one above the other.  If they're comparing the two mikes for sound quality, the comparison is only useful if the mikes are in the same position as closely as possible.  Playing the outputs of these two mikes, (or recordings made there-from), to a left and right speaker may give a spacial sound but it won't be stereo.  There has been lots of talk about Toscanini broadcasts being done simultaneously from two different interests using their own mikes, equipment and recorders.  Many have claimed to take these two recordings, allign them and produce a stereo version of the concert.  I haven't heard any of these attempts so I don't know from my own knowledge how successful they've been, but particularly with a Toscanini performance there's an easy way to
 tell if your listening to genuine stereo.  AT always had his 1st violins on the left and his 2nd violins on the right.  If this configuration is evident in the recording than you do indeed have stereo, but I know of no pseudo-stereo procedure which will retain this configuration.

A record collecting friend of mine once gave me a copy of a Bruno Walter recording which he said was stereo created from two different mikes, (I forget where he said the two feeds came from).  When I loaded this recording into my computer I discovered that the two channels were 20 miliseconds separated from each other.  When I alligned the two signals in the computer the sound was pure mono.  I don't know what method was used to combine these two sources but I was impressed that they were able to get the two channels even withing 20 ms.

db