[78-L] microphone technology

[Philip Carli]

I vaguely remember that in the Rachmaninoff -- but Bob Hodge and I both think that Brunswick engineers were erratic or perhaps loaded with bathtub gin.  The Capitol Grand Orchestra acoustic of Weber's _Oberon_ overture needs several internal speed adjustments to keep a steady pitch (the worst flub is the beginning of side B, when the turntable wasn't up to speed yet when the orchestra starts and consequently the pitch noticeably drops for a second or two), and on one of the Godowsky sides they braked the turntable before he stopped his last chord , making that last pianissimo chord finish like broken tape flying off a tape recorder.  And these were passed for release! The Mengelberg _Marche Slave_ with the NY Phil is a terrific performance but very harshly recorded with the "Light-Ray" system; I have a great fondness for it, though, and I look for Light-Rays in general because they fascinate me.  If Brunswick's engineers _were_ liquored-up, I can imagine a huge beery sigh of relief when they were told they could use mikes instead of mirrors; then they went out to the nearest speakeasy to celebrate.
________________________________________
From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com [78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com] On Behalf Of David Lennick [dlennick at sympatico.ca]
Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 10:50 AM
To: 78-L Mail List
Subject: Re: [78-L] microphone technology

Did you notice that the last note of the 3rd movement is in the runout? Ward
didn't, in the transfer he did (I think it's his) for the Cleveland Orchestra
box set.

Brunswick was also known to dub masters, sometimes to dull the sound and pass
the wear test, sometimes when the label size shrank. I still wonder whether
they ever recorded masters at 33 and dubbed to 78, as Columbia would do later.
The Cleveland Ork's Prelude in C# Minor has that heavy "transcription" sound.

dl

On 12/10/2010 10:41 AM, Philip Carli wrote:
> We worked on that recording at Syracuse some years ago.  One possibility we discussed for the curiously muted recorded quality of that performance may have been a fairly simple mistake: the mike wasn't necessarily inferior, but they didn't position it high enough to cover the whole orchestra well.  It may have been placed no higher than Sokolov's head when on the podium, or it may have been lower, like a simple floor placement.  If the orchestra was seated flat, rather than in a tiered format, low mike placement might account for the brasses and wind sounding somewhat distant and unauthoritative, as well as the unusual frequency range and overall balance.  Brunswick hadn't had much experience in using a conventional microphone with a large orchestra at that point -- most previous attempts were with their "Light-Ray" system (like the NY Phil sides and, I think, the Cleveland re-recording of _1812_; in fact  I believe their first released electrical was of the Metropolitan O
per
>   a House Orchestra). One copy we had was a first issue in its original binding, which is a work of art -- heavily embossed in gold and bronze accents, with elaborate raised lettering.  Brunswick was really trying to outgloss Victor and Columbia with it.
> ________________________________________
> From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com [78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com] On Behalf Of David Lennick [dlennick at sympatico.ca]
> Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 10:03 AM
> To: 78-L Mail List
> Subject: Re: [78-L] microphone technology
>
> Not that Brunswick was ever known for using up-to-date technology once it went
> electrical. I very much like that performance, by the way. Wish I could find
> the late laminated pressing of it. They also kept the volume down and pressed
> on noisy shellac which got worse by the 1930s.
>
> dl
>
> On 12/10/2010 9:55 AM, neechevoneeznayou at gmail.com wrote:
>>      From time to time we have discussed on this list the advancements in
>> disc recording technology and the ability to capture high freqs.
>>
>> Have we ever discussed microphone advancements?
>>
>> I am listening this morning to the Rachmaninoff Second Symphony in
>> Sokolov's 1928 Brunswick reading with the Cleveland O. The sound of the
>> violin section is clearly limited above a certain frequency.
>>
>> I am wondering if someone can cite a specific number for an upper limit,
>> and further describe how that number went up by a given year.
>>
>> joe salerno
>
>
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