[78-L] various forms of stereo.

[David Lennick]

Duophonic was a name used specifically by Capitol to indicate that a monaural 
master had been electronically reprocessed to simulate stereo. Other labels 
used other terms. Still other labels lied and called it stereo. Capitol's 
Duophonic recordings were often out of phase, although for that matter so were 
some of their early genuine stereo masters..one track in the "Sail Away" cast 
album suddenly reverses phase midway, One entire side of Peggy Lee's Christmas 
Carousel was out of phase on early pressings. Radio stations had to be on their 
guard in the sixties..CFRB (AM) purchased stereo issues because they were 
usually pressed on better vinyl.

dl

On 4/20/2011 1:50 PM, Steve Williams wrote:
>
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2011 18:53:04 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Dan Van Landingham<danvanlandingham at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Beach Boys 78s
> To: 78-L Mail List<78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> Message-ID:<301105.48334.qm at web56604.mail.re3.yahoo.com>
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>
> What IS the difference between "Duo-Phonic" and stereo?Which brings to
> mind,what's the difference between stereo and binaural recording.I mention
> this
> because I owned the VHS
> copy of Disney's "Fantasia" many years ago and that recording was said to
> have
> been recorded in
> stereo back in 1940.
>
>
> 	"Binaural" refers to a method of recording that mimics the human
> ear. - "Two Sounds." The microphones are literally mounted on a Styrofoam
> head in some cases, or a single crossed-8 cardoid stereo mic is used.  The
> listener wears headphones.  "Stereo" or stereophonic refers to trying to
> create sound in a room that mimics the experience of being in the concert
> hall or nightcub, whatever.  "Stereo" is `Greek for "Solid" or
> "Three-dimensional" and the term has been used in such context since the
> 16th century. Remember stereoptic slides? "Duophonic" is simply a marketing
> name meaning two channels.
>
> 	Fantasia is in a form of stereo that was intended to be reproduced
> using many speakers.  The microphones were placed around the orchestra and
> essentially the speakers in the cinema roughly approximate the mic
> locations. It can be mixed to stereo or 5.1, but for the DVD and Bluray
> release they did a bad job.  I have a tape of a private mix of Fantasia done
> in the fifties from the stems, and it is gorgeous, some of the loveliest
> music reproduction I've ever heard.  One just ignores the crackles and pops
> of deteriorating nitrate film.
>
> 	Finally "Stems".. all major film studios since the early thirties
> have recorded music, voice, and effects on separate channels on film, with
> the orchestra generally getting multiple mics so that the sound can be
> balanced to the most pleasing mono mix.  Rhino records has done a god job of
> releasing surviving stems in true stereo.  The Glenn Miller films were an
> early example, though not all the songs survive in multitrack.  The earliest
> true stereo mixdown I've heard is from the 1933 film "meet the Baron."  Fox
> has the best surviving archive of original stems, and several of their DVDs
> provide a real treat, complete tracks in true stereo of performances that
> are actually only in the background or partially heard onscreen. Thus we can
> hear Tommy Dorsey and Harry James "Live."  I don't have the DVDs at hand but
> when I find them I'll let you know the titles involved, if there's interest.
> Unfortunately the stems of "The Gangs all Here" have NOT survived, so
> Goodman is in mono only.
>
> Pathe had binaural in the mid-teens, using double sided discs.  Victor as is
> well known was experimenting with stereo on two discs, with the Duke
> Ellington 1933 recording the only known surviving example.  Nat Shilkret and
> Leonard Joy as Victor house bands were also supposed to have done two-disc
> recordings.
>
> Steve Williams  .