[ARSCLIST] Fw: summing to mono

[phillip holmes <insuranceman@xxxxxxxxxx>]

From: Stan Ricker 

Sorry----------I didnt address "How often did mastering engineers do it of their own accord?  How often were mastering engineers told to sum to mono on bass?  There seems to be some disagreement on how often this was done.  What's your opinion?"

The part of "told to sum to mono" brings to mind CBS, who had the shittiest skip-testing rigs available;
BSR changers with short, light,stiff plastic arms with ceramic cartridges........if anything would skip, these things
would; all bass had to be lateral, and low level, to get by the Skip-testers at CBS pressing plants.  CBS
did realize that customer complaints and returns were "BAD DOOKIE"..........this is a large part of Columbia's reputation for crummy sound...............;>)

Other labels were not so severe.

If a mastering engineer was really conservative, he'd use EE just about all the time;made it easier to get long sides on
the lacquer at reasonable cutting levels;less rejects/higher production rates, etc...........

This part, "There seems to be some disagreement on how often this was done.  What's your opinion?"----------Obviously
the answer depends on who you chat with, and what their work-experiences were.

Guys like Doug and Bob got the best of the best, and rarely used it;
the cutting folks at Century Records had to use it ALL THE TIME,as the recording skills, instrument placement, mike-placement and recording venues of Jr.High band recording projects made for the most scrambled sonics ever; and we had to get
that stuff cut/plated/pressed/sleeved/jacketed and to the customer before school was let out, or they wouldn't be able to sell the records..........

Cheers,
Stan