Re: [ARSCLIST] Fwd: [ARSCLIST] Dynamic-frequency Range

[David Lennick <dlennick@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

More likely the equipment blew out the records. Remember the Mengelberg Tchaikovsky
Fifth I mentioned, unissued on Brunswick? Even re-dubbing it wouldn't provide discs
that would pass the 'wear test' which consisted of playing a test pressing 20 times
on a typical phonograph.

Levels and excessive bass had to be carefully controlled on early electricals (even
though they were often bass-heavy, as opposed to the brilliant high ends they'd been
striving for on acousticals, especially vocals). Listen to the Franck D Minor
Symphony by Stokowski, Victor M-22, especially if you can find a later z-shellac
pressing, and especially if you can find one where the tympani attack near the start
of side 4 isn't totally ripped.

dl

Roger and Allison Kulp wrote:

> So,are we talikng about a record that "blew out" the
> equipment of the period,sort of like the infamous 1s
> Reiner "Pines" did 35 years later ?
>
>                                     Roger Kulp
>
> --- Steven Smolian <smolians@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > The record cited was, as I recall, made as an
> > experiment by Western Electric
> > andstill bears its matrix numbers as well as those
> > of Columbia.
> >
> > I gave an ARSC talk a while ago that showed how the
> > record companies dumbed
> > down their dynamic range and frequencey response on
> > its early electricals
> > since they had to sound well on the acoustical
> > players to keep selling
> > records.  The first mass-market electrical players
> > came out about 6 months
> > later.
> >
> > The paper depended on the listener hearing audio
> > examples.  Since I couldn't
> > publish those 1925 examples dut to the copyright
> > laws, I never published the
> > paper.
> >
> > Steven Smolian
> >
> >
> > --- Original Message -----
> > From: "Don Tait" <Dontaitchicago@xxxxxxx>
> > To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Sent: Friday, October 20, 2006 6:36 PM
> > Subject: [ARSCLIST] Fwd: [ARSCLIST]
> > Dynamic-frequency Range
> >
> >
> > >  A very interesting and rewarding reponse. May I
> > add something about the
> > > dynamic response on the earliest electrical 78s?
> > >
> > >  It seems clear that from the beginning the
> > electrical system was able to
> > > record a huge dynamic range. The classic example
> > that I've seen cited in
> > > many
> > > places is USA Columbia's first electrical release,
> > 50013-D (Black Label):
> > >
> > >  Trad.-Andrews: "John Peel"
> > >  Portugal: "Adeste Fidelis"
> > >
> > >  Associated Glee Clubs of America (LIve,
> > Metropolitan Opera House, March
> > > 1925)
> > >
> > >  The dynamic range on "John Peel" is astounding.
> > Finding a copy that
> > > wasn't
> > > chewed to pieces in the climaxes by heavy early
> > pickups is difficult. And
> > > that's why every company cut back on the dynamic
> > range of electrical
> > > recordings:
> > > the pickups of the time would quickly destory the
> > loud passages on the
> > > records.
> > > Roland Gelatt might have written about this in his
> > publications; some did,
> > > but I can't remember where for sure.
> > >
> > >  I regret that I do not have the equipment to
> > provide scientific data
> > > about
> > > this.
> > >
> > >  Don Tait
> > >