Re: [ARSCLIST] OK - Does Anyone Know More About This?

["Richard L. Hess" <arclists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 12:11 AM 2007-06-15, Tom Fine wrote:
> I should have been more specific about my last statement. No 
> commercial-release music that I know of was recorded on 3-track 
> until 1955. I had heard rumor about the LA amateur recordist and 
> also Bill Cara I think made some 3-track recordings of live music as 
> early as 1953 or 1954, but his were also amateur recordings (Richard 
> Hess will correct me if I'm wrong but I believe Bill Cara's rig was 
> ultra-rare 3-track quarter-inch).

This is essentially correct, but Cara was a professional and I 
believe Jack Mullin was present for the recording at the Glendale 
Train Station for the Coast Starlight in 1953??. I have been told 
that this recording was played for Michael Todd and was one of many 
influences that caused him to choose to record multi-track for 
"Around the World in 80 Days".

Yes the Coast Starlight was a 3-track 1/4-inch recording, predating 
the 3-track 1/2-inch recordings done later.

Also, the Revere/CBS tape cartridge format was designed to 
accommodate a future third channel, but, to the best of my knowledge, 
all machines and cartridges that were made (at least commercially) 
only used the two outer tracks for stereo, leaving a super-wide 
(relatively speaking) guard band.

> Then we start getting into cartridges, Muntz 4-track and then Lear 
> 8-track, etc.

Of course, in the 1970s, the Lear 8-track was issued commercially in 
discrete quad as were 1/4-inch reel-to-reel tapes.

Cheers,

Richard


Richard L. Hess                   email: richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Aurora, Ontario, Canada       (905) 713 6733     1-877-TAPE-FIX
Detailed contact information: http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm
Quality tape transfers -- even from hard-to-play tapes.