"A Hard Day's Night" tape speed

Steve,

Thanks for the clarification! I think that's what I was trying to remember (speed problems, etc.). It was an interview on TV (that I do remember clearly)...

Todd

P.S. Good thing I can remember my name (Burt, Ernie, Todd, who knows??)...

 

Steve,

As always, thanks for the history lesson. A question--does a more compressed recording with less low-end sound artificially faster than it really is (versus a more dynamic recording with more low-end)?

Thanks!

Bob

 

Steve,

I don't mind the double track mistake on John's voice too much (I guess I'm used to it) or Paul's vocal blunder but I do like mix. I can live with the harmonica "goose-step mama" on 'I Should Have Known Better' (I like the over-all mix). 'Can't Buy Me Gloves' does sound way off on stereo...

I've never heard the MFSL vinyl. Do you think it's better than the 70's UK reissue or even the Y&B ones? Also, what do you think of the mono Y&B version?

Todd

P.S. Gosh (forgive my language), somehow get the rights to work on this catalog. Maybe for now a vinyl only release wouldn't step on their CD sales too much (like maybe the deal Sundazed has with Sony??)...

 

Steve,

Earlier in this thread there was discussion on the psychoaccoustic effect of hearing a recording with a lot of compression and not much low-end sounding faster to the ear than a more dynamic recording with those long bass sound waves....hence my question.

A Hard Days Night---the fix (mono or stereo): let's see if I have been doing my homework...

1) get ahold of the "right" master tape (absolutely critical).

2) Playback the master tape on a properly aligned and biased vintage reel recorder.

3) EQ it just right to bring out the fidelity for either LP or CD release.

Thanks!

Bob

 

Just to clarify one small technical aspect of the film, British films are/were all filmed at 25 fps (they're on a 50Hz system over there) matching the PAL video system.

 

Keep in mind the "fix" for I Should Have Known Better is a simple edit - very easy to do to the stereo mix. I've done it myself... There's only 1 harmonica track, they just did an edit in the mono.

Other than the Can't Buy Me Love issue (along with the aforementioned ISHKB mistake and Paul's vocal crack in If I Fell - both easily fixed via edits), I can really find nothing wrong with the stereo mixes. They sound great to me!

 

Steve,

And who ever said the German language sounds so harsh! I love the German word for tape recorder although I cannot remember how to spell it. It is in the manual for my reel machine.

Bob

 

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one playing with that German to English to German thing....

Jeez, we're just way too slow in work these days......

 

Steve, thanks for the above! All us Beatle lovers are grateful.

By the way, my German to English name (Angel) translates as "fishing rod"

 

It could have been "hinge" as well ...

Joachim

 

Thanks for your input, everyone. AHDN was the only track where I'd tried comparing running times, but I THOUGHT I remembered ISHKB being even more obvious, so I just compared the running times on 4 versions: 2 'unofficial' CD versions of the stereo, 1 of the weird United Artists panned mono whateveritis, and the official mono CD. The last word "to" hits right around 2:38 on the official mono, and around 2:39 on the others (the fade's a little longer on the stereo, but we're not counting that, of course). You can hear pretty easily that the harmonica trills and the phasing of the double-tracked vocals is faster on the mono, but the time feel also seems rushed and the vocal sounds sharp as well. I haven't compared all of the other songs, but I still thought the title track seemed fast, too, even though it times the same.

So, Lance Hall, my man, when you made a speed adjusted copy of your CD (or was it just selected tracks?), did you check to see if different tunes were affected by different amounts, and did you measure the adjustments you made? And did the speed adjustments, while obviously no substitute for a good EQ job, help the tonal balance at all?

My guess on all of this was that, when they originally did all the aforementioned "fixes" to the mono, they decided to turn up the speed just to "punch things up" a little. I'd still like to know if the CD singles and EPs are "corrected" (if this is a mastering mistake), and if the vinyl mono and stereo have a similar timing discrepancy, at least on this one song. Bottom line: I think the slower stereo versions have a more pleasingly comfortable time feel. It would be nice to have that with the superior mono mixes. Thanks all.

 

Regarding "Can't Buy Me Love"

So far, I have only slowed down "Can't Buy Me Love", to match the stereo mix. I am assuming the stereo mix is at the more proper speed (slower).

When I first did it, I did it the hard way by randomly picking a length to resample the WAV file to and resampling and resampling and resampling till I got one that synced up with the stereo mix from beginning to end. I have since lost my original resampled WAV.

I have since figured out I could do it a lot easier by measuring the samples from the beginning of the song to a similar point at the end of the song (ie., the last cymbal crash). This would give me two different measurements. Then you divide one by the other to get a decimal amount of increase or decrease in the length (and therefore speed). Once you get a number you could easly resample all the other tracks.

I have speed corrected many alternate and bootleg mixes and the amount I divide or multiply the length by is usually .9--- or 1.1---.

Lance Hall

 

Now I need to track down the MFSL version (maybe in a few months/darn them Beatles!!). Despite the compression on the mono Y/B vinyl (and surface noise), I do enjoy the recording (especially the mid-range). For me, it does sound much, much better than the CD. Is there another pressing out there that beats this one for the mono mix?

Todd

P.S. What does anyone think of the Y/B stereo 'Sgt. Pepper'?? I like it...

 

...which is why I prefer the MONO mixes and believe they should be preserved over stereo. But I do like the double-tracking of John's vocal...