Capitol Records 2-track Reel-to-Reel Tapes, 1957-1958

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by MLutthans, Apr 28, 2012.

  1. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

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    Edmonton
    Matt might correct me, but to my knowledge Capitol never used twin track mixes for its domestic recordings. The Capitol Tower went from full-track mono directly to three-track recording without the awkward twin track transitional period some other studios had during the late fifties. Anything two-track at Capitol was a phono reel (a stereo mixdown from the three-track session reels) or a dupe for these prerecorded tape releases.

    If a tape box is printed "for in-line heads" the reel is a half-track (also known as two-track) that only plays in one direction, irrespective of mixing (with or without phantom center). There is no reverse play.

    So to answer your question, a prerecorded Capitol tape that's labeled "2-track/7.5 IPS/for in-line heads" will have two channels and a phantom center for a full stereo spread.
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2015
  2. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

    Just to further clarify:
    We're getting into semantics here, but, technically, quarter track tapes are also "in-line," so the in-line tag ONLY dictates that the playback heads should lay in a straight line, as opposed to "staggered head" playback, in which the left and right heads appear one after another rather than appearing left/right of each other.
    staggeredHeadsMagnecord.jpg
    See those two, separate heads whose covers are lifted? Those are the separate left and right playback heads -- with the timing slightly staggered to compensate for the staggered heads. By 1957, this type of configuration had more-or-less given way to in-line heads (both tracks having heads that are side by side), but because some machines with staggered heads were still in use, companies thought they should make sure to specify that their tapes were for 'in-line' heads.

    Sorry to be Semantic Policeman again, but "phonoreel" has nothing to do (per se) with stereo mixdowns. Album mixes -- live to mono OR 2-track mixdowns -- would be collected onto two pancakes (often referred to as reels, but that's not technically accurate in many cases) that were running masters for mono/stereo LP cutting. Tracks that were SINGLES (and not yet on an LP) were stored on "phonoreels" at Capitol, i.e., Singles 4508-4520 might all be gathered on "phonoreel #56" (or whatever). In simplest terms, phonoreels at Capitol were collecting places for tracks that were released, but not on LP, and to my knowledge, virtually all selections on a phonoreel were mono for many years, only because, even well into the stereo era, the singles were mono.
     
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  3. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    I always learn so much from you. I've never seen the in-line tag on a 4-track box, probably because those tapes hit the consumer market well after the staggered head configuration became old hat. I had incorrectly assumed it had something to do with unidirectional play tapes (in line, as in the direction of heads only).

    Was I correct about Capitol upgrading from mono directly to three-track recording? I've never heard of them recording to two-track. I've never heard a twin track mix from the Capitol Tower.
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2015
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  4. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    This probably explains why some pre-1968 singles that never made it onto an album have never been mixed to stereo in the digital era because the phonoreels were used instead of the three track session tapes on the CD releases.
     
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  5. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Sure you have, try the "WELCOME TO THE CLUB" stereo LP by Nat King Cole. Dreadful twin-track mix.
     
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  6. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    But it was mixed with a phantom center wasn't it? As opposed to a twin track with music in one channel and Nat in the other?

    I'm asking because I pawned my copy of the original pressing so I can't go back and check. The sound was dreadful on that LP.

    There's a few tracks on the Story reissue that were also two track? "Orange Colored Sky" and "Ay Cosita Linda" IIRC. But Nat appears center in the image.
     
  7. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Nothing in the middle.
     
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  8. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    Probably why I pawned it. Strange that they mixed in that fashion for the album. Seems rare for Capitol. There's a lot of early Mercury and Victor stereo like that, but I haven't come across too much from Capitol.
     
  9. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    There are more, Matt would know.
     
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  10. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

    I'm starting to see a trend in my most recent posts!

    I hate to be Captain Semantics yet again, but I do not consider that first stereo mix of Welcome to the Club to be "twin-track" in style. I view "twin-track," at its essence, to be:

    •One track basically just vocals
    •One track basically just instruments

    Blend 'em together if you want to make a mono mix.

    Welcome to the Club in its original stereo mix -- which I still maintain is defective and sneaked past the quality control folks undetected, and which did get replaced by a new, vocals-centered remix later in the 1960s -- differs from that typical twin-track layout, in that it sounds this way:

    •Count Basie Band nicely balanced in stereo, left AND right (with plenty of stuff mixing about in assorted locations between left and right as well, although nothing is electronically panned center, per se).
    •Nat's vocal, when present, is hard left.

    IMO, if it were "twin-track" style, we'd have (essentially) Basie's band on the right only, and Nat's vocal on the left only, or vice versa.

    Some of the tracks on the "Stereo" version of the High Society soundtrack are twin-track-y, but that was not recorded at Capitol. (It was recorded by M-G-M, which then sent some work-part 2- and/or 3-track tapes to Capitol so Capitol could mix tracks for monophonic LP release. That worked great until some genius (bean counter) decided to use those same work-part tapes to make "stereo" mixes, and those resulting stereo mixes -- made from parts that were never meant to be used to create stereo mixes -- sound awful when hard panned, Duophonic'd up, etc.)
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2015
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  11. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

    Also, this is from a June, 2013 post regarding Welcome to the Club:
     
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  12. Simon A

    Simon A Arrr!

    I know I'll be thrown quite a few stones for saying this, but the first time I heard Welcome to the Club, was thought the 1967 remix, which was drenched in reverb. I absolutely love both the SACD and the S&P Records version of the album, but I also like to revisit the '67 remix warts, farts & all. ;)
     
  13. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

    S&P did that one?
     
  14. Simon A

    Simon A Arrr!

    My apologies, I was thinking Just On Of Those Things.
     
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  15. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

    Not really with an intentional phantom center. The left mic is hard left, the right mic is hard right, and anything that happened to be more-or-less equidistant from both mics would come out more-or-less between the two speakers, but this is a function of the recording style and not a function of any mix/remix.
     
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  16. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

    By the way, I had to drive from Thousand Oaks, CA, to Ontario, CA today, and just barely had time to park in the lot behind Amoeba, dash inside, go through the bins, pop over to the Cinerama Dome to take a leak, and make a beeline for the airport, but what tape do you suppose was sitting on the VERY TOP of the first box of open-reel tapes in the rear corner of the store? This one:

    162334323_reel-to-reel-tape-2-track-les-baxter-ports-of-pleasure-7.jpg
    SOLD to the tall geek in glasses!
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2015
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  17. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    Thanks for the distinction. I'm confusing recording style with mixing style...so there is material on "Welcome To The Club" that appears center because those instruments were situated between the two omnidirectional mics. So really not twin track, although Nat is hard left. Got it.

    I think Peggy Lee's "I'm A Woman" was mixed this way too. I recall her vocal being in one track while the instrumental mix is stereo.

    What's the deal with "Cha Cha de Amor"? I only have the mono pressing.
     
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  18. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    Score!
     
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  19. Simon A

    Simon A Arrr!

    Wow! You lucky, lucky lad! :righton:
     
  20. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

    Yup, I really had to use the restroom.

    OH, you mean the TAPE! Yeah, that was pretty cool.
     
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  21. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

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  22. MMM

    MMM Forum Hall Of Fame

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    Lodi, New Jersey
    No way is the Mobile Fidelity compressed. If anything, the tape may have some, possibly contributing to the "presence". That doesn't mean it doesn't sound good though...
     
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  23. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    The MoFi pressing is great. But, after careful comparison, the tape wins my ears. The needles do plenty of jumping even if it's a little compressed. Perhaps the warmth of tape adds more of a dramatic presence than the record does.

    The two releases sound very close, though.
     
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  24. SBC

    SBC Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Found this lovely beauty recently, and I have not seen it mentioned on any lists. Fantastic album!
    [​IMG]
     
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  25. SBC

    SBC Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    And this! Great music!


    [​IMG]
     
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