Practical uses for 2-track mono session tape? Patsy Cline matrix info, stereo, etc.*

Was 2 track mono developed so that Patti Page could harmonize with herself, or were there other more practical reasons for this format?

 

How did producers make vocal overdubs before stereo came along?

 

Ah, makes sense.

 

Steve, I've got a puzzle at the discography that I can't solve. Maybe you can answer my question. Owen Bradley made vocal overdubs for 3 Patsy Cline singles in 1959/1960. He was using 3-track tape but the overdubs are mono mixes. When the songs were issued on LP the stereo mixes didn't have the overdubs.

I assume he made a new tape for the harmony overdubs, mixed to mono. Why not record Patsy's vocal phantom center in the first 2 tracks and then use the 3rd for the overdub so that it would be on the stereo mix?

Does it have to do with the mixing board he was using? Is it possible the inputs had to be mixed hard left or hard right, and could that be the reason?

 

And before tape, disc to disc overdubs. Example, many an early Les Paul & Mary Ford and Patti Page tune.

 

Definitely not on the stereo. Is there some way I could get you clips for comparison? I could definitely use an industry ear for assistance.

 

What are stereo "7" mixes? Are you referring to the Decca catalogue prefix?

 

Steve,

For comparison:

Mono mix (45 single):

Stereo mix (LP): http://youtu.be/Q1BZ8zIYWhI

The single was issued the year the song was recorded in 1959. The song appeared on a Vocalion (Decca) LP in 1965 in that stereo mix without harmony.

 

The Nashville matrix or the NY matrix?

 

Also, from what I can tell, Bradley got his first 3 track machine in May 1958. When did Chet Atkins get his?

 

Date: January 9, 1959 [14:00-17:00]

Location: Bradley Film and Recording Studios, 804 16th Avenue South, Nashville TN.

Label: 4 Star Records

Owen Bradley (pdr), Patsy Cline (v), The Jordanaires (bkv, hnd), Hank Garland, Grady Martin (eg), Floyd Cramer (p), Bob Moore (b), Harold Bradley (ebx), Farris Coursey (d)

a.106455 Yes, I Understand - 2:52 (Buster Beam, Lawton Jiles, W.S. Stevenson)

I've used the corporate matrix numbers on the discography. For this performance, it's 106455, but it was also designated NA10557. Why the duplication?

 

A few months, at least. Don Gibson's first session in stereo was June 24, 1958. Starting with "Taller Than Trees".

But, Atkins may have had only a 2 track machine. Gibson's vocal is hard left during at least the first year of his stereo masters.

 

That's what I thought. I've been told that Bradley's first stereo machine was 3-track but Atkins was 2? Why is it that vocals couldn't be mixed phantom center on 2 track?

 

I think you answered my question! Combine the fact the budget LP was issued 5 years after the single (that wasn't a hit and so everybody forgot about it), with the idea that the vault runners couldn't find the right tape (possible, especially given the 4 Star licensing/distribution deal with Decca for early Patsy material) and there is a recipe for confusion. Thanks, Steve!

 

Porter definitely helped shape Atkins' sound. The two of them together made some legendary records.

 

I would read your pages