Music Media

Just wonderin'.....

How many of these do you have . And do you use them all regularly ?

A) 78rpm records ........

B) 45rpm records .........

C) 33rpm records ..........

D) Cassette tapes

E) Eight Tracks

E) CD's..........

F) Ipod? MP3? Pandora (etc.)

And my answers:
Maybe one 78. A few 45s. Bunches of 33s. Along with a turntable to play all of it. Bunches of cassettes (I'm worried about age of tape, just like master recordings, and cassette tape was junk in comparison to mastering tape (3M 256 or Ampex 456, the stuff isn't even made anymore, NOS is valuable). Bunches of CDs. Did I mention all my Betamax tapes? Betacam (what Betamax was derived from) was the broadcast standard and still is.

As to usage, I haven't used the turntable in decades (I hate to admit it). Records do sound better. I even worked on a few direct-to-disc recordings in the seventies and the sound and dynamics was/is awesome. LPs are making a come back. Cassettes, I have played a few of them recently (with in five years). The CD player went belly-up at the beginning of the year (a Magnavox CDB 650, with the electronics reworked by Audio By Van Alston). Frank Van Alston said to go with a player from OPPO http://www.oppodigital.com. I haven't pressed "play" on a Beta cam deck in years (last was D-Beta decks). A Betamax has been even longer since I fired one up.

A) 78rpm records ........ Bunches, actually. I inherited some along with an old Victrola. I don't know if they're valuable or not. Been meaning to find out one day. My guess in no, but who knows. Haven't taken one out in ages.

B) 45rpm records ......... A smattering. Probably 50? Assuming my mother hasn't sold them in a garage sale. Haven't taken one out in ages.

C) 33rpm records .......... A shit load. 250? Again subject to the garage sale caveat. Haven't taken one out in ages.

D) Cassette tapes Not too many. They just tore up.

E) Eight Tracks Not too many. They tore up, too.

E) CD's.......... Several hundred, probably. Played form time to time, though not as much as in the past.

F) Ipod? MP3? Pandora (etc.) One iPod. Played pretty regularly as it's in my car hooked up to the manufacturer's sound system. Not much for quality, but you can't beat the convenience. And as deaf as I am, sound quality takes a back seat, especially in a such a poor auditory environment as an automobile.

What the hell is an eight track or a 78?
I know a 33 was an LP and a 45 was a single..but a 78???
And I have zero idea of what an eight track is.

I lost all my vinyl in a fire sadly and I had some good stuff.
Cassettes got lost in the shuffle..between the car, house, friends parties etc.
CD's...Hmmm...probably about 200 here and about the same in England.
Even though I have a nano I still play CD's. Wierd suppose.

78 Record...



8 Track Tape...

Dear Camille, I would be happy to give you a personal tour of all the formats and their background. I'll make sure it's just you and I so there are no distractions during the tutorial.

Nice pix Mokoa!

I have several dozen old LPs from the late '60s and early '70s. Some of them are of sentimental value and I probably cannot find them in downloadable form, so I'm thinking about getting them digitized. I found a guy to transfer some of Dad's old home movies from the 1950s to DVD, and he said he can do this. By the way, many of those old films were 50 years old when transferred and were still in great shape!

I understand that a high-quality LP played on a quality turntable actually does sound better than a digital reproduction. That's something I've never understood. I'm told the analog medium produces a "warmth" that can't be easily reproduced digitally.

An electrical engineer friend has a high quality turntable and a couple of old McIntosh amps and preamps from the 1950s or '60s. They actually have tubes in them! He says that by tweaking this old equipment, he can produce a warmer sound that has a less "clipped" quality about it.

I'm not sure my ears are good enough to be able to tell the difference, though.

Like most folks, I have a large collection of music loaded onto iPods. The quality is mediocre, but fine for mobile listening.

I have several dozen old LPs from the late '60s and early '70s. Some of them are of sentimental value and I probably cannot find them in downloadable form, so I'm thinking about getting them digitized. I found a guy to transfer some of Dad's old home movies from the 1950s to DVD, and he said he can do this. By the way, many of those old films were 50 years old when transferred and were still in great shape!

I understand that a high-quality LP played on a quality turntable actually does sound better than a digital reproduction. That's something I've never understood. I'm told the analog medium produces a "warmth" that can't be easily reproduced digitally.

An electrical engineer friend has a high quality turntable and a couple of old McIntosh amps and preamps from the 1950s or '60s. They actually have tubes in them! He says that by tweaking this old equipment, he can produce a warmer sound that has a less "clipped" quality about it. Originally Posted by CaptainMidnight

Those Mac amps are worth thousands even the smaller amps (I have a MC225). There is a warmth that tube amps produce that digital still doesn't achieve but is getting closer. Actually have transistors power the low end and tubes the upper. Sorry about the audio geek mode.

There used to be a lot of places that would do the film to video/DVD transfers. Not so many these days. Do it sooner than later as the film continues to age.

What the hell is an eight track or a 78?
I know a 33 was an LP and a 45 was a single..but a 78???
And I have zero idea of what an eight track is. Originally Posted by Camille

Camille, the numbers refer to the RPM (rounds per minute). Old 78's were 78 RPM, 45's are 45 RPM and 33's (actually they were 33 1/3 RPM) are 33 RPM.

A 8 track was a tape box that stuck in car tape players. Much larger than cassette tapes. They were popular because they allowed you to jump from one grouping of 4 songs to another grouping of 4 songs without having to fast forward through all the songs in between.

Camille, the numbers refer to the RPM (rounds per minute). Old 78's were 78 RPM, 45's are 45 RPM and 33's (actually they were 33 1/3 RPM) are 33 RPM.

A 8 track was a tape box that stuck in car tape players. Much larger than cassette tapes. They were popular because they allowed you to jump from one grouping of 4 songs to another grouping of 4 songs without having to fast forward through all the songs in between. Originally Posted by Rudyard K

And they generally soundly like crap and broke a lot (absolutely the cheapest tape available. And the heads fell out of alignment too so you'd hear two tracks instead of one. It was a format that should have died much more quickly than it did.
Head stack layout:
1 left
2 left
3 left
4 left
1 right
2 right
3 right
4 right

And the head would move up or down. All covering a 1/4" tape.

I know I've hit geek mode (again).

There is a warmth that tube amps produce that digital still doesn't achieve but is getting closer... Originally Posted by SR Only

I find it interesting that even with rapidly-advancing technology, we still seem not to have gotten to the point where digital media can accurately reproduce that audio "warmth."

When I asked my engineer friend about that, he said something like this: The technical tasks are more difficult than we might have thought 10-20 years ago, but not insurmountable. Perhaps it is generally felt that they may not be worth significant R&D costs, since there just aren't all that many true audiophiles. Most people are simply interested in mediocrity at a lower price. The demand for high-end amplifiers may be very small.

SR Only, I am curious as to whether you would agree with that assessment.

Similarly, I find it interesting that filmmaking seems to have gone so long without serious challenges from digital techniques. Quality reproduction of the warmth, richness, and color seems to be an extraordinarily difficult task. My understanding is that producers have only recently become intererested in fully digital processes.

Yes, those old 8-track tapes were pretty sorry. And do any of y'all remember those big, bulky carrying cases? You needed one about the size of a fishing tackle box just to carry around a dozen of those bulky old-style cartridges!

There used to be a lot of places that would do the film to video/DVD transfers. Not so many these days. Do it sooner than later as the film continues to age. Originally Posted by SR Only

I had that done about four years ago and have no idea whether the company is still in business.

Dad found a bunch of old film cans in his closet and said he didn't figure they were still any good. He hadn't watched them in decades and no longer had a projector. When I took them to get checked out, I was mildly surprised to find that they were still in good shape.

You might check with your parents (or grandparents for you younger folks!) to see whether they have any old home movies. They were very popular in the '40s, '50s, and '60s. My nieces and nephews got a huge kick out of seeing their parents when they were kids.

I had the audio/video guy make a bunch of DVDs from Dad's films and sent them to everyone in the family. Great memories!

I find it interesting that even with rapidly-advancing technology, we still seem not to have gotten to the point where digital media can accurately reproduce that audio "warmth."

When I asked my engineer friend about that, he said something like this: The technical tasks are more difficult than we might have thought 10-20 years ago, but not insurmountable. Perhaps it is generally felt that they may not be worth significant R&D costs, since there just aren't all that many true audiophiles. Most people are simply interested in mediocrity at a lower price. The demand for high-end amplifiers may be very small.

SR Only, I am curious as to whether you would agree with that assessment. Originally Posted by CaptainMidnight

Your engineer friend is spot on. Tony Bongiovi has some technology that supposedly is getting close but I haven't listened so I cannot vouch from personal experience.
http://news.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/10381/430272.html
http://www.bongioviacoustics.com/

Similarly, I find it interesting that filmmaking seems to have gone so long without serious challenges from digital techniques. Quality reproduction of the warmth, richness, and color seems to be an extraordinarily difficult task. My understanding is that producers have only recently become interested in fully digital processes. Originally Posted by CaptainMidnight

Film has inherent grain to it, so with digital you can get higher resolution and editing is a breeze as opposed to editing film. But I bet film has a warmth just like audio. In full theaters in full presentation it is hard to do a "side by side" comparison.

78 Record...



8 Track Tape...



Originally Posted by Mokoa

That 8 track tape thing (2nd pic) looks like something you keep drill bits or spanners in. It's very bulky.
I figured that the 78 was a record..but if a 45 played a single and a 33 was an LP....how many songs were usually on a 78? 3 or something? Was it like a sample of an LP?

C xx

Btw..the amps post was interesting...esp the bit about how the "warmth" is difficult to re-create. Thanks for sharing that guys.

A 8 track was a tape box that stuck in car tape players. Much larger than cassette tapes. They were popular because they allowed you to jump from one grouping of 4 songs to another grouping of 4 songs without having to fast forward through all the songs in between. Originally Posted by Rudyard K

and I'm guessing there were 8 tracks in total on the tape?
That sucker looks massive though.
It wouldn't fit in your back pocket easily would it lol?

xxx

and I'm guessing there were 8 tracks in total on the tape?
That sucker looks massive though.
It wouldn't fit in your back pocket easily would it lol?

xxx Originally Posted by Camille

As I remember they held the full album of an LP...but separated the songs into groups of 3-4 songs...4 groups in all. I have no idea where the 8-Track name came from...lol.

But they were the easiest tape to put in the car, and get tuned to songs...when driving down the road at excess speed, with a doobie in one hand, a beer in the other, while one of those arms is wrapped around your honey.