Early Days of Analogue Recording (1940s-50s) Flashcards
What is tape saturation?
- Light distortion / analogue.
- Voltage exceeds level for tape to be able to record.
- Loss of high frequencies, boost of lows.
How were performers positioned around a microphone in the early days of analogue recording?
- Drums at greatest distance from the mic.
- Vocals at the front and closest.
- Other instruments positioned around mic at different distances.
What is the name for recordings that were only in the centre of the mix?
Mono
What is tape hiss?
High frequency background noise present on analogue magnetic tape recordings, basically the noise floor of the recording medium.
What is the name for the boost in low frequencies and softening of attacks that occurred during 40s and 50s recordings?
Analogue warmth
How many tracks were used to record in the 1940s-50s?
One track
What is direct-to-disc recording?
Uses magnetic tape recordings to record directly onto analogue disc masters (shellac discs).
What were some issues with using 1 mic to record?
- Drums were far away from mic, lows (kick drum, etc) were lost. Fixed by playing louder or moving drums closer.
- Vocals were close so would clip / distort.
- Low frequency range.
Name 2 types of magnetic tape recording equipment.
- Reel-to-reel audio tape.
- Compact cassette.
What polarity was most common in mics during the 1940s-50s?
Figure-of-8 (ribbon)
When did analogue tape first become used in recording studios?
Post WW2, late 1940s / early 1950s.
What is tape saturation and what effect does it have?
- Creates a boost in the low frequencies (soft distortion).
- Rolls off high frequencies.
- Boosts harmonics.
- ANALOGUE WARMTH.
- Voltage applied to the tape is too great for it to handle.
What is the name we use for inconsistencies in speed (2 words)?
Wow and flutter.
Which word describes the high frequency noise associated with analogue tape?
Tape hiss.
What is the name of the company that found a solution to the problem of high frequency noise in analogue tape?
Dolby.
What is IPS and what effect does it have?
Inches Per Second, describes tape speed in tape recording machines.
More inches per second = greater quality recording.
30ips is studio recording quality.
Describe the heads found on a tape delay machine.
Erase head, Record head, Playback heads (3 Playback heads).
How can delay time be varied on a tape delay machine?
Changing the distance between the Record and Playback heads.
What is feedback on a tape delay machine?
How many repeats there are.
When did 2/3/4/8/16/24-track tape recording first begin to be used in recording studios?
2-track recording: late 1950s.
3-track recording: early 1960s.
4-track recording: mid 1960s.
8-track recording: late 1960s.
16-track recording: early 1970s.
24-track recording: mid 1970s.
What are mono and stereo audio recordings?
Monaural (mono / ‘full-track’) audio recordings and equipment consists of a single audio channel or ‘track’.
Binaural (stereo / ‘two-track’) recordings and equipment use 2 audio tracks.
Q
What is the name of the process in the early days of analogue multitrack tape recording where you could combine multiple tracks into one?
Bouncing down.
What are the editing techniques that WERE available during the early days of analogue multitrack tape recording?
- Speeding up / slowing down tape to alter the pitch.
- Tape saturation by warming tapes.
- Splicing (cutting up tape and then resembling it in a different order).
- Flanging (slowing one tape down) creates modulation effect.
- Playing tape backwards.
- Tape delay machines.
