Posted by Angelika in THE HISTORY OF ELECTRONIC MUSIC Monday, 1 February 2010 15:44 No Comments
Part 26. The Golden Age Of Hi-Fi.
The History of the Phonograph. Chapter 4
Everyone in the band is wearing a life jacket, i'm not sure if it's a lack of confidence in the boat they're on, or their ability as musicians..
Well even though the news promises to get better soon, we also start on a low note. World War Two.
Most records at the time were made from a rather brittle formula of Shellac, powdered slate, a cotton compound similar to manilla paper and wax lubricant.
Vinyl was first used in 1939 for a cigarette commercial that was mailed to radio stations, the reason they used vinyl was that it’s flexibility meant it was much less likely to break in the mail.
This new surface while more prone to scratches and static and dust build up, had a much lower surface noise level.
But initially it was simply it’s durability for mailing that increased it’s popularity, companies that sent both music and commercials to radio stations began to send vinyl through the mail.
During WWII, The armed forces created thousands of records called V discs for the soldiers to play, they were all pressed on Vinyl, both because of it’s durability and that shellac was in short supply due to Japans invasion of South east Asia.
Incidentally, it’s those brave souls, who, armed to the teeth with V-discs would play records for the soldiers during R’n’R that were known as the first DJ’s!
Here’s a clip of the wonderful Vera Lyn singing we’ll meet again in 1941, it’s accompanied by images from world war 2 (no jokes here for this one)
After WWII, the turntable’s only real major competition was the radio, but as each device had a distinct advantage over each over, they were able to each carve it’s own niche. Radio provides information, entertainment and music that you don’t own, infinitely for the one entry price, so it’s value is immense, but the freedom of choice is limited to the programming available from the various stations. Record players on the other hand give you the control of playing whatever you have access to, whenever you want, how you want. The turntable provides a better sound, allows the freedom of choice, the freedom of self expression, and also fuels the rather powerful addiction of collecting.
Also lets not forget that even the radio depended on record for a large portion of their broadcasting content.
All of these strengths were capitalised on after WWII.
In 1931 RCA Victor was the first company to attempt to release long player records, but failed due to the hardships of the great depression.
For those of you born after 1995 this is what an Vinyl LP looks like!
Columbia Records spent 9 years on research and development for their version of the 12inch (30cm) LP (long player) and released the 33½ rpm microgroove record in 1948. These were made of vinyl and as such had a low surface noise.
Soon new methods of recording and mastering were adopted onto vinyl records such as equalization curves and the use of reel to reel magnetic tape recording technology that was found in Germany after the war.
Sound quality had made a quantum leap.
The 50’s saw the first breed of “Audiophiles’ – people who were concerned with getting the very best hearing quality out of the much improved sound embedded in their new LP’s. These Audio purists came about as result of the development of High Fidelity – or hi-fi sound.
This was achieved through buying separate complex highly engineered components, such as turntables, loudspeakers, pre-amplifiers, and power amplifiers, all with the cumulative effect of a greater frequency response and much higher power output capability, allowing the playing of much greater audio peaks without distortion.
Then in 1958 sound experienced another quantum improvement.
I'm not sure if this diagram makes things clearer or will just complicate the issue..
To get a little geeky for second, it was thanks to the development of the Westrex single-groove 45/45 stereophonic record cutting lathe.
In basic terms the stylus (record needle) achieved stereo playback by by reading differences in signal vertically (up and down) as well as the mono-recording’s standard horizontal movement. (side to side).
For a far more technical description CLICK HERE
Gradually, People referred to playing records on their ‘stereo’ as well as ‘hi-fi’ thus the terms were coined and began to replace the use of ‘phonograph’ and ‘gramophone’
It should be said that, according to Audiophiles hi-fi has another meaning:
a playback system that aims to use the best available technology to achieve the purest or truest fidelity to the recorded music.The 50’s and early 60’s is often referred to as “The Golden Age of Hi-Fi” as this was a time when many audio components were created using tube equipment, many now famous for their warmth and clarity. Lots of purists believe that quality fell dramatically with the subsequent introduction of solid-state systems.
In the next chapter we’re going to look at the other revolution that changed the face of music forever. It’s revolutionaries dressed funny, were not very tall, and had their own strange language.. To find out just who they were in CLICK HERE.
I might be showing my age here, but that is a seriously cool looking bit of kit - Cool name too.. "the Quad II Power Amplifier"
For part 27 CLICK HERE.
CLICK HERE for the previous chapter
CLICK HERE for the INDEX of History Of Electronic Music
Posted by Angelika in THE HISTORY OF ELECTRONIC MUSIC Tuesday, 9 February 2010 09:11 No Comments
Part 27. “Get Hip To The Beat Daddio!”
The History of the Phonograph. Chapter 5
Welcome Back!
Rudolph Valentino - wow man like whatta Rebel..
Ok, so in the last chapter, we covered the technological revolution that put the record player firmly into the no1 position as the tool for audio playback.
But at the same time another revolution was happening across the western world, especially in America.
In February 1949, RCA Victor released the very first 45rpm single, only 7 inches in diameter it had a large hole in it’s center so that it could be fitted to devices that had an automatic playing mechanism, allowing singles to be dropped down in a stack on top of each other per play.
These singles had a playing time of 4 minutes each side and were made from Vinyl or polystyrene.
Singles were mass-produced and cheap to buy, they were so wide spread that they could often be found on the counter of the local drugstore.
To coincide with this new hobby of collecting singles the Top 40 was started by Todd Storz from the KOWH radio station.
But the single was not so much the revolution but part of it’s fuel.
The revolutionaries appeared on the scene sprouting strange words and listening to far out beats. The Teenager had arrived.
From the country that brought you pancake stacks comes the 45 stacks.. not as nutricious, but certainly tasty..
Before the 1950’s there was almost no transitionary time between childhood and adulthood. Children were taught to think as their parents, have the same thoughts as their parents and generally act like mini me’s. You either went to school a child and left school as an adult or you enlisted as a child and came back a man.
But starting in the 50’s young people 16-18 started ‘hanging out’ doing their own thing and listening to their own music, they devoured pop music and made it their own, they had enough pocket money to afford 45’s and portable radios, and with the smaller record size came smaller more portable 45 only players. The teenagers didn’t have phonographs, only squares called them that, they played their singles on ‘record players’. The music scene gave them their own language, and with all that came their ‘own ideas’.
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What started as the 50’s rebel who was like this..
With the advent of the 60’s and Rock’n’roll, this developed even further, the ‘devils music’ made teenagers question authority and believe in the ideals of their own generation. The ‘50’s teenager was old enough to really start to make waves, not the least being in a band and making their own music.
Granted there were also other socio/political factors involved, but for this discourse lets mainly focus on the music side of things.
Ended up like this! (go Jimi!!)
The fab four, take note of Ringo in his Cross-dressing phase - eat your heart out Bowie.
This was an incredible boom for the record industry, for the music industry, and for radio and television stations. This is what gave the teenager power. As much as their parents may have been against this new behavior, it was the money that they gave their kids that helped fuel it.
The teenager still drives the music market today. Channel V and MTV’s core demographic is between 12 – 15 years of age.
Also almost a small side note, in 1963 with nothing more than a small tiny splash, Phillips introduced the first compact cassette tape. But it wouldn’t be until this little wonder was a teenager itself before anyone in the music industry would start to take notice.
Some people say that during the 70’s, as people were recovering from the shock of the 60’s, they took the best of the decade before and improved on them. Rock’nRoll, free love and giving young people a voice against corruption and war to name a few.
If you believe this to be true or not, it’s true as far as the rsord player is concerned.
CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT WHY IN PART 28
CLICK HERE for the previous chapter
CLICK HERE for the INDEX of History Of Electronic Music