Studies in variations of electric recording quality.

[Viva-Tonal]

The recent thread concerning a 1926 National Music Lovers release of some Banner sides led me to post some further examples of early electric recordings not made with the Western Electric technology. As WE would not sell or lease their equipment to any labels other than Victor and Columbia, the other record companies had to get by with whatever they could find or devise. Apparently that came from RCA, at least in Brunswick's case, and possibly in that of Plaza Music, aka Banner Records.

From what I understand, the first electric Banner sides were recorded in the autumn of 1925. The quality wasn't good at first, often thin and/or highly distorted. I wonder if January into February 1927 wasn't when they'd managed to 'de-bug' their equipment, based on Banner 1944's sides.

'Somebody else', by the 'Imperial Dance Orchestra' (here a pseudonym for Adrian Shubert and his orchestra) was assigned matrix number 7071-3 when recorded on 25 January 1927. It has the thin, rather distorted quality described above. Recording turntable wow was also rather pronounced as well. Vocalist is Irving Kaufman.

'A lane in Spain' by Fred Rich's Dance Orchestra was assigned matrix number 7095-2 when recorded on 4 February 1927, and tonally is much better balanced than the other side. (Vocal is by The Joy Boys.) There is still some turntable wow, but less than that of the other side.

I transferred both of these sides at 76.5 rpm, with the same EQ and filtering, so you can hear the great differences in quality between them.

Brunswick's problematic and much-ballyhooed 'Light Ray' recording tended to miss more than it hit. Some days they got rather good recordings with their equipment, only to get quite poor ones the next.

Here's an example of each, recorded on consecutive days, by the Ray Miller orchestra, released on Brunswick 3046.

'Dreaming of a castle in the air' is an easygoing fox trot of the mid-1920s, recorded here on 18 January 1926 (matrix E.17515). The orchestra is well-balanced, although the peaks are gently constricted, as if a smooth limiter were in use. The frequency range is nicely wide for the time as well (note the brightness of the cymbal crashes).

'Sweet nothings' was recorded the next day, 19 January, and is quite inferior to 'Castle'. (Matrix number is E.17550.) The orchestra was set up the same way in the studio, as evidenced by the balances of the sections, amount of 'room tone' having to do with distance from the mike, etc., but strangely, the overall sound is much more closed-in, and quite distorted at least 80% of the time. I wonder what was adjusted, and how, to have caused this result on the recording. It's a shame, as otherwise the record is quite good.

Both of those sides were transferred at 78.26 rpm, and with the same level, EQ and filter settings, one to the other.

[EdisonSquirrel]

I agree that "Sweet nothings" does have a "boxed-in" sound that is only minimally noticeable on "Dreaming of a castle in the air." That "boxed-in" sound is very characteristic of early Brunswick electrics, and I've even mistaken some for acoustic recordings.


Rocky

[Viva-Tonal]

I have too, on occasion, made that mistake. Thankfully, by the time Red Nichols and his Five Pennies started recording for them around December 1926, they'd got the problems well solved....

[EdisonSquirrel]

There's a few early electric Bennie Krueger records that could easily pass for acoustics.

[Viva-Tonal]

I haven't got any of his records.

Have you ever heard one of the early Orlando Marsh electrical recordings on Autograph or Paramount? Those sound like his home-brew recording outfit had been made from telephone equipment, as though he'd used a carbon mike for the microphone, and his cutting head must surely have been rigged from a telephone receiver. They have nothing below about 200 Hz, a peaky upper midrange in the 2000 Hz area, and nothing above about 3500 Hz--just like a telephone. He was using this apparatus on recordings perhaps as early as 1922 or 1923. He definitely was using it by 1924.

I have one of his recordings, two titles on Paramount of Milton Charles at the Tivoli Theatre pipe organ.

[EdisonSquirrel]

Here's a striking example of an early electric Brunswick with a prominent "boxed-in" sound:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey3z2ePLmxw




Rocky

[Viva-Tonal]

Yes....that's Brunswick 2950. I briefly had a copy of that record a long time ago. I didn't like it for reasons other than the sound quality--and yes, I did think it was an acoustic recording.

[EdisonSquirrel]

I'm surprised that you didn't keep the record for the wonderful rendition of "You told me to go" on the flip side.



Rocky

[Viva-Tonal]

It had the same lead trumpet with the same horrid vibrato! (Which was why I couldn't stand the record.)

[EdisonSquirrel]

It had the same lead trumpet with the same horrid vibrato! (Which was why I couldn't stand the record.)

While I enjoy this record on my turntable, it sounds absolutely frightful on the VV-XIV. I guess early electric Brunswicks and acoustic phonographs don't mix well.



Rocky