Klarinet Archive - Posting 000225.txt from 1998/09

From: Roger Garrett <rgarrett@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Short barrels
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1998 11:56:03 -0400

On Mon, 7 Sep 1998, Edwin V. Lacy wrote:
> On Sun, 6 Sep 1998, Roger Garrett wrote:
> > When an American orchestra and a the Vienna Philharmonic are played back
> > on the same machine, why is the European orchestra A446 and the American
> > orchestra A441?
>
> Because at some point or points in the process of recording, mastering,
> producing the final products, and playing them back, there was
> insufficient quality control in setting the speeds of some of the
> machinery involved. Remember, A=440 or A=446 or anything else is of
> essentially no consequence to a recording engineer, and much less so to
> someone working in a factory which produced records. It is only musicians
> which consider the question so critical, and who much suffer the
> consequences if the pitch rises.

A more probable answer is that the orchestras are at different pitches.
This occurs on nearly every recording I have......numbering well into the
hundreds.

A440 and A446 are an INCREDIBLE difference to a recording engineer. Not
only am I one, my friend Roar Shaad at Illinois State University is one
and an excellent musician to boot.

Any factory producing recordings that are out of tune would not be
released.....too many conductors would notice the differnce and not allow
the production to be released. There are simply too many quality checks
along the way to allow for such a major screw-up.

No.....I can't agree with you Ed........simply doesn't add up.

> This doesn't mean that all orchestras play at the same pitch, because it
> is obvious that they don't, and that European orchestras generally play at
> higher pitch level than American ones. However, what I am arguing here is
> that the pitch that comes from a turntable is so many steps removed from
> the original that there is no way to extrapolate the original pitch level
> from that of a record. This all tends to be much more constant on compact
> disks, so they can be used as more reliable indicators of the pitch of
> performances.

We don't even have to argue turntables.......I have CD performances that
were remastered (as I said in my last post) from the original open reel
tapes. Now....these tapes are 10" reeds (Ampex) that run at 15 or
sometimes 30 i.p.s. There is VERY LITTLE fluctuation in speed at these
very fast rates......certainly not any that could be discernible by you or
me. The best turntables built today are controlled electronically.....no
belts......and have computers that control the 33 1/3 etc. speeds. There
is very little margin for error. The pitch control that comes on a
machine is an adjustment set with a strobe that is factory set to be
at the correct speed.

I guess I am still waiting to know which turntable you are talking about??
If it is an old, belt driven model or, worse, one that runs electronically
from the 70's.......we aren't talking about the same thing.

Roger Garrett
IWU

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