Requesting Updates for the Quad Radio Broadcast Discography

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Was very interested to hear about the possible Jethro Tull quad thing. 79 sounds pretty late in the game though, so would be surprised if it actually turned out to be.
All the mentions of quad simulcasts of "ABC Wide World In Concert" are definitely a big question mark. The CalJam simulcast is the most commonly referenced one. I actually was able to track down one of the mix engineers for the CalJam stuff, and he said that no quad mixes were done (at least by him). I found a rip of the ELP boot a while back, and while it is very good quality, doesn't seem to show any signs of encoding. Some of the applause shows really strange phase info on them, but it turns out a lot of the applause in the broadcast was "flown in" during the mix down. I have a VHS boot of ELP at CalJam that claims it is being broadcast in quad on something like KLOS, but at best, maybe they were upmixing it.
 
have a VHS boot of ELP at CalJam that claims it is being broadcast in quad on something like KLOS, but at best, maybe they were upmixing it.[/QUOTE]

It was FM stereo with ABC In Concert for California Jam. (KGB FM in San Diego) Even that was a big deal then. No quad mentioned for this event.



From QQ deep space
 
great list just looking for 10cc..I couldn't find it in your list but I found this on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cPh-pA90X4
Thanks for the heads up on that recording. I cannot find anything to confirm it was a quad broadcast. The original recording taped from the broadcast mentioning quad or the reel and cue sheet would be helpful. The hunt continues.
 
I'm starting to go through my old reel-to-reel tapes - though the machine needs to be serviced before I can listen to them, sadly no means to do a Matrix HJ decode.

I've come across a BBC Matrix HJ Quad transmission from 1978, Be-Bop Deluxe, 4 tracks recorded for Alan Freeman's Saturday Session.

Somewhere I also have BBC Matrix HJ transmissions of the Genesis June 1978 Knebworth Festival, & another Alan Freeman's Saturday Session from Lone Star (Sept./Oct.? 1976).

Edit: All recorded from UK BBC Radio 1.
 
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I am working on getting the tape in order to having it preserved

I have a few of the King Biscuit original 2 track stereo reels with matrix SQ encoding. I was always curious about the fact that they are 2 track stereo vs the more common 4 track stereo (not to be confused with 4 channel quad reels.) My assumption is that few folks out there have original 2 track stereo reel to reel decks. So, can a 2 track SQ matrix reel (or QS matrix reel for that matter) be played back properly on a 4 track stereo reel to reel?
 
I have a few of the King Biscuit original 2 track stereo reels with matrix SQ encoding. I was always curious about the fact that they are 2 track stereo vs the more common 4 track stereo (not to be confused with 4 channel quad reels.) My assumption is that few folks out there have original 2 track stereo reel to reel decks. So, can a 2 track SQ matrix reel (or QS matrix reel for that matter) be played back properly on a 4 track stereo reel to reel?

My gut feeling would be no, if it is a true 2 track recording as each channel takes up half full the tape width, so playback would just give a single left or right channel on a 4 track stereo machine (as they require the tape to be turned round to play the other side/half so only half the tape width used per stereo pair).
 
Dear DuncanS,

Very curious to hear your transfers when and if the time comes. I have all ready done an H decode of the Genesis thing, which is not entirely accurate but gives a half decent representation of the original mix. Am currently getting ready to dig into an HJ decode, now that I understand the math a little better. Also, OD would surely be interested in these tapes, as he has the info and smarts to do HJ properly (he has been my sources for any and all things H and HJ). In any case, please keep me in mind if you would ever consider sharing.
 
My gut feeling would be no, if it is a true 2 track recording as each channel takes up half full the tape width, so playback would just give a single left or right channel on a 4 track stereo machine (as they require the tape to be turned round to play the other side/half so only half the tape width used per stereo pair).

That was always my feeling. So, not sure if anyone who has ever had access in recent years to these actual 2 track matrix stereo reels has ever been able to play them back properly to extract the matrix encoding. It wouldn't be an issue with the original CD versions that were distributed for broadcast, but I'm not sure how anyone could effectively playback these 2 track stereo reels either for playback or for the purposes decoding and creating a digital transfer. They do playback on a 4 track stereo reel to reel in stereo, because I've played mine.
 
Please let me know if you do. I would love to help in any way i can.

Bob, regarding my question about properly playing back a 2 track matrix stereo reel, have you done any digital conversions from the QS or SQ encoded 2 track reels? If so, did it seem that you got a proper playback and all the matrix information since you would essentially only be playing back 1/2 of each stereo channel on a 4 track reel?
 
Dear dr8track,

I feel pretty confident that your tapes would play back properly on a 1/4" four track. Your left channel of the mix would be tracks 1 and 2, and right would be 3 and 4. Supposedly a lot of the SQ mixes done at XRT in Chicago in the 70's were recorded this way onto a 1/4" four track, even though the mixes were just encoded stereo for the most part. You would want to make sure that playback cal for the machine (and azimuth) are in good shape. Once that is established, you might want to check to see if there are any cal tones on the playback reels themselves. With the actual reels, I was told once that the King Biscuit reels were made with tape stock that wasn't so great, so it might be worth checking a sample of the tape for shedding, and probably baking/drying the tapes to make sure the tape plays back without gunking up the tape path on the machine.
When you get around to transferring, maybe the best idea would be to bounce the 4 tracks onto the computer (pro-tools or something similar), and then you would be able to combine the redundant tracks, or just use the one from each side that seems cleanest. As I mentioned in my response to the HJ post, would be psyched to take a listen if you were willing to share any of the transferred results, or you might also considering forwarding them to OD, as he has got the math sorted out better than anyone as far as I can tell. Would be interested in knowing what Biscuit stuff you have. There still seems to be a handful of SQ broadcasts that haven't been accounted for yet.
 
dr8track,

A couple more things. If you ever play these things back, would recommend you always have some sort of digital recorder connected and running, even if it is just something as simple as a cd recorder, just because you never know. As far as whether or not you would get enough info from playback on a 1/4 track machine, the best thing to do is transfer some stuff and then analyze it to see if the encoded info is intact. Would be happy to offer my services to check tracks for you (wink, nudge). If you needed stuff baked, I know someone that does a great job at this. Let me know if I can help you.
 
Dear Timbre4.
I have a video clip that mentions that same quad thing. I actually was able to track down on of the guys that mixed the show and he said that he didn't do any quad mixes, so at best the KLOS broadcast was either an upmix, or a mistaken listing. FYI, the bootleg versions of the ELP caljam performance, such as the one uploaded by "Dr.Davros" a year or so back is worlds better than the official release that came out around the same time. The bootleg sounds like a broadcast reel, while the official release sounds like an edison cylinder. Yikes.
 
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