wonderful job sjc! i love this! 
Unusual drum placement in old quad mixes
- Thread starter sjcorne
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I just did a conversion of Joan Baez's Come From The Shadows Q8, and the mix reminds me a lot of the Billy Preston tape- Drums and bass through the rears. The approach isn't consistent though- some tracks have them hard left/right panned columbia-style, others have more of a stereo spread going on in the rears. This album was mixed for the QS matrix, so no SQ mixing rules to abide by.
Interesting side-note: There is a cover of the song "Imagine" on this album, and interestingly enough the mix is just like the recent "Raw Studio Mix" of the original! Drums in RL, Bass in RR. However on Joan Baez's version the piano is in FR instead of FL.
Joan Baez Cover (1972 Q8):
John Lennon "Raw Studio Mix" (2018 Blu-Ray):
Interesting side-note: There is a cover of the song "Imagine" on this album, and interestingly enough the mix is just like the recent "Raw Studio Mix" of the original! Drums in RL, Bass in RR. However on Joan Baez's version the piano is in FR instead of FL.
Joan Baez Cover (1972 Q8):
John Lennon "Raw Studio Mix" (2018 Blu-Ray):
There are three A&M Q8's that I would swear were done by a member of the Holy Trinity of Quad Mixers because those three tapes absolutely smack of an early Columbia Q8 mix. Come from the Shadows, Music is My Life and You've got it Bad, Girl all share this uber-aggressive, hard four-corner mix.
Shame they didn't stick with them.
Shame they didn't stick with them.
the "Come From The Shadows" Quad was mixed by Norbert Putnam (i could only find one other Quad to his name, New Riders Of The Purple Sage's "The Adventures Of Panama Red", on Columbia).
"You've Got It Bad Girl" was mixed by Phil Schier (who did another excellent Quincy Quad; "Body Heat").
that Billy Preston Quad i think was mixed by A&M's Dick Bogert (who i suspect also did all the late era CBS Quad mixes similarly with bass=LR/drums=RR) but its just a hunch, we may never know for sure..
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3 of a perfect pair!
I have that New Riders Q8 as well, for a Columbia quad it's not terribly exciting- there's actually a lot of ambience in the back from the front channels which is odd considering most CBS mixes are intentionally dry to improve the SQ decode. Their first album would've been a better choice for quad IMO, though it separates nicely with variomatrix/involve/other DSPs.
What's interesting about the Billy Preston mix is that unlike those CBS LR bass/RR drums mixes there is some slight blending of the channels, like if you isolate the rears you can hear some ambience from the front, reverb on the vocals, etc, so the effect isn't quite as stark. Maybe when Dick Bogert came over to CBS to work on those various quads he did (Minnie Ripperton, Michael Murphey, and possibly RTF, ToP, Miracles, etc), he didn't know about those SQ mixing rules and figured the final product would be somewhat "blended" like the Billy Preston. Just a theory...
As for the topic of drums, I recorded in my Mandingo III Q8 earlier today and I'm listening to it now- this thing is whacked out! Different layers of tribal-like drums from every corner, synth and brass panning around the room, it's quite an experience. Not sure how to classify it on the list.
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Play "Will it go 'round in Circles" on the Billy Preston tape. There are lead vocals in all four channels, but they're much quieter in the rears. However, the left(?) channel (which ever has the bass) has Billy's vocal being processed with some sort of vibrato while the vocals in the drum channel are relatively dry. It's a very unusual choice. On my DTS-CD mix I made for my car, I added some reverb to the drum channel which not only gives the drums a little punch but it helps to center the lead vocal in the back and balance out the sides equally with reverb.
hi sj mate, can you please add;
Captured Angel - Dan Fogelberg (1975)
to your list?
it is of the "Bass = Rear Left, Drums = Rear Right" variety.
interestingly, it is yet another CBS SQ LP of a Quad mixed in that style with no Quad remix engineer credit.
Captured Angel - Dan Fogelberg (1975)
to your list?
it is of the "Bass = Rear Left, Drums = Rear Right" variety.
interestingly, it is yet another CBS SQ LP of a Quad mixed in that style with no Quad remix engineer credit.
I just received Liza Minnelli's "The Singer" Q8 and it's got the drums 99% in back right, but there is drum echo (or track bleed) in FR and BL.
Interesting with this tape is that the Bass is sometimes in FL, or BL or front center. But the drums are always the same.
Interesting with this tape is that the Bass is sometimes in FL, or BL or front center. But the drums are always the same.
that is interesting, thanks for the info. tbh i enjoyed the Quad more than i was expecting to, the albums quite funky and the mix isn't bad at all (only have the SQ). looking up the ol' list, it was mixed by Jim Hobson, for whom i could only find 3 Quad remix engineer credits, including this Liza Minnelli one, plus Johnny Mathis' "Me & Mrs. Jones" and Percy Faith's "Clair", the latter of which DV put out on SACD. curiously, all 3 releases were from 1973, so unless I've missed something, Mr. Hobson seemingly didn't do any Quads thereafter.
edit: just done some digging and Jim Hobson also did the Quad mixes for 2 x Mystic Moods albums, "Clear Light" & "Awakening", both 1973. i'll update the Unsung Heroes list accordingly.
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