Quad mixes to avoid, or just didnt impress you.

Listened to the Q4 of America / Holiday last evening. Not impressed! The rear channels often were near silent (looked at the meters & had to check the rears were even active) on some of my favorite songs with only some heavy reverb/echoey background voc. Ooooing and Ahhhing. Some tracks
were a more involved but it sounds as if they really didn't even try to make a true Quad mix. Too bad as this album is very good...I guess you can play it on your 4-track r2r and get about the same sound, which in stereo is very good.

Maybe the engineers :ugham: thought they weren't gonna let this "quad thing" get in the way of the training they got in mixing mono/stereo sound.

I wouldn't break the bank trying to get a copy of this one, glad that I didn't pay much for it either.

The Eric Burdon Band - Sun Secrets Q8. Glad I got it for a fair price not the $300 or $400 it used to get. I would say it's the most lame duck out of all the very unadventurous Capitol Quad mixes.

Except for their first album, America never impressed me, but can't say I had any real problems with the quad albums issued beyond artistic considerations. If they're not 'adventurous' mixes, well, how adventurous was America?

While the Burdon mix isn't much, and many Cap Q8's leave a lot to be desired, should be pointed out that Steve Miller's FLY LIKE AN EAGLE is certainly a fine quad mix, though it came late in the quad game.

Overall, most pop and country quad's don't impress me, but not so much that the mixes are bad but that, being what they are, seldom allowed any kind of interesting mixing, since, if the music is conventional enough, not a whole lot more to be expected from the mix, really. I think most of our favorite quads tend toward acts with something genuinely interesting going on, a bit against the norm, and then the mix naturally comes from there.

ED

Fly Like an Eagle is impressive to me simply based on the fact that they had so little to work with. I've still never gotten a straight answer as to how it was recorded, but I've SEEN track breakdowns that show the multi's as being 24-track, yet Steve himself says they laid down basic tracks in a studio, then he took the tapes home to overdub on his home 8 track equipment. So, does that mean these home 8 tracks were taken BACK to a studio and copied onto another 24-track? ( I suppose that would explain the 'dirty' sound on 'You Send Me'. ) Regardless, the Q8 would be great but every copy I've gotten my mitts on seems to have a channel error (the fronts are in both lefts).

Another disappointment was Johnny Russell's "Rednecks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer". Like the previously mentioned America title, this one suffers from too little in the rears. And I mean REALLY little. The rears are virtually silent on most songs except for the occasional overdub or harmonica blast. THAT'S IT.

Then there's the Guess Who titles. The early tapes up to Best Of don't really have a whole lot of separation. Considering they're all on 16-track except Wheatfield Soul, there should've been lots of room to play. Rockin' is a lopsided mix, Artificial Paradise is for the better portion; faked. #10, Road Food and Best #2 are fantastic. Then Flavours and Power in the Music are faked. Lots of missed opportunities.

Most of the A&M titles are Debbie-Downers. It would be easier to list the few gems out of that catalog.

Tony Orlando & Dawn's Greatest Hits is an odd duck. It reminds me of the Tommy James tape. Some tracks are faked while others are very nice Quad. Sure would've been nice if they could've used their whole ass on that one.

Although a little off-top, I do think a track like "You Send Me" even in quad, was meant to sound 'dirty' or 'retro' and he didn't want to push it any further than he did. Most of the rest is a lot of fun to hear even if it's just a lot of basic rock without a lot of distinction. Miller was always easy to like even while not the most trustworthy and dedicated rocker; that is, he worked within his limits well until he finally ran out of steam. But never as good as I thought he might become based on early evidence.

ED

The Barbra Striesand Live SQ LP seems to have NO rear channel activity - and I've owned 3 copies. Does anyone have this on Q8 that could confirm the bizzare front only mix. Not even ambience makes it to the rears.

Disclord said:

The Barbra Striesand Live SQ LP seems to have NO rear channel activity - and I've owned 3 copies. Does anyone have this on Q8 that could confirm the bizzare front only mix. Not even ambience makes it to the rears.

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You must have a pretty good SQ decoder to get nothing out of the rear channels. I'm sure the SQD2020 I used to have would have had plenty of sound coming out of the rears, whether there was supposed to be or not.

cupboy said:

You must have a pretty good SQ decoder to get nothing out of the rear channels. I'm sure the SQD2020 I used to have would have had plenty of sound coming out of the rears, whether there was supposed to be or not.

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The album through the Fosgate Tate II sounds like the rear channels have been turned all the way down, except for one single moment I could hear a trumpet from the left back - then it was gone. There's not even audience sounds. It's the same through the Surround Master SQ. Via the 2020 the sound is mostly front but the vocals snap to the back at various times but its just a duplicate of the front. The Layfette SQ-W's Vari-Blend at least kept Barbra's vocals up front as she pretends to snort coke.

Disclord said:

The Barbra Striesand Live SQ LP seems to have NO rear channel activity - and I've owned 3 copies. Does anyone have this on Q8 that could confirm the bizzare front only mix. Not even ambience makes it to the rears.

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I did manage to score a Q8 copy of this title and even though the Q8 is discrete, it's incredibly front heavy - however I don't think it was intentional. If you turn the fronts down and crank the rears up, there is a fair bit of ambient sound in the rears along with some discrete horns, vocals, etc. I think this was most likely a mastering cockup. Odd though that the Q8 and SQ are the same, even though the Q8 is discrete. Hmmm.....

Herb Alpert's Greatest Hits on Q8. I couldn't wait to get it, but when I popped it in, reverb only in the rear channels. I was very disappointed with that one.

Despite its high eBay value, I'd avoid the Q8 of Emerson Lake & Palmer's "Welcome Back My Friends..." Often there's nearly nothing in the rears. The only sounds that *are* ever mixed in the rears are the audience/ambiance, and the Moog which does spin around at times. But it's hardly worth what people pay for the set when it comes up for auction.

J. D.

first post. i recall that the johnny cash at san quentin q8 i have has only audience noises in the rear channels. maybe my memory fails me.

jdmack said:

Despite its high eBay value, I'd avoid the Q8 of Emerson Lake & Palmer's "Welcome Back My Friends..." Often there's nearly nothing in the rears. The only sounds that *are* ever mixed in the rears are the audience/ambiance, and the Moog which does spin around at times. But it's hardly worth what people pay for the set when it comes up for auction.

J. D.

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Plus I believe every copy has a mastering error where the speed changes for about 10 or 15 minutes of the tape.

yodedude2 said:

first post. i recall that the johnny cash at san quentin q8 i have has only audience noises in the rear channels. maybe my memory fails me.

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I have that tape and that's what it is. Band in front channels and prison audience in rear channels.
When sitting in the middle, you actually felt like you were front row at the concert, with all the rest of the crowd behind you.
Years ago, my mom's late ex-husband (she married him after I had left home for the army) came to visit me. He was an ex-convict and had spent time in California. I don't know if he was at this concert, but when I played the tape for him, judging from the expression on his face, it was like 'he was there'. :yikes

America Holiday is a sweet mix. OP maybe has a system problem? Three year old thread, but still...

himey said:

America Holiday is a sweet mix. OP maybe has a system problem? Three year old thread, but still...

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yep, I have it from Q4 and my own CD-4 and either way it's lovely, though of course the reel improves upon the vinyl the CD-4 is no slouch.

i might start populating this thread this week with some genuine clunkers since I went on my magic carpet ride of Quad I've discovered some right pigs ears as you can imagine!

Every Seals and Crofts Q8 I've bought. Good music...uncreative mixes. 'Plant an acoustic guitar in the left rear channel'... That's about it and that pretty much sums up the philosophy behind their respective productions. And there is so much that could've been done with the layered harmonies on many of their songs. IMHO, a wasted set of opportunities. Every album is that way (Diamond Girl, Summer Breeze, etc) Oh, well...