Boston SQ?

QuadraphonicQuad

Help Support QuadraphonicQuad:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
well, like I said - I picked it up at a flea market - the number on the album cover is different than the number on the record label. there was no inner sleeve, but the record was in good shape. Played it, was unimpressed and put it on the shelf for 25 years (maybe it was 22 years). That's all I know about it, which is why I put the sound files up. They decode differently that the stereo disk, but it was never anything to get worked up over :-(
 
Actually Bill, I think it's pretty cool! Real or not, it sure is rare, and a quad momento. If it's a fake, it's damn good. I have never seen that one, ever, and I've seen a TON of quad stuff.

For a flea market find, I think it's spectacular, no matter how you look at it! This is one of the reasons this forum exists, is for finds like this!

:brew

:wave
 
don't get me wrong - I've been collecting quad since 1972 - and records in general from 1969 - and I've run into some boots - buy why would some one (in the early 1980's) bother to fake SQ pressings? Not for the $2 I paid for it - not only wasn't there any real market for such things back then - but I was continually berated for holding on to a dead system - especially when CDs hit the market.
of course all that stopped when those same people started putting in surround sound home theaters :)

just to give you some idea....

a few of my reel decks
<p>
<img border="0" src="http://www.weeklybugle.com/images/myakai.jpg" width="700" height="633"></p>
the main record room (because its narrow, I had to shoot it three
times and cut and paste (not good at it, but you get the idea)
<p>
<img border="0" src="http://www.bbrent.com/images/record_room.jpg" width="720" height="400"></p>
 
Yikes! I had to show your pictures to my wife, so she knew that I was not the only one like me. Whew! I must bow down to you! I am not worthy!! :D

:-jon

PS - What model AKAI's are those beauties? :banana:
 
Bill, it sure is a cool rare item. Sure worth $2. I'll give you $4 for it;). Honestly, I'm hoping someone will try it with the software decode, as that should really tell us. I'm very impressed with your gear!!! I've been upgrading myself, and have a Integra Research RDC7.1 with 2 7.1 inputs. Just waiting for some more cables and stuff to get back to quad archiving. If I was set up right now, I'd try the software decode myself.

I'm hoping that maybe we can still get some leads on the SQ test pressing that must be out there...
 
Bill,

from a listen today, it seems encoded double stereo. Anyone else???
 
quadtrade said:
Bill,

from a listen today, it seems encoded double stereo. Anyone else???

Ok, I got to do a down and dirty examination of the MP3 file that Bill provided, and I also spoke to Bill today. Based upon our conversation and the MP3 files, I'm all but certain that this the standard "stereo" lp with SQ labeling. Two main reasons:

1) Bill took a look at the "stamper" number for me.......and there is NO "Q" in it, just the normal stereo stamper number.

2) I ran the mp3 cdr and did a direct comparison to the standard American CD release. They decoded identically through both the TATE and S&IC in both movement and placement of instrumentation. His Mp3 held up pretty well quality wise vs. the stereo CD (good job Bill! (y) ), so I really don't think the source files were misleading me.

Even the stereo album (I have the MFSL Ultradisc) and commercial CD "decode" very well, nothing truely discrete but you get significant rear channel info, and especially through the modified Vario-matrix decoders it presents a quite believable and enjoyable quad soundfield. I've always liked it for that.

They did some fairly bizarre stuff in South America (like Taiwan), and often used old stampers from the US (or Japan in Taiwan's case) to press local copies. But, just from the pictures.....this was a high quality production, perhaps like the ELO - First Light, they just weren't quite up to date with what the record labels were doing. EMI cancelled the ELO.......yet it actually made it into production in Brazil, and on the Boston.....they might have planned for and expected that they got the "SQ" stamper, and simply didn't realize it was cancelled and the stamper was the stereo release. (I also think that this is a Brazil issue lp) I only know of Peru and Brazil issuing quads in S.A., and the Peru quads I have don't have this high quality of appearance. The Brazil issues do.

Perhaps with a better detail scan of the lp label QuadG or someone else bilingual can translate the annotations.

Nevertheless........ultra-cool! :banana: :banana:

QB
 
hi all

trying to get a clear photo of the dead wax - the numbers are faint, and side 2 has some scratched out and other scratched in. As for the SQ? I get directionality in the rear that I don't get with the stereo LP - but as I said - I was never impressed with it. It sounds like all the CBS acetates that were being junked before ever making it to the pressing plant in the late 1970s. like they were almost getting away from the wide directionality and leaning more toward a smooth surround mix. Well not really surround - as CBS never put anything center rear - and couldn't put anything dead center in the sound field.
so now that i have it on CD - it goes back in the "neat stuff to have" pile. Sorry for all the uproar:-(
 
Very, very cool! :wave

.....whether really SQ or not.

I think QuadBob has the most plausible theory. I kinda wondered why ELO's "First Light" was released in Brazil only. I wonder if this is the same case with Barclay James Harvest's "Once Again" SQ album released in Brazil only.
 
From the photo there are two things that can be useful:

- it's a spanish pressing: while i'm not sure the upper part has "madrid", the SGAE reference is clear: SGAE is the spanish equivalent of the american RIAA or Japanese JASRAC.
- this epic label at least in my collection dates back almost to 1979.

If it's a fake, it's well done. :)
 
Nice collection!!! I'm jealous...

But shouldn't those 7 inch boxes of tape be stored vertically?



Bill Brent said:
don't get me wrong - I've been collecting quad since 1972 - and records in general from 1969 - and I've run into some boots - buy why would some one (in the early 1980's) bother to fake SQ pressings? Not for the $2 I paid for it - not only wasn't there any real market for such things back then - but I was continually berated for holding on to a dead system - especially when CDs hit the market.
of course all that stopped when those same people started putting in surround sound home theaters :)

just to give you some idea....

a few of my reel decks
<p>
<img border="0" src="http://www.weeklybugle.com/images/myakai.jpg" width="700" height="633"></p>
the main record room (because its narrow, I had to shoot it three
times and cut and paste (not good at it, but you get the idea)
<p>
<img border="0" src="http://www.bbrent.com/images/record_room.jpg" width="720" height="400"></p>
 
They are - I stacked everything to get the picture - actually - except for the BASF boxes - all the reels are vertical, and in white Cabco storage boxes.
 
Could be from Spain but it's lilely to be a fake from somewhere in Latin America.

Maybe someone liked the SQ logo and used it as the "label" logo, with no Quad implications.
 
winopener said:
From the photo there are two things that can be useful:

- it's a spanish pressing: while i'm not sure the upper part has "madrid", the SGAE reference is clear: SGAE is the spanish equivalent of the american RIAA or Japanese JASRAC.
- this epic label at least in my collection dates back almost to 1979.

If it's a fake, it's well done. :)


hi winopenerl

this is as real as a 3 dollar bill (just kidding) this is a stereo record from Spain that somebody did a nice photo shop job. there isn't any notation on the record or the back cover that this is SQ. i have 2 or 3 quad SQ records from Spain and all have the Studio 2 "CUADRAFONICO" all over. the thing i don't get is why use the German SQ logo for the front cover, and the regualr CBS SQ logo for the back ????????? anyway it looks COOOOOOOL thanks Gerardo
 
it may well be a fake or knock off - but it would have to ave been a cut at past (no photoshop in the early 80's :) - still, why bother - there was no market for it?
 
quadgdiaz said:
hi winopenerl

this is as real as a 3 dollar bill (just kidding) this is a stereo record from Spain that somebody did a nice photo shop job. there isn't any notation on the record or the back cover that this is SQ. i have 2 or 3 quad SQ records from Spain and all have the Studio 2 "CUADRAFONICO" all over. the thing i don't get is why use the German SQ logo for the front cover, and the regular CBS SQ logo for the back ????????? anyway it looks COOOOOOOL thanks Gerardo

studio2 was a emi/columbia label, not related with CBS in europe. Epic is handled by CBS and their spanish quad issues had been mixed about the lettering: some says quadaphonic, some other cuadrifonico, some had been translated fully into spanish (mfsb: el sonido de philadelphia, which is the spanish pressing of Love is the Message), some not (bob dylan desire).
Quite messy.

I haven't made any comment about the cover because i don't know which label or where the coloured sq logo come.
 
for those who care - I ran the album through the tateII - tweeked it as best I could -
created 32bit wavs of each channel and DTS encoded the results. I posted all 8 tracks for reseach purposes, as dts encoded wav files - you'll need to burn them to cd - unless your pc can decode them. comments are welcome
 
Hi Bill.
I downloaded the tracks and burned them to a CD. They play really well. (y)
What I noticed is that I am getting more volume and full sound thru the rears and a lower volume with a more subdued sound thru the fronts. Almost the opposite of what I should be getting. I double checked by playing a few other DTS CD's and Boston is the only one doing this. Do you have the same effect on your equipment? Did I do something wrong in recording this?
If I just turn around and sit backwards, everything sounds just great :D
Thanks for making this available to check out.
Cheers,
 
my fault - sorry - I normalized the volume for my system - (seperate front and rear amps - different mfgrs) so i need a bit of a boost in the rear. If you lower the back volume and trebble you should be fine. - I wouldn't face the rear (as the vocals are pretty much in the front :)

how was the separation?
 
Back
Top