Brad Miller

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key_wiz

1K Club - QQ Shooting Star
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I’m not nearly as informed about a lot of this stuff as many here so I wondering what any could tell me about this man and his company and his work with surround.

I’m listening to a copy of Clapton’s “There’s One In Every Crowd” I just purchased (not bad sounding BTW) I just noticed that it was produced by Brad and Patricia Miller at Miller Nevada Ltd and they trademarked the name “High Definition Sound” (which I suspect actually isn’t).

I’m curiously mostly because Incline Village, NV is basically just up the road from where I live. And I’m also always wanting to learn more about those so involved in our little niche.
 
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/index.php?threads/brad-millers-soundbird-records.26803/
I’m listening to a copy of Clapton’s “There’s One In Every Crowd” I just purchased (not bad sounding BTW) I just noticed that it was produced by Brad and Patricia Miller at Miller Nevada Ltd and they trademarked the name “High Definition Sound” (which I suspect actually isn’t).

From what I understand, the Miller Nevada "High Definition Surround" series of DTS-CDs in the early '90s were the first surround music product to come out since the death of quad. They are all quad mixes "manipulated to 5.1" (the center channel is a mono sum of the fronts), and were allegedly created from Hi8 copies of the quad masters supplied by the labels. Some of them sound pretty good (Poco's Crazy Eyes, Clapton's One In Every Crowd, Ohio Players' Fire); others not so much (Santana's Abraxas, Clapton's 461 Ocean Boulevard).
 
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DTS Entertainment as I usually call it was really remarkable in what they were able to do. Getting licenses from various labels - prime album titles too. I suspect that if they were able to get Wings, Santana, and other class A albums, that the few poor choices they made in released titles were simply poor choices. Like the Edgar Winter title they choose should have been the big hit album rather than the hitless one they picked. Steven Stills seemed good on paper but it’s a weaker title, the BBA seemed ok, until one considers they likely could have done Blow by Blow instead.

But overall it’s a fun set of album’s from quad masters. And those later mixes like Gaucho and Judges Ruth, and Night at the Opera show the label had artists and label respect, and the late product is rather stellar.

Collect one, or two, or collect them all, I did. I’ve still not listened to all of mine. The Alan Parsons Project and maybe Brian Wilson titles I don’t recall hearing yet.??....?...
 
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DTS Entertainment as I usually call it was really remarkable in what they were able to do. Getting licenses from various labels - prime album titles too. I suspect that if they were able to get Wings, Santana, and other class A albums, that the few poor choices they made in released titles were simply poor choices. Like the Edgar Winter title they choose should have been the big hit album rather than the hitless one they picked. Steven Stills seemed good on paper but it’s a weaker title, the BBA seemed ok, until one considers they likely could have done Blow by Blow instead.

But overall it’s a fun set of album’s from quad masters. And those later mixes like Gaucho and Judges Ruth, and Night at the Opera show the label had artists and label respect, and the late product is rather stellar.

Collect one, or two, or collect them all, I did. I’ve still not listened to all of mine. The Alan Parsons Project and maybe Brian Wilson titles I don’t recall hearing yet.??....?...
So he was DTS Entertainment and all those discs? Didnt notice that.
I have a bunch of those. The Lyle Lovett is astounding. I guess I didn’t realize because the Clapton came in different packaging (in a standard jewel case)

Does anyone know him personally? Is he still with us? Still living in Incline Village, NV?
 
So he was DTS Entertainment and all those discs? Didnt notice that.
I have a bunch of those. The Lyle Lovett is astounding. I guess I didn’t realize because the Clapton came in different packaging (in a standard jewel case)

Does anyone know him personally? Is he still with us? Still living in Incline Village, NV?

Brad Miller on Discogs
Brad Miller
Profile:
Producer and recording engineer. Founded Mobile Fidelity Records in 1958 as a specialty label to release his field recordings, and Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab in 1977 to license and issue audiophile-quality pressings of existing releases. An audiophile and the creator of The Mystic Moods Orchestra, Brad was devoted to capturing sound as accurately as possible. Mobile Fidelity went out of business in 1999, just a year after Miller's own demise.
 
So he was DTS Entertainment and all those discs?

Not exactly. He was "Miller Nevada Ltd.", which produced all those really early DTS titles with the "High Definition Surround" banner. Most of them were quad (Wings, Santana, Poco, Steve Miller, Edgar Winter, Eric Clapton, Mystic Moods, etc) with a few new 5.1 mixes thrown in (Lyle Lovett, Alan Parsons).

He passed away in 1998, so he was not involved with the later "DTS Entertainment" titles (Sheryl Crow, Queen, Toy Matinee, etc). However, most of the titles in the "High Definition Surround" series were reissued in super jewel cases under the DTS Entertainment label.
 
Sorry to hear he passed so long ago, but I feared such as searching his name online didn’t turn up much.

I didn’t realize he was so involved with the original MFSL. I have a bunch of those LPs from back in the day. I really should read more liner notes I suppose!

Ironic his association with them considering their present day resistance to MC releases. :/
 
Sorry to hear he passed so long ago, but I feared such as searching his name online didn’t turn up much.

I didn’t realize he was so involved with the original MFSL. I have a bunch of those LPs from back in the day. I really should read more liner notes I suppose!

Ironic his association with them considering their present day resistance to MC releases. :/

This may sound a bit corny, but Brad did introduce the 'easy listening' [with a twist] Mystic Moods Orchestra to the masses with lush orchestrations intermingled with tremendous sound effects ranging from distant thunder and rain to the sounds of locomotives superbly recorded and their first two albums, One Stormy Night and Nighttide were remixed into QUAD and released on the Philips Label in the mid 70's.

I don't know if UMG/Philips still controls the label and these QUAD masters but I have been petitioning Dutton Vocalion to seek them out for a possible SACD release.

I can only imagine how awesome they'd sound from the original analogue QUAD masters on SACD


MYSTIC MOODS ORCHESTRA -
Drifting Prophet. Sound Bird SB4-7511 (CD4), 7313-7511H (Q8)
Nighttide. Sound Bird SB4-7502 (CD4), 7313-7502H (Q8)
One Stormy Night. Sound Bird SB4-7501 (CD4), 7313-7501H (Q8)






 
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Seems like Warner Brothers also did some of Miller’s sound effects / ambient stuff in its quad form on CD-4 LPs. I guess no Q4s there of them.
 
Brad Miller was also involved in the testing of Discrete Quadraphonic 4-Channel FM Radio Broadcasts with San Francisco Radio Station K-101, K-101 Owner James Gabbert and Discrete Quad FM inventor Lou Dorren and the FCC in the 1970s. A real Surround Sound and Quad Pioneer!
 
Not exactly. He was "Miller Nevada Ltd.", which produced all those really early DTS titles with the "High Definition Surround" banner. Most of them were quad (Wings, Santana, Poco, Steve Miller, Edgar Winter, Eric Clapton, Mystic Moods, etc) with a few new 5.1 mixes thrown in (Lyle Lovett, Alan Parsons).

He passed away in 1998, so he was not involved with the later "DTS Entertainment" titles (Sheryl Crow, Queen, Toy Matinee, etc). However, most of the titles in the "High Definition Surround" series were reissued in super jewel cases under the DTS Entertainment label.
Not exactly correct. A lot of the titles were owned by Brad and Pat even if it said dts entertainment.
 
DTS Entertainment as I usually call it was really remarkable in what they were able to do. Getting licenses from various labels - prime album titles too. I suspect that if they were able to get Wings, Santana, and other class A albums, that the few poor choices they made in released titles were simply poor choices. Like the Edgar Winter title they choose should have been the big hit album rather than the hitless one they picked. Steven Stills seemed good on paper but it’s a weaker title, the BBA seemed ok, until one considers they likely could have done Blow by Blow instead.

But overall it’s a fun set of album’s from quad masters. And those later mixes like Gaucho and Judges Ruth, and Night at the Opera show the label had artists and label respect, and the late product is rather stellar.

Collect one, or two, or collect them all, I did. I’ve still not listened to all of mine. The Alan Parsons Project and maybe Brian Wilson titles I don’t recall hearing yet.??....?...
We were doing this thru special markets which had its limitations as i have discussed in old posts. Titles unfound or artists we could not touch. I had to go beg the Moodies. And your opinion of poor choices is just that. There are always reasons things get issued. when i played Brad the Jasmine Nightdreams title he was in love with it. Thought it should have been a hit and wanted it over the others. Did not mean we were not going after them later, time ran out.
 
I’m not nearly as informed about a lot of this stuff as many here so I wondering what any could tell me about this man and his company and his work with surround.

I’m listening to a copy of Clapton’s “There’s One In Every Crowd” I just purchased (not bad sounding BTW) I just noticed that it was produced by Brad and Patricia Miller at Miller Nevada Ltd and they trademarked the name “High Definition Sound” (which I suspect actually isn’t).

I’m curiously mostly because Incline Village, NV is basically just up the road from where I live. And I’m also always wanting to learn more about those so involved in our little niche.

The old 5.1 site is pretty much defunct but you can learn quite a bit here https://www.fortune3.com/~comp72048/Products-5_1_DTS_Music_Disc_2.html and then by clicking on links on the left, many of which still work.
 
Also this was the FIRST ever and it was state of the art DAC for dts for many years in the mid-late 90's. For awhile it was the only way to decode dts music and laserdiscs. Another product of Brad Miller and his association with dts.

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 7.58.19 PM.png
 
I remember emailing with a guy called David Delgrasso, or something like that. He was with DTS. Pretty nice guy who was really pushing DTS. I would guess that you guys knew him. This was before QQ. If he registered here, I never knew. Heck, he could be a member here and I'd never know.
 
I remember emailing with a guy called David Delgrasso, or something like that. He was with DTS. Pretty nice guy who was really pushing DTS. I would guess that you guys knew him. This was before QQ. If he registered here, I never knew. Heck, he could be a member here and I'd never know.

I remember David too, met him in passing, many, many years ago at Javits in Manhattan at some A/V show back in 90's. Here's a nice story about him: Lessons Learned from a Visionary Named David DelGrosso
 
Member quadtrade was a partner in this venture, I remember assisting a demonstration of the Millennium 2-4-6 in the '90s, one guy who hung out for a few hours listening to various discs was former Portland Trail Blazer Maurice Lucas. Nice guy. Afterward we sat (without Luke) in the front row for a Moody Blues show.
 
I remember reading, in Billboard Magazine, that Brad Miller was responsible for the Warner Music Group choosing to use CD-4 for their quad LP's, after having initially opting to go with QS. Miller's "Mystic Moods" albums had moved from Philips to Warner Brothers Records, and there were plans to release some of those albums in four channel. Miller allegedly threatened to pull his catalog from the label if they opted to go with a matrix format. Warner relented, going with the discrete format. Miller ended up pulling his catalog anyway, after founding Soundbird Records.
 
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