Does anyone know this: In the song "Let's Live For Today", there is the count where they go 1-2-3-4, and these numbers are put into each channel. (A classic "gimmick" of the quad era, but lovable none the less
). Anyway, are these supposed to be 1(FL), 2(FR), 3(RL), 4(RR), or ????.
I can't remember if they are supposed to circle the room, or just bounce from each speaker.
THANKS
Here's my take, somehow it seems this went in 50 directions from the original question. The 1, 2, 3, 4 has nothing to do with speaker placement, it's the beat count so the band starts in sync, the fact it was left in the mixdown was the producer/engineers choice. I guess they thought it would be cool to bounce it to the 4 channels but it has nothing to do with channel placement. When quad was king the average studio still only had 16 tracks for recording, better studios had 32 tracks, but they cost a fortune. In the 70s I helped put together Sound 80 Studios (I had a very small roll in it but at least I was there.) and the initial thought was to go with 16 tracks but we ended up running 32. They were probably the first studio in the country to go digital and that ment going with 64 tracks to record on, back then incredible (now days some use over 500 tracks when recording). The numbers may be a bit off as far as how many tracks were used, it's been close to 40 years now and I'm retired, so is part of the memory portion of my brain, it may have been 128 tracks when they went digital, hard to remember.
The main thing is, the 4 count is standard when a band starts a song, the drummer usually calls it, leaving it on tape is just a matter of choice when doing the mixdown from the master tape. A lot of producer/engineers liked to experiment with the quad mixes, thus, you had some quad tapes that were released but sounded like garbage, it was hot back then and they just wanted to get it out so the public would buy it (kind of like BUGGY software today). There were some that just did a dual stereo mix to quad because they were stupid and lazy and then some who thought it would be cool to put the main vocals on the rear channels, also because they didn't have a clue. The folks that did know quad the best (like Alan Parsons) wanted to make the quad experience like seeing a live band in concert, the best breakdowns were main vocals in front, most harmonies/backup vocals in the rear with a small bleed on the front channels, lead guitar in front and rhythm in the rear along with the bass and the main drum beat in all 4 with rolls going to various channels. There was of course variations of all this but most of the better engineers tried to keep the basics intact. The other part was band size, if you had 3 main players doing all the parts (roughly Grand Funk type bands) you worked the mix one way, but if you had a Moody Blues type band it left open all kinds of new ways to mixdown. I guess most people think 4 channel was easy to mix, and in a way it was if you stayed with the pure basics, but to do a mix good and then with a 5 or 6 man (woman) band, it was not easy by any means. I know some larger bands tried but because of the complexity, they just could not get a mix they liked, back then at least. (ie Fleetwood Mac) The deal with symphonies and soundtrack music (movie songs) was actually a bit easier, a 30 man orchestra let you put instruments anywhere, but again, there were variations depending on the producer/engineer. A good example for an excellent high quality mix by a large group is Enoch Light who was another pioneer in quad sound mixes. If you ever find one, get the Enoch Light quad tape of "Big Band" music (hits of the 30s and 40s or hits of the 40s and 50s to name a couple) this is some of the finest 4 channel music I've ever heard, period. I can't begin to describe how good something like Glen Millers "Moonlight Sonata" sounds in quad but it will bring chills to your spine if your a true quadhead. I'm sorry, I got to rambling too, oh well. I do want to make one last note, there is a lot of music in quad (rock, country etc) that is not listed anywhere. Their mainly in 8 track and commonly called "Truck Stop Tapes". A lot of small, jump on the bandwagon, here today gone tomorrow type companies bought licensing rights to do albums or compilations for cheap, they did there own mixes and put them on 8 tracks to sell at truck stops or budget stores. They made odd labels, silly names and had goofy pictures but hey, some of then were actually very good quad mixes, they just used cheap tape and cases bought in bulk for reduced prices, back then it was bad but now, 40 years later their (very) rare and sound just as good as the high buck mainstream tapes. I have a few and they sound great (average or better quad mix), a couple to note are 2 Door Albums, their first which was self titled and also their "Morrison Hotel" album, never released by the big boys but some budget "Track Stop Tape" companies did release them in 8 track quad. I've started to finally put what I have in a database and noticed I also have The Who "Who's Next" album in one of those cheapie TS tapes, their out there, but their rare. The companies may have been around for a year or two to make a quick buck then when quad fizzled they closed their doors.
I think if the major companies were to make quad tapes again they would do well, time has proven now that it's not just a FAD and even young kids (20s & 30s) are getting into it and buying.
Again, sorry for rambling, I've been into quad since 71 or so, playing in bands (guitars and keys) since the mid 60s and repairing the (4 and ) 8 track tapes since the mid 70s so there's a lot in my head beside air.
