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THE MAGAZINE FOR MUSIC LISTENERS
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new horizons in sound
captured with stark realism on
THE NAME of Emory Cook has become synonymous with
-
COOK
dramatic
new horizons in recorded sound cataclysmic forces of nature,
weird noises from outer space; exotic, primitive, enchanting music
from distant lands. The very nature of the "out -of- this -world"
sounds which skyrocketed Cook Records to world -wide fame necessitates real perfection in every step of the reproduction process,
from original tape recording to lacquer master and final pressings.
Emory Cook uses Audiotape and Audiodiscs exclusively for original recording and processing. He has found that this Audiodisc-
Audiotape combination meets his exacting requirements for truly
life -like recording and reproduction of the original live sound
from ear -splitting thunder claps or the roar of pounding surf to the
most delicate nuances of vocal inflection or instrumental timbre.
With the newly expanded line of Audiotape, this unsurpassed
recording quality is now available to every tape recordist professional and amateur alike. Five different types of Audiotape provide the base materials and recording times to meet every recording
requirement to best advantage. For complete information on the
entire Audiotape line, send for a copy of Bulletin 250.
-
-
AUDIO DEVICES, Inc.
444 MADISON AVE., NEW YORK 22, N.
Y.
IN CHICAGO: 6571 N. Olmsted Ave.
IN HOLLYWOOD: 1006 N. Fairfax Ave.
Export Dept.: 13 East 40th St., New York 16, N. Y., Cables "ARLAB"
records
...original sound on
...master recordings on
High .?fidelity
T H E
M A G A Z
-
I
-
The Cover. Handsome though you may
find this month's cover
and it is
it
contains evidence conducive to two (interchangeable) suspicions. One is that commercial telephone lines are too low -fi to
serve HIGH FIDELITY personnel adequately.
The other is that artists, however devoted
to Volkswagens, ultralinear amplifiers, the
Brubeck Quartet, and other strictly twentieth- century amenities, still tend ever and
anon to drift spiritually backward, like
Bridey Murphy, into eras more picturesque
and romantic than our own
ages graced,
for instance, by the piquant Italian "s"
that looked like an "f ". You know what
we mean: "The Lord fpake unto Mofes,
faying. . . .
If you want to know why this should
concern us, take another look at John S.
Wilson's name on the cover. How it
suffered this sea -change we know not,
except that the procedure involved two
artists, an engraver, and a type- house, all
interconnected, in joint endeavor, by some
hundreds of miles of telephone line limited
by its amplifiers to a top response of some
three kilocycles per second
too low,
apparently, for sonic (fonic ?) distinction
between "s" and "f ". Fo forty, Mifter
-
-
Wilfon!
Next Issue. Comes another in the essay series, "Living With Music." This one
is by none other than Dr. Alfred C. Kinsey,
who usually writes on other topics. He
subtitles his piece "Music and Love."
Publisher
JOHN M. CONLY, Editor
J. GORDON HOLT, Technical Editor
ROY LINDSTROM, Art Director
Assistant Editors
N
E
F
O R
M U
S
I C
L I S
T
E
N
Volume 6 Number 6
E R S
June 1956
Noted With Interest
4
Listener's Bookshelf, by R. D. Darrell
7
AUTHORitatively Speaking
15
Letters
26
As The Editors See It
33
Bel Canto through the Microphone, by Henry Pleasants
34
Has our singing been afflicted by gigantism?
That Crazy Mixed -up Muse, by Tilden Wells
36
A professor's collection of musical boners.
The Case of the F -Sharp Major Eroica, by Fritz A. Kuttner
38
First of three articles on pitch -and-speed error in records.
A Song for the Open Road, by Stephen W. Plimpton
Motorized medium -fi in pictures.
41
Rodrigues Updates the Orchestra, by Charles Rodrigues
42
A
cartoon feature.
Walker's Little Wonder, by Robert Charles Marsh
44
Electrostatic speakers and other developments in Britain.
Music Makers, by Roland Gelatt
49
CHARLES FOWLER,
MIRIAM D. MANNING; JOAN GRIFFITHS
ROLAND GELATT,
New York Editor
FRANCES A. NEWBURY
Manager, Book Division
Contributing Editors
C. G. BURKE
R. D. DARRELL
JAMES HINTON, JR.
CORA R. HOOPES
ROBERT CHARLES MARSH
7
Manager
ARTHUR J. GRIFFIN, Circulation
Director
WARREN B. SYER, Business
Branch Offices (Advertising only): New York:
Room 600, 6 East 39th Street.
Telephone:
Murray Hill 5 -6332. Fred C. Michalove, Eastern
Manager.- Chicago: John R. Rutherford and Associates, 230 East Ohio St., Chicago, Ill. Telephone:
Whitehall 4-6715. -Los Angeles: 1052 West 6th
Street. Telephone: Madison 6-1371. Edward Brand,
West Coast Manager.
JUNE 1956
Record Section
53-90
Records in Review; Dialing Your Disks; Small -Group Jazz:
Traditional New Orleans, by John S. Wilson; The Tape Deck,
by R. D. Darrell.
Tested in the Home
95
Pye Quality Amplifier and Proctor Control Unit; Fisher PR -6
Preamplifier; Audiogersh Miraphon XM -rroA Manual Player;
Fisher 8OR Tuner; University Tiny -Mite, Senior, and Master
Speaker Systems; Audio Exchange Big Brother Amplifier;
Zenith Trans- Oceanic Portable.
Professional Directory
108
Audio Forum
113
Trader's Marketplace
Advertising Index
14
119
High Fidelity Magazine is published monthly by Audiocom, Inc., at Great Barrington, Mass. Telephone:
Great Barrington 1300. Editorial, publication, and circulation offices at: The Publishing House,
Barrington, Mass. Subscriptions: $6.00 per year in the United States and Canada. Single copies: 60 Great
cents
each. Editorial contributions will be welcomed by the editor. Payment for articles accepted will be arranged
prior to publication. Unsolicited manuscripts should be accompanied by return postage. Entered as
second -class matter April 27, 1951 at the post office at Great Barrington, Mass., under the act of March 3,
1879. Additional entry at the post office, Pittsfield, Mass. Member Audit Bureau of Circulation. Printed
In the U. S. A. by the Ben Franklin Press, Pittsfield, Mass. Copyright 1956 by Audiocom, Inc. The cover
design and contents of High Fidelity magazine are fully protected by copyrights and must not be reproduced in any manner.
3
SAVES YOU
HOW
TWICE THE COST OF THIS
TNORS MANUAL PLAYER
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v111901t
The Personal Equation
We at HIGH FIDELITY have a good
deal of contact with our readers. We
meet many of them at the various
audio shows. We receive somewhere
around 500 letters a month, on the
letters of comment on
average
on industry problems,
matter,
editorial
on high fidelity equipment and
records. Many of the letters ask for
assistance and advice on equipment
.
WITH PREASSEMBLED TONEARM
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costly is the "near- perfection" performance of the DIRECT-DRIVE
system in the CB -33P. A cast -iron frame encasing the Swiss -precision
motor and a mechanical filter act to reduce rumble. Power is transmitted through machined gears which drive the main shaft with
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Music Boxes
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NEW YORK
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and record problems.
We enjoy these contacts and letters.
The better we know you, the reader,
the better we should be able to publish
a magazine which will be of maximum
value and interest to the largest possible number. We feel, and we hope
that you feel, that you are not just
names on a circulation galley but are
individuals in whom we are personally
interested and with many of whom
we are personally acquainted. We
know that many reciprocate this feeling.
Convenient finger lift
EASIER
.
"HI -FI AND
YOUR
BUDGET."
But every now and then, some small
incident occurs which brings home
to us more forcefully than anything
shall we
else, just how real is this
personal equation.
call it
You may remember that we started
off the April "Noted With Interest"
column with an item about the
Product Information cards, and some
of the trouble we had figuring them
out. We reproduced, from one card,
what was to us a completely illegible
name and address, and wondered, publicly, if any of our readers could help
us decipher it.
Now the April issue was mailed on
March 3o, April 2, and 3. On April
6, a reader phoned in a complete
translation of the signature and address. ( In our excitement, we missed
getting the name of this reader.) On
April 9, W. H. Moerel, Commercial
Secretary of the Netherlands Embassy
in Washington, wrote as follows:
-
-
Continued on page iS
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
-
LTSTE ER'S
.1Et OO1K_ S1H1 E RAF'
HAVE I repeatedly lamented that
few music books ever command, at least on their first appearance,
a large, receptive audience? And shall
I now be forced to change my tune by
the public clamor currently aroused by
Samuel Chotzinoff's Toscanini: An
Intimate Portrait (Knopf, $3.5o),
which is clearly headed for the bestseller lists?
The answers are respectively Yes
and No; for this is only obliquely a
book about music, and although the
subject certainly is a musical personality, it is the man rather than the
musician who dominates these pages.
What we have here is an expanded,
148 -page "profile" of the New Yorker
type, in which a great artist is exposed
in all his human weaknesses in a
montage of candid verbal snapshots.
What makes this example extraordinary is that the clay feet revealed here
are positively inhuman
the almost
incredible idiosyncrasies of a genius
who is also something of a monster.
And these grotesqueries are depicted
by one of their chief victims, a
disciple- manager -valet of the Master,
whose frankness spares himself no less
than his idol.
But music book or not, this "portrait" exerts a unique, if horrid, fascination. It has a sinister smack of the
Dark Ages: a barbarian conqueror of
the world, sulking in his tent and
squandering his incomparable energies
in unpredictable alternations of perulance and horse -play, is seen through
the eyes of a servile courtier who
meekly cherishes both the insults and
smiles of his Emperor-God as equally
natural rewards of complete submission. It requires a strong effort of will
on the part of the mesmerized reader
to remember that the scene is not
medieval Asia, but the contemporary
world of music; that the absolute
monarch is not an Eastern potentate,
but Toscanini; that the vassals are not
tribesmen -warriors, but leading orchestra players, broadcast and recording officials and technicians.
-
-
JUNE 1956
I'd like to advise readers to avoid this
book like some plague and to go on
enjoying the wealth of Toscanini recordings in blissful ignorance of the
brutalities that went into their making.
But of course I can't and in any case
the temptation to taste of the fruit of
the tree of knowledge is humanly
irresistible. Besides, many of the
"revelations" are just too provocative
or enlightening to miss. Who else but
the Maestro himself would dare say, in
response to a doctor's amazement over
the perfect condition of his heart,
"Why shouldn't it be? It has never
been used."? And who but an official
of NBC, in whose notorious Studio
8 -H Toscanini willingly recorded and
broadcast, could naïvely assert that
a special hazard of "outside" performances was "the dubious acoustics
of concert halls" in which the conductor would have to play?
Whatever one may think of Master
or Disciple, we must be everlastingly
indebted to the latter for an incomparably absorbing account of the
agonies and ecstasies of some thirty
years of bondage. At the very least
we need this "intimate" picture to
appreciate more keenly the full cost
of certain disk masterpieces. Yet even
as we drop the book and try vainly
to forget it in the imperishable Toscanini performances themselves, we
can hardly silence the question, Are
they truly worth that cost?
-
Not-Entirely- Enigma Variations
While the major part of the Toscanini legacy exists today only in the
unreliable memories of his concert
and broadcast listeners, a very considerable portion has been more -or -less
successfully preserved in recordings.
By this means almost every significant
element of Toscanini's interpretative
art (and even of his musical personality ) can be rigorously analyzed and
at least by the evidence
evaluated
of our own ears. This is exactly what
Robert Charles Marsh does in his
-
providentially concurrent Toscanini
and the Art of Orchestral Performance ( Lippincott, $4.50)
.
This book will be a source of
illumination to any reader, and for
readers of Marsh's Toscanini discography {HIGH FIDELITY, Dec. 1954 -Feb.
19551 it will hold surprising delights.
This study is vastly expanded here,
not only in enriched notes on individual recordings, but also by a
highly provocative and to me extraordinarily discerning general analysis
of Toscanini's musicianship. Moreover, these some 135 pages are prefaced by a necessary 45 -page review
of the subject's whole career and its
contemporary influence, and are followed by a 24 -page survey of Toscanini's repertory. Appendices tabulating that repertory in detail, providing a chronology of the artist's life
and data on Marsh's own playback
equipment, and indexing the recordings by composer and year are also
included.
Yet the prime worth of Marsh's
searching work lies not so much in
its minute documentation as in its
aesthetic and technical analyses "in
depth," and above all in its superbly
illuminating insights. It well may
infuriate some worshippers of The
Maestro, but it also will shock his
blind enemies by its virtually irrefutable proofs of his unparalleled
gifts. Perhaps I can best indicate my
respect for Marsh's evaluations by
noting that while I by no means
always agree with them in individual
instances, they impress me so profoundly that I have hastened to reconsider all my own dissenting opinions.
And throughout, whether I personally
agree or disagree, I feel that Marsh
makes out the strongest possible case
for his particular judgments, many of
which are based on new evidence or
evidence newly and convincingly
weighed.
One thing I'm sure of: no one
Continued on page 9
7
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Comments on
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Phonograph
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have one of the
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depicting the various
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very valuable. I wouldn't
trust them in any phonograph unless it contained a
diamond needle."
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HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
Inside story on the
BOOKSHELF
Continued from page 9
k
of considering the amplifier, rather
than the loudspeaker, the "heart" of
a home sound system. But he has
some new and valuable things to say
(on "Playing Old Records" and on
"Tape Records" in particular) Everything he says, however, is said with
a more individual accent and easier
grace of delivery than most American
writers in this field manage. And he
deserves some kind of Audio Medal
of Honor for reminding us anew of
a fundamental sonic truism: "Unfortunately, it is not the taste for good
reproduction that has to be acquired,
but the taste for bad reproduction that
has to be erased, obliterated, or other.
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Tape Innocents at Home
After James's demonstration that even
deliberately low -level book may be
invested with some stylistic grace, and
after his constant stress ( implied and
explicit) that technology must serve
rather than enchain art, I find myself
perhaps less kindly disposed than I
should be toward two extremely useful but to my mind exclusively utilitarian tape primers: Charles G. West cott's Tape Recorders: How They
Work ( Howard W. Sams, paper,
$2.75) and Harold D. Weiler's Tape
ordinary
together
would pass them by.
tuners
a
r
Recorders
I
r
and
Tape Recording
Magazines, paper, $2.95)
Westcott's 177 pages are somewhat
difficult to read, not by reason of their
specialization (the book is only semi technical) , but for a combination of
rather pedestrian writing and "Photo fact" appearance of a text reproduced
by justified typescript or Vari -Type.
Yet he does a thoroughgoing job
of exactly what his title promises. He
has nothing to say about the uses of
tape- recorders, but he painstakingly
examines the equipments and circuits
themselves. No attentive reader can
finish these pages without a clear
notion of how each element "works"
and why, and how it is operated,
checked, and maintained in optimum
performance. All this would make it
an essential handbook for every tape recorder owner, but it also has the
added attraction of a preliminary history of tape recording which is the
most complete and informative I have
ever seen addressed to nonprofessional readers.
Continued on page 13
( Radio
JUNE I956
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Engineered by the same H. H. Scott team
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The AM side features radically new detector
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The
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Section: 3 mv. sensitivity
20 db quieting
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for
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megacycle wide
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automatic gain control assures optimum adjustment under all signal
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AM Section:
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Dimensions in case: 151/4" x 43"
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1
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4
BOOKSHELF
I
Continued from page r i
The other, 190 -page book is happily complementary rather than competitive, since despite the first part
of its title it is primarily concerned
with home tape- recording techniques.
Except for a couple of preliminary and
not always completely reliable chapters on the nature of sound and hearing and a brief one (inexplicably midway in the volume) on recorders in
theory and practice, this is a highly
pragmatic introduction to micro-
f1
f
was a Hi Fi Widow
until we discovered
CLEAN, BRILLIANT
H. H. SCOTT SOUND
as low as
$9995
For a while I'd completely lost my husband
H. H. Scott helped me get him back!
... but
Night after night he'd be over to the neighbor's
listening to Hi Fi. I was really getting worried because
figured good Hi Fi equipment would be way over our
budget ... Then in he walked with some boxes.
I
"But honey," he said, "Wait'til you hear it. And the
amplifier only cost me $99.95"
"The last time
I
heard you were talking nearer $200.'
could spend and he told
for the price is definitely
H. H. Scott at $99.95. In fact, he said the Scott
equipment was better than many other
amplifiers and tuners at much more money."
"I told the dealer what
I
me the best buy
phones and room acoustics, mike
placements for various home and outdoor recording purposes, recording
from disks and broadcasts, splicing
and editing tapes, the amateur production and use of sound effects,
equipment maintenance for non technicians, and adding sound to slides
and home movies.
Since Weiler has done so effectively
what he intended to do, in providing
completely uninformed but eager
novice "recordists" with an indispensable introductory guidebook, it well
may be unfair to chide him for what
he either didn't want or is unable to
do. Yet just because his earlier and
still best- selling High Fidelity Simplified and his stylus- wear -and -care booklet brought such a fresh touch to elementary technicalities for the layman
( and
perhaps because the present
book has been so long anticipated) ,
I for one expected a good deal more
of it. It is hard for me to imagine
serious music lovers finding substantial
satisfactions in the activities so
although at
earnestly described here
that I'd dearly relish a televised
glimpse of anyone diligently carrying
out to the letter Weiler's precise and
quite without tongue -in -cheek prescriptions for paddling in a partially
filled bathtub to produce rippling stream and waterfall sound "effects "!
Yet if all this is as interesting and important to you as it obviously is to
Weiler, he'll surely keep you contentedly busy for a long time. What
Continued on page i5
All I could think of was a mass of tubes and
dangling wires ... but all my husband did was
plug in a few cords in the back. No tubes show
the equipment comes in smart cases that
look wonderful on our bookcase.
.
Yes
hi fi
I'll
... my husband's lost his heart to his H.
... but I'm not going to sue for divorce.
have to admit
I
JUNE 1956
Scott
love our hi fi set, too!
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Be sure to hear the matching
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2 magnetic Inputs so you can plug in both
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5 position record compensator that includes special NARTB tape curve to let
you play direct from tape heads without
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Loudness control for
perfect sound at any volume setting.
2
tape outputs, one for actually recording,
the other for monitoring direct from tape.
Level control to match your phono cartridge perfectly to the amplifier.
Separate
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Output connections for any speaker between
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Dimensions In case:
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BOOKSHELF
Continuedfrom page 13
he fails to stress is that such audio
hobbyism, per se, has nothing whatever to do with music and contributes
nothing to a truly discriminatory sense
of aural values.
GRACE NOTES
Hi -Fi Annual I. The example of the
Audio Anthologies as well as its own
"popular requests" has at last stimulated Radio and Television News to
issue a similar compilation of reprinted articles in the first of a series
of Hi -Fi Annual and Audio Handbook
publications to be widely distributed
by newstand as well as sound -salon
and direct mail sales There are some
very useful "return- appearances" here,
too, if mostly on a somewhat lower
technical or semi -technical level; but
the typography, layouts, and illustrations, while well enough reproduced,
are considerably less appealing to the
eye. I regret too the omission of the
dates of original publication (Ziff Davis, paper, $ I .00)
THE
WORLD'S PREMIERE MASTER CONTROL
HER
Penguin Bach and Haydn.
-
-a
AUTHORitatively Speaking
Tilden Wells, who on page 36 views his
favorite Muse as others see her, is a professor of music in a Midwestern liberal
arts college. Among courses he teaches
is one- as will be promptly obvious
in music appreciation. (Its a required
course, incidentally.) When not teaching,
Mr. Wells composes music, some of which
has been published, plays the piano, and
writes children's books (pseudonym: Godfrey Lynn) and children's musical plays.
This latter line of endeavor grew out of
bedtime story telling for his own two
children. Thus are talents uncovered.
-
Fritz A. Kuttner, whose three -part study
of pitch -fluctuation in recordings begins
on page 38, will be remembered for earlier
writings in these pages, "The Science of
Music in Ancient China," and Are High
Frequencies Necessary?"
JUNE 1956
EQUIPPED WITH TONESCOPE
THE,
.
The
latest releases (Nos. 29 and 30) in
the Penguin miniature -score series are
two more record and concert listeners'
favorites: the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto and the Surprise Symphony, each
as usual with analytical notes by Gordon Jacob, and each
also as usual
in these uncommonly handsome publications
model of what a small
score for home "following" and study
should be (Penguin Books, paper, 85(1
each) .
AMPLIFIER
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MODEL CA -40
OMPLETE IN EVERY
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-
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with controls, as well
pact chassis, the most advanced
as a powerful 25 -watt amplifier with less than 1% distortion at
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ToneScope, a graphic presentation
is another FISHER First
of Tone Control settings. All this in a handsome, two -tone plastic
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Price Only $139.50
-
Remarkable Features of
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Six inputs, including two Auxiliary, Tuner, Magnetic Phono, Mic and Tape.
Uniform response 10 to 90,000 cycles ± 0.5 db.
Input Level Adjustments.
0.3 volt on
Constant power within 1 db at 25 watts, 17 to 30,000 cycles.
Less
high level, 0.005 volt on low level inputs produces full 25 watt output.
Three -position Rumble and Scratch
than 1% distortion at rated power.
AES,
positions:
EUR,
Five
equalization
Filters, with panel indicator lights.
Balanced Spectrum Bass and Treble Controls, providing
RIAA, LP, NAB.
ToneScope, to graphically indicate Tone Control Set 15 db boost or cut.
Cathode follower recorder output.
ings.
4, 8 and 16 -ohm speaker outputs.
Shielded, shock -mounted
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CONTROIS: Bass, Treble, Power On -Off, Function Selector,
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Volume, 4- Position Loudness Contour, Rumble Filter, Scratch Filter.
SHIPPING WEIGHT: 24 pounds.
SIZE: 123/4" x 103/8" x 5" high.
Price Slightly Higher In The West
WRITE TODAY FOR COMPLETE SPECIFICATIONS
FISHER RADIO CORP.
21
-25 44th DRIVE
L. I. CITY 1,
N. Y.
IIIltI111Ulmnllm
THE FISHER
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EIGHT CuNIROI.Sr Bass, Treble, Master Volume, Dual Phono. Tape Equalization,
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SIZE: 1234" x 71/4"
X
41%"
high. WEIGHT:
IO
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Cabinet $9.95
Model TR -1
All- Transistor
Chassis Only $99.50
PREAMPLIFIER
Another great FISHER achievement -the first all -transistor high fidelity product.
Absolutely zero hum and microphone: m. Phono or microphone preamplifier. Response
20 to 20,000 cycles within 0.5 db. Handles all popular magnetic cartridges, including
very low -level types (no transformer necessary!) Noise level 65 db below 10 millivolts input, for high impedance cartridges. RIA.\ equalization. Handles output
lead up to 200 feet long. Three transistors, printed circuit wiring, fully shielded.
TtIREE cONTROts: Power/Volume, Impedance Selector Switch, Phono; Microphone
Selector Switch. SIZE: 2" x 41/2" x 41/4" deep. WEIGHT: 12 ounces.
Price $27.50
Battery $1.95
110 VAC Power Supply $4.95
Model 20 -A
LAB
STANDARD AMPLIFIER
Luw in cost, terrine in quality! It is the 15 -watt amplifier thousands of hi -fi
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IM distortion less than 1.5' at 10 watts. Hum and noise better than 91) db below
full output. Internal impedance: 1 ohm for 16 -ohm operation, giving damping
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Price Only $59.50
Model 80 -AZ
LAB STANDARD
AMPLIFIER
Great new FISHER amplifier with PowerScope, a visual Peak Power Indicator.
More clean watts per dollar than any amplifier in its class. 60 watts peak! Less
than 0.5% distortion at 30 watts (0.05% at 10 watts.) IM distortion less than 0.5%
at 25 watts. Un:form response within 0.1 db, 20 to 20,000 cycles. Within 1 db,
10 to 50,000 cycles. Hum and noise virtually non -measurable (better than 96 db
below full output!) THREE
11101S: Z- Matie, PowerScope, and Input Level.
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Price Only $99.50
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LAB STANDARD AMPLIFIER
World's finest all -triode amplifier and moderately priced. 100 watts peak! Less
than 1% distortion at 50 watts (0.08% at 10 watts.) IM distortion below 2r/r at
50 watts. Response uniform within 1 db, 5 to 100,000 cycles. Hum and noise level
96 db below full output! Unusually high reserve power handling capacity. High
efficiency, excellent transient response and linearity. Oversize components, famous
FISHER workmanship throughout. Equipped with FISHER Z -Matie for variable
damping. 8 and 16-ohm outputs. SIZE: 834" x 141/4" x 9" high. wEIGHT: 41 pounds.
Price Only $159.50
Prices Slightly Higher in the West
WRITE TODAY FOR COMPLETE SPECIFICATIONS
FISHER RADIO CORPORATION
16
21
-25 44th DRIVE
L. I. CITY
N. Y.
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
E FIS
Wiact'4, 419,keneo4/ ele
4.7ieleh.0
Engineered for the professional, functionally designed for the home, THE FISHER Tuners are
characterized by extreme sensitivity, micro -accurate tuning and precision workmanship throughout.
Model FM -40
Custom FM TUNER
A compact, beautifully designed instrument at moderate cost, for discriminating
users. Stable circuitry and simplified controls make this remarkable tuner exceptionally easy to use. Meter for micro-accurate, center -of- channel tuning. Sensitivity:
microvolts for 20 db quieting. Supplied with folded dipole but can accommodate
or 72 -ohm antenna systems. Drift -free circuit has three outputs: Detector.
Multiplex, plus cathode follower. Eight tubes, self- powered. Handsome brushed brass panel for distinctiveness. slzr,: 123/4" x 83/4" x 4" high. WEIGHT: 15 pounds.
Mahogany or Blonde Cabinet Available.
3
100
Chassis Only $99.50
Cabinet $14.95
Model FM -80
Precision
FM TUNER
Equipped with two meters. the FM -SO outperforms any existing FM tuner. Combines extreme sensitivity, flexibility. And micro -accurate tuning. Unusually compact,
exceptionally engineered chassis. Armstrong system, two IF stages, dual limiter.
cascode RF stage. Full limiting even on signals as weak as one microvolt! 72 and
300 -ohm antenna inputs. Completely shielded and shock -mounted. THREE CONTROLS:
Variable AFC /Line Switch, Sensitivity, and Station Selector. Two bridged outputs,
cathode follower type. 11 tubes. Brushed -brass control panel. Self- powered. SIZE:
123/4" x 81/2" x 4" high. wEnaiI: 15 rounds. Mahogany or Blonde Cabinet Available.
Cabinet $14.95
Model AM -80
Chassis Only $139.50
Precision AM TUNER
"this is the high fidelity counterpart of the famous FM -80 Tuner. It combines the
pulling power of a professional communications receiver with the broad tuning
necessary for high fidelity reception. Designed to rigid standards, featuring tuning
meter for micro -accurate station selection. Three -position adjustable bandwidth.
Extreme sensitivity -less than one microvolt produces maximum output! Elusive
and distant stations are received with ease. Three inputs, cathode follower output.
Eight tubes. Self- powered. SIZE: 123/4" y 81%" x 4" high. WEnair: 15 pounds.
,Mahogany or Blonde Cabinet Available.
Cabinet $14.95
Model 80 -R
Professional
Chassis Only $139.50
FM -AM TUNER
Acclaimed everywhere as the finest FM -:\11 tuner available. Works where others
fail. Has two meters for micro -accurate tuning, features extreme sensitivity -1.5
microvolts for 20 db quieting! Adjustable AFC and AM selectivity, separate FM
and AM front ends. Shock- mounted chassis, super- smooth flywheel tuning. Completely shielded construction used throughout. Response within 0.5 db from 20 to
20,000 cycles. Distortion below 0.04% for 1 volt output. Cathode follower and
Multiplex outputs. Handsome, brushed -brass control panel. SIZE: 123/4" x 83/4" (less
knobs) x 4" high. WEIGHT: 16 pounds. Mahogany or Blonde Cabinet Available.
Cabinet $17.95
Chassis Only $169.50
Professional FM -AM TUNER
With Complete Control Facilities
Unequalled among FM. \ \I tuners with controls. Model 80 -T
Model 80 -T
is identical to
Model 80 -R but has built -in Preamplifier- Equalizer. It uses two meters for center-1.5
microvolts for
Extreme
sensitivity
of- channel indication and signal strength.
20 db quieting. Adjustable AFC, adjustable AM selectivity. Designed with separate
FM and AM front ends. Response from 20 to 20.000 cycles, within 0.5 db. At one
volt output distortion is less than 0.4%. Contains phono and tape -head preamplifier,
with full equalization controls. Three inputs, two outputs, including Multiplex. 16
tubes. EIGHT CONFRoLS: Selector, Variable AFC /Line Switch, Station Selector, Bass,
Treble, Equalization, Volume, Loudness Balance. SIZE: 121/4" x 83/4" (less knobs) x
6" high. WEIGHT: 21 pounds. Mnhogcny or Blonde Cabinet Available.
Cabinet $17.95
Chassis Only $199.50
Prices Slightly Higher in the 'Vest
WRITE TODAY FOR COMPLETE SPECIFICATIONS
FISHER RADIO CORPORATION
JUNE 1956
21
-25 44th DRIVE
L. I. CITY
N. Y.
1-
NOTED WITH INTEREST
Continued from page 4
"Having had some experience with
deciphering illegible return addresses
of fellow- countrymen, I would suggest
that the scrawl reproduced in facsimile
on page 16 of the April issue of HIGH
FIDELITY Magazine was intended to
convey the following intelligence:
F. H. Janssen van Raay
Ruysdaelstr (aat) 5
C (uraçaose) P (etroleum ) I ( ndustrie) M (aatschappij )
Cur (açao )
( Netherlands West Indies) "
On April r r, E. R. de Vries of New
York City wrote us, furnishing the
same "decoding" as that made by Mr.
Moerel. Since this month's NWI
column is being written on April 15,
it's likely we'll have several more
letters giving the name and address
of our Curaçao reader, and before
too long he himself will have received
his April copy and probably exclaim,
"Hey, that's me!"
But you see what we mean? Here
is a relatively minor matter, tucked
away on page r6 of a r38 -page magazine. Yet within a few days of the
time the magazine arrived at their
homes, three of our readers had not
only read the issue with sufficient care
to come upon this NWI item but
also had taken the time and trouble
either to call or write. This is what
we called the "personal equation"
the bond of mutual interest and respect and helpfulness which stretches
between publication and reader, and
from reader to reader. It is something
which we value very highly, and something that we look upon as a responsibility, to be preserved and nurtured.
ENGLAND
THE
CENTER
OF
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
-
Southwest Hi -Fi Show
Makers of the famous
Model HF25.
specification shows,
sound reproduction.
Black
Box
This new wide -band amplifier, as its
represents an outstanding advance in
Specification : Amplifier-output 35W. undistorted, 50W.
peak; I.M. distortion 25W. 0.5 %, 35W. 0.72 %; response substantially flat
160,000 c.p.s.; infinite damping factor. Control
Unit -inputs for radio, tape, pick -up (with interchangeable
2-
pick -up compensator plugs), microphone; feedback equalization
networks; bass, treble, filter and volume controls; front panel of
heavy burnished copper.
Price: Amplifier $139.50
;
Control Unit $59.50.
DISTRIBUTED IN THE U.S.A. BY: BRITISH RADIO ELECTRONICS,
1833 JEFFERSON PLACE N.W.,
WASHINGTON 6, D.C.
Readers around Houston, Texas should
mark down these dates: June 15, 16,
and 17. There's to be a floor and a
half of high fidelity exhibits and
demonstrations at the Rice Hotel.
Open to the public, of course.
News of Us
HIGH FIDELITY seems to be getting
around more and more
In his
profile in the New Yorker on Emory
Cook, Daniel Lang quoted our October 'S4 article dealing with the
same subject matter. And a Punch
.
.
.
Continued on page 20
18
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
i
2 IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS
OF INTEREST TO EVERY
HIGH FIDELITY ENTHUSIAST IN THE COUNTRY
ANNOUNCES
NEW MODEL RC -456
- the first 4 -speed high
fidelity record changer for 78 45,33 73 and
,
NEW LOW PRICE of
162/3
rpm.
$3450*
- the lowest in the field for a recognized high fidelity changer.
The New RC-456 Features:
Manual Operation
Automatic Intermix
Pre -Wired for Easy Installation
made.
... plus all the other features
that have
the fastest growing
changer in the field.
*less cartridge
- slightly higher West of Rockies
For complete details, write to Dept. GF -2
ROCKBAR CORPORATION,
JUNE 1956
65o Halstead Ave., Mamaroneck, N. Y.
Made in England
19
NEED NOT BE
COMPROMISED BY
Vt
EL ECTRON/CS
These fine products have been selected for your listening pleasure as representative of the finest quality at the lowest possible cost by the staff of
THE LISTENING POST
first in Boston to serve the high fidelity field exclusively. Only because we concentrate solely on quality audio equipment can we recommend these products unhesitatingly. Extended listening comparisons and exacting laboratory tests enable us to
GUARANTEE THESE PRODUCTS FOR 2 YEARS.* *styli and tubes excepted
-
NATURALLY WE RECOMMEND
combined with the
This speaker does not
startle you, but it will yield truly natural reproduction
Unquestionably one of the few really fine systems
Acclaimed by many as the ultimate . .. .
fundamental bass response available in no other
speaker
120° dispersion of the highs
no
no hangover
far
screech
no ringing
less record scratch
no coloration .
never before such low distortion in any loudspeaker. Available in matched mahogany cabinets for $329, or in a
beautiful custom cabinet to your specifications
approx. $425. The AR -1 is also available as a corn plete system for $185, and later you may add the
incomparable JansZen.
THE ACOUSTIC RESEARCH AR -1W
JANSZEN electrostatic speaker.
....
...
....
....
....
....
....
...
....
-
-
II AMPLIFIER
for the first time
available as a completely assembled, tested and guaranteed unit. A perfect complement to the finest loudspeakers
you can hear the difference when there is
no compromise with quality. Assembled, tested and
guaranteed by our technical staff for $99.75. If you
prefer, a complete kit for only $69.75, and for those
who build their own, the incomparable Dyne transformers, printed circuit boards, etc. are available
separately. Special 4 ohm winding on kit available
on special order at $5 extra. Standard 8 and 16 ohm
taps.
THE DYNAKIT MARK
-
an example of the very
highest quality English craftsmanship, long used as
a standard by radio stations and perfectionists throughout the world, now available in the U. S. A hysteresis
synchronous motor, sealed main bearing and positive
speed adjustment combine to give you the finest
turntable at any price, at a cost well below its corn petitors. Absolutely quiet operation, with complete
speed stability. $110
THE CONNOISSEUR TURNTABLE,
Let our experienced consultants help you select a COMPLETE COORDINATED MUSIC SYSTEM to meet your needs.
OUR CUSTOMERS ARE OUR BEST ADVERTISING
THE LISTENING POST
LISTENING POST
161
Boston, Massachusetts
Newbury Street
AR-1W matched
mahogany $329
birch
$324
utility for built -in use $293
AR -1 complete system $185
JansZen
JansZen tweeter -birch $179
mahogany $184, square
utility $161, utility array
$169
other finishes available on
order.
Dynakit $69.75, assembled
$99.75 4 ohm winding $5
additional
Connoisseur turntable $110
All prices F.O.B. Boston, Mass.
THE
WHERE QUALITY IS BUILDING BUSINESS
I am interested in:
161 Newbury Street
Boston, Massachusetts
please ship:
$
enclosed is check
money order for
Name
Street
City
State
NOTED WITH INTEREST
Continued from page r8
author penned a diatribe against the
insidious American practice of listening to thunderstorms and steamboat
whistles indoors. (Outdoors OK, Lord
Kinross? )
Roland Gelatt's The Fabulous
Phonograph is being issued in May as
a Talking Book by the American
Foundation for the Blind. This seems
appropriate, somehow; the cycle is
complete.
Finally, one of our authors gave a
talk recently which we wish we could
have heard, judging by its title. The
author was Allan Sangster, who did
"Building Your Record Library" for
our Mozart ( January) issue; the talk,
before the Toronto Society of Music
Enthusiasts meeting, was entitled
"Hell- for -Leather through the Köchel
Catalogue."
News of FM
There seem to be continued indications that the FM broadcasting industry is getting its feet under it.
In Boston WCRB -FM /AM announced
healthy
a rate increase recently
sign if ever there was one!
In Milwaukee, a new station should
be on the air by this time: WFMR,
with 25,000 watts at 96.5 mc. It is
owned by the High Fidelity Broadcasting Corp.; its president, Hugo
Koeth Jr., of 2567 N. 49 St., has
announced a program policy of classical, semi -classical, and true jazz
-a
music.
In some areas, there are almost too
or at least, they
many FM stations
are packed together too closely on
the dial. We have mentioned this
situation before but are reminded of
it again by a particularly eloquent
and agitated letter from a reader who
moved from New Hampshire to Torrington, Conn. He's just enough
nearer to New York than we are in
Great Barrington so that he can get
-
New York with limiting, but often
not without cross modulation from
powerful local stations in Hartford,
Conn., which broadcast on channels
adjacent to those used by New York.
What with the FCC still mulling
over the possibility of trimming the
FM band, maybe we should start a
counter move to get the FM band
increased ( fat chance of getting that
Continued on page 22
20
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
The best
...Reeves
way_
to store tape,
SOUNDCRAFT
tape chest
Soundcraft tape chests keep your tape library neat and compact.
Five -drawer units can be easily labeled for real convenience. When
you buy five reels of Soundcraft tape regular length or long -play
Red Diamond, Plus 50, Plus 100 buy them in the Soundcraft
tape chest at no extra cost!
Your dealer has them. See him today!
-
-
o
kr
aAerkete
the tape
JUNE 1956
FOR EVERY SOUND REASON
OW/E/
REEVES
SOUNDCRAFT CORP.
10 East 52nd Street, New York 22, N. Y.
338 N. LaBrea, Hollywood, California
2I
IN YOUR
BE THE
NEIGHBORHOOD
NOTED WITH INTEREST
Continued from page 20
) or at least have the stations
spread out more evenly on the dial.
On the writer's tuner, something like
thirty stations can be listened to regu-
through!
larly between 88 and ioo me but there
are only three between ioo and io8
mc.
The King Is Dead
o enjoy your
favorite t\7
_L
O
j
g in
p
easily
OITM
... and
at low cost
REVOLUTIONARY
WITH THE
.
and prepare to be
envied! In two minutes you can hook
up MUS -ET to any HI -FI amplifier, high
quality AM -FM radio or record player
system. Just set the MUS -ET dial to the
same channel to which your TV set is
tuned and the miracle of HI -Fl sound
is yours.
MUS -ET has self -contained power supply, 13 channel turret -type tuner, IF
strip and low impedcnce audio output
operates perfectly with any TV set
and good amplifier system.
Buy MUS -ET
* USING YOUR
PRESENT HI -FI EQUIPMENT
Your favorite TV programs
will come alive with rich,
never before
HI -Fl sound
obtainable in standard TV
reception.
-
$69 95
PRICE
.
-
SEE
If III-f/ is your
.
MON =MI MN
"hobby"
TUN -ET is for you. Now, for the first time, you
can enjoy HI -FI TV sound by adding TUN -ET to
your existing HI -Fl equipment operating through
your FM tuner. TUN -ET is inexpensive . . . has
self -contained power supply
PRICE
.
. is easy to install.
$39.95
.
Ask your dealer
.
.
.
or write to
@Me
INCORPORATED
WEBSTER 1, MASSACHUSETTS
22
Columbia Records has announced that
it will gradually withdraw 78 -rpm
disks from its catalogue. The 78
speed was king for more than 5o
years and, until this announcement, all
popular single releases have been
issued automatically in both 78- and
45-rpm versions. In 1956, less than
25% of Columbia's new single releases will be issued on 78 -rpm disks.
Sic transit gloria LXXVIII.
Wanted: Diagnostic Service
A reader in New York ( lives on Long
Island) wrote in to suggest that someone could make a success of a hi -fi
to give "owners
diagnostic service
of high fidelity equipment complete
diagnosis of their set -ups to enable
-
them to achieve the best results from
their systems and to make all the
necessary reports so that a competent
service house could do any additional
work required."
Anyone have any ideas? This might
be worth thinking about.
LP Storage Cases
Through the courtesy of reader Robert
A. Rodgers of Wilmette, Ill., we have
word that the Jesse Jones Box Corp.,
P. O. 512o, Philadelphia 41, Pa.,
has had so many requests for a double
slip case for record storage that they
have decided to produce the case in
twelve different colored fronts, with
black sides, to hold approximately
twenty records. Cost is $2.98 each,
including packing and postage.
April Fifteenth
-
It used to be the Ides of March but
and
now it's the Ides of April
if NWI seems a little harried this
month, it's because we spent most of
the morning in a last- minute arithmetic sprint to beat the tax collector
Continued on page 24
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
S T
A C O U
E S
N
l
I
S T A
T;
3- letter word that spells
a new
N
...
Improved Performance in
Loudspeaker Enclosures through
`Friction' Loading
The ARU represents
a
new,
improved idea in loudspeaker loading. Now, a speaker enclosure need
be only two-thirds the size required
for a bass-reflex.
In addition to extending and reinforcing bass response, the ARU
effectively smooths out resonant
peaks. It does this by introducing a
resistive element which lowers the
`O' of the enclosure as a resonator.
More specifically, an enclosure of the
proper volume for a given speaker or
speakers employing the correct
ARU will provide performance
noticeably superior to that obtained
with conventional cabinets.
-
Made in England
The ARU will:
Provide bass response down to
20 cycles'trilli
Negligible resonances above this
frequency and
Effective loading to zero cycles
-
with greatly reduced distortion due to
excessive cone displacement.
Installation of the ARU is simple. It is premounted in a wood frame that is easily fitted
into a rectangular aperture in the enclosure
and secured by means of ordinary screws.
-
Four ARU models are available for
Goodmans Axiom and Audiom loudspeakers, or
other makes of similar characteristics.
For complete details, see your dealer or write to Dept. QF-2
ROCKBAR CORPORATION
In
650 Halstead Avenue, Mamaroneck, N.Y.
Canada: A. C. Simmonds and Sons, Ltd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
A Preduct of Good -ions Industries
Mokers of the famous GOODMANS High Fidelity LOUDSPEAKERS
JUNE 1956
C E
!
NOTED WITH INTEREST
13:,oíw
G011".
114.t7
Continued from page 22
to the draw. We're delighted to know
that Jesse Jones ( preceding item)
sells his storage cases for $2.98, but
in the middle of writing that item we
began wondering if, were we to purchase one of these cases, we could
deduct the cost from our income tax
as a business expense-and so forth.
However, April 15th is not a day
of gloom to everyone. At least one
man we know of delights in that day,
and he's not a tax collector, either.
He's a composer, of all things! Yes,
we know you've heard about him, but
since this is being written on April
15th it seems appropriate to remind
you that Avery Claflin's madrigal, "Lament for April 15" is included in the
initial release by Composers Recordings, Inc., 25o West 57th St., New
York City. The Randolph Singers do
the rendition of this and other modern
madrigals composed especially for
them. Mr. Claflin should know whereof he writes; he was a successful
banker until 1954 when he retired
and promptly won musical recognition.
The amazing new Ferrograph "66" Series is the answer to the
demand of discriminating music -lovers and audiophiles who
seek professional results from an instrument that can easily be
housed in an existing piece of furniture, or which can form
part of a custom Hi -Fi installation.
This unique design includes a self-contained amplification
without sacrificing even one of the many
system, so that
sound can be fed
outstanding features of the Ferrograph
directly into your own speaker. Or, the playback portion of the
built-in amplifier may be by- passed, and sound can be fed
through your own high fidelity system. The Ferrograph "66"
will easily fit into a desk, a console, a bookcase, or any piece
of contemporary or period furniture. All that is necessary is to
cut out an opening 15%s " x 161/x" ; if a drawer is used, it should
be at least 10" deep, or a pair of shallower drawers may be
converted for this purpose.
Most attractively finished in golden bronze with ivory knobs
and acessories, the entire ensemble will readily harmonize with
the most decorous or luxurious surroundings.
-
-
New Book
We recently received a copy of Norman Crowhurst s latest book, "The
+Ili
1
.
`..1111
Quest for Quality," which goes into
the semi -technicalia of achieving hi -fi.
It has 8o pages with 52 illustrations
and provides some excellent material
about high fidelity methods of sound
reproduction. The author talks about
the various measures of performance
and helps the reader to understand
them by exlaining how to run simple
rests with workbench equipment. It's
,available from our book department;
S 1.5o postpaid.
Model 66N (3% & 71/2 ips)
$399.50 audiophile net
Model 66 (7% & 15 ips)
$425.00 audiophile net
Other Ferrograph
Professional Models
^'
Wire Stripper
Y
Wire Stripper Tools, Inc., of Glen
Head, N. Y., has done a cute one:
built a wire stripper into the handle
of a screwdriver. Costs 790, handles
14 through 20 gauge wire.
WEARITE TAPE DECKS
PORTABLE MODELS
Model 3A /N, 3% -7'i ips, built-in speaker $379.50
Model 3A/NH, 7 % -15 ips, built -in speaker $425.00
3% -7% ips; "A ",
2
...
heads
.
"B ", 3 heads
simultaneous dual track operation
I f your local dealer cannot supp y you- orders accepted
10 day money back
guarantee.
ERCONA CORPORATION
.
-
$250.00.
by mail
(Electronic Division)
551 Fifth Ave., Dept. 1-1 -6, New York 17, N. Y.
In Canada, write Astral Electric Company Limited, 44 Danforth Road, Toronto 13.
24
Four -Speed Changer
$195.00;
.
$225.00; "C ", for
Collaro has announced a four -speed
changer, the new speed being 162A
rpm, for talking books (and hi -way
hi-fi? ).
And a new price has been announced: $34.50. Mighty good buy!
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
o
ONLY
7FN/ry GIVES
,r .....------'.
J
f`M
,
YOU CONTINUOUS TRUE HIGH FIDELITY
--..,
'-=
:::é:....:`:"
..............
.
__
e>f.yaysy,r..t..; us.
a._--.E: =%'-`
r ..
r:
'
;r^
r;:.ä:.
..
^
-
...
. .
For true high fidelity...for perfect pitch and perfect
tempo, records must be played at their exact recorded
These Two Zenith Features Take
the Chance Out of High Fidelity
speed. And only Zenith's famous Cobra -Matie Record Changer,
now with new improved features, gives you ti-e Stroboscope
Speedometer and Fully Variable Speed Regulator -the two
essentials for playing every record at precisely the speed of
Fully variable speed
regulator permits you to
the original recording.
And a new, specially -developed Zenith circuitry allows you
to enjoy full, rich bass noes without "blasting" high volume!
play any speed from 10
to 85 RPM and to correct
turntable error.
Buill In stroboscope
speedometer shows
when turntable is turn ing at record's exact
recorded speed.
Truly, a new and luxurious musical experience.
The Debussy (above). Cobra- Matic' Record Changer plays all
speeds from 10 to 85 RPM, including the 16% "Talking Book"
speed. Heavy duty 4 -pole motor fcr smoother performance. 3 extra-
sensitive Zenith -quality speakers to bring out all highs and lows. Distinctive cabinet in Mahogany veneers and selected hardwood solids,
Model HFY -15R. In blond oak veneers and solids, Model HFY -15E.
ZENITH... the quality goes in before the name goes on
Backed by 37 years of experience in radionics exclusively
ALSO MAKERS OF FINE HEARING AIDS
Zenith Radio Corporation, Chicago 39, Illinois
COP,
JUNE 1956
10.1
SIR:
just recieving Your Magazine, finding
its way to the icecould little country
Sweden where the wild bloodthirsty
bears are roaring in Low -Fi outside my
window and the Snowstorm is threatening my house (you will find it on
your schoolmap) , I felt the well-known
Hi-Fi thrill and is now hopelessly engaged. An unusual wonderful magazine indeed! In Sweden we are yet
very few Hi -Fi -fans but rapidly increasing. And I am one of the fresh iest of them You call neophytes ( a
very good name, of the benign sort
hope)
The Swedish Radio Industry is fully
engaged in newbuilding Hi -Fi- systems
and a couple are for sale although not
I
Webcor Imperial Diskchanger 1631 -21
The amazing new WEBCOR
MAGIC-MIND" diskchanger
changes speeds automatically!
Here is the most sensational
new feature in record players
since Webcor first introduced
a low-priced automatic disk -
changer.
The MAGIC MIND in the
new Webcor Diskchangers
automatically selects the
proper speed for each record
in an intermixed stack of 45
and 33 rpm records of 7 ",
10" and 12" size. Now you can
sit back and enjoy Microgroove
records for hours ... without
raising a finger! (Plays 78
rpm records, too, of course.)
The Imperial Plug -In Fonograf
Finest diskchanger! Plays all speeds, all
size records. Magic Mind Speed Selector.
Weighted turntable with rubber
mat. Easy set -down adjustment.
Free tracking tone arm. Adjustable
counter -balance for regulating
stylus pressure. GE magnetic car-
tridge with diamond, sapphire
stylii. Ebony and chrome or burgundy and beige finishes. Other
Webcor Diskchangers available with wide
range ceramic cartridge or plug -in head.
All music sounds better on
a
-
w EBCOR
Chicago 39, III.
.
with such excellent datas as in USA.
Or perhaps our advertisers do not use
( misuse? )
the superlatives. I think
not mutch will remain for paradise
after American Hi -Fi.
Anyway I am in trouble of importing Your apparatus because I don't
know at which end I shall begin to
defeat the licens- machinery. Perhaps
You could help me a bit on the way.
With the best greetings and thanks.
Your sincere
Hilding Backlund
Tegnergataa 38 B
Upsala, Sweden
SIR:
have read with interest the article in
the current April edition [HIGH FIDELITY] titled "Right in the Middle of
Your Pianissimo" by James G. Deane.
Unfortunately I have found all his
comments to be true, and I heartily
agree with his sentiments when he
says that record manufacturers do not
take enough care in the packing and
shipping of records to their distributors and retailers.
As a purchaser, I find that I spend
unnecessary time in returning records
to my dealer; and even though he is
happy to do this for me, it is very
inconvenient to have to keep on... .
I
Continued on page 28
26
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
NEW...
FROM RADIO CRAFTSMEN
THE CONCERTO AMPLIFIER
-
NEW RADIO CRAFTSMEN CATALOG
PREAMP. MODEL CA -11
RADIO CTAFTSMEN
/
TRE FINEST IV HIGH FIDELITY
Concerto ModelCA11
Price Complete-only $57.50
Here is the outstanding value in the field of amplifiers with features
and performance equal or superior to amplifiers selling at twice the price.
Again Radio Craftsmen pioneers
In the past low priced
a
new concept of high
fidelity.
amplifiers have been the result of compromises
in quality and performance. A team of Craftsmen engineers was
assigned the task of designing
a
low priced amplifier with features
hitherto found only in higher priced models, and offering performance
and quality up to traditional Radio Craftsmen high standards.
this ambitious goal. Here are specific examples of
superior features built into this unit. In low and medium priced
amplifiers it is unusual to find tone controls, as in the Concerto, that
provide 17db of boost as well as 15db of attenuation. The Concerto's
continuously variable loudness control is not the usual partial
The Concerto meets
effect control, but follows the true Fletcher Munson curve throughout
its entire range. In addition there is a continously variable level -set
control. There are nine phono equalization positions, but more important,
each equalization position follows the actual compensation curve
employed by the record manufacturer. Instead of the usual high
impedance output with its attendant losses in fidelity, the Concerto has
output. These are just a few of the many
features that prove the new Craftsmen Concerto represents a new
concept in low cost high fidelity amplifiers.
a low impedance tape
RADIO
a
craItsnen
INC.
division cf: PFECISION RADICTION IN:TRJMENTS,
4223 West Jefferson Boulevard Los
RADIO
craft smen
,
a
Arpin
I14û.
16, Califo nia
division of Precision Radiation Instruments, Inc
For complete information and specif cations on he Concerto and
other equally dist nguished new Crat men aquipn ent see the new
Craftsmen catalog. This beauSful bo.klet is the most comprehensive catalog published by a high fidelity manufacturer. It is fully
illustrated and ccntains fascftating. detailed information
fidelly equipment. Write
on high
today for your free copy.
4223 -F, West Jefferson Boulevard, Los Angeles 15, California
JUNE T956
27
LETTERS
MUSIC LISTENER'S
BOOKSHOP
A TIME -SAVING SERVICE
TO OUR READERS. WE ATTEMPT
TO SEND YOU THE BOOKS YOU ORDER BY RETURN MAIL.
Just send the coupon with your remittance.
Binders
BUILDING YOUR RECORD LIBRARY,
Edited by Roy H. Hoopes, Jr. An excellent guide to more listening enjoyment. 17 qualified experts help you to
build a well- balanced record library,
custom -tailored to your individual
taste.
No. 208
$3.95
HI -FI LOUDSPEAKERS AND ENCLOSURES,
Abraham B. Cohen. A complete, well written book dealing with one of the
most important features of a hi -fi system. Includes an appendix of 18 complete plans for construction.
No. 209
$4.60
TOSCANINI AND THE ART OF ORCHESTRAL PERFORMANCE, Robert Charles
Marsh. A book unique in the Toscanini literature. A critical study, including evaluation of every recording
ever released to date under the Maestro's baton. An invaluable and stimulating experience for the musical reader.
No. 210
$4.50
RECORD GUIDE, Edward SackvilleWest and Desmond Shawe -Taylor.
Enlarged and completely revised edition.
Both a catalogue and critical review of
long -play records available in England,
listing the British record number. Full of
details of many special recordings not included in the ordinary published lists.
THE
No. 206
BINDERS
$7.50
FOR
HIGH
FIDELITY
Magazine:
Red Leatherette, gold stamped on front
and backbone. Each binder holds 6 issues.
$2.75 each
-
We have on hand a limited supply of
Binder Number 3
which holds six copies
of HIGH FIDELITY. Special clearance
price
$2.00.
-
The New HIGH FIDELITY HANDBOOK.
Irving Greene and James Radcliffe. 250
illustrations, diagrams and plans. A complete practical guide for the purchase,
assembly, installation, maintenance, and
enjoyment of high fidelity music systems.
No. 200
$4.95
RECORD INDEX
1954:
Complete alphabet-
ical listings by composer or collection -title
of all the classical and semi-classical, jazz
and spoken word record reviews contained
in HIGH FIDELITY Magazine in 1954.
Discographies included. 50e each.
Sorry, the 1951 -1953 Record
Index is out of print.
NOTICE!
edited by Roy
H. Hoopes, Jr. Introduction by John M.
Conly.
An anthology of outstanding
articles originally appearing in HIGH
FIDELITY Magazine covering various
aspects of the high fidelity phenomenon.
Among the contributors are Charles
Fowler, Roy Allison, Fernando Valenti,
Peter Bartok, Emory Cook, and David
Sarser.
THE HIGH FIDELITY READER:
No.
155
-- -
$3.50
HIGH FIDELITY RECORD ANNUAL
A first
volume of record reviews
classical music and the spoken word
from HIGH
FIDELITY Magazine. Edited by Roland
Gelatt.
No. 201
$4.95
Book Department
HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
Great Barrington, Mass.
I enclose $
for which please send me, postpaid, the books indicated by
the circled numbers below. (No C.O.D.'s or charge orders, please.)
Foreign orders sent at buyer's risk. Add 55¢ for postage on foreign orders.
155
Binders:
200
3,
5a,
201
5b,
6a.
208
206
Record Index
209
1954
NAME
ADDRESS
CITY
28
ZONE
STATE
210
feel that if enough readers of your
magazine would voice their sentiments, something drastic could be
done to improve do intolerable condition which now exists.
Monty Belikof
Long Beach, N. Y.
I
SIR:
Binders are now in stock for Volumes 5a,
5b, and 6A.
NEW BOOKS
Continued from page 26
After reading Mr. James Deane's
"Right in the Middle of Your Pianissimo," April issue, I knew that I had
been awaiting such an article for five
years. If others add their voice to Mr.
Deane's, perhaps the record manufacturers will sit up and take notice, at
long last realizing that Joe and Jane
Record Collector are sick and tired of
plunking down $4.00 and up for an
imperfect recording.
I am thoroughly convinced the
manufacturers sincerely endeavor to
give the public the best recording
possible, and I have no argument with
their techniques. One could not ask
for better sound in most instances.
But what happens to the recording by
the time it reaches the consumer?
Why spoil the entire effort with an
end product that reaches us with
luscious sound mixed with thumping
from scratches and lesser noises from
marrings, dust, dirt and filth?
During my five years of "collecting,"
I have exchanged countless numbers
of imperfect records including the
misnomered and misleading "factory
sealed" jobs. To digress a moment,
what happens to the latter before
they are sealed at the factory shouldn't
happen to the Hi -Fi cat that kept
me awake last night yowling on my
back fence. Record dealers who once
welcomed my patronage frown at my
entrance into their shops with the
telltale exchange package under my
arm. The salesmen, thoroughly versed
in handling "pests" like myself, accuse
my brand new diamond needle of old
age, my pickup arm is too heavy, too
light, my Hi -Fi System is inadequate.
They admit to anything but that the
record I am trying to exchange is less
than perfect.
At one time I was a hardy soul,
persistent in my exchange demands.
Simulated court room scenes, however,
in which I involuntarily become the
Defendant, are wearing me down. If
I am successful in effecting the exchange, what happens? When I play
the exchanged recording at home it
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
bears the same imperfections. Go
back again? Not on your life. I'm
stuck with it. I can't take the gaff
any more.
Mr. Deane's article affords me the
chance of blowing off accumulated
steam, five years' worth of aggravation
and frustration. It's high time we
raised a loud voice in protest. In no
other industry can a firm survive by
producing an imperfect product. Are
record collectors fools or are there just
a few perfectionists in existence?
There are enough imperfect records
sold daily to justify stirring up a storm
of protest.
1
for one am ready to graduate to
tape recordings and cleaner sound if
someone can convince me that I would
not be jumping from the frying pan
into the fire. Are there any similar
pitfalls in this field or is this the prerecorded music lover's Garden of
Eden? Can your organization advise
me on this?
George J. Specht
Brooklyn, N. Y.
Now the tone arm
never need be touched
or lifted from the record!
.
SIR:
I wish to express my congratulations
to James G. Deane for his article entitled "Right in the Middle of your
Pianissimo." It's about time someone
spoke up against the manufacturers
who massproduce records in such a
manner as to impair the quality of
the product. I . . . am one of the
"fussy" record buyers who cannot
tolerate the slightest scratch or hiss
from a product which is supposedly
inspected for flaws and is triple wrapped in cellophane, plastic, and
cardboard. If more of the record buying public would speak up concerning the imperfections of a company's product, the manufacturers
might begin to do something about
it so as to give more satisfaction to
their customers.
Donald A. Briggs
N. Abington, Mass.
REPEAT
WORLD'S ONLY Automatic Record Changer and
Automatic Manual Player in ONE Precision Instrument
Again MIRACORD XA -100 lengthens its lead over all other record
changers with the newest, most important Hi -Fi record changer
development to date
the new "STOP" BUTTON
an extra
...
JUNE 1956
...
automatic convenience that insures the ultimate in automatic control.
The unit can now be stopped at any time by simply pushing the "STOP"
BUTTON. The tone arm lifts up and automatically goes to rest position.
The "Magic- Wand" eliminates pusher arms and stabilizing plates
intermixes 10" and 12" records regardless of how stacked PROLONGS
THE LIFE OF YOUR RECORDS
Heavy Duty 4 -pole Motor
Interchangeable Plug -in Head.
Hurrah for batting out about record
surfaces! We consumers have long
been complaining to editors, but few
Continued on page 3 r
FILTER
START
STOP
.MIRACORD'S NEWEST
EXCLUSIVE'
SIR:
ever gave us hearings. So glad you
spoke out and I for one hope your
words bring results.
As a record collector, may I say emphatically, its not easy to get replacements from a manufacturer.... Many
big manufacturers refuse to change
records directly. In photography, East -
PAUSE
Shipped completely assembled with all plugs and leads attached, ready for operation.
Audiophile Net
with
$6750
RPX.050A (Dual- Sapphire) Cartridge Audiophile New $74.50
with GED RPX -052A (LP Diamond and Sapphire) Cartridge Audiophile Net $89.50
See
GE
and hear the Miracord at your dealer Now! Or send for literature Dept.
HF
-6
AUDIOGERSH CORPORATION
X 23
Park Place, New York 7, N. Y.
WOrth 4-8585
I In
Canada: Atlas Radio Corp., Ltd.. Toronto
7'
now gives you .. .
component convenience
J
with
the New
HF0-0-'...11[1;:f111111.
,&
FM-AM Tuner -Phono and Tape Preamp -20 -Watt Amplifier
On One Chassis . .. In One Handsome Enclosure
'1896 o
How welcome this will be to those of you
who have been seeking an easier path to genuine high fidelity. For it is true, that many of
you have actually denied yourselves the thrilling performance of components simply
because of a disinclination to `do it yourself'.
-
Recognizing this, Pilot developed the fabulous HF -41. With one bold stroke, Pilot eliminated the inconvenience of wiring and the
chore of special installation. In the HF -41,
Pilot embodied all the necessary high fidelity
components
integrated on one chassis and
ready for use: a superb FM -AM tuner
versatile phono- preamp with full record and
-
-a
tape equalization
-
slightly higher
West of Rockies
dual tone controls
and a 20 -watt amplifier.
-
And then, Pilot designers styled an enclosure
for the modern home and set it off in deep
burgundy and brushed brass. The result is
so attractive that you'll want to show it off on
an open shelf or table top.
To complete this truly fine high fidelity system, you need only add a Pilot Companion or
other high quality speaker system. And with
the inclusion of a changer or turntable, you
can enjoy record reproduction that
approaches the realism of the concert hall.
See your high fidelity dealer or write: Dept. SI'-
the
RAM
CORPORATION
37 -06 36th STREET, LONG ISLAND CITY
1,
N.
Y.
Ocer 35 years leadership in electronics
3-
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
LETTERS
Continued from page 29
man gladly replaces defective film,
paper, and other products of all
hobbyists and encourages them to do
so. It wants satisfied hobbyists. In
the record world, manufacturers are
still obdurate, heady, and downright
insulting to complainers. Reason: Editors have been lax in airing their
complaints.
A. A. Young
New York, N. Y.
SIR:
Bravo! for printing "Equal
Rights for the Percussionist" by Harold Farberman in the April issue.
Talking as a percussionist, I am glad
that someone finally spoke up for us
forgotten souls (in a nationally recognized magazine no less).
To be a good percussionist is not
as easy as it looks. Anyone can pound
out a basic rhythm but it takes years
of practice to play a drum (or any
other percussion instrument) artistically and accurately. Percussionists, in
order to develop stick control skillfully and effectively can practice as
many hours a day as a violinist or
a trumpet player. When he performs
parts they may look easy, but don't let
this fool you. Hard compositions appear uncomplicated when they are
executed with skill and dexterity. A
good drummer knows how to play
indefinite pitched instruments such as
the bells, chimes, celesta, marimba,
vibraphone, tympani, and xylophone.
Furthermore symphonic drummers
have more pressure exerted on them
concerning rhythm than the other
members of the orchestra. A conscientious percussionist has to have much
taste. He can't play so loudly or so
softly as to drown out the rest of the
orchestra or to prevent his part from
being heard. Many times conductors
do not indicate how powerful or tranquil parts should be played. Only
when the drummer is pounding so
loud that he reminds the leader of
his presence, he receives a motion
for him to keep quiet.... If laymen
think drumming is easy, let them look
at the part to Histoire du Soldat by
Igor Stravinsky. This will shut them
up. Naturally it takes a fine percussionist to execute parts well. These
musicians are the ones who suffer most
when one says "to be a drummer is
Bravo!
.
.
.
easy.,,
Maurice Fisher
Norfolk, Va.
JUNE 1956
"no distortion in the high frequency
range ...the sweetest - sounding cartridge
9''
I've heard," says
Arrn
High :fidelity
MI RAT WIN
Cartridge
(furnished by manufacturer): a
turnover cartridge consisting of two variable reluctance units mounted back -to -back for use with
standard or microgroove recordings. Frequency
2 db. 30 to 17.500 cycles on microresponse:
4 db, 30 to 22,000 cycles on standard
grooves;
records. Output: 45 millivolts from standard records; 55 millivolts from microgroove records.
Stylus force: 6 to 8 grams. Recommended load:
50.000 ohms. Will operate properly with between
22,000 and 50.000 ohms load. Styli: diamonds or
sapphires, individually replaceable by user. Price:
$22.50 with two sapphires; $45.00 with standard
sapphire and microgroove diamond. DISTRIBUTOR:
Audiogersh Corporation, 23 Park Platt, New York
7. N. Y.
SPECIFICATIONS
tt
Phono pickups have been getting lighter and
lighter during the past few years, and with
at least three current types designed to
operate at less than 4 grams, I was at first
tempted to view the Miratwin's 6 -to -8 -gram
rating with some distaste.
But as is often the case, there is more to
this pickup than meets the eye. Users of
some of the modern light -weight pickups
have complained of higher -than- average
distortion from them, so I was curious to
see whether this pickup was good enough
to justify using it despite its rather high
stylus force. It is!
This is one of the sweetest-sounding
cartridges I've heard for some time. Used
in a good pickup arm, it tracks admirably
at 6 grams on both standard and microgroove records. The high end is very
smooth, reducing the annoyance value of
clicks and pops on disks, and imparting a
velvety sheen to massed string tone.
Its measured frequency response meets
specifications as far as I could determine,
and both the standard and microgroove
cartridges are visibly (on the oscilloscope)
and audibly clean over the entire measured
There is no tendency for either
range.
cartridge to break up or introduce distortion in the high- frequency range, as do
many pickups which are equally wide -range.
On very high-volume passages below
about 5o cycles, the Miratwin's comparatively low compliance shows up as some
detectable stress. This is nothing to worry
a music -lover, but the cartridge may have a
tittle difficulty tracking thunder storms,
railway locomotives, and earthquakes.
Flipping the Miratwin over for 78 -rpm
records verifies the measured smoothness
of it. Surface noise from shellac records is
about as low as it could be without
using additional electrical filtering, and the
sound from good recordings is remarkably
clean. On worn disks it tends to produce
faint spitting noises, but it fares much
better on them than do most of its competitors. Incidentally, this cartridge will
operate in an arm that has fixed cartridge
contacts. Many turnover pickups have their
connecting lugs attached directly to the
cartridge, so that as the cartridge is revolved
the lugs revolve with it. Connections to
these must be made directly to flexible leads.
The Miratwin, though, has its output pins
attached to the cartridge-mounting frame,
and a pair of wiper contacts at the rear of
the frame connects the pins to whichever
cartridge is in the playing position. Really
Another by- product of this
a cute idea.
arrangement is that the cartridge can be
revolved in either direction; every stylus
change can be made by rotating it in the
same direction each time, without risk of
twisting the connecting leads or tearing
them off the lugs.
The compactness of the Miratwin permits
it to be used in most arms without difficulty,
although the styli themselves are so short
that considerable care must be exercised
Styli in the
Miratwin are
instantly replaceable.
when installing it in a record changer to
make sure the rear of the cartridge doesn't
ride on the top record of a stack.
Output from this cartridge is fantastic!
I don't believe there is another high -quality
magnetic cartridge with as high an output
as this one, and the result, if the preamplifier
can take it without overloading, is up to
to db of effective reduction in hiss and hum
from the phono channel.
Styli are readily replaceable simply by
hooking them out with a fingernail and
pressing new ones into the sleeve -type receptacles. No alignment of the new stylus
is required; it automatically assumes the
correct position when fully seated in place.
The only reservation I would have about
these cartridges, then, is their required
stylus force. Since it is accepted practice to
use settings of the order of 6 to 8 grams in
good record changers, the Miratwin could
be recommended without qualification for
such use. But for use in precision transcription arms I would personally like to be able
to get the stylus force down to 5 grams or
less. If I had to choose between low stylus
force and cleanliness of sound, though, I
would definitely choose the Miratwin cartridges.
J. G. H.
-
The Miratwin was
designed so that it could be used in all standard
arms, and is one of the easiest of the currently
available cartridges to install. On the inside back
cover of the instruction book supplied with the
Miratwin, there is an individual frequency response
graph for each cartridge, showing that it has been
checked at the factory. Very close tolerances have
been set up for the Miratwin, and these graphs
are taken with a special level recorder and correctly equalized typical test records.
MANUFACTURER'S COMMENT:
Available at All Leading Hi -Fi Dealers
AUDIOGERSH CORPORATION
23 Park Place, New York 1, N. Y.
WOrth 4-8585 I In Canada: Atlas Radio Corp., Ltd., Toronto
31
Now -at a big saving, you can easily
BUILD YOUR OWN
gLeZtroiliL
ÏeE
High -Fidelity
SPEAKER ENCLOSURE
ARISTOCRAT KIT. Folded -horn corner enclosure designed for 12 -in. speakers and separate 2 and 3-way systems.
For use with Electro -Voice SP12 or
SP12B
coaxial speakers, 12TRX or
12TRXB triaxial reproducers, and 108,
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For
4
AS THE
EDITORS
ICE in two months, now, we have carried descriptive articles on electrostatic loudspeakers. The writers
of the articles have been, in their several ways, rather unrestrainedly enthusiastic. There would seem to be small
doubt that electrostatic loudspeakers tweeters, anyway
are here to stay, and perhaps to prevail.
This will cause grief among people committed, in one
way or another, to moving -coil loudspeakers. Loudest in
their woe will be certain manufacturers of moving -coil
speakers, committed by thousands of invested dollars to
the cloth cone or aluminum diaphragm made to shake out
music (credit that line to Walt Whitman) by the action
of a collar of circling wire. We will receive their plaints
gravely, but our composure will be supported by the awareness that they themselves, for some time, have all (or
nearly all) been experimenting with electrostatics, too,
with intent to break in when the time is ripe or, alternatively, to stay out if it never ripens. A shrewder crew,
less likely to get shipwrecked, we have seldom seen, so
we will save our tears.
Closer to our sympathies are sundry of their customers
people who have lately spent hundreds of dollars on
elaborate arrays of moving -coil speakers mounted in expensive baffling structures, or who have recently arrived,
arduously, at the decision to do so. For the latter we can
do nothing; they are doomed to temporary isolation on
the peak achievement of civilized human thinking
the
suspended judgment. To the former, those already equipped,
we can offer a modicum of comfort, based on limited
personal and vast vicarious experience. The fact is that,
so far as concerns true high fidelity equipment, the onset
of obsolescence is rather slow.
Take it from another approach. The new electrostatic
speakers may make our writers, the Messrs. Newitt and
Marsh, exclaim with wonder at their tonal purity. But I
must think back to 1952, and remember an Audio Fair
demonstration prepared by David Sarser, the violinist and
audio engineer ( now Audio Director for NBC Opera
Theater). It involved a direct-to -disk lacquer recording
of his sister, Miss Sebe Sarser, playing a famous cello. He
played the record then, as he did later in the exhibit room,
against Miss Sarser, in person, with the same cello. I have a
practiced ear, but most of the time I could not distinguish
between Miss Sarser and her recorded facsimile.
How perfect can reproduction get?
Mr. Sarser did not employ a 1956 electrostatic speaker.
Indeed, he did not use the ultimate in moving -coil speakers
available in 1952. He used a medium-priced coaxial in
a conventional housing, a pickup of equivalent rating, and
an amplifier of his own design, which he had made to
sell for slightly more than $loo. Neither did he employ
any incantations or other necromancy. The secret and
-
-
-
-
JUNE 1956
SEE IT
essential ingredient in the end product, as they say in TV
advertising, was simply David Sarser. He had an advantage
over most of us striving for optimal performance from a
sound system, since he controlled the entire process of
reproduction, from microphone to loudspeaker. We must
leave the forepart of the process to recording company
engineers. But the point to be focused on is that the
combination of a keen musician's ear and a shrewd technician's feeling for circuitry and mechanical functioning
had been able to bring pickup, equalizer, amplifier, and
loudspeaker into interaction almost ideal, so that each
component was contributing its very best efforts, so to
speak. Even at its best, the rig had limitations: it could
not duplicate a violin as faultlessly as it could a cello.
Perhaps an electrostatic tweeter, or a latter -day output
transformer, could have enabled it to do this also. But
even as things were, the performance was impressive.
The moral is multiple. For one thing, the modern
custom high fidelity system, in concept, is extremely
flexible. Components have been designed, in some part, to
compensate for each other's shortcomings. It has been
possible for some years to assemble a system so well
balanced that it would actually resist the introduction of
new (better ?) components into its ensemble. And it has
commonly been the case, also, that the development of
one new
even revolutionary
audio device has not born
immediate fruit in the shape of drastically better home
listening. The ancillary equipment had to change before
the new device could be used to full advantage.
Further, high fidelity equipment has what may be called,
for lack of a better word, personality. It is my own experience that it takes several months to learn how to
operate a top -quality music system to get predictably,
reliably good results from it. ( Move it from one listening
room to another, and more weeks are needed, to adjust its
temperament to the new acoustic milieu.) I have unwillingly proved this time and again myself. The maker
of a new device would bring it to my listening room for
a demonstration. It would be, according to strict measurements and stringent tests, unarguably superior to the
component in my "standard" system with which it was
to be compared. Yet, with the best will in the world, I
have seldom been able to keep my own unpretentious component from outperforming the new marvel. The refractory factor in the process was, of course, the man at
the knobs. I could not help automatically adjusting my
own system to work at its best, and I did not know how
to do the same for the new device, try as I might. It is
not a matter of being loyal to old electronic comrades
aroint such sentiments!
but simply of being able to rely
on them. It affords a sort of security I would not sacrifice
in a hurry, no matter how tempting novelty may be. J.M.C.
-
-
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33
Probably I should say the technique rather than the
art of singing. The microphone has not affected the
fundamentals of the art and never will. Line, phrase,
tone, rhythm, intonation, inflection, and enunciation remain
the basic criteria. Regard for these fundamentals is characteristic of the work of all the best jazz and popular
singers. Indeed, with respect to the fundamentals, jazz
and popular singers are generally superior to their classical
singer counterparts. That this should be so is largely
due to the microphone.
The accomplishment of the microphone for the vocal
art may be simply stated: it has restored the acoustical
circumstances under which bel canto singing matured and
flourished in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
It has given back to the singer and to the audience
the acoustical advantages of the small baroque theater
and the large baroque salon.
The microphone makes it possible for a whisper, and
the words whispered, to be heard distinctly above an
orchestra or a piano, provided only that the sound engineer
achieves an appropriate balance. Since most blemishes
of tone and intonation among classical singers derive from
the problem of making themselves heard above competing
Ella Fitzgerald
Louis Armstrong
-
-
Perry Como
Frank Sinatra
Has our singing been afflicted by gigantism?
by Henry Pleasarits
Bel Canto through the Microphone
-Bing Crosby
Sarah Vaughn
IT IS TIME that serious music criticism, still
accustomed to think of singing exclusively in terms of
opera, oratorio, and recital, paid some attention to the
records of Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Louis
Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn,
and Judy Garland. And quite a few others.
This goes even for critics who have never developed
or discovered within themselves a taste for the kind of
music these people sing. Indeed, it goes particularly for
them. The exercise is not concerned with changing their
tastes or their point of view about jazz or popular music
as opposed to classical music. Its purpose is simply to call
attention to what has been done and may yet be done
to the art of singing by that little electrical gadget, the
microphone.
34
instruments or voices in large theaters and auditoriums
in other words, from the necessity to sing loud and
high
this should be rated a most beneficial accomplishment.
Vocalism can offer more treasurable virtues than the
big fat voice and the big fat high note. This is not to
imply that the good classical singers have nothing more
than that to offer. But the requirements of the Verdian,
Wagnerian, and Straussian orchestra made such attributes
essential, and we have all come to think of them as
prerequisites of superior singing. Especially among the
rank and file of the devotees of operas and song recitals,
they have tended to obscure less spectacular assets. The
tendency has been accompanied by a steady deterioration
of the vocal art in classical music.
This deterioration is generally recognized. Usually it
is ascribed to lack of proper preparation by contemporary
classical singers. Their vocal afflictions, infirmities, and
deficiencies are attributed to impatience, to a desire to
attempt too soon that which should wait upon maturity.
It is always implied and often said that singers in the
old days were more conscientious and less impetuous.
It is difficult to support this assumption historically.
Anyone reviewing the careers of the older singers, particularly those of women, must first be struck by the tender
ages at which they achieved the pinnacles of accomplishment and celebrity. Sontag, Malibran, Viardot, Pasta,
Lind, Patti, and Hauk come immediately to mind. They
all began their public careers between the ages of fifteen
and twenty, some of them even earlier. All were reigning
prima donnas before they were twenty-five. Sontag, for
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
instance, sang the première of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Mass in D when she was eighteen; she
retired from opera at twenty -nine. Malibran died at
twenty- eight.
This is in striking contrast to the circumstances of
our own time when the age of fulfillment for singers must
be reckoned as falling anywhere from fifteen to twenty
years later, depending upon the type of music in which
a singer specializes. The maturity of a Wagnerian singer,
for instance, will be reached normally between the ages
of thirty-five and forty-five. Even a Mozart singer will
hardly have advanced far today before the age of thirty.
There has been some tendency to relate this to the general
retardation of maturity today as compared with the norm
of a century or so ago. But there is a simpler and, I
think, more pertinent explanation.
Prior to about 185o, singers worked in smaller houses
and were accompanied by smaller orchestras. Vocal emphasis was on sweetness and purity of tone (qualities associated
primarily with youth), on sound and imaginative musicianship, and on the establishment of intimate communion
between singer and audience. Meyerbeer, Verdi, and
Wagner, with their assertive orchestra, and the construction
of larger theaters to accommodate the growing bourgeois
audience, put an end to this kind of innocent vocalism.
It was this that aroused the ire and antagonism of such
genuinely tasteful and devoted critics as Chorley and
Hanslick. Something that they understood and loved
the experience of beautiful vocalism
was threatened by
new styles which they found coarse and vulgar. History
has not yet sustained their estimates. But there can be
little doubt that the acceptance of these larger and more
dramatic styles was achieved at a cost of musical and,
specifically, vocal delights. No style has everything, of
course. If, in the popular music of today, the pendulum
seems to be swinging back to a kind of singing of which
Chorley and Hanslick would have approved, it is at a
cost of the dramatic accents and reflective implications
that are the most impressive virtues of classical singing
at its best.
Around the turn of the century the trend to bigness
and magnificence and forcefulness in classical music, the
taste for the overpowering and the transcendental, was continued ad absurdum in the operas of Strauss, Berg, Mascagni, Giordano, Catalani, Cilea, and, to a lesser extent,
Puccini. This is not to deny the thrilling effect of such
music and of the kind of glorious vocalism it produces
when the requirements are brilliantly met, as in the case
of a Caruso or a Flagstad. But it has contributed to a
situation where, strictly speaking, only the exceptional
is properly tolerable.
At anything but its best it can produce a tasteless
phenomenon. One has only to recall countless examples
of bawling and screaming Santuzzas and Turridus, Chéniers
and Maddelenas, Calaphs and Turandots, Butterflys and
Pinkertons, Desdemonas and Otellos, and Manricos and
Leonoras to realize just how crude, how essentially unmusical and unaesthetic, this kind of thing can be. Popular
and jazz singing are not, admittedly, innocent of vulgarities
of one kind and another. But they have not yet stooped
-
JUNE 1956
-
the circus device of the interpolated high C.
It is simply a fact that the growing orchestra and the
larger auditorium forced the voice a good many decibels
beyond its natural volume and a good four semitones
beyond its natural upward range. Singers had to sing
louder and higher in order to meet the new acoustical
requirements. It is true that this also produced voices
capable of meeting them. It is also true that there Is a
certain compelling grandeur in the sovereign accomplishment. But the occasions when the accomplishment is
musically, as well as mechanically, satisfactory are rare.
The phenomenon as a whole has made the performance
of the average gifted classical singer something that would
be a severe trial had not constant exposure and numbed
hearing accustomed us to a kind of vocalism aesthetically
unacceptable in the time of Chorley and Hanslick.
Jazz and popular singing are notably free of this dependency upon the magnificent. The success of a Mario
Lanza with the popular music audience is an exception.
For the most part, the jazz or popular singer, unencumbered by the requirement of working without the microphone in large auditoriums and with large orchestras, is
free to cultivate subtler virtues of the vocal art. I would
hazard a guess that Chorley would have found greater
pleasure in the vocalism of Frank Sinatra than in that
of, say, Mario del Mónaco. He would probably have
found it more musical, more lyrical, more imaginative.
He would certainly have found it more creative and
inventive.
I am not suggesting, of course, that the introduction
of the microphone into the opera house is the answer to
the infelicities of contemporary classical singing. It would
be impossible for many and excellent reasons, chief among
them the fact that the proper use of the microphone
requires adjustments, not only of technique, but also of
style. Its effective employment by the classical singer would
require style changes incompatible with the music which
he sings.
It may be argued, to be sure, that the microphone has
already been employed in the performance of classical
music. It is used in recording. It is used on radio and
on the sound track. It is used in outdoor performances
and in large auditoriums of the convention hall type,
where even a Caruso or a Ruffo might have had difficulty
making himself heard. But this is a long way from the
use of the microphone in the sense that it is used by the
jazz and popular singers.
The classical singer, confronted by a mike, does not
change his style or his technique. He sings as loudly,
as straightforwardly, and as high as ever
as, indeed,
he must. He knows no other way to sing. All his training
has been directed toward these objectives, and the music
he sings requires it. The sound engineer makes the adjustment. It is not the singer who exploits the mike, as is
the case with the jazz and popular singer; it is the
mike, as regulated by the sound engineer, that exploits
the singer.
Nor would the classical singer be disposed to use the
mike as jazz and popular singers use it even if he could,
and even if such a use
Continued on page ro6
to
-
35
That Crazy Mixed -up MUSE
by Tilden Wells
IMAGINE a peaceful domestic scene with
the firelight glowing on the hearth and a fine pale ale
in the tankard. My wife holds up a Christmas card and
asks, "Who sent you this one ?"
"What's the signature ?"
"Well, it looks like Reuben Roodleschnee."
She hands me the card and I study the name. It looks
remotely familiar. Then I turn "it over. On the back
is scrawled: "Yuletide greetings! Thanks to you, I can
now appreciate good music."
I settle back to reflect. Never a Christmas passes without
a few cards like this. At such moments, the old academic
chest swells with pride, and I think that maybe that
required Music Appreciation course isn't wasted labor
after all. Then at other times I'm not so confident. The
chest can just as readily be deflated with the next class
quiz; for the most casual remark made in the haste of
a one semester course that deserves two may come home
to precarious roost in an exam book, its guise as mystifying
as it is unrecognizable. But hot or cold, spreading the
gospel of the cultural pursuits is never a dull business. And
the boner. In polite
it has one good compensation
society the boner is known as a faux pas; but in the
music classroom it can be defined as an egg laid in the
Ivory Tower by a lay student. And what professor
doesn't devour with relish a nice boner? It is the only
thing that makes many a paper worth grading at all.
As for me, I've hoarded boners for years. Stowed
away among the erudite files, I have quite a prize col-
-
-
lection that, I like to think, might be a rich storehouse
for the gag writers. The printable begin with one which
came out in a report on Bach's life made by one of my
own classmates before I graduated into the Chair. Said
she: "Bach was married twice and was the father of
twenty-one children. Both of his wives greatly appreciated
their husband's talent."
That one started me off, and I promptly forgot the
stamp collection. Now, like Jimmy, I've got a million of
'em. Somehow, I never got around to card -indexing them
in various proper or improper categories; but they fall
naturally into different classifications. There is, for instance,
the "unconscious'. boner. How are these? "A cadenza is
where the music stops and the soloist goes on" or "One
of the principle functions of the cadenza in the classic
solo concerto is to give the orchestra a rest." Or, to define
the aria: "An aria occurs in an opera when the music stops
and the soloist is allowed to display her faculties." (Would
this be a bona fide aria, or only the burlesque of one? )
Another, equally apt description: "An aria is a set song
sung by one of the sinful characters in an opera." In
fact a discussion of opera is always fruitful, as witness
this student's analysis: "If there is a chorus onstage in
opera, they sort of sneak it on under disguise. There is
recitative in opera, also, but it is not as painful as that
of the oratorio." Another aspirant writes: "Recitative
is usually sung by two or more male sopranos." And in
dealing with early music, the puzzled pedagogue learns,
"Baroque composers modulated to keep their audience
awake."
It is in this category too that for some reason special
in such assertions as that
homage to Wagner is made
the
male
a
place in opera" and, re"Wagner gave
bass
garding this gentleman's aesthetic theories, "Wagner tried
to knock out all the arias and duets from his operas;
nevertheless, they are still there, except that sometimes
they are pretty well hidden." Furthermore, "Wagner believed that the performer should write his own libretto,"
and "for Wagnerian opera a singer should have
plenty of wind and a suburp technique." And when
one reads, "Wagner wrote the Four Ring Circus,"
one is tempted to call long distance and ask for
-
36
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
Dr. Spaeth. Aside from Wagner, however, the musicologist might be particularly startled by the statements
that "Debussy wrote the Prelude to an Afternoon with a
Faun" and The most important Italian impressionistic
composer was Ottorino Respaghetti"!
It's your own choice whether you prefer the "unconscious" boner or the "language" boner. Looking through
examples of the latter, especially subdivision A or "colorful" language, I wish I were a cartoonist. For in this type
the actual word construction of the boner lends it a
certain visual imagery. Imagine, then, your own pictures
for these captions: "Cht__:.. and Chamber Sonatas had four
movements which were quick, slow, quick, slow, with the
last movement a fugue for the Church and a dance for
the Chamber." And of the classic period in general: "The
Classic School
sometimes called the Viennese school of
came forth in pantaloons, buckled shoes, and
composers
Composers of the classic Period were
powdered wigs
Formal dress,
all parasites, eating off the nobility
including the powdered Whigs, was reflected in the music
of the Classic Period." This sort of thing finally culminates
in what I consider a classic conception: "The people of
the Classic Period were very well dressed and even the
men wore ruffles and lace, which had a direct influence
on the pattern of the music. This period worked very
cleanly into the Romantic Period when the middle class
rose and everyone got more emotional."
The individual composer is likewise subjected to these
new illuminations, not even the Bs escaping. One is
forced to see that " Bach's greatest contribution was bringing a Passion to its peak." Beethoven either "broke into"
or "slid gently into" the Romantic movement. On the
other hand, he was also "the Father of the Romantic period
who opened the door" when he wasn't "squashing the symphony together and making the movements connect with
each other" while "balling up the sonata by writing some
in only two movements." He also "gave more canvas to
the orchestra" and "made an innovation in the piano sonata
by leaping and jumping all over the keyboard." And
his heir was Brahms who "was the first composer to hold
a candle to his string quartets."
It was Mozart, however, who "as a master pianist pushed
the piano as an instrument" and Haydn who "threw out
the harpsichord and brought in the clarinet." One would
gather that while these activities were proceeding, Schubert
"pushed the art song up to its highest level" while Debussy
"wore Impressionism out so it died early." Wagner, as
usual, is credited with a number of achievements, one of
the more pronounced being the fact that "he split up the
first violins." In addition, the reader is asked to see that
"Vaughan- Williams took folk music not only from England
but also from Whales, and gave it a modern setting."
And then there is subdivision B of the language boner
the choice, for reasons Freudian or otherwise, of the
mistaken word. Consider the feats of imagination involved
in these
and give your own imagination full play.
"Music of the Baroque Period had very strict rules for
homodulating "; "Sonata allegro form consists of the intro duction, exposition, development, and retaliation "; "One
of the harmonic devices of Impressionism was wholesome
- -...
.
-
-
JUNE 1956
.
.
chords"; "The Cyclonic Sonata was a form developed in
the Romantic Period" (maybe this has its visual implications too ) ; "The French Opera Buffet demanded
vocal denunciation." Let no one suspect, though, that these
definitions are confined to the sweeping generalization.
While "it may be hard to explain how you recognize a
composer's style except that you seem to have an inert
feeling for it," brave attempts are made. For instance,
"Beethoven improved greatly on the classic symphony by
changing the third movement from a 'Minute' to a
'Scrarzo'." Again, "Cesar Franck was an absolute musician
and did not believe music should contain any flourishes
and embezzlements." As for Chopin, "he experimented
with everything and was one of the first composers to
use enervations in piano music," in addition to the fact
that "one of the small forms that he handled most
successfully was the Noctarine; Chopin wrote a whole
volume of 'Noctarines'."
Next comes the boner with a grain of truth in it.
The question here is whether or not the boner deserves
full credit qua boner. Draw your own conclusions from
these: "A solo concerto is a form of the concerto wherein
a solo instrumentalist plays antagonistic to the rest of the
orchestra. "; "A song cycle tells a complete story on the
installment plan "; "Impressionism was the last death rattle
of romanticism "; and, finally, "The customs and manorisms
of the classic era underwent a change in the Romantic
Period." Even the musically erudite might have some difficulty in flatly contradicting these statements!
Then, regularly, every teacher gets his portions of hot
air, the padded answer that functions only to fill up
space. Hot air, however, varies in quality. These illustrations of the hot air boner I consider worthy of preservation: "The opera was important because it led to the
orchestra and the voice reaching a state of equilibrium
that is, each had to learn to get along with the other ";
"It is said that Strauss's Hansel and Gretel is his only composition that does not resemble or directly imitate
Wagner "; "Music has really changed from Bach's Prelude
and Fugue to Mussorgsky's Hindemith." And here is one
to bring on the almost speechless state: "Modern music is
neither homophonic nor polyphonic, but a sort of mixophonic kind of music. The composers of the Modern
Period deal in facts, and they should be watched, lest
Continued on page 107
they tell us too much
-
?
The Case of the F-Sharp Major Eroica
by FRITZ A. KUTTNER
Three months ago Dr. Kuttner submitted a whimsical maunscript entitled "What Key Do You Want Your
Eroica
In ?" It dealt solely with the off -pitch phenomenon he refers to below as Virus transatlanticus.
Oddly, its arrival
coincided with a series of vigorous complaints from a choir -singing staff member of this magazine,
trying to learn a Messiah aria with the aid of four new albums of the oratorio. No version was in who had been
the same key
with any other, and none in accord with the staff member's piano or pitch -pipe. Virus transatlanticus
could not
be blamed in all cases, so Dr. Kuttner's document went back to him with the suggestion
that he investigate thoroughly the problem of why so many current records are perceptibly off- key -and, of course,
off- speed. Since
Dr. Kuttner's business is making records (Musurgia is his label) illustrating the tonal systems
Greeks, Egyptians, and the like, he was the ideal man for the task. His report will run of the ancient Chinese,
in three installments.
TWO COMPLAINTS are voiced when the question of
precise musical pitch on records comes up for a
discussion. One is heard quite frequently and is concerned
with flutter and wow in sound reproduction. The second
complaint has been more rarely heard until quite recently anyway
and deplores long -range deviation from
musical standard pitches. On the flutter and wow topic
countless articles have been written, and there is a
constant flow of high -fidelity manufacturers' publicity
devoted to reassuring the public about this unpleasant
imperfection so prevalent in modern sound equipment.
For this reason I feel I should concentrate on the second
complaint, on which nobody has reported at length, so
far as I am aware. At the end of my account, however,
I propose to come back to the flutter and wow sickness,
since I may be able to offer an idea or two which may
prove helpful to the industry in licking the problem.
At the outset let us make one point quite clear: the
author is not engaging in any crusade or in violent criticism
of alleged or real shortcomings in the record-making industry. Rather, I wish to discuss certain weaknesses of
1
-
-
many records from the musical point of view, for the
benefit of both public and industry. I wish to put my
finger on a number of problems which, so far, have been
strangely neglected. In the main, I will attempt to confine
myself to constructive criticism: there will be suggestions
as to what could and should be done, and as to how the
difficulties may be overcome or at least reduced during the
engineering process.
How and when does the question of musical standard
pitches on LP records become important? Let us start
out with an extreme case, and assume that some hapless
manufacturer holds a recording session with fine professional tape equipment that operates on 5o -cycle AC power
supply at the recording location. Then he goes home and
cuts a master disk, playing his master tape back on tape
equipment operating on 6o -cycle AC power in his studio.
The result is obvious: the tape will run fast at the ratio
5:6; his master disk will be cut at a musical standard
pitch too high in the same proportion, and the final
LP disk pressed from his master, when played back at a
precise 331/2 rpm, will be 2o% faster in speed and the
Equipment used in the pitch -fidelity tests includes Ampex 350; Garrard 3oz, Scott 710 -A, and Rek -O -Kut
-12 turntables; Conn
stroboscopic frequency meter; Scott 210-D amplifier; Altec -Lansing 604-B speaker and cabinet; Audak CVS
cartridges and tone-arm.
I
interval of a minor third higher than the original performance. ( The ratio 5:6 is the acoustical equivalent of
the interval of a minor third, or of a pitch difference
of three semitones.) To the music -loving owner of the
disk it will mean that he hears his Eroica Symphony in
the key of F -sharp major instead of E -flat major, and
this is a truly ridiculous sound even to ears of average
musicality. Moreover, all musical tempos will be fast by
20 %, and one does not have to be a famous conductor
to notice a severe distortion of all musical content and
meaning when a classical symphony movement is played
at 120 metronome beats per minute instead of ioo beats.
I call this case extreme- which does not mean that it
is extremely rare. There used to be numerous records
of the 50 /6o type on the market, and even now you
come occasionally across a new release suffering from this
cycle malady. This kind of manufacturing error should be
called what it really is: gross negligence and disregard for
the fundamentals of record making. Anyone stuck with
such a record should return it to his dealer and claim his
money back. There is no excuse for marketing merchandise
so grossly mismade.
A somewhat milder form of pitch virus has been so
widespread in recent years that it could be called endemic.
It is dreadfully contagious and enters the record's organism
usually in the following way:
Many manufacturers of classical records are inclined to
hold their recording sessions in Europe. This is particularly
true with companies of less than giant size and has a
simple economic reason: recording fees for musicians over
there are only a fraction of what they cost in the United
States. In fact, only the large and very wealthy companies
can afford to pay for a recording session with one of the
more important American orchestras and to take the risk
of a possible financial loss in such a venture
which in
some cases they can write off against corporation taxes.
Several of the smaller and medium -sized firms do not
even bother to go to Europe for recording sessions; they
simply buy master tapes recorded in Europe by more or
less professional recording "jobbers" who, for their part,
will sell their tapes to anyone interested. Let us disregard,
this time, the general musical and sonic qualities of such
"nonscheduled" recordings. Sometimes they are atrocious in
every aspect, and sometimes they are surprisingly beautiful
from practically every point of view. But common to many
of them is a flaw of pitch, keys, and tempo. Here is how
it happens:
Most high -class recording equipment in Continental
Europe operates on the European standard tape speed of
36 centimeters per second. This is true especially for
German and Austrian equipment, and a considerable portion of the "nonscheduled" master tapes come from these
two countries. If these tapes are brought over to North
America and played back for mastering on American
standard equipment such as, for example, the Ampex 300,
it will run at 15 inches per second. This happens to be
38.1 centimeters, one inch being equal to 2.54 centimeters.
In other words, at playback the tape is running fast at the
ratio 36:38.1, and the master disk will be cut at a pitch
too high, and at a tempo too fast, by the same ratio.
-
JUNE 1956
Many records varied in pitch from outer to inner grooves.
"Who but possibly Toscanini," you may object, is going
to notice so small a difference ?" All right, let us find out.
The ratio 36:38.1 creates an interval of 98.2 cents, and
since too cents constitutes the interval of a chromatic
semitone in standard equal temperament, as we hear it on
every keyboard instrument, this then is only 1.8 cents short.
1.8 cents is a micro- interval so small in pitch difference
that nobody can distinguish it, not even the finest professionals' ears. Consequently, a tape recorded at 36 cm
and played back for mastering at 15 ips sounds precisely
one semitone too high on the final LP pressing.
I do not care to be a defendant in half a dozen libel
and damage suits, so I won't name any label or specific
records. But if you have a piano around that is tuned
reasonably close to standard pitch A -44o cps (or a good
tuning fork will do), and if your turntable runs close
enough to a precise 331/3 rpm, you can check this fact
yourself on a variety of disks and labels. On several
disks recorded in Europe and mastered in the United
States your Eroica Symphony, for example, will sound in
E major instead of E-flat; your Fifth Symphony plays in
C -sharp minor instead of C minor which is, to sensitive
musical ears, a preposterous key and sound for this work.
By the same token, tempos will be fast and wrong. For
most classical compositions, traditions of performance
speed have formed which are more or less generally
accepted; thus, it makes a noticeable difference whether
a movement is played at 144 or 152 metronome beats per
minute, to quote an example at random.
I call this sickness the virus transatlanticus, and so far
there is no Salk vaccine available to cure it. While it is
not often fatal, it badly cripples the disk attacked by it.
Preventive therapy is the only remedy, because here again
inexcusable ignorance, or worse, indifference is the sole
cause for this virus infection. Let me warn the overconfident reader that here is no clear -cut opportunity to
exchange his infected records without charge for healthy
copies at the next disk shop. There are hundreds of issues
of the transatlanticus type on the market, in any case far
too many for the industry or the retailer to consider a
wholesale restitution. We shall have to be satisfied, at this
time, to have drawn the attention of the public and the
record makers to this question and to give notice that in
the future such negligent exposure to infection may constitute good cause for rejection.
While engaged in the clinical investigation of these two
39
virus types, I found it necessary to study the various steps
where pitch deviations could be introduced unknowingly
into the manufacturing and playback process, from the
original recording session to the final turntable in the
living room. To my surprise I discovered that, with very
few exceptions indeed, the industry is unaware of the whole
problem and its musical significance. This, of course,
provides an alibi and extenuating circumstances for the
manufacturers of recording and playback equipment, and
for the makers of disks and tape recordings. Such an alibi,
however, can only be valid for the past; the future will
have to secure full attention to, and considerable improvements in, the matter of 'pitch fidelity." ( Patent application
for this term pending in the name of the author, U. S.
Patent Office.)
The reason for this general unawareness is amusing,
obvious, and significant at the same time: almost everybody working in the recording industry or in the high
fidelity components field is so utterly and single -mindedly
concerned with new and improved engineering solutions
that musical considerations go by unnoticed. When, oh
when, will the industry be ready to accept the fact that
they are working for, and dependent on the money spent
by, music enthusiasts, and that the admirers of technological
gadgets for the gadget's sake are a very small minority
among the record -buying and components -using millions?
Let us now consider the most frequent affliction
that may undermine the pitch fidelity of practically any
record. Here the culprit virus is a complex, composite, and
evasive agent extremely hard to diagnose, to isolate, or
to kill. It is vagrant, disappearing, reappearing, occasionally
destroying itself by an inherent suicidal characteristic,
sometimes multiplying itself by a strange cumulative
power which may severely damage the afflicted record,
sometimes miraculously saving a disk that seemed to be
doomed from the very beginning. To understand the
nature of this creeping and hidden toxin, we must recall
the various stages necessary to produce a recording and to
play it back in the living room:
(I) a performance is recorded on a modern high precision tape recorder;
(2 ) the tape is played back for mastering on the
same (or on another) high -precision recording
machine;
(3) a master disk is cut on a modern, high -precision
cutting turntable and lathe;
(4) the final pressing is played back on a turntable
in the home.
In each of these four steps the speed of the transportation
mechanism influences, or may influence, the pitch of the
musical performance originally recorded. If, in all four
cases, the various machines run absolutely true to their
speed specification
e.g., 15 ips for tape speed and 331/3
for disk speed
the pitch of the music played back in
the home will be precisely the same as the pitch during
the original recording session. This would be the ideal
case, representing highest pitch fidelity. Deviations from
the above four speed specifications may result at best in
insignificant pitch and tempo distortions, at worst in a
record almost completely spoiled in spite of all musical
--
40
and sonic merits it may have otherwise. Successive deviations in opposite directions may cancel each other out
and save the record; deviations in the same direction will
accumulate and may add up to considerable total pitch
distortion.
How does one check on the speeds of the four processing
units, and how does one adjust deviations once they have
been spotted and measured? The answer sounds absolutely
crazy: one does NOT, under normal circumstances. With
few exceptions, as far as I have been able to find out, the
recording studios take it for granted that the speed of
their fine recording machines runs true to specifications.
Usually, no checks are made except when serious trouble
develops in the tape- transport mechanism, and then the
transport trouble is the only reason for the checking and
adjustment, not any deep- rooted skepticism about the
accuracy of speed specifications. Again, the studios take
it for granted that the speed of their tapes will be a precise
15 or 3o ips once the trouble in the transport mechanism
has been located and adjusted. The makers of the finest
standard equipment for professional recording, justly
famous and admired for the excellence of their machines,
do not make, or supply their customers with, any testing
device that would allow high -precision measuring of tape
speeds and speed deviations. When asked for advice, they
recommend that one order a stroboscopic wheel machined
to great precision from a precision toolmaker. In other
words, they believe that the burden of test, of measuring
and adjustment, is on the owner of the equipment, not
on the maker of the famous product. In still other words:
the manufacturers even of professional tape recorders still
are completely unaware of the musical significance of pitch
fidelity. RCA -Victor has procured a few of these stroboscopic test wheels from some source aid may have been
using them for some time. How often they use them, and
how successfully, is not quite clear to me because I know
of at least one otherwise beautiful recording, mastered and
pressed by them, that is badly distorted by lack of pitch
fidelity. On the other hand, I am informed that recently
they asked a certain high -precision machine-tool maker
in Connecticut to make a quantity of these test wheels for
them. This shows that at least one of our great record
producers has become aware of the problem and is doing
something about it, possibly because one of Maestro Toscanini's furies frightened the engineers out of their wits.
However that may be, my bow to RCA! Now I keep
wondering whether they got their quantity of testing
wheels or not, and whether they plan to sell a number of
them to other needy recording studios.
SOME readers may be interested in the musical and
acoustical technicalities of pitch definition and measuring.
Here is an outline of the basic facts and factors involved,
and of my test procedure.
It is frequently assumed that pitches and intervals in
orchestras, instrumental or vocal groups are uniform and
strictly geared to equal temperament intonation. This
is far from correct. In practice intonations vary from
moment to moment within certain Continued on page ro8
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
JUNE 1956
Walker's Little Wonder
by Robert Charles
Marsh
And other news of electrostatic portent from Britain.
F PETER WALKER of the Acoustical
Manufacturing Company is going around with a contented, but secretive, look these days, he has every right
to, since he's just finished doing something that a lot of
noted theorists told him he shouldn't be able to do at all.
After three years of work (and a number of years of
preliminary cogitation) in his own laboratory at Huntingdon, Huntingdonshire, he is about to produce commercially
the first full-range electrostatic speaker in the world, a
system that covers the frequency response of nearly every
to make
musical instrument and most human ears and
that will cost ( in
his achievement even more impressive
Britain) somewhere between $1 oo and $120 complete.
Furthermore, driving the unit with one of his own 15 -watt
Quad II amplifiers, he can produce 95 phons of sound
in an average living room of 4,000 cubic feet, which
he defined as, "about what you hear in the fortieth row
of the Festival Hall when you have orchestra, organ, and
a big chorus going flat out."
The test of any speaker system is the sound, and the
sound of the Acoustical electrostatic is absolutely phenomenal. It is clean and uncolored by the reproducer to
a degree which I, for one, would not have believed
possible, with an apparent reduction of surface noise and
high frequency hiss to a minimum. This is a speaker
that has no undamped resonances in either the mechanical
- -
-
or the acoustical system. In fact it has no acoustical system
in the usual sense of the term, no baffle, and
speaking
subjectively no audible crossover. What one hears is
smooth, natural, and wonderfully clear sound from the
bottom to the top of the range. The ear detects no peaks;
the highs are there without being conspicuous, the low
bass is firmly defined, without the slightest suggestion of
shudder or boom. The realism is extraordinarily impressive.
Walker's speaker was first heard by the public in May
of 1955, but he felt that the units exhibited at that time
were not ready for production, so back to the lab they
went. The system to be marketed was given its first public
showings in April at the London Audio Fair, but I heard
it under home conditions in its inventor's living room
where it was providing Walker, his charming wife, their
two children, and a pair of cats with all sorts of satisfactions. On hearing it I was pleased, among other
reasons, by the fact that I am not engaged in the manufacture of moving coil speakers. (A writer makes his
living with his head and, with reasonable luck, can stave
off obsolescence for several decades.)
The unit measures 33 by 25 by 3 inches slightly
thicker at the bottom, where the polarizing voltage supply
is housed. It stands on three legs and reveals itself simply
as a handsome, gold -colored screen. A plug goes into a
power outlet and two wires go to the output transformer
of an amplifier (15 -ohm impedance) The sound seems
to emanate from all over the unit, although actually it
doesn't. Any amplifier that delivers 15 watts power will
drive it fully, unless its output stage tends to become
unstable with a heavy capacitive load. (A Quad II is,
naturally, Walker's recommendation.) The entire assembly
is very light and can be lifted easily in one hand.
Since the sound is distributed in a broad, flat, figure eight pattern with its apex at the center of the unit, the
speaker should be set well out from a wall. In such a
position the sound appears to come from all over the
room, and Walker points out that this maneuverability
permits easy avoidance of bad room resonances. The
speaker will not beam, and there is no effect of being
off its axis, however one moves around. Similarly, the
sound is wholly homogeneous, although there are, in fact,
two drivers and a crossover network employed. One of
the secret features is how the units can carry a complex
wave form across the crossover point without its being
apparent to the ear. In fact, a complex wave cannot shift
more than 9° in phase at any point in the range.
Patents for the units will be held by Acoustical and
Ferranti Ltd. of Edinburgh, and until they are granted,
the workings of the speaker are a guarded secret. (I was
-
-
.
..
)
0
.,..
i.yJÌ;.i1'
/
71
y
t
.¡+
,
l ='
Acoustical Manufacturing Company's three -legged newcomer.
44
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
not allowed in the lab where the naked insides of the
units are exposed.) However, Walker is willing enough
to say a few obvious things about his system on the
principle that "anything people can guess sufficiently
accurately you might as well tell them." His speaker,
a push -pull model, carries a constant unit area charge,
which results in virtually distortionless performance, a
characteristic of electrostatic circuits first reported in
Electroacoustics by Professor F. V. Hunt of Harvard.
Walker's use of this principle was suggested "in a fuzzy
way" designed to cover up technical arcana, in the first
of his three pieces on electrostatic speakers which appeared
last year in Wireless World. The result is a speaker that
is linear in its performance and transforms the signal into
vibrations in the air without adding any coloration to it
or altering its wave form in any way. The efficiency
of the Acoustical unit in converting the signal wattage
to sound is about 3% (5% is a good average for moving coil speakers), and the upper limit of its output is set by
the point at which the air itself is ionized and the static
charge begins to migrate. This corresponds to the 95
phons mentioned previously.
Walker is first in the world to produce a completely
electrostatic system, but second in Britain to show an
electrostatic unit suitable for commercial production. In
February Mr. H. S. Leak unveiled his electrostatic tweeter
( which works from i,000 cps upwards; about the range
of the pressure horn in the average moving -coil coaxial)
with the remark: "I cannot produce electrostatic loudspeakers which go down to very low notes unless I use
very large areas, which means you have a loudspeaker
which is too big to be acceptable in a home, and /or
that is 5o or ioo
unless I use a very large amplifier
watts.... So we are contenting ourselves with using a
." The Leak system, therefore, is
Io watt amplifier.
electrostatic only from the C above the staff in the treble
clef and a "greatly improved" unit "entirely unlike any
other moving -coil loudspeaker which has ever been made"
for the lower portion of the range. Like the Acoustical
units, Leak's system is scheduled for commercial release
later this year, presumably after his patents have been
cleared. I was unable to attend the press reception at
which the units were demonstrated. I heard that it made
a fine showing, though it is, in Leak's own words, "a
mixture of the old and new," whereas the Acoustical
system is entirely new.
The reason the Acoustical system does not require
enormous power in the amplifier is that since it does
not depend upon the amplifier for the polarizing voltage,
a very high voltage may be used. Also, the high voltage
does not have to run around the room in the speaker lines,
but is produced, and remains, safely shielded from any
danger of shock inside the speaker assembly itself. The
unit is dust -proof as well as shock -proof. The prototype
assembly I heard had a frequency response from 40- 14,000
cps, the upper limitation being due merely to the impedance-matching transformer employed. I was assured
that a better transformer was in the works, and that
with it the high frequency response would go up to the
limits of the best human ear. As for the bass end, Walker
-
.
JUNE 1956
.
played me an organ recording in which the pedal came
out as clearly as I have ever heard it in an electronic
reproduction. His feeling is that 4o cps is all the bass one
needs, but if one must have more he is either going to
have to have an enormous electrostatic unit ( such as
Walker is quite willing to build, if the trade demands
it ) or put up with the tonal coloration that often results
from loading a driver with a horn. As I mentioned before,
it is the linearity and absence of added color in the
Acoustical units that is stunning. (Walker has tried them
in various types of enclosures and ended, in every case,
taking them out.)
I use two cabinets that are braced and built like battleships, and are about as free from spurious resonances as
wooden enclosures can be. It was not until I heard the
Acoustical units that I realized how full of coloration they
were. That is the really breathtaking thing about a completely electrostatic system. It offers a purity of sound that
comes to the ears as a completely fresh experience, and
sharpens the senses with an appreciation of just how good
electronically reproduced music can be.
,
London has an Audio Fair
THE FIRST London Audio Fair proved to be
one of the most sumptuous held anywhere
to date. Held from April 13 -15 in the Washington Hotel on Curzon Street in the Mayfair
district, it featured, in addition to sound, plush
decor in deep claret and the light and dark
blues of Cambridge and Oxford, crystal chandeliers, deep carpets, a grillroom, and a bar. Forty one exhibitors took part, thus accounting for
most (but not quite all) important British
manufacturers of high -fidelity equipment. It is,
however, the hope of the organizers of the fair
that in future years it will take on an international character. ( This year the United States
was represented only through RCA's London
photophone branch.)
Expecting "an absolute shambles" as a result of
the flood of visitors from the trade and the general
public, the management adopted the somewhat
unusual practice of limiting the fair to those invited to attend. The practical effect of this policy
was that persons wishing to attend had to apply
to one of the exhibitors, or to one of the large
retail dealers in records and reproducing equipment. This decision reflected no desire to keep
the general public out, but emphasized the local
situation in which one of the main problems is
selling high fidelity to dealers, many of whom
are still interested in marketing the old, ultra low-fi radiogram combination, a type of equipment that is almost extinct in the American
market.
On entering the fair, one found oneself in a
central exhibition area in which static displays
provided a comprehensive survey of what was
being shown. If one then wanted to hear any
particular equipment, he went to one of the
three floors above and found the display item in
working form in the exhibitor's demonstration
room. The fair management policed the upper
floors to keep the volume levels down. "Three
or four watts is plenty,"
Continued on page
45
An y wa yy ou look
at it 3IEEfiLTOOcLS
Maybe you're different, maybe you like to take your
ease horizontally and passive entertainment is your
dish. Here's television you don't have to sit up or even
crane your neck to see . . . much less run back and forth
across the room to tune. It's Fleetwood designed for custom
installation and remote control. This receiver can be placed
anywhere you want it in the wall, in a room divider, as you see
it here in the ceiling or in a cabinet of your choice. Ask your
dealer for a free copy of the booklet "A Fleeting Glance
at Fleetwood" for a whole raft of installation ideas.
-
Remote Control
ARIZONA
CALIFORNIA (continued)
AUDIO SPECIALISTS
ILLINOIS (continued)
ELECTRONIC EXPEDITERS, INC.
COAST ELECTRONIC SUPPLY CO.
'STAIRWAY TO SOUND'
333 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix
Phone: AMherst 5 -0447
Broadway, Oakland 11
Phone: OLympic 3 -7138
HIGH -FIDELITY HOUSE
536 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena
Phone: RYan 1 -8171
THE HI -FI
2909 West Devon Ave., Chicago 45
Phone: RO. 4 -8640
-1166
CALIFORNIA
"THE BARTHOLOMEWS" MUSIC. INC.
522 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale 3
Phone: CItrus 3 -8873
HOLLYWOOD ELECTRONICS
7460 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood 46
Phone: WEbster 3 -8208
NEWARK ELECTRIC COMPANY
4736 W. Century Blvd., Inglewood
Phone: ORegon 8 -5344
ORchard 7 -1127
THE AUDIO WORKSHOP
2211 Camino Del Reposo, La Jolla
Phone: GLencourt 4 -5378
SOUND SHOPPE
1910 16th Street, Sacramento
Phone: Gllbert 3 -6660
7264 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles 46
Phone: WEbster 1 -1557
14
HOLLYWOOD HI -FI SHOP
1839 E Street, San Bernardino
Phone: 836101
INDIANA
THE GOLDEN EAR, INC.
BOWER'S MUSIC
810 S. Gaffey Street, San Pedro
Phone: TE. 2 -4536
E. 16th Street, Indianapolis
Phone: MElrose 5 -4915
HI -FI HAVEN
442 S. Greenleaf Ave., Whittier
Phone: OXford 414112
THE GOLDEN EAR, INC.
610 Main Street, Lafayette
Phone: 2 -2917
15
Phone: EAst 2-1869
WOODBURN SOUND SERVICE
218 East College St., Iowa City
Phone: 8 -0151
KANSAS
CONNECTICUT
PHIL WOODBURY SOUND
DAVID DEAN SMITH
Los Angeles 8
262 Elm Street, New
Phone: AXminster 4 -1110
ELECTRONIC SERVICES
6941 % La Tijera Blvd., Los Angeles56
Phone: ORchard 4 -4774
HENRY RADIO
11240 W. Olympic Blvd.,
Los Angeles 64
Haven
1103 Commercial, Emporia
11
Phone: UNiversity 5 -1101
AUDIO WORKSHOP, INC.
1 South Main St., West Hartford
Phone: ADams 3 -5041
Phone: 20
7
KENTUCKY
R. L.
KARNS ELECTRONICS
910 E. Fulton St., Grand Rapids 3
Phone: GLendale 8 -5869
WEST MICHIGAN SOUND CO.
1932 Peck Street, Muskegon
Phone: 2-5910
MISSOURI
GRICE RADIO & ELECTRON. SUP., INC.
300 E. Wright St., Pensacola
Phone: HEmlock 3 -4616
GOLDEN EAR, INC.
610 South 3rd St., Louisville
Phone: CL. 4531
15
ILLINOIS
LOUISIANA
ALLIED RADIO CORP.
100 N. Western Avenue, Chicago 80
Phone: HAymarket 1 -6800
1616 W. 43rd (Westport Rd.),
Kansas City 11
Phone: JEfferson 1 -3110
THE HIGH FIDELITY SHOWROOM
6383 Clayton Road, St. Louis 17
Phone: PArkview 1 -6500
J. M. HISLE AND ASSOCIATES
405 -9 South Upper St., Lexington
Phone: 2 -7884
FLORIDA
CUSTOM AUDIO
124 Tustin Avenue, Newport Beach
Phone: Llberty 8 -3391
Free booklet
262 Fillmore, Denver
IOWA
PECAR ELECTRONICS
10729 Morang, Detroit 24
Phone: TUxedo 2 -9985
DAVID BEATTY CUSTOM HI -FI & TV
CRENSHAW HI -FI CENTER
107 Santa Barbara Plaza,
Phone: BRadshaw 2 -9921
GRanite 7 -6701
KIERULFF SOUND CORP.
820 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles
Phone: RIchmond 7 -0271
DAVIS -CARMACK
967 Thayer Avenue, Silver Spring
Phone: JUniper 8 -9436
NEWARK ELECTRIC COMPANY
223 W. Madison Street, Chicago 6
MICHIGAN
Phone: STate 2 -2950
AUDIO HOUSE, INC.
19771 Conant at State Fair E.,
VOICE & VISION, INC.
Detroit 34 Phone: TWinbrook 3 -3358
Rush Ave. and Walton Place,
Chicago 11 Phone : WHitehall 3.1166 K.L.A. LABORATORIES, INC.
7422 Woodward Avenue, Detroit 2
Phone: TRinity 4 -1100
1
BUSHNELL ELECTRONICS
12026 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles 25 COLORADO
Phone: BRadshaw 2 -7537
ALLEGRO MUSIC SHOP, INC.
CALIFORNIA SOUND PRODUCTS, INC.
CENTER
MARYLAND
CUSTOM ELECTRONICS, INC.
4215 S. Claiborne Ave.,
New Orleans 25 Phone: CAnal 4120
NEW JERSEY
HUDSON RADIO & TELEVISION CORP.
Street, Newark
Phone: MA. 4-5154
35 Williams
2
THE JABBERWOCK
104 Somerset St., New Brunswick
Phone: CHarter 9 -1900
CASEY HI FI INSTALLATION CO.
205 W. Englewood Ave.,
West Englewood Phone: TE. 6 -7761
of installation ideas available from
Roland Gelatt
.11.4e3rSt
"WORDS!
WORDS!
WORDS!"
complains Eliza Doolittle in My Fair
Lady. "I'm so sick of words. Never
do I ever want to hear another word;
there isn't one I haven't heard." According to Jacques Barzun, her grievance is universally shared. "We all,"
he agrees, "hear and read too many
of them in our daily round." In Mr.
Barzun's view, the "increasing resistance to words" is one of the chief
causes of our voracious music -listening
these days, the loudspeaker serving
contemporary society as a soothing
refuge from the printed page.
There is, no doubt, something to be
said for this argument; but the thing
to be said against it is that the loudspeaker seems to be propagating recorded words today as it never has before. On the occasion of their recently celebrated fourth anniversary
in business, the two young women
who run Caedmon Publishers announced that they had sold a total
of 250,000 spoken -word LP records.
And as Caedmon's sales continue to
rise, more and more companies are
entering the field to exploit the demand for microgrooved words that
so clearly exists. Probably the most
ambitious of the newcomers is Spoken
Arts, Inc. (a subsidiary of Westminster ) , which has just fired its first salvo
of recorded speech. Spoken Arts intends to issue records in several categories:
a
Distinguished Teachers
Series, offering hour -long lectures by
men like Robert M. Hutchins, T. V.
Smith, and (yes) Jacques Barzun; a
Distinguished Playwright Series, in
which Arthur Miller, John van
Druten, Lillian Hellman, and others
will discuss their craft on one side of
the record and read from their plays
on the other; a Golden Treasury of
Verse Series, the first issues of which
are all foreign ( German verse read by
Henry Schnitzler, Irish by Padraic
Colum, French by Jean Vilar) ; an Informal Hour With X Series, featuring such guests- via -loudspeaker as
S. J. Perelman, J. B. Priestley, and
Dorothy Parker; a Great Artists Series,
which will present actors and actresses
JUNE I956
JUIVn 19)U
-
Siobhan McKenna, Lunt and Fontanne, and Anthony Quayle are among
them
in readings from their favorite plays, poems, and stories; and
a Distinguished Composers Series,
wherein contemporary music will first
be played and then commented on by
the composer.
Another newly organized spokenword outfit is Modern Voices, Inc.,
whose executive producer will be the
announcer Ben Grauer and whose distributor will be Riverside Records,
owned and operated by Bill Grauer,
Jr. ( a cousin) and Orrin Keepnews.
The Messrs. Grauer and Keepnews
prefer not to talk about this project
now, except to say that their approach
will be "somewhat different" from that
of others in the business. The first
release of six records is due in September. Caedmon, needless to say, is
not allowing all this competition to go
unnoticed. It will be issuing in September: another Dylan Thomas recording (A Visit to America and
assorted poems) ; the Molly Bloom
passages from Ulysses read by Siobhan
McKenna; and a series of Bible readings by Judith Anderson, Claire
Bloom, and Paul Muni. Angel has
recordings of The School for Scandal
and The Playboy of the Western
-
lVorld en route for fall release, and
there are rumors of a complete Saint
Jain from Victor.
All of which tends to upset the
Barzun theory. As for me, I am in
complete agreement with Miss Doolittle and Mr. Barzun in regard to the
ubiquity of words, and the last thing
I want to hear from my record player
is a lecture on "The Uses of History"
by Professor Preston Slosson, a Spoken Arts disk that took me right back
to Mandel Hall and the Humanities
Survey Course at the University of
Chicago. Obviously I am not the kind
of customer for whom the above -mentioned companies are manufacturing
their wares.
THE QUOTATION by Jacques Barzun above is taken from his survey
Music in American Life just published
by Doubleday. He falls at times into
overstatement when trying to score
a point ( "Wozzek makes at least as
much money as Don Giovanni ") and
commits a few small errors of fact and
orthography (such as the misspelling
of Wozzeck) that might well have
been caught by one of the efficient
"female clerk" copy editors whom he
once severely chastised in the Saturday
Review, but on major matters his book
is both informative and provocative.
His thoughts on the overproduction
of professional musicians in our conservatories and universities today
should be digested carefully by anyone
venturing upon music as a life career.
"The world," he says, "is visibly not
equipped to make use of so much
highly trained musical ability" and "it
therefore becomes a question whether
encouraging the young is not perhaps
risky to the point of immorality."
Just how risky was emphasized recently in another survey, this one entitled The National Crisis for Live
Music and Musicians, prepared by the
Research Company of America for the
American Federation of Musicians.
According to this source, available jobs
in 1954 were "no more than enough
to provide full -time employment for
about 59,000 musicians," whereas in
193o the available jobs provided fulltime employment for 99,000 musicians. There has been an increase of
jobs in opera, ballet, and symphony
orchestras, but only enough to take
care of an additional 1,500 musicians
on a full-time basis. Moreover, the
report adds, "even in the major symphonies the minimum wage scale for
musicians is $89.02 per week, which
is less than the average weekly wage
in metal or bituminous coal mining,
Continued on page 51
49
51
RECORDS
nr`.rAnT\C
,
RECORDS
anywhere. For lovers of march music, a
must.
J. F. I.
RICHARD DYER-BENNET
and Ballads
the Stilly Night; Molly Brannigan;
Songs
Oft in
Down
Fenian
by the Sally Gardens; The Bold
Men; Three Fishers; The Bonnie
Earl of Morey; Fine Flowers in the Valley:
The Vicar of Bray; So We'll Go No More
A- Roving; Phyllis and Her Mother; The
Joys of Love; I'm a Poor Boy; Pull Off
Your Old Coat; Down in the Valley;
Pedro; The Lonesome Valley.
The most useful
guide to
long-playing records
Richard Dyer-Bennet, tenor with guitar.
DYER -BENNET RECORDS DYB- I
I 2-in.
.
$4.95
/tJ`J l\.I`IJ+J JfJ rIJJGJ`
-
by IRVING KOLODIN
Recordings Editor, Saturday Review
$3.50
`VD
by
N-1 DITAJ'LILC©
PHILIP L. MILLER
Music Division,
New York Public Library
$4.50
A !.12-2)
=
J-1
-
rr71
Q1'ú'
!
J
r'
HAROLD C. SCHONBERG
by
Music & Record Critic
The New York Times
$3.50
These three volumes together
form a simple, practical, and
useful guide to long- playing
records. The authors have
supplied selected lists of recommended recordings in their
fields, each book listing and
discussing briefly the best
available records on long play. Composers and compositions are presented alphabetically, and there is an index
of performers. A must for the
intelligent selection of LPs.
At most bookstores
ALFRED A. KNOPF, Publisher
:MCC
66
--...MNIK
Ever since the very first years of record making, there have been performing artists
who have felt themselves traduced, or at
least poorly represented, by the sounds
from the grooves. Richard Dyer- Bennet,
for fifteen years one of the most respected
as well as most popular folk singers at
work in this country, can be counted
amongst the uncontented
but with a
difference. For he has done what very
few artists in similar plight have been
in a position to do: he has founded a
company "to produce a series of high
fidelity recordings" of his own work. So
now Dyer- Bennet admirers dissatisfied with
his pre- existing representation on four LP
labels can hear his voice and his Spanish
guitar sound as the performer's own ear
dictates that they ought to sound.
For those who are long -time admirers
of Mr. Dyer -Bennet, the repertoire will
be familiar in style and kind, if not
necessarily in all details. It ranges from
traditional tunes (Thomas Moore's Oft
in the Stilly Night) , through music -hall
songs (Molly Brannigan), composed songs
( John Hullah's setting of
Charles Kings ley's Three Fishers), and true ballads (The
Bonnie Early of Morey). It also includes
settings by the singer (of Byron's We'll
Go No More A- Roving), American once topical songs (Pm a Poor Boy), translated
and adapted versions of classic material
( Martini's Plaisir d'amour) , and original
songs by the performer (Pedro). The real
point is that all of them emerge, not
violated, but bearing Mr. Dyer-Bennet's
personal stamp, including shifts of melody
and minor alterations of texts to suit the
particular occasion of performing. His
voice once was a high, flutelike tenor,
almost countertenor in quality; now, as
recorded, it is darker and less pure, with
an incipient wobble that may be accentuated by the extremely close miking, which
leaves not a breath unheard. But the
basic style and intelligence have not
changed. Liking or not liking a minstrel
is a very individual matter, but by Dyer Bennet partisans this disk can hardly be
ignored. Recorded sound is as noted above;
full texts ( deviated from on occasion) and
notes by the singer.
J. H., JR.
-
THE KING OF INSTRUMENTS, VOL.
VIII
Norman Coke -Jephcott at Saint John
the Divine
Purcell: Trumpet Voluntary; Trumpet Air
and Tune. Bach: Prelude and Fugue in
E minor (Cathedral), BWV 533; Ich ruf'
zu Dir. BWV 639; Heut' triumphiret
Gottes Sohn, BWV 63o. Coke-Jephcott:
Toccata on Saint Anne; Bishops' Promenade. Vierne: Canzona; Prelude.
Norman Coke -Jephcott, organ.
AEOLIAN -SKINNER.
12 -in.
$5.95
Norman Coke -Jephcott was for twenty-one
years, until his retirement in 1953, organist and choirmaster of the Cathedral of
Saint John the Divine in New York. His
recording stresses the grandiose aspects of
the cathedral's Aeolian- Skinner organ,
previously heard in Vol. VI of this series
played by Mr. Coke -Jephcott s successor,
Alec Wyton. There is considerable use
of the full organ and of the piercingly
brilliant State Trumpet. The sound, with
its rolling reverberations, is as awesomely
impressive as the cathedral's interior, but
the echoes require a slow pacing of the
music, and even then some of the detail
does not always come through.
Mr. Coke-Jephcott's toccata is conventional, but the short Bishop's Promenade
is, intentionally or otherwise, so amiably
pompous as to be delightful if hardly
dignified. The sound maintains the high
standards of this series.
R. E.
LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA
Tansman: Capriccio. Borowski: The Mirror. Dahl: The Tower of Saint Barbara.
Louisville Orchestra, Robert Whitney,
cond.
LOUISVILLE
LOU
56 -2.
12 -in.
Available
on subscription only.
Alexandre Tansman really knows how to
write an entertaining piece. If in the
process he recomposes much of the finale
of the Sacre, as he does in the first of
the three movements of this Capriccio, the
fact remains that no one is more adept at
juggling the magic box of colors and
rhythms which a symphony orchestra affords. Felix Borowski's The Mirror is a
short piece in that composer's most elegant,
bittersweet vein. To write a "symphonic
legend in four parts" on the life and
martyrdom of Saint Barbara is an extraordinarily conventional idea for a composer
like Ingolf Dahl, and Dahl's realization
of it is often disappointingly obvious; still
and all, the music has a good deal of spirit
and would make an excellent score for a
ballet along the same general lines as the
Hindemith -Massine Nobilissima Visione;
in fact, one suspects that that is what
Dahl really had in mind.
A. F.
ANTON PAULIK
A Hi-Fi Frolic with Strauss
Vienna Staatsoper Orchestra, Anton Paulik,
cond.
VANGUARD VRS 476. 12 -in. $4.98.
Wonderfully bracing performances of the
polkas, which are Straussian froth of the
very lightest kind, followed by a lilting,
easy -flowing reading of The Blue Danube.
This is the sixth in the Vanguard series
of Viennese music played by this orchestra
under Paulik; as in previous issues, the
performances are notable for the elegance
and authentic style of the orchestral playing
and for the excellence of Vanguard's sound.
J. F. I.
DOROTHY WARENSKJOLD
Songs
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
Mendelssohn: On Wings of Song. Schubert: Ave Maria; Ständchen; Brahms:
Vergebliches Ständchen; Wiegenlied. Obrados and Castillejo: Al Amor. Ponce:
Estrellita. Malotte: The Lord's Prayer.
Gounod: Ave Maria. Hahn: Si mes vers
avaient des ailes. Charles: Let My Song
Fill Your Heart. Hageman: Do Not Go,
My Love. Folk song: Comin' Thro' the
Rye. Buzzi -Pezzia: Colombetta.
Dorothy Warenskjold, soprano; Jack Cros san, piano.
CAPITOL P 8333. 12 -in. $3.98.
Miss Warenskjold's gleaming voice and
seemingly effortless vocalism should appeal
to fanciers of these thrice -familiar songs.
The finished phrasing and excellent diction
in five languages
also make her
singing easy and pleasurable to hear, while
-
-
serving as a model for students struggling
with these pieces. Sweetness and sincerity
- -
mark the soprano's work
the music
seldom asks for more
but there is some
gain in emotional projection over her
previous record, which was devoted to
Dvorak and Grieg songs. Still, her singing
of Colombetta has a well -bred, suburban
air alongside of Claudia Muzio's ecstatic
version.
R. E.
Scarlatti: Sonatas in C, L. son; in G, L.
103. Bach: Prelude and Fugue, No. 13,
in F- sharp, from The Well- Tempered
Clavier, Vol. t; Three -Part Invention, No.
r r, in G minor.
Mozart: Sonata No. 9,
in D, K. 311. Chopin: Mazurkas in B
minor, Op. 33, No. 4; in A minor, Op.
17, No. 4. Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op.
15.
JUNE 1956
ORGAN of CATHEDRAL
of NOTRE DAME, PARIS
Grand Prix du Disque winners:
Vierne: SYPHONY No. 2 in E
L
Dupré: SYMPHONIE PASSION, Op. 23
L
runs through Liza s Just You Wait are
pertinent examples. Loewe has written
several very good scores, including the
excellent Brigadoon, but none equals this
CHANCES ARE, unless you happen to
be a friend of the management or
have an exceptionally clever ticket broker,
that you won't get to see My Fair Lady
for a long, long time. But why wait, when
Columbia's original cast recording can introduce you to most of the beauties of
this fair charmer right now? It's a meeting
that you won't regret, for the musical
adaptation of Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion
is easily the best show album to appear
in many moons.
Wonderful is really the only word to
use, though perhaps you won't think so
at first hearing. At least, I didn't. I found
myself listening so intently to Alan Jay
Lerner's urbane and witty lyrics, with
their intricate and tricky rhythms, that I
paid little attention to Frederick Loewe's
score. Then I realized that Lerner's lyrics
seemed so good in large part because of the
marvelous manner in which Loewe had
set them.
Possibly this isn't the most
singable score ever written, but it certainly
grows on you, and it won't be long before
you find yourself humming I Want to
Dance All Night and On the Street Where
You Live. However, there are even more
interesting, if less immediately captivating,
numbers in this score, thanks to the composer's use of musical techniques not
usually found in this medium. The wonderfully effective agitated rhythm of the
second part, or chorus, of Henry Higgins'
I'm an Ordinary Man and the faint suggestion of Danny Deever's hanging that
at the
MAJOR FOR ORGAN, Op. 20
iIyrt
12
0
OL- é0103 -$4.
Carlo Zecchi. piano.
exceptionally inventive one.
In Julie Andrews the producers have
found an ideal Liza, a youthful singing
actress capable not only of managing the
music with the utmost ease, with a small
bell -like voice of great purity, but also
of skillfully suggesting Liza s slow transformation from a flower girl into a lady.
In time you will probably hear many
versions of I Want to Dance All Night,
but none you may be sure will
quite catch the wonder and youthful happiness that Julie Andrews conveys. Equally
good is Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins.
The fact that he has little or no singing
voice makes no difference, for the lustiest
tenor could not possibly make Professor
Higgins' songs more pointed or amusing.
What Harrison lacks in voice is more
than compensated for by his inimitable
charm and theatrical know -how. As Liza s
father, Stanley Holloway seems to have
stepped right out of Covent Garden (Market, that is) by way of an English music
hall; his two rollicking numbers reek
of beer and skittles, with a slight hint of
a red nose thrown in. Under Franz Allers'
alert musical direction and Goddard
Lieberson's over -all production, the whole
recording has great spirit, and Columbia's
engineers provided some most attractive
sound.
Probably nobody knows just what Shaw
thought of The Chocolate Soldier, adapted
from his play Arms and the Man, and
certainly nobody will know what he might
have thought of Pygmalion in musical
dress; but he would surely have been a
curmudgeon to call it anything less than
wonderful.
J. F. INDcox
-
-PARIS
COCHEREAV
CARLO ZECCHI
Piano Recital
Love That Fair Lady !
Coote, Andrews, and Harrison.
"astounding brilliance"
-
MY FAIR LADY
Music by Frederick Loewe, lyrics by Alan
Jay Lerner. Original cast recording featuring Rex Harrison, Julie Andrews, Stanley
Holloway, Robert Coote, and Michael
King; orchestra conducted by Franz Allers.
COLUMBIA OL 5090. 12 -in. $4.98.
O c,_a_
Lye
OL- `0112 -$4A6
other
new releases
An Unforgetable Experience
A DAY OF PILGRIMAGE AT LOURDES
Feast of Sacred Heart)
." Ducretet- Thomson DTL- 93052 -$498
French Symphonic Masterpiece
Saint -Sains: SYMPHONY No. 3
IN C MINOR, Op. 78
organ,
L'Orchestre du
12" Ducretet -Thomson
DTL- 93072 -$4.98
Maurice
Duruflé,
Théâtre des Champs- Élysées cond. by
Ernest Bour
For the Mozart Bicentennial
Mozart: CONCERTO No. 23 IN A
FOIR
PIANO AND ORCHESTRA (K. 488)
Germaine Thyssens- Volentin, piano)
Mozart: SYMPHONY No. 29 IN
A MAJOR (K. 201)
Serenade -Orchestra of the Salzburg Festival
cond. by Bernard Paumgartner
12" Ducretet -Thomson
Mozart:
DTL- 93057 -54.98
DIVERTIMENTI FOR STRING
ORCHESTRA (K. 136, 137, 138)
Pro Arte Chamber Orch. cond. by Kurt Redel
12" L'Oiseou -Lyre OL- 50072 -$4. ?
3
Modern French Piano Classics
Ravel: GASPARD DE LA NUIT;
SONATINE plus other pieces
Daniel Wayenberg, piano
12" Ducretet- Thomson
DTL- 93068 -$4.98
Greatest Lieder Composer
Wolf:
GOETHE AND MORIKE LIEDER
Bruce Boyce, baritone;
Robert Veyron- Lacroix, piano
12" L'Oiscou -Lyre O1- 50026 -54.98
Rediscovered Musical Treasure
Reicha: WIND QUINTETS, Op. 88 No. 2;
Op. 91 No. 3 The French Wind Quintet
12" L.Oseou.Loe OL- 50019 -$4 98
Enchanting Folklore
RUSSIAN, GYPSY and YIDDISH SONGS
Sarah Gorby
10" Ducretet -Thomson
MEL -9:0 ^3 -52.95
LONDON INTERNATIONAL, INC.
539 WEST 25th STREET,
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WESTMINSTER 18139.
Here's your guide to
MORE LISTENING
'..
ENJOYMENT
..
-
Whether you're a musical connoisseur, hi -fi
expert or just plain enjoy good music
here' s a wealth of practical, useful information on how to select the type of records
you like best, and how to obtain greater
enjoyment from them. Seventeen musical
specialists help enrich your understanding
and deepen your appreciation of music by
explaining the different types of music and
recommending the best recordings in each
category.
JUST OUT!
Building
Your
Library
Nowadays when you walk into a music
store and are confronted by a bewildering
array of different versions of the same
title, you need skilled advice to select the
one you'll enjoy most. In this book, experts in each kind of music not only advise
you on your best recording buys, but they
also show you how to plan and sensibly
build a well- rounded record collection,
custom-tailored to your
individual taste.
These 17 experts help
Whether you prefer you build
a well -balchamber music, jazz, anced record library.
Paul Affelder
Roy Allison
given a handy list of Nathan Broder
G. Burke
finest selections avail- t'.
John ('.only
able, together with deRaymond Ericson
Roland Gelait
tailed comments and
Fred Grunfeld
analyses of each choice.
James Hinton, Jr.
Each selection is made
Roy H. Hoopes, Jr.
John F. Indcox
on the basis of hi -fi
Kotlowitz
quality of recording, Robert
Rosalyn Krokover
quality of musical preHoward Lafay
sentation and appro- Phillip I.iesun Miller
Harold C. Schonberg
priateness in the overJohn S. Wilson
all record library.
A few of the categories covered are pre-Bach, Piano Music,
Choral Music, Haydn, Mozart, Concertos,
Beethoven, Broadway Musicals, Schubert,
and many more. You even
Folk Music
receive tips on caring for your LP records!
Order this stimulating and informative guide
to a better record library now!
-
-MAIL
COUPON
TODAY!--1
r
I
I
I
HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
The Publishing House, Gt. Barrington, Mass.
Please send me a copy of BUILDING YOUR
RECORD LIBRARY. $3.95 enclosed.
NAME
ADDRESS
I
-
GEORGIE AULD - ANDRE PRE V IN
I've Got You Under My Skin
I've Got You Under My Skin; S'posin'; I Cover
the Waterfront; I Didn't Know What Time It
Was; A Stairway to the Stars; Body and Soul;
I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You;
Take Care; Smoke Gets in Your Eyes; Easy to
Love; All the Things You Are; Someone to
Watch Over Me.
Georgie Auld, tenor sax, with orchestra
directed by André Previn, and Jud Conlon's
Rhythmaires.
CORAL CRL 57009.
I2 -in. $3.98.
Tenor sax solos, backed by orchestra and
chorus, of twelve standard tunes that never
for a moment lapse from practically perfect
musical taste. There is nothing here to
startle you; on the other hand, Previn's arrangements of these tunes and Auld's
playing of them are suitably respectful and
imaginative, a rare combination at any time.
R. K.
FRANK CHACKSFIELD
You
Introduction: Sunny Side Up; Tip Toe Through
the Tulips With Me; You're Always in My
Arms; If I Had a Talking Picture of You;
The Wedding of the Painted Doll; Song of the
Dawn; I'll Always Be in Love with You;
Painting the Clouds with Sunshine; I'm a
Dreamer (Aren't IVe All); You Brought a
New Kind of Love to Me; Rio Rita.
Frank Chacksfield and his orchestra.
LONDON LL 1355. 12 -in. $3.98.
I
----------68
(or
THE MUSIC BETWEEN
$3.95
symphonies, opera or
ballet music, you are
$4.98
Carlo Zecchi is an Italian pianist in his
early fifties who studied with Busoni and
appeared in the United States in 1931; he
has previously made records as a conductor
and as pianist with the cellist Antonio
Janigro. Here he is at his best in the
Chopin mazurkas (the B minor one is
mislabeled on the album as Op. 41, No.
r ) , which profit from his beautiful singing
tone and lovely cantilena and are properly
moody and capricious. The Kinderszenen
are lightly colored and stylized, more as
sophisticated comment on the music than
as a re- creation of it; in exaggerating accents in Knight of the Hobby -Horse he
achieves a real rocking -horse rhythm. His
clean, masculine performance of the Mozart
sonata has in its favor an appealing melodic
purity in the slow movement, but on the
whole it lacks the verve, sparkle, or
lyricism the music calls for. The Scarlatti
and Bach are more satisfactory, though
the C major Sonata is taken too fast.
The G major departs quite a bit in notation
from standard editions but stays within
style and sounds very lovely in a dulcet toned performance. The recorded tone is
more resonant
sometimes too much so
than one usually gets from Westminster.
R. E.
-
Record
Edited by
Roy H.
Hoopes, Jr.
12 -in.
$3.98).
of sprightly tunes from early
movie musicals in which the gay old songs
are dressed in spanking new arrangements.
In a way, it's a shame to miss the lyrics to
such innocent gems as You're Always in My
A run -through
Arms but Only in My Dreams and If I Had a
Talking Picture of You; however, their melodies, it turns out, are tough enough to
R. K.
carry the load.
FRANCK POURCEL
Our Paris
Franck Pourcel and his orchestra.
CAPITOL T 10002. 12 -in. $3.98.
through the
most famous of all cities. The highlights
are pointed out by Franck Pourcel's orchestra, which shines up all the old landR. K.
marks until they gleam.
A pleasant musical journey
RANDOLPH SINGERS
Lament for April .r5 and Other Modern
Madrigals
The Randolph Singers.
COMPOSERS RECORDINGS CRI
IO2.
12 -1n.
$4.98.
Madrigals have their charm but strung along
thirteen in a row they take on the monotony
of cultured, perfectly formed, identical pearls.
Still, a single pearl can enchant, and so can
almost any one of these thirteen madrigals,
heard singly. Particularly enchanting is a
jolly spoof on departing guests called The
Interminable Farewell. There's also a delightful setting of Edward Lear's The Quangle
Wangle's Hat. The title song, Lament for
April 15, offers the instructions on the income -tax form set to music that is both
straight-faced and dirgeful. The performances by the Randolph Singers are impecR. K.
cable.
SUZANNE ROBERT
Songs of Montmartre
ELEKTRA EKL 104. 12-in. $5.95.
This is an attractive album in which a
genuine Montmartre lady by the name of
Suzanne Robert sings material authentic to
her quartier. The results are highly effective, particularly when Mlle. Robert's
Parisian vibrato goes to work on such a
hitter, mournful song as Rose Blanche. This
ditty is a horror story about a murderous
pimp, and it will convey an idea of the
tough chansons the singer delivers. Accompanying the album is a booklet containing the original lyrics of all the songs
R. K.
and their translations.
CONSUELO RUBIO
The Song of Spain
Consuelo Rubio, soprano; orchestra conducted by F. M. Torroba.
DECCA DL 9817.
12 -in.
$3.98.
These fourteen songs are all firmly based on
folk melodies that represent different regions
of Spain, and F. M. Torroba's atmospheric
arrangements of them will surely remind you
at times of Canteloube's Songs of the Auvergne.
They haven't the latter's unrestrained joy
and sweet nostalgia; but that, surely, is the
fault of the songs, not of Mr. Torroba.
The songs are performed by Consuelo
Rubio, a Spanish soprano who has melting
big tones but apparently cannot produce a
pianissimo. Nevertheless, the songs are
sometimes extremely beautiful and movR. K.
ing.
FRANK SINATRA
Songs for Swingin' Lovers!
You Make Me Feel
So
Young; It Happened
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
mom
+
in Monterey; You're Getting To Be a Habit
with Me; You Brought A New Kind of Love
to Me; Too Marvelous for Words; Old Devil
Moon; Pennies from Heaven; Love is Here to
Stay; I've Got You Under My Skin; I Thought
About You; We'll Be Together Again; Makin'
Whoopee; Swinging Down the Lane; Anything
Goes; How About You?
Frank Sinatra; orchestra conducted by Nelson Riddle.
CAPITOL W 653. 12 -in. $4.98.
-i
It would be possible to go on practically
forever chronicling the joys of this album.
It's enough to say, however, that here Sinatra
is at his peak, whether he's sliding along
relaxedly with You're Getting To Be a Habit
with Me or carefully biting off the sharp edged lyrics of Anything Goes. Nelson Riddle
and his orchestra give Sinatra perfect supR. K.
port. A wonderful album.
today than does Goodman himself.
Lou
McGarrity's exuberant trombone is heard
in the big -band numbers, and the quartet
selections give Dick Hyman a rare and
welcome excuse to play completely in the
manner of one of his early teachers, Teddy
Wilson. He does it extremely well.
THE JAZZ GIANTS '56
I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan; I
Didn't Know What Time It Was; Gigantic
Blues; This Year's Kisses; You Can Depend on Me.
Roy Eldridge, trumpet; Vic Dickenson,
trombone; Lester Young, tenor saxophone;
Teddy Wilson, piano; Freddie Greene,
guitar; Gene Ramey, bass; Jo Jones, drums.
NORGRAN
MG
N -1056.
r2 -in.
41 min.
$3.98.
Those who harbor fond memories cf that
series of recordings made by various groups
under Teddy Wilson's leadership for
Brunswick in the Thirties, usually with
Billie Holiday as vocalist, will find a heartwarming echo on this disk. It brings together five of the men who appeared
Wilson,
frequently on those records
Lester Young, Roy Eldridge, Jo Jones,
and Freddie Greene. Their playing has
much of that easy but challenging quality
that marked those old sessions. Young
hasn't played on records with as much
fire in years as he does on this disk (he
charges into Gigantic Blues as if he were
back with Basie) and his slower work is
cleaner, less inclined to fray at the edges
than usual. The revived Young proves to
be a catalyst, for both Eldridge and Wilson
play with more interest and direction than
-
SOLEIL DU MIDI
Fernandel; Rellys; Fernand Sardou; Jackie
Rollin.
LONDON WB 91126.
10 -in. $2.98.
strange little potpourri of MarThis
seilles music -hall turns which must look and
sound fine on stage. They have little meaning on record, however, unless you know
the special argot of southern France and can
understand it when it is spit out at full
speed. London offers no translations, nor
even the barest explanatory notes to help
you along the way. Only for the complete
Francophile, fully committed and ready for
R. K.
action.
is a
THE BEST OF JAZZ
by
7
-1
John
S.
JUNE X956
\--11
RECENT RELEASES
Wilson
PEANUTS HUCKO
A Tribute to Benny Goodman
Let's Dance; Bugle Call Rag; Don't Be
That Way; King Porter Stomp; Stompin'
at the Savoy; One O'Clock Jump: Hucko
and Big Band. Sheik of Araby; More Than
You Know; Someday Sweetheart; Sweet
Georgia Brown; Whispering; China Boy.
Peanuts Hucko, clarinet; Dick Hyman,
piano; Milt Hinton, bass; Don Lamond,
drums.
GRAND AWARD 33-331. 12 -in. 36 min.
$3.98.
This late entry in the 1956 Benny Goodman sweepstakes manages to be just a
shade different and several shades better
than most of the earlier Goodman and
pseudo -Goodman releases. Its success is
based on a bit of crass effrontery. The
Goodman disks unleashed by the film of
his life all concentrated on more or less
the same tunes played by more or less
the same band in more or less the same
arrangements. If the band was led by
Goodman, clarinet solos were featured. If
it was led by someone else ( Steve Allen,
Jess Stacy) the clarinet issue was sidethere was none. Here's that
stepped
more -or -less same band again, playing the
same tunes again, without Goodman but
meeting the clarinet matter head on. Peanuts Hucko plays the clarinet parts and,
sacrilegious though it may sound, he plays
a more vibrant Goodman -style clarinet
-
HIGH FIDELITY
Colin McPhee TABUH-TABUHAN, Toccata for O.
chests. Elliott Carter THE MINOTAUR, Suite
Irons the bollel.
Eastmon -Roch
,onductng.
Orchestra, Howard Horion
MG50103
Chadwick SYMPHONIC SKETCHES
Jubilee, Noel, Hobgoblin, A Vagrom Ballad.
Eastman Rochester Orchestra,
Howard Hanson conducting.
MG50104
Bloch QUARTET No.
1
in
B
Roth String Quartet.
MG501 10
HIGH FIDELITY
CLASSICS
Minor.
MARCHING ALONG. Sousa THE U.S. FIELD ARTILLERY; THE THUNDERER; WASHINGTON POST,
KING COTTON; EL CAPITAN; THE STARS and
STRIPES FOREVER. Meacham AMERICAN
PATROL Goldman ON THE MALL; McCoy LIGHTS
OUT; King BARNUM and BAILEY'S FAVORITE
Alford COLONEL BOGEY; KlohrTHE BILLBOARD
Eastman Wind Ensemble, Frederick
Fennell conducting. MG50105.
LIVING PRESENCE
(9
they have shown lately. Vic Dickenson's
humorous, slurring trombone fits in well
more often than not.
MAXTED AND HIS MANHATTAN JAZZ BAND
Jazz at Nicks
BILLY
Washington and Lee Swing; Ja-Da; Pana-
ma; Swingin' Rose of Texas; Satanic Blues;
Battle Hymn of the Republic; Just Hot.
Chuck Forsyth, trumpet; Lee Gifford,
trombone; Sal Pace, clarinet; Billy Maxted,
piano; Charlie Treager, bass; Sonny Igoe,
drums.
CADENCE
1012.
CLP
i2-in.
36
min.
$3.98.
Dialing Your Disks
All LP disks are recorded with treble boost
and bass cut, the amount of which often
varies from one manufacturer to another.
To play a disk, the bass below a certain
turnover frequency must be boosted, and
the treble must be rolled off a certain number of decibels at 1o,000 cycles. Recommended control settings to accomplish this
are listed for each manufacturer. Equalizer
control panel markings correspond to the
-
following values in the table below. ROLL OFF
1o.5 LON, FFRR. 12 AES, RCA,
Old RCA. 13.7: RIAA, RCA, New RCA,
New AES, NARTB, ORTHOphonic. 16:
NAB, LP, COL, COL LP, ORTHOcoustic.
TURNOVER
400 AES, RCA. 5ooC:
LP, COL, COL LP, Mod NAB, LON,
FFRR.
5ooR: RIAA, ORTHOphonic,
NARTB, New AES. 500: NAB: 63o:
BRS. 800: Old RCA.
:
:
-
:
All records produced under the following labels are recorded with the industry- standard RJAA curve (500E
turnover; 13.7 rolloff): Angel; tAtlantic; Bethlehem; Classic Editions; Clef; EMS; Epie; McIntosh;
MGM; Montilla; New Jazz Norgran; Prestige; Romany; Savoy; Walden. Labels that have used other
recording curves are listed below.
NEW
RECORD LABEL
Turnover
Allied
Amer. Rec. Soc.
Arizona
Audiophile
Bach Guild
OLD
Rolloff
500
400
16
12
500R
13.7
500
12
500R
13.7
13.7
*Bartok
50OR
Blue Note Jazz
Boston
*Caedmon
Canyon
Capitol
Capitol -Cetra
Cetra -Soria
Colosseum
*Columbia
Concert Hall
*Contemporary
500R
5000
500R
500R
500R
500R
500C
500R
500R
500R
500R
13.7
tCook (SOOT)
500
500
12 -15
16
500R
500R
13.7
13.7
500R
500R
500R
500C
500R
500R
13.7
13.7
13.7
500
16
500R
13.7
500
16
500R
500R
500C
500R
500R
500C
500R
13.7
13.7
400
500
12
16
500R
13.7
500
16
500R
13.7
500
500C
16
16
Coral
Decca
Elektra
Esoteric
Folkways
*Good -Time Jazz
Haydn Society
HMV
Kapp
Kendall
*London, Lon. Int.
Lyrichord
*Mercury
Nocturne
Oceanic
*L'Oiseau-Lyre
*Overtone
Oxford
Pacific Jazz
Philharmonia
tPolymusic
RCA Victor
Remington
Riverside
Tempo
Transradio
Urania
13.7
13.7
13.7
13.7
No. 501 -529: 500, 16
No. 901 -905, 308, 310, 311: 500R, 13.7
No. 906-920, 301 -304. 309: 630, 16
To 1955: 400, 12
No. 1001 -1022: 630, 16
To No. C6160: 400, 12
To 1955: 400, 12.7
To 1955: 400, 12.7
13.7
13.7
10.5
13.7
To January 1954: 500, 16
To 1955: 500C, 16
To 1954: 500C, 16
No. 3501, 2501, 2502, 2505. 2507, 2001.
2002: 400, 12. No. 2504: 500, 16
To November 1955: 500, 16
No. 2-15, 18 -20, 24 -26: 630, 16. No. 17,
22:400, 12. No. 16, 21, 23, 24: 500R, 13.7
No. ES 500, 517, EST 5. 6: 400, 12
To 1955: 500C, 16
No. I. 5-8: 500, 16. No. 3, 9 -19: Ion. L"
Same personnel as above.
12 -in.
CLP 1013.
$ 3.98.
CADENCE
42
min.
The best of the month's entries from the
Dixieland mill is contained on these two
disks by Maxted's band. Maxted has been
a steady performer at Nick's in Greenwich
Village for the last ten years, playing his
raw-boned, Zurke -styled piano under a
succession of leaders there. Now that he
is headman on Nick's bandstand, he has
astutely retained Sal Pace, who has been
there almost as long as Maxted and has
developed into a dependable, warm -toned
clarinetist. He has unearthed two new
performers in Forsyth and Gifford. Forsyth
plays a capable two -beat trumpet, clean
when he's playing lead and with a tendency
to borrow from Muggsy Spanier and Bobby
Hackett when he solos. Gifford's tromboning is mostly unostentatious background
work but when he steps up front he
produces both sweet and zestful tones as
It is a neat,
circumstances demand.
vigorous band which plays with a lot of
drive and enthusiasm.
Followers of Julia Ward Howe will be
interested to learn that, according to the
label credits, The Battle Hymn of the
Republic was written by Maxted. If one
can believe these credits, he also seems
to have written Yankee Doodle. He's
mighty spry around a piano for a man
of his age.
.j
13.7
No. 100 -103, 1000 -1001: 800, 16
To No. 846: 500C, 10.5
To October 1954: 400, 12
No. LP 1 -3, 5, XP1-10: 400, 12
16
13.7
13.7
To 1954: 500C, 10.5
No. 1 -3: 500, 16
16
13.7
13.7
500R
13.7
Vox
500R
500R
13.7
13.7
RAY McKINLEY AND HIS ORCHESTRA
One Band, Two Styles
Caesar and Cleopatra; Harold in Italy;
McKinley for President; The Seventh
Veil; Idiot's Delight; Cyclops; My Heart
Stood Still; You Took Advantage of Me;
It's Easy to Remember; Thou Swell; Blue
Room.
RCA CAMDEN CAL 295. 12 -in. 37 min.
S
16
16
No.
1
-13: 400, 12
To September 1952:
To 1955:
500 or R00, 12
400, 12
No. 7059, 224, 7066, 7063, 7065, 603,
7069: 400, 12. Others: 500C, 16
No. 411 -442, 6000 -6018, 7001 -7011, 80018004: 500, 16
500, 16 unless otherwise specified.
To October 1955: 500C, 16; or if AES speeifled: 400, 12
*Currently re- recording old masters for RIAA curve.
tBinaural records produced on this label have no treble boost on the inside band, which should be
played without any rolloff.
70
At the Jazz Band Ball; Basin Street Blues;
Big Crash from China; Muskrat Ramble;
Yankee Doodle Dixie; Black and Blue; I've
Found a New Baby; Hindustan.
16
500R
I
To 1955: 400, 12.7
16
Vanguard
*Westminster
Record No. or Date: Turnover, Rollotr
Dixieland Manhattan Style
1.98.
This disk is one more bit of evidence that
the way of large recording companies
passeth all understanding. The first six
selections were written for the McKinley
band by Eddie Sauter, recorded in 1947,
and never released until now. They are
excellent samples of Sauter's imaginative
writing for jazz instrumentation, much in
the manner of the writing he has done
more recently for his own Sauter -Finegan
band but with a generally sounder jazz
grounding. At this time McKinley had
a bright, polished young band; it played
these arrangements with warmth, precision, and understanding. They are easily
among the better big -band jazz sides
recorded in the past ten years. Yet RCA
Victor kept these recordings on the shelf
while McKinley struggled in vain to keep
his fine band together. It was a struggle
that was not helped by the type of records
which Victor was urging McKinley to
make, represented on this disk by the
routine performances of the six Rodgers
and Hart songs that make up the second
side. The recording, incidentally, is as
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
a
KE(:()Kl).
bright and full -bodied as if it had been
done last month rather than nine years
ago.
ZOOT SIMS
The Modern Art of Jazz
September in the Rain; Down at the
Loft; Ghost of a Chance; Not So Deep;
Them There Eyes; Our Pad; Dark Clouds;
One to Blow On.
Zoot Sims, tenor saxophone; Bob Brookmeyer, valve trombone; John Williams,
piano; Milt Hinton, bass; Gus Johnson,
drums.
DAWN DLP 1102. 12 -in. 44 min. $3.98.
Sims and Brookmeyer are two of the more
muscular hornmen on the current jazz
scene. The blending of their talents on
this disk has resulted in a series of lean,
sinuous performances conceived and executed in a thoroughly swinging vein.
Sims is one of those rare saxophonists
who can project a rhythmic feeling within
whatever framework he is playing. His
collaboration with Brookmeyer on these
numbers is light and happy. John Williams, one of the soundest of modern
pianists, gets in a few telling solos too.
The numbers tend to run too long and
Gus Johnson's heavy -handed drumming
keeps the soloist-rhythm section relationship off balance, but these are minor
defects against the clean, imaginative playing of the three soloists.
SONNY STITT
Funny Valentine; Sonny's Bunny;
Come Rain or Come Shine; Love Walked
In; If You Could See Me Now; Quince;
Star Dust; Lover.
My
Thad Jones, Jimmy Nottingham, Ernie
Royal, trumpets; Sonny Stitt, alto saxophone; Seldon Powell, tenor saxophone;
Cecil Payne, baritone saxophone; Hank
Jones, piano; Freddie Green, guitar; Oscar
Pettiford, bass; Jo Jones, drums.
ROOST 2204. 12 -in. 35 min. $3.98.
,
Part of the process of bringing the saxophones back into proper perspective is the
reinvigoration of the alto that Sonny Stitt,
for one, is accomplishing. Stitt's attack is
firm and positive; his tone is full, rounded,
always controlled. On this disk his playing
is a constant delight whether he is rolling
through a fleet, fast- thinking Lover ( the
tempo is the standard, hackneyed "very
up," but Stitt's handling of it is a
refreshing change) or giving such slow
ballads as Star Dust, If You Could See
Me Now, and My Funny Valentine a richly
soulful treatment that soars and floats
over a beat which swings without falter.
Stitt gets admirable help from an excellent
rhythm section and from Quincy Jones's
direct, uncluttered arrangements.
THE SPOKEN WORD
T.
S.
ELIOT
T. S. Eliot, reading poems and choruses
from his own work.
CAEDMON TC 1045. 12 -in. $5.95.
JUNE 1956
This disk includes selections from T. S.
Eliot's verse read in chronological order
from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
( 191 7) to Choruses from the Family Reunion (1939) In view of a choice of titles,
apparently made by the poet himself, perhaps the listener is expected to trace here
a kind of spiritual odyssey, from the bleak
and unredeemed harshness of "I should
have been a pair of ragged claws /Scuttling
across the floors of silent seas" through
Ash Wednesday's "time of tension between
dying and birth" to the half -affirmations of
Murder in the Cathedral. (Parenthetically,
it might be added that it is not the opening
Chorus of this play which is heard, as
the jacket listing indicates, but the Chorus
beginning Part II of the play, after the
Archbishop's Christmas morning sermon.)
Only the final inclusion of the Chorus from
Family Reunion, with its anticipation of
the dreary nightly routine of news reports
of "weather and international catastrophes" seems at variance with this schema.
(Does it matter?)
Whatever one's reservations about the
selections included, still they could not,
in my opinion, be more superbly read
than they are here. Mr. Eliot's dryness of
tone and the even measured pace of his
reading are admirably calculated to convey
the sense of absolute negation, of humanity
itself "etherised upon a table." And when
occasionally a more positive note is struck,
as in the Chorus from The Rock with its
glorification of the "Light Invisible," the
very refusal to indulge in the actor's rhetorical devices of persuasion and petition
makes more poignant the yearning gratitude
expressed. It may be that a lighter voice
would better suit the feminine role in
Portrait of a Lady; and perhaps, too, an
individual listener might wish for a more
explicitly dramatic and ironic reading of
the "Triumphal March" from Coriolan.
But this is to cavil. Eliot's listeners will
certainly recognize in this record the fulfillment of the poet's own dicta on the
uses of poetry: " {to) make us from time
to time a little more aware of the deeper,
unnamed feelings which form the substratum of our being."
J. G.
.
HI FIMANSHIP
Most people who buy records are not hi -fi
fans. Nice people, too. But Vox considers that each record it produces will be
heard by a true -blue hi -fi type of guy.
You're our man ... as these unusual high
fidelity recordings clearly demonstrate.
Each record is pressed from MASTER
STAMPERS to achieve the finest sound.
Each includes a stroboscope to check
the speed of your turntable.
First recording of the largest church organ in
the Western Hemisphere. Greatest frequency
range on records -20 to 18,000 cycles. Greatest dynamic range on records
over 60 db.
Performed by Claire Coci, organist of the New
York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. Program booklet by R. D. Darrell.
-
The Cadet Chapel Organ,
West Point.
a
DYLAN THOMAS
Under Milk Wood
"Spotlight on Percussion"
a
Vox De Luxe Album
DL 180
that a violin, a viola, a flute and
clarinet sound the same when their frequency response is cut off at 3,000 cycles?
Do you know what inter -modulation is ... and
how to check for it? Hear ... read ... see the
amazing facts about hi-fi. Demonstrations! Illustrations! Diagrams! Authoritative booklet by
Do you know
a
Under Milk Wood may very well give rise
to the thought that in the "play for voices"
Dylan Thomas had found a new métier
and one for which his talents were particularly well fitted. The poet who, according to some points of view, had feared the
diminution of that tremendous fountain
of lyric energy which inspired some of the
most opulent verse of our time should not
have been thus concerned. Under Milk
Wood is as evocative and rich in implication as all but the best of Thomas' poems;
and gives full scope too, to the richly
humorous vein, the zestful vitality, and the
story -telling facility which are not always
obvious in the lyric work. Lacking in
DL 210
Percussion and hi -fi ... 64 percussion instruments, from a 3 -foot Chinese gong to a tiny
set of crotales. Only record demonstrating
the complete range of drums. Comprehensive
booklet by R. D. Darrell.
Under Milk Wood, with the original New
York cast, featuring Dylan Thomas.
CAEDMON TC 2005. Two 12 -in. $11.90.
Under Milk Wood, produced by Douglas
Cleverdon, issued with the co- operation of
the British Broadcasting Corporation.
WESTMINSTER ARGO RG 21. Two 12 -in.
$9.96 (or $7.96).
Vox De Luxe Album
Tyler Turner.
"This is High Fidelity"
(A GUIDE TO SOUND LISTENING)
VOX
a
Vox De Luxe Album
DL 130
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY
New York 19, N. Y.
7
RECORDS
UNUSUAL RECORDINGS
for the Discriminating
Nj-Fi
Record Collector
AUDIO FIDELITY RECORDS presents
FIDELITY
SL.d_-ee ùs HIGH
eou sd
JUST RELEASED
percussio
A9M AoINYAM
mr
on AUDIO FIDELITY
RECORDS for the FIRST TIME!!
NEW!!!
BACH
TRANSCRIBED
FOR
PERCUSSION
The most exciting, original and
powerful percussion work yet.
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
"Great" Fugue in G Minor
Toccata in F Major
Fugue in C Major
AUDIO FIDELITY AFLP 1812
12"
$5.95
conventional dramatic structure as the play
is, even in a reading it is full of the excitement of the theater.
Caedmon's version is the recording of a
reading (the parts
of which there are
more than thirty
divided among five
actors, with Dylan Thomas himself participating) given in New York before, apparently, the script was completed in final
form. Those who believe that only the
writer can properly interpret his own work
or who simply wish to hear the poet's own
voice will be eager to have this record.
One has the impression that certainly the
cast and its audience thoroughly enjoyed
themselves. But those interested in the
intrinsic value of Under Milk Wood as a
representation of Thomas' craftsmanship
and artistry should listen to the earlier
Westminster Argo release, wherein one
hears a cast of professional actors (Welsh,
at that) perform with consummate skill.
Here too there is humor (one does not need
the sound of "audience participation" to
catch it), and there is pathos. And there is
also the dignity with which Thomas surely
intended to invest even the inhabitants of
Llaregyb. Under Milk Wood is not merely
a collection of grotesques and eccentrics;
and the actors of the BBC make real the
human status (absurd and pathetic and
near -tragic) of the characters they represent. In my opinion, a reading much to be
J. G.
preferred to the Caedmon version.
--
PLATO
The Trial of Socrates
Readings from the Apology and Crito.
Thomas Mitchell, reader.
AUDIO BOOKS GL 604. Three 7 -in. (16
rpm). $3.95-
TRINIDAD STEEL BAND
The exciting, throbbing rhythms of the Steel Band,
trademark of the West Indies, in a modern high
fidelity tropical treatment. Oil Drums in Hi -Fi, a
20th Century phenomenon.
AUDIO FIDELITY AFLP 1809
12"
$5.95
His accusors said that he "was an evildoer and a curious person, who searches
into things under the earth and in heaven,
and he makes the worse appear the better
cause; and he teaches the aforesaid doctrines to others." He replied that he
was a "sort of gad -fly given to the state . . .
and all day long and in all places always
fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you." He maintained
that all he did was to ask questions and to
teach that "virtue is not given by money,
but that from virtue comes money and
every good of man, public as well as
private."
LORD INVADER: CALYPSO
The "Rum and Coca Cola" man from Trinidad in
a recording of new calypso songs. Trinidad's foremost calypso artist singing his latest and his
greatest songs.
AUDIO FIDELITY AFLP 1808
12"
$5.95
Nationally distributed by
DAUNTLESS INTERNATIONAL
750
TENTH AVE.
NEW YORK 19, N. Y.
Write for Free Catalogs
72
FOLK MUSIC
-
Such were the crimes of Socrates
and
his defense. The defense was not good
enough; Socrates was put to death. Perhaps we have come a long way since 399
B.C.; though it can hardly be said that
our Republic is Platonic in its essence, at
least the asking of irritating questions is
no longer punishable by death.
After making his defense in the Apology
and having been sentenced to death,
Socrates is approached by Crito, who urges
him to escape. He refuses, on the score
that he must uphold the laws by which
he was convicted. It was 2,000 years before
Voltaire polished that thought into the
aphorism: "I may disagree with what you
have to say, but I will defend to the death
your right to say it."
This most recent Audio Book is produced in co- operation with the Fund for
the Republic. The reading by Thomas
Mitchell takes two and one -half hours and
R. H. H., JR.
is superb.
by Howard LaFay
PATRICK GALVIN
Irish Drinking Songs
A Sup of Good Whiskey; Mush Mush;
Lanigan's Ball; A Toast to Ireland; The
Rakes of Mallow; The Cruiskeen Lawn;
Garryowen; Mick McGilligan's Daughter;
Finnegan's Wake; The Real Old Mountain Dew; One -Eyed Reilly; Barry of
Maccroom; The Moonshiner; Flowing
Bumpers; Master MacGrath; The Parting
Glass.
Patrick Galvin; guitar and banjo accompaniment by Al Jeffrey.
RIVERSIDE RLP 12-604. Iz -in. $4.98.
Galvin acquits himself with light- hearted
assurance in this colorful, tuneful tribute
to the world's most formidable race of
quaffers. Several of the songs are of more
than routine interest: Finnegan's Wake
provided James Joyce with the title of his
greatest novel; Garryowen is the regimental
song of the renowned American First
Cavalry Regiment. The engineering is
satisfactory despite some ghastly examples
of unco-ordinated two -part singing by
Galvin
technique, incidentally, that is
being worked to death by some singers.
Nonetheless, a wee listen to this disk will
fair perish ye wi' the drouth for a drop
o' the ould poteen.
-a
LOS GITANILLOS DE CADIZ
Songs and Dances of Andalucia
Los Gitanillos de Cadiz.
ELEKTRA EKL 1o3. t2 -in. $5.95.
Here is real flamenco! The four young
Gitanillos are electric in their evocation of
dark, smoky, late-at -night cafés where somber gypsies give hoarse voice to the timeless
sorrows of Andalucia.
The engineering
handsomely complements the fiery artistry
of the performers. The transients hand
claps, castanets, the staccato of dancing
boots
have been captured with stunning
realism. Texts and translations provided.
-
-
MAITEA CHOIR OF SAN SEBASTIAN
Songs of the Basques
Maitea Choir (San Sebastian, Spain), Maria
Teresa Hernandez Usobiaga, director.
DECCA DL 9808.
t2 -in. $3.98.
The Basques' musical tradition is among
the richest in Europe; their choral skills
are legendary. The Maitea Choir, an all girl group from San Sebastian, offers a program of hauntingly lovely Basque songs
some in their own language, some in Spanish.
The vocal work is faultless, but Decca's
reproduction is not. There is a general
clouding of the choir's carefully developed
effects, barely compensated for by the
beauty of the Basque melodies. Texts and
translations are included.
-
THE MARINERS
Negro Spirituals
CADENCE CLP 1oo8.
r2 -in.
$3.98.
The successful singing of spirituals de-
Continued on page 74
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
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DRUMS OF THE CARIBBEAN
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MERRY GO ROUND MUSIC
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LORD INVADER, CALYPSO
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Íhese records are available at your favorite Audio or Record Shop
WRITE FR
FREE CATALOGS
JUNE 1956
Nationally distributed by
DAUNTLESS INTERNATIONAL
750 TENTH AVE.
NEW YORK 19, N. Y.
3
mands either utter naïveté or consummate
artistry. The Mariners demonstrate neither
quality here. They sing this generous and
well- chosen group of spirituals with professional competence. But competence is
not enough. Their close -textured harmonizing is a touch too smooth, a touch
too antiseptic. They do not strike the
note of awesome reverence that illuminates
great spiritual singing, such as that of
Roland Hayes. Cadence's sound is live and
full -range.
without doubt, the
safest and best
record cleaner known!"
MILT OKUN
Merry Ditties
Lavendar's Blue; The Bold
Grenadier; Unfortunate Miss Bailey; The
Trooper and the Tailor; Jackie Rover; The
Little Scotch Girl; Early One Morning;
Puffin' on the Style; Captain Walker's
Courtship; Katey Morey; Billy Boy; I Wish
I Was Single Again; Won't You Sit With
Me Awhile.
RIVERSIDE RLP 12 -603. r2 -in. $4.98.
A- Roving;
The rich, colorful variety of Caribbean
music, recorded on- the -spot from Trinidad to Haiti; from the bouncing mambos of Carnival steelband to the real
goings on inside the Calypso Tent.
in the Carnival Series:
r 1072 -$4.98 Trinidad;
Jump -Up Carnival in
cat.
Le
12" LP
John Buddy Williams,
Clemendore, 12" LP cat.
Jazz Primitif;
crr
082 -$4.98
The Drums of Trinidad; nation rhythms
of Carriacou, group drumming by Little
Carib Theatre drummers, 12" LP cat.
#1045 -$4.98
Calypso Lore 8 Legend; Patrick Joncs
chants and stories, Poposit's oldtime
string orchestra, 12" LP RR #5016,
ethnic -$4.98
Bamboo -Tamboo, Bongo
the Belair;
8
native dances and percussive forms.
singing, chanting and drumming, 12"
LP RR
#5017; ethnic -$4.98
Moslem
ritual drums, wedding and ceremonial,
12" LP RR #5018; ethnic -34.98
East Indian Drums of Tunapuna;
also in Caribbean Series:
Brute Force Steel Bands of
Antigua; 12"
LP cat. #1042 -$4.98
Steel Band Clash; 12" LP cat. # 1040;
both contain mambos, sambas, calypsos,
etc. by Brute Force, Big Shell, Hells gare Bands of Antigua -$4.98
Jawbone of an Ass; Cuban jazz from
Santiago, one band uses jawbone as
percussion instrument, 12" LP cat.
# 108 3 -$4.98
Shango from Trinidad,
3 Yemen.
from Israel. 12" LP cat.
Three Rituals;
Tumba Francessa from Cuba,
ice songs
#1043; ethnic -$4.98
Caribeana; calypso from Jamaica, Lebanese ud from Port au Prince, harp &
jarana from Vera Cruz, etc., 12" LP
RR #5003 -$4.98
Tiroro; best drummer in Haiti, with
jacket notations by Henry Cowell, 12"
LP RR #5004-34.98
A real cross- section
of Caribbean excitement.
Recorded
in
the field
by
Emory Cook
with our own widerange mobile facilities.
COOK
101
Laboratories
Second Street, Stamford, Conn.
AT YOUR DEALER
NOW!...
WRITE
FOR CATALOG
This is Milt Okun's best disk to date.
Abetted by top -flight engineering, his clear
baritone imparts a mellow patina to these
mildly racy ballads; and his interpretative
gifts breathe full -blown life into the songs
and their characters. Many of these selections are new to LP, and about half the
texts and tunes were collected in the
Catskill mountains by Norman Cazden.
Recommended.
CARMEN PRIETTO
Songs From Mexico
STATI -CLEAN
Anti -Static
Carmen Prietto, soprano; Bert Weedon,
guitar.
r2 -in. $4.98 (or
WESTMINSTER 18t42.
RECORD SPRAY
$3.98).
The songs Carmen Prietto has chosen for
this release are of pure Spanish derivation;
nowhere is there an intrusion of the Indian
influence that has come to pervade a wide
Señorita
segment of Mexican music.
Prietto's treatment of these attractive ballads
is always beguiling, and Bert Weedon's
guitar has a restrained eloquence in accompaniment. Clean, intimate sound, with a
little surface noise. No texts; no translations.
JOSH WHITE
Josh at Midnight
St. James Infirmary; Raise a Ruckus; Scandalize My Name; Jesus Gonna Make up
my Dyin' Bed; Timber; Jelly, Jelly; One
Meatball; Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho;
Don't Lie Buddy; Number Twelve Train;
Peter; Takin' Names.
Josh White, singer, with Sam Gary, vocal,
and Al Hall, bass.
ELEKTRA EKL 102. r2 -in. $5.95
Of the recent plethora of Josh White
releases, this is one of the better. Bright,
clean sound and a first -rate array of blues
and folk songs provide a luminous frame
for White's relaxed style. The singer
follows his recent custom of singing several
this time with Sam
selections tandem
Gary. The practice tends to dissipate some
of the songs' emotional intensity; and it
seems a particularly dubious procedure here
at least from White's standpoint -for
Gary's outstanding vocalization, especially
in Jelly, Jelly, threatens to eclipse the
-
-
staf.
74
WA LCO
UNPARALLELED
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FROM HIGH
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HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
RECÖADS:.
HIGH FIDELITY DISCOGRAPHY No. 26
by JOHN S. WILSON
CUT
TOlabel
it
OFF one small area of small -group jazz and
"Traditional New Orleans" is one of the easier
ways to invite trouble. The center core of basic, traditional
New Orleans jazz can probably be readily agreed upon. But
once you leave that core, once the New Orleans tradition
starts to fuse with other influences, once you move chronologically past the old, established New Orleans men, there is
bound to be violent disagreement on where traditional New
Orleans ends and something else begins.
Ideally, a discography on small -group jazz should include
all small -group jazz, just as the Big Band discography [HIGH
FIDELITY, October 1955] included all big -band jazz, regardless of time, place, style, or previous servitude. But the
number of small -group jazz LP disks is now so great that a
reader would have to rent a derrick to lift a copy of this
magazine if it attempted to cover them all. Consequently,
we have whetted our editorial knife and, averting our eyes,
hacked the body of small -group jazz disks into several reasonably wieldy chunks, of which this is the first.
For our present purposes, Traditional New Orleans small
groups will be taken to mean the ensembles dominated by
those musicians to whom the New Orleans style is native,
even though other influences
usually Chicagoan
may be
strongly at work in their groups (as on many of Sidney
Bechet's Blue Note recordings). It will also include those
younger New Orleanists who have grown up in the tradition
but have picked up strong strains of foreign habits
George
Girard and Thomas Jefferson, for instance. It will not include
the out-of -town New Orleans revivalists
Lu Wafters, the
Dixieland Rhythm Kings, the English traditionalist bands,
who have tried to reproduce the playing of some of
etc.
the older New Orleans bands. They will be dealt with at
another time.
So much for ground rules. As for the ground itself, New
Orleans
needless to say
is home base for jazz. In the
late nineteenth century, when the most elementary forms of
jazz were taking shape, New Orleans was a gusty musical
crossroads. European influences, primarily French, were
there. Spanish rhythms blew in from the Caribbean. Soft,
-
-
-
-
-
TONY ALMERICO
Almerico, a trumpet player, leads a
seasoned group of current Orleanists who
have both polish and a bright, driving
spirit. It is an excellent ensemble band
with a suave, swinging clarinetist in Tony
Costa. On two numbers Sam DeKemel
makes unfortunate attempts to play jazz
on a bugle.
-"Clambake on Bourbon St." CooK
1085. 10 -in. 23 min. $2.98.
LOUIS ARMSTRONG
Armstrong is, without doubt, the major
JUNF r956
-
sensuous Creole tunes seeped in from the bayous. African
rhythms pulsed in the blood and even the memories of the
Negro population. There were marches, quadrilles, polkas,
operatic arias, spirituals, work songs, and, finally, rags
all
contributing a suggestion here, an idea there, until such
Negro bands as the one led by King Buddy Bolden were
playing an identifiable, individualistic music. These were
all- purpose bands
marching bands by day to bury a man
or advertise an affair, dancing bands by night
and often
the same tunes served both purposes. They were ensemble
bands; everybody played all the time, without long solos,
and the cornetists were kings because they could soar out
above the ensembles. The traditional trombone style was
the huff and puff tailgate manner. The great school of New
Orleans clarinetists espoused the mellow, liquid Creole style.
From these beginnings there developed the primary line
of New Orleans tradition, a line which includes Kid Ory,
King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone,
and Sidney Bechet. There was a second line to the tradition
which grew from the efforts of white musicians to play
the music they heard the Negroes playing. The theoretical
starting point here is Papa Jack Laine, a drummer and band
leader who is called The Father of White Jazz. From Laine's
band and the Laine school came Tom Brown's Band from
Dixieland, which first took this music to Chicago in 1915.
Here it was, in attempted contempt, referred to as "jass."
And the next year another Laine -descended group, the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, scored a great success in New
York with this new music and made the first jazz record.
Still later, yet another group from the Laine School, the New
Orleans Rhythm Kings, went to Chicago and fired the
imaginations of the youngsters who were to become the
developers of Chicago style jazz. But by that time King
Oliver's Creole Jazz Band had reached Chicago too, and both
white and Negro jazz began moving out of their elementary
New Orleans stages to acquire the refinements that produced
Chicago, Kansas City, and New York jazz.
But those are other stories. The disks listed below make
up the New Orleans story.
jazz figure of the first forty years of this
century and is, by the same token, New
Orleans' most important contribution to
jazz. It was his creative genius and soaring talent which pulled small-group jazz
out of the elementary pattern in which
it was settling in the early Twenties, and
his showmanship combined with his unflagging abilities as singer and trumpet
player have made him a highly successful
international ambassador for jazz and, incidentally, American culture.
Although he has never assumed the
title, Armstrong is the last and greatest in
-
-
-
that line of New Orleans cornet players
who were acknowledged to be "king"
among their fellow instrumentalists, a line
which included the legendary Buddy
Bolden and Armstrong's sponsor and tutor,
King Oliver. Armstrong was summoned
to Chicago in 1922 to join Oliver's Creole
Jazz Band as second cornet. His first
records, made with Oliver, are the somewhat muffled products of acoustical recording, but two of the three Oliver selections
on Riverside I2-Ioi have been engineered
into surprising clarity. (More of Armstrong's work with Oliver's band will be
75
RECORDS
The sign of the
circled clef, the
emblem of
PHON OTAP ESSONORE, means the finest in
classical,
music on tape
folk
-perand
jazz, popular
formed by top -flight artists
such as Guiomar Novaes and
Jonel Perlea, George Feyer,
Escudero and Leadbelly.
-
Y'-
RECENT RELEASES
THE CADET CHAPEL ORGAN
of WEST POINT
Largest church organ in the Western hemisphere. A rare opportunity for high fidelity
fans to hear and to have the most inspiring
music ever recorded. Bach, performed by
COO, organist of the New York
Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. A Vox
recording.
CLAIRE
PM
140
71/2-$8.95
33/4-$6.95
MIDNIGHT MOODS
Shimmering strings and the full PHONO TAPES ORCHESTRA perform such favorites
as Manhattan Serenade, Night and Day
PM 142
71/2-$8.95
33/4-$6.95
ECHOES OF SPAIN
The first of the fabulous "Echoes" series to
be issued on tape, performed by the incomparable GEORGE FEVER. A Vox recording.
PM
5005
71/2
-$6.95
33/4 -$4.95
NIGHTS IN THE GARDENS OF SPAIN
The famous atmospheric piece by Manuel
de Falla, performed by NOVAES at the
piano and the Pro Music Symphony Orche
tra, Vienna, conducted by Hans Swarowsky.
PM
5006
71/2
-$6,95
33/4
-$4.95
has acquired the
exclusive tape rights to the VOX, FOLKWAYS and PHILHARMONIA catalogues.
Write for the latest FREE listing of tapes.
PHONOTAPES- SONORE
PHONOTAPES -SONORE is another
fine product of PHONOTAPES INC.
248 West 49th St., N. Y. 19, N. Y.
found on Riverside 1029.) In 1924,
Armstrong went to New York to join
Fletcher Henderson's orchestra; while he
was there, he cut several sides with a
Clarence Williams group called the Red
Onion Jazz Babies, heard on both Riverside 12 -101 and Brunswick BL 58004
Terrible Blues
( identical performances of
and Santa Claus Blues appear on both
disks). Again the recording dulls the
performances, but Armstrong frequently
cuts through with brilliant solos. Of the
other selections on Brunswick BL 58004,
the most notable is Wild Man Blues, made
up of two magnificent solos by Armstrong
and clarinetist Johnny Dodds.
Armstrong's real stature in jazz began
to be discernible with the appearance, in
1925 and 1926, of his first records under
his own name, the famous Hot Five and
Hot Seven series which continued until
1929, when he began working with big
bands. A magnificent collection of recordings from this period make up the four
volumes of "The Louis Armstrong Story,"
Columbia CL 851/54. The first three
disks in this series, at the very least, are
indispensable for any basic jazz collection,
for they are loaded with the devices, perfected by Armstrong, that enabled jazz to
swing freely and to rid itself of the limiting hallmarks of its ragtime heritage.
Folkways FP 67 contains Knockin' a Jug,
which is also included on Columbia CL
854, and Papa De -Da -Da by a Clarence
Williams group similar to the Red Onion
Jazz Babies. Jazz Lips, on Columbia Jz s,
is a Hot Five selection which is not included in the "Armstrong Story" collection.
From 1929 until 1946 Armstrong
worked almost entirely with big bands.
The small group selections on Victor LJM
1005, made in 1946 and 1947, mark
his return to this form but are of slight
interest except for the appearance of Jack
Teagarden on three selections and Armstrong's expressive performance of Do You
Know What It Means to Miss New
Orleans. However, these were the first
steps toward the formation of the group
with which Armstrong has been traveling
all over the world for the past nine years
with enormous success. This group, with
Teagarden on trombone and Barney Bigard
on clarinet, was taking definite shape when
Armstrong played a New York Town Hall
concert in April 1947, recorded on Victor
LPT 7. A similar concert, held in Boston
the following November, is reported at
much greater length and with vastly better
recording technique on Decca DX 108.
This is easily the best of Armstrong's recorded concerts, done when the performances had a freshness that has been lost
as they have been repeated and amplified
over the succeeding years. The comparison
is depressingly clear on Decca DL 8168
and DL 8169, which provide similar coverage of a 1955 concert.
Decca DL 5279 and DL 5280 are studio
performances by the Armstrong group as
it was a year or so after the Boston concert
when Earl Hines had taken over the piano
chair to give the ensemble a very literal
"all star" quality. Although too much
space on these disks is wasted on drum and
bass solos, Armstrong, Teagarden, and
Hines all contribute exemplary solo and
ensemble work. Decca DL 5532 is made
up of two selections from the film The
Glenn Miller Story and three other pieces
which are partially hokum, partially jazz.
Armstrong's best work on records in
the Fifties (and the highest fidelity recording he has ever had) is contained on
Columbia CL 591 and CL 708. On these
collections of the works of W. C. Handy
and Fats Waller, Armstrong plays with
great warmth and perception and his
singing is richly expressive. They are
high points in his recording career, comparable, as examples of his matured style,
to his youthful work with the Hot Five
and Hot Seven. Ain't Misbehavin'. on
Columbia CL 777, is the same performance
as the one on Columbia CL 708.
-"Young Louis Armstrong." RIVERSIDE
12 -101. 12 -in. 35 min. $5.95.
-"Jazz Classics." BRUNSWICK BL 58004.
Io -in. 23 min. $2.98.
-"The Louis Armstrong Story, Vol. i."
COLUMBIA CL 851. 12 -1n. 36 min. $3.98.
-"The Louis Armstrong Story, Vol. 2."
COLUMBIA CL 852. 12 -in. 38 min. $3.98.
-"The Louis Armstrong Story, Vol. 3."
COLUMBIA CL 853. 12 -in. 37 min. $3.98.
-"The Louis Armstrong Story, Vol. 4."
Three small group selections; nine big
band numbers. COLUMBIA CL 854. 12 -in.
40 min. $3.95.
-"Jazz, Vol. 7." Two Armstrong small
group selections, plus performances by 12
other groups. FOLKWAYS FP 67. 12 -in.
45 min. $5.95.
Like Jazz." Jazz Lips, plus selections
by
other groups. COLUMBIA Jz 1.
12 -in. 37 min. 986
-"Louis Armstrong Sings the Blues."
Seven small group selections; five big
band numbers. RCA VICTOR LJM 1005.
12 -in. 36 min. $3.98.
-"Town Hall Concert." RCA VICTOR
LPT 7. 10 -in. 26 min. $2.98.
-"Satchmo at Symphony Hall." DECCA
DX 108. Two 12 -in. 86 min. $9.96.
-"At the Crescendo, Vol. 1." DECCA DL
8168. 12 -in. 49 min. $ 3.98.
-"At the Crescendo, Vol. 2." DECCA DL
8169. 12 -in. 45 min. $3.98.
-"New Orleans Days." DECCA DL 5279.
10-in. 24 min. $2.98.
-"Jazz Concert." DECCA DL 5280. so -in.
26 min. $2.98.
-"The Glenn Miller Story." DECCA DL
5532- Io -in. 23 min. $2.98.
-"Louis Armstrong Plays W. C. Handy."
COLUMBIA CL 591. 12 -in. 54 min. $3.98.
-"Satch Plays Fats." COLUMBIA CL 708.
12 -in. 38 min. $3.98.
-"64,000 Jazz." Ain't Misbehavin', plus
selections by z I other groups. COLUMBIA
CL 777. 12 -in. 39 min. $3.98. (Also see
COLLECTIONS, Folkways FP 55, Folkways FP 57, Folkways FP 63.)
-"I
u
PAUL BARBARIN
Barbarin is one of the older generation
of New Orleans jazzmen. He went to
Chicago when he was seventeen, played
with King Oliver and, much later, with
Louis Armstrong's big band. He has been
back in his home town since the early
Forties, and the band he leads on the
following disks is made up of local musi
cians (except for the addition of bassist
Milt Hinton on Atlantic 1215) Most of
the tunes they play come from the basic
New Orleans repertoire and all of their
work has a strong rhythmic flavor of the
town. Barbarin is a drummer of sensitivity
and taste and in John Brunious, trumpet,
.
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
Lester Santiago, piano, and Danny Barker
(Barbarin's nephew), banjo, he has some
excellent sidemen.
Atlantic 1215 is,
technically, the best of the recordings and
it is also the most varied, though the
Jazztone and Concert Hall releases ( the
latter, except for one number, Hindustan,
is made up of selections from the Jazztone
disk) have some exciting displays of
drive and spirit. The two Southland programs are identical and of only routine
7022 date from approximately the same
time and are roughly comparable in quality
and importance. Blue Note 7026 appears
to contain Bechet's most recent American
recordings in the Blue Note series (he
has spent most of his time in France in
recent years) and they are among his best
as regards recording, accompanying group,
and his own performance.
,
interest.
-"Paul
Barbarin and His New Orleans
Jazz." ATLANTIC 1215. 12 -in. 48 min.
-"New
Orleans Jamboree." JAZZTONE
47 min. By subscription.
-"Crescent City Carnival. CONCERT
HALL CHJ 1006. to -in. 37 min. $3.98.
(Also see RAYMOND BURKE, Southland 203; JOHNNY ST. CYR. Southland
212.)
J 1205.
12 -in.
FRANCIS WOLFF
STREET SIX
Bright, crisp performances
Sidney Bechet.
BASIN
by a young New
Orleans group which features one of the
most stimulating members of the town's
Pete Fountain, an
younger generation
excellent clarinetist with the traditional
New Orleans mellowness of tone. EmArcy
MG 26012 and Mercury MG 25111 are
identical, groove for groove, and are a
shade better than Mercury MG 25160.
-"Basin Street Six." EMARCY MG 26012.
10 -in. 24 min. $2.98.
-"Basin Street Six." MERCURY MG
25111. 10 -in. 24 min. $2.98.
-"America's Music." MERCURY MG
25160. Io -in. 23 min. $2.98.
-
SIDNEY BECHET
Bechet is one of the few New Orleans
men whose playing is so completely personal that it can be confused with that
of no one else. Bechet's florid style
with its great, wide vibrato on both
soprano saxophone and clarinet can be
very expressive, but his creative range is
limited and eventually his work becomes
extremely repetitious; it has been particularly so since he has found a popular
métier in the past fifteen or twenty years
in a lushly soulful form of exposition.
His playing on the New Orleans Feet warmers records which he made for Victor
in the early Thirties was mostly clean and
exhilarating, without the overripeness of
his later work. Unfortunately, only two
of these recordings have found their way
onto LP, Sweetie Dear on Victor LPT 22
and Maple Leaf Rag on Folkways FP 75
( see COLLECTIONS)
The rest of Victor
LET 22 and all of "X" LVA 3024 are made
up of in -and -out performances recorded
in 1940 and 1941.
The bulk of Bechet's recording has been
done for Blue Note with groups which,
more often than not, have been top -heavy
with Chicago men of varied skills.
Through it all Bechet has remained consistently himself. Blue Note is now in
the process of transferring most of its
older Bechet material, previously released
on ten -inch LPs, to well remastered twelveinch disks. All of the material on Blue
Note 7002, 7003, and 7008 and most of
the material on 7001, 7005, 7009, and
7014 has already been transferred in this
improved form to Blue Note 1201, 1202,
1203, and 1204. Blue Note 7020 and
.
7
JUNE 1956
The Riverside, Savoy, Commodore, and
Storyville disks are run -of- the -mill Bechet.
On Atlantic 1206 he does some unusual
and generally excellent duets with the
Chicago cornetist, Muggsy Spanier, originally recorded in 1940 by the Hot Record
Society, but his contributions to Atlantic
ALS 14o are negligible. Stinson SLP 46
shows Bechet trying something different
without norhumbas and meringues
table success.
Bechet's overseas recordings are capped
by one of his most disciplined and exciting
sets, Blue Note 7029, recorded at a Paris
concert in 1954. Blue Note 7024 and
7025 also report French concerts, in 1952,
but they are only intermittently compelling.
Dial 301 is generally interesting, Dial 302
less so, while Atlantic ALS 118 is made up
of solos in which Bechet's limited creative
imagination becomes all too apparent.
-"Sidney Bechet." RCA VICTOR LPT 22.
Io -in. 16 min. $2.98.
-"Sidney Bechet and His New Orleans
Feetwarmers, Vol. t." "X" LVA 3024.
Io -in. 25 min. $2.98.
-
-
-"Jazz
Classics,
10-in. 25
-"Jazz Classics,
7003. 10-in. 26
-"Days Beyond
Vol
i."
BLUE
NOTE
min. $4.00.
Vol. 2." BLUE NOTE
min. $4.00.
Recall." BLUE NOTE
7008. lo-in. 23 min. $4.00.
-"With Wild Bill Davison." BLUE NOTE
7001. 10-in. 23 min. $4.00.
-"Hot Jazz at Blue Note." BLUE NOTE
7005. 10 -in. 24 min. $4.00.
-"Blue Note Jazzmen." BLUE NOTE
7009. 10-in. 2 3 min. $ 4.00.
-"With Wild Bill Davison, Vol. 2."
BLUE NOTE 7014. to -in. 24 min. $4.00.
-"Jazz Classics, Vol. 1." BLUE NOTE
120 I
12 -in. 39 min. $4.98.
-"Jazz Classics, Vol. 2." BLUE NOTE
1202. 12 -in. $4.98.
-"With Wild Bill Davison and Art
Hodes." BLUE NOTE 1203. 12 -in. 36
min. $4.98.
-"With Wild Bill Davison and Art
Hodes, Vol. 2." BLUE NOTE 1204. 12 -in.
$4.98.
-"The Fabulous Sidney Bechet." BLUE
NOTE 7020. to -in. 27 min. $4.00.
-"Sidney Bechet." BLUE NOTE 7022.
to -in. 27 min. $4.00.
-"Dixie by the Fabulous Sidney Bechet."
BLUE NOTE 7026. 10 -in. 25 min. $4.00.
7002.
.
-"Sidney
Bechet."
2516.
RIVERSIDE
$3.98.
-"Sidney Becher." SAVOY MG 15013.
ro -in. 17 min. $3.98.
-"New Orleans Styles, Old and New."
Four selections by Bechet, four by Bob
FL
COMMODORE
Wilber's Wildcats.
20,020. 10 -in. 23 min. $3.85.
-"Jazz at Storyville." STORYVILLE 902.
1z -in. 42 min. $3.98.
ATLANTIC
-"Bechet-Spanier Duets."
1206. 12 -in. 32 min. $3.98.
-"Dixieland at Jazz, Ltd., Vol. 2." ATLANTIC ALS 140. to -in. 22 min. $2.98.
-"Sidney Bechet." STINSON SLP 46.
ro -in. 16 min. $3.00.
-"Olympic Concert, Paris, 1954." BLUE
NOTE 7029. Io -in. 26 min. $4.00.
-"Jazz Festival Concert, Paris, 1952."
BLUE NOTE 7024. lo -in. 3o min. $4.00.
-"Jazz Festival Concert, Paris, 1952, Vol.
2." BLUE NOTE 7025. 10 -in. 3o min.
$4.00.
-"Sidney Bechet." DIAL 301. lo -in. 23
min. $4.00.
-"Sidney Bechet with Wally Bishop's
Orchestra." DIAL 302. to -in. 25 min.
$ 4.00.
-"Sidney Becher Solos." ATLANTIC ALS
118. I o -in. 21 min. $2.98.
( Also
see COLLECTIONS, Folkways FP
ro -in. 25 min.
75.)
SHARKEY BONANO
A trumpet player who also sings at times
in the raucous manner of Wingy Manone,
concentrates on sharp, spirited
trumpet playing on the following disks.
His colleagues are mostly New Orleans
veterans. Both Capitol disks are well recorded, the Southland somewhat muddily.
All three are punctuated by informal enSharkey
thusiasm. Blues singer Lizzie Miles, shouting both French and English, is an added
starter on Capitol T 367 and so is Buglin'
Sam DeKemel.
-"Sharkey's Southern Comfort." CAPITOL
T 266.
12 -in. 31 min. $3.98.
-"Midnight on Bourbon Street." CAPITOL T 367. 12 -in. 31 min. $3.98.
-"Sharkey and His Kings of Dixieland."
SOUTHLAND 205. I0-in. 24 min. $3.85.
(Also see COLLECTIONS, Capitol H
321.)
GEORGE BRUNIS
Brunis, the trombonist of the New Orleans
Rhythm Kings, is something of a New
Orleans man out of water on Commodore
FL 20,008, surrounded as he is by Chicago
men (in two numbers he has the comforting presence of clarinetist Tony Parenti) The style, therefore, is much more
Chicago than New Orleans, the Brunis
trombone always excepted, but they are
vigorous, vibrant performances ( including
his best -known creation, Ugly Chile) on
which Brunis' helpers include Wild Bill
Davison, cornet, Pee Wee Russell, clarinet,
and George Wettling, drums. Southland
210 involves Brunis in more genuine New
Orleans surroundings but the results are
routine.
-"King of the Tailgate Trombone."
COMMODORE FL 20,008. IO -1n. 25 min.
$3.85.
(Also see PETE FOUNTAIN, Southland
210.)
.
TEDDY BUCKNER
Buckner,
a
New Orleanist by inclination
77
Here's the book you've
been asking
..
for
.
rather than birth, plays a clear, singing
trumpet with an inventive urgency that
makes one think of the young Armstrong.
He and his group are in top form on this
excellent disk.
-"Dixieland Jubilee." NORMAN II.
Io -in. 25 min. $2.98.
RAYMOND BURKE
Clarinetist Raymond Burke
the High Fidelity
RECORD ANNUAL
1955
PAPA CELESTIN
edited by Roland Gelati
Don't fail to get the first volume
(containing High Fidelity record reviews from July 1954 through July
1955) in what is planned as a permanent and continuing series
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one which will keep you up -to -date
with the thousands of long-playing
-
records released every year.
These are the reviews that one
reader called "marvels of literacy"
delightfully readable as well as fair and
accurate audio and musical criticism.
Edited by Roland Gelatt, the reviews have been entirely rearranged
and organized for easy reference. In
permanent form they will be a treasured addition to your library as well as an
invaluable shopping guide.
-
Composers (from Albeniz to Zeller)
are arranged alphabetically; performers are indexed.
More information about more rec
ords for less money than in any other
record review collection
only $4.95.
-
Published by J. B. Lippincott.
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NOW
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ANNUAL-
1955.
Sorry, no C.O.D.s
NAME ....
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78
$4.95
is one of the
more individualistic of present-day New
Orleans men. His phrasing has much of
the wistfulness of Pee Wee Russell's; but
instead of the squawks which characterize
Russell's playing, Burke clothes his playing
in a typically rich New Orleans tone.
One of the two groups he leads on Southland 209 is made particularly interesting
by the presence of Thomas Jefferson, a
trumpet player and singer of great potential but erratic delivery. These selections are some of the best Jefferson has
recorded. Burke's selections on Southland
203 are identical with four of his numbers
on 209. Some of his most attractive work
will be found on two disks by Johnny
Wiggs, Paramount 107 and S/D zoos.
-"Raymond Burke and His New Orleans
Jazz Band." SOUTHLAND 209. Io -in. 23
min. $3.85.
-"Raymond Burke and His New Orleans
Jazz Band." Four selections, plus four by
Paul Barbarin and His New Orleans Jazz
Band. SOUTHLAND 203. ro -in. 25 min.
$3.85.
enclosed
Four capably played selections largely given
over to vocals by the venerable Celestin
are to be heard on Southland 206, recorded
shortly before his death in 1954 at the
age of seventy. Celestin, a spry relict of
the earliest days of jazz, belies his age in
both his singing and trumpet playing.
-"Golden Wedding." SOUTHLAND 206.
Io -in. 22 min. $3.85.
BUJIE CENTOBIE
Centobie, a clarinetist in the standard New
Orleans mellow tradition, ranges from fair
to good in these generally able performances of predominantly New Orleans runes
by a group which leans toward Chicago in
style.
-"Dixieland Clambake." BLUE NOTE
7015. Io -in. 24 min. $4.00.
JACK DELANEY
Delaney is a polished young trombonist
whose admiration for Jack Teagarden is
evident in his playing and particularly in
his singing (which is no great shakes even
as imitation). He leads two good groups
on Southland 205 (his four contributions
to Southland 201 are all found on 214,
too). One of these groups is sparked by
Pete Fountain's excellent clarinet; while
the other group benefits from the presence
of the veteran Lee Collins' pungent trumpet. The band on Cook 1181 is essentially
the same as Tony Almerico's on Cook 5085
and has all of its suave merits.
-"Jack Delaney and His New Orleans
Jazz Babies." SOUTHLAND 214. 12 -in.
26 min. $3.98.
-"Lizzy Miles." COOK 1181. Io -in. 23
min. $2.98.
(Also see GEORGE GIRARD, Southland
201.)
SIDNEY DE PARIS
Sidney De Paris, like his brother Wilbur
( see below) , leans toward the New Orleans style
even though he was born in
Indiana
and he prefers a group that
can conjure up the New Orleans tradition.
Blue Note 7016, which puts him in company with Jimmy Archey, trombone, Omer
Simeon, clarinet, and Pops Foster, bass, is
a solid, hard- driving sample of a happy
De Paris group. There are more diverse
influences at work on Blue Note 7007, but
--
the music is spirited, particularly when
pianist James P. Johnsoa is in evidence.
-"Sidney De Paris and His Blue Note
Stompers." BLUE NOTE 7016. Io -in. 24
min. $4.00.
-"Jamming in Jazz." BLUE NOTE 7007.
Io -in. 25 min. $4.00.
WILBUR DE PARIS
The theories of Jelly Roll Morton are carried on in highly developed form in the
work of trombonist Wilbur De Paris'
group. It has definite style and a strong
sense of group feeling. The ensembles
are beautifully integrated, performed with
a zest and ease rarely heard in a group
such as this. All four of these disks have
merit; however, Atlantic 141 is, aside from
the inevitable When the Saints Go Marching In, the most consistently stimulating.
Recording on the Atlantics is uniformly
good; there is considerable surface noise
on the A -44o.
-"New Orleans Jazz." ATLANTIC ALS
141. Io -in. 28 min. $2.98.
-"New Orleans Jazz, Vol. 2." ATLANTIC
AILS 143. ro -in. 21 min. $2.98.
-"Wilbur De Paris and His New New
Orleans Jazz." ATLANTIC 1219. I2 -in.
42 min. $3.98.
-"New New Orleans Jazz." A -440 AJ
503. ro-in. 24 min. $3.00.
JOHNNY DODDS
Dodds was a clarinetist with a rich, broad
tone and a rather acid style who was completely in the New Orleans ensemble
tradition. He did all of his recording in
Chicago and absorbed some of the rough and- tumble characteristics of the Chicago
school but never enough to obscure his
musical origins. He was the clarinetist in
Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven
and can be heard at length on Columbia's
reissues of these disks. When he first
recorded with his own group, the personnel was almost the same as the Hot
Seven, including Armstrong on cornet.
Weary Blues and New Orleans Stomp on
Brunswick BL 58016, with excellent Armstrong solos, are from this period. Once
he started recording without Armstrong,
Dodds took a more dominant and forceful
role on his disks. This is suggested on
the remaining selections on Brunswick BL
58016 and comes through clearly on "X"
LX 3006, a well- recorded, hard -riding
group of numbers dating from 1928 and
1929. Riverside 1002 and 1015 were
recorded between 1926 and 1928 when
Dodds played as a sideman with various
groups. These collections are of varied
quality. Brunswick BL 58046 shows both
Dodds and Jimmie Noone, another outstanding clarinetist, in the mid -Thirties
surrounded by musicians with whom in
general they had little in common, trying
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
RECORDS
to re -create some of their old successes.
Under the circumstances, both Dodds and
Nonne do pretty well.
-"King of New Orleans Clarinets, Vol.
I." BRUNSWICK BL 58016. io -in. 23
PASSPORT TO PLEASURE ..
min. $2.98.
-"Johnny Dodds' Washboard Band." "X"
LX 3006. to -in. 24 min. $2.98.
-"Johnny Dodds, Vol. 1." RIVERSIDE.
1002. lo-in. 22 min. $3.98.
-"Johnny Dodds, Vol. 2." RIVERSIDE
1015. Io-in. 23 min. $3.98.
-"Battle of Jazz, Vol. 8." Four selections
by Dodds, plus four by Jimmie Noone.
BRUNSWICK BL 58046. io -in. 25 min.
$2.98.
(Also see COLLECTIONS, Folkways FP
59, Folkways FP 63, Folkways FP 75.)
LiDAY
on
DECCA RECORDS
NATTY DOMINIQUE
Dominique, a trumpet player with a thin,
biting style, moved with jazz up the Mississippi from New Orleans to Chicago in
the early Twenties and recorded frequently
with Jelly Roll Morton's bands. He has
been in semiretirement for many years.
Both of the following disks are products
HOLIDAY
of his later years. Windin' Ball 104 contains some pleasantly relaxed performances,
sparked by the gutty trombone work of
Chicagoan Floyd O'Brien. American Music
2 is largely a demonstration record illustrating Baby Dodds's drum technique.
-"Natty Dominique and His New Orleans
Hot Six." Four selections by Dominique,
plus four piano solos by Little Brother
Montgomery. WINDIN' BALL I04. ro -in.
29 min. $3.85.
-"Baby Dodds, No. 2." Two selections
by Dominique, plus two by Baby Dodds
and two by Art Hodes' Trio. AMERICAN
MUSIC 2. Io -in. 24 min. $3.85.
ÑÓL!DAy1
Musical Holiday in Musical Holiday In
Paris: Werner Mul- Italy: Werner Müller
ler & Orch.; 'La Vie & Orch.;'Ciribiribin;
En Rose,' etc.
'11 Bacio,' etc.
(DL 8161 °)
(DL 8162 °)
Ou,
loupe
"'-
HOLIDAY'
~1
Musical Holiday In Musical Holiday In
New York: Werner
& Orch.; 'Siboney,' Miiller & Orch.; Au'La Cumparsita,' etc. tumn in New York,'
(DL 8139°) etc.
( DL 82(.3° )
Rio: Werner Müller
DUKES OF DIXIELAND
The Dukes are an erratic group of New
Orleans youngsters capable of both the
clean, spirited playing found on Vik LXA
1025 and the dull, heavy- handed listlessness on Epic LN IIIo. Imperial 3005 hits
something of a middle ground. Clarinetist
Pete Fountain provides many of the best
moments on the Vik disk, and he may
well be the fine but unlisted clarinetist
on the Imperial record. Leader Frankie
Assunto plays a capable trumpet. The
vocals are consistently awful.
-"At the Jazz Band Ball." VIK LXA
1025. 12 -in. 47 min. $3.98.
-"Dukes of Dixieland." EPIC LN I110.
Io-in. 15 min. $1.98.
-"Dixieland Jazz from New Orleans."
IMPERIAL 3005. 10 -in. 20 min. $3.85.
H,,D
h
AY
Musical Holiday In
Mexico: Pepe Conzoles & Orch.; 'Perfidia; ' Estrellita,' etc.
(DL 8266)
HëbI'DAY
Musical Holiday In
The Dominican Republic: "San jase"
Orch., A. Morel &
Orch.
(DL 82'4)
NINE MORE MUSICAL HOLIDAYS IN
EUREKA BRASS BAND
A fascinating illustration of some of the
dirges and stomps that traditionally ac-
y
?
company New Orleans funerals as played
by one of the last remaining brass bands
assembled for that purpose. There is a
primitive splendor in some of the massed
brass passages of the dirges and a beautiful
serenity in the soulful solos. The recording, made outdoors, is limited in range.
-"New Orleans Parade." PAX 9001.
12 -in. 28 min. $5.45.
IRVING FAZOLA
Fazola
was
generation
the most polished of the
of New Orleans clarinetists
JUNE 1956
...
The South (DL 8271), Spain (DL
265) Barcelona (DL 8224°), South
America (DL 8160), The West Indies
DL 8159° ), Vienna (DL 8150° ), Hawaii (DL 8138), Havana (DL 8134),
The Alps (DL 8141° ). High Fidelity,
,
*Recorder
in
Europe by Deuteehe Grummoyhon.
"DL" ird.vtee 3.31, RPM tong Pled Recnrdlyd6
All nlbun,
enilable on 46 RPM E.l tended Plny Reeorde.
too!
DECCA RECORDS
a
New Word of Sound
"You Can Hear The Digerencel"
79
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EVERY WEEK
EVERY MONTH
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listeners, owners of high fidelity equipment, looking for perfect copies of Long
Playing Records, are discovering the
outstanding personal mail order record
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A unique mail order service which
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to protect it from possible dust
damage, while in transit.
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GREAT BARRINGTON, MASS.
Hn
that followed those men who are now
well past fifty. He died young, at thirty-six,
after reaching a peak of fame during two
years with Bob Crosby's band. The eight
selections repetitiously offered on these
three disks ( every selection on Mercury
MG 25016 is included on EmArcy 36022
and Farola's contribution to EmArcy Dem2 is one of the same Mercury selections)
were made toward the end of h:s career
when he had returned to New Orleans to
work with local groups. His colleagues are
satisfactory, producing smooth, relaxed jazz
and Fazola is, as ever, a source of easy,
flowing authority.
-"Fazola." MERCURY MG 25016. Io -in.
24 min. 52.98.
-'New Orleans Express." Eight selections
by Fazola, four by George Hartman and
his orchestra. EMARCY MG 36022. 12 -in.
35 min. $3.98.
-"Jazz of Two Decades." Clarinet Marmalade, plus selections by twelve other
groups. EMARCY Dem-2. 12 -in. 45 min.
98e.
MONK HAZEL
(See SANTO PECORA, Southland 202.)
ARMAND HUG
(
See COLLECTIONS, Capitol
H
32
1.
)
BUNK JOHNSON
Johnson is the legend who came alive
in the Forties. An almost forgotten New
Orleans trumpet man of the generation
before Armstrong, he was discovered in a
small Louisiana town in 1938, equipped
with new teeth and a new horn, and
brought back to activity amidst much excited publicity. He was in his sixties, long
out of practice, but he could still conjure
up enough of his youthful self to make
all the publicity seem reasonably valid.
On these disks he comes through with
an occasional poignant solo or some driving
lead horn but for the most part his work
is uncertain and hesitant.
The recording
granted him is often as clumsy as his
playing (Good Time Jazz 17 is an exception) On none of these disks does
Johnson play well consistently, though on
Commodore DL 30,007 he does better,
over -all, than on the others. All of the
Johnson pieces on Jazztone j 1212 are
taken from this Commodore disk and they
are not by any means the best ones.
-"Bunk Johnson and the Yerba Buena
Jazz Band." GooD TIME JAZZ -'. 10in. 24 min. $3.00.
-"Bunk Johnson's Jazz Band... COMMODORE DL 30,007.
12-in.
36 min.
.
PETE FOUNTAIN
There are few young musicians on the
jazz scene, in New Orleans or elsewhere,
who are as stimulating as Fountain, a
clarinetist whose style and assurance
brighten almost every disk on which he
plays. The four selections by his own
quartet on Southland 210 are no exceptions. His clarinet work is consistently
imaginative and swinging; when he
switches to tenor saxophone on Song of
the Wanderer, he exhibits a driving, forceful style that suggests some of the more
recent developments in jazz.
-"Pete Fountain and His Three Coins."
Four selections by Fountain, four by
George Brunis and His New Orleans All
Stars. SOUTHLAND 210.
$ 3.98.
12 -in.
21
min.
GEORGE GIRARD
Girard is another rising young star in
present -day New Orleans. His trumpet
work is based on that of the traditional
horn men, but he has added a Jamesian
touch (Harry James, that is) of sophistication which is perfectly suitable as long
as he keeps it under control. Girard often
skirts the edges of suitability in some of
his show pieces, but his straightforward
lead and solo work is almost always commendable. The group he leads on this
disk is disciplined and responsive.
-"George Girard and His New Orleans
Five." Four selections by Girard, four by
Jack Delaney and His New Orleans Jazz
Babies. SOUTHLAND 201. to -in. 21 min.
$3.85.
GEORGE HARTMAN
This badly recorded, rough-surfaced disk
does little justice to Hartman, a clean -lined,
punching trumpet player. Hartman plays
well here, as does his New Orleans clarinetist, Bujie Centobie, but the rest of his
group, New Yorkers who are usually more
than capable, provide little help in this
instance. Four of these selections, with
clearer surfaces, are included on a Fazola
disk, EmArcy MG 36022.
-"New Orleans Jazz." MERCURY MG
25065. to -in. 24 min. $2.98.
(Also see IRVING FAZOLA, EmArcy
MG 36022.
I
55.95.
-"New
Orleans Classics." Seven selections by Johnson, seven by George Lewis'
Band. JAZZTONE j 1212. 12 -in. .46 min.
By subscription.
-"Last Testament of a Great Jazzman."
COLUMBIA GL 520. 12 -in. 32 min. $3.98.
-"Great Trumpet Artists." When the
Saints Go Marching In, plus selections by
five other groups. RCA VICTOR LPT 26.
to -in. 19 min. $2.98.
( Also
see KID ORY, Riverside 104';
COLLECTIONS, Folkways FP 5,.
RICHARD M. JONES
Jones was one of the prominent pianists
in New Orleans before World War I.
He then moved to Chicago with the jazz
exodus from New Orleans and was active
there as a player with a variety of groups
and as a recording executive until his death
in 1945. The two selections on Riverside
1017, made in 1928, are thinly recorded
and somewhat static variants on the Armstrong Hot Five style. Pax 6o to, taken
from a 5944 date for the Session label,
shows Jones leading a much more authoritative group, highlighted by some excellent clarinet playing by Darnell Howard.
Punch Miller, a fine cornetist in the Armstrong tradition, is in good form on his
two selections although his group suffers
from flat recording.
-"Collectors Items, Vol. 1." Two selections by Jones, plus selections by three
other groups. RIVERSIDE 1017. to -in. 23
min. $3.98.
-"New Orleans Stylings." Four selections
by Jones, two by Punch Miller's Stompers.
PAX 6050. to -in. 25 min. $3.85.
JONES AND
HOT EIGHT
COLLINS
(See COLLECTIONS,
"X"
ASTORIA
LVA
3029.)
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
RECORDS
FREDDIE KEPPARD
(See COLLECTIONS,
Riverside 1005.
Folkways
FP
63.
)
FREDDIE KOHLMAN
These disks represent a strained extension
of New Orleans music, given strength by
such a valid veteran as clarinetist Willie
Humphrey and as striking a newcomer as
Thomas Jefferson, trumpet player and
vocalist, but diluted and cheapened by
some of the more reprehensible hangovers
from the swing period
the screaming
trumpet, the tedious riff, and the saloon
keeper who wants to play with the band.
Quentin Batiste has some good piano interludes on the M -G -M disks. The band
frequently hits a swinging groove, but
they work in an aura of tastelessness.
-"Jazz in New Orleans." M -G -M E 297.
to -in. 25 min. $2.98.
-"Jazz Solos in New Orleans." M -G -M
E 298. Io -in. 27 min. $2.98.
-"Blowout at Mardi Gras." COOK 1084.
12 -in.
43 min. $4.98.
(Also see GEORGE LEWIS, Decca DL
5483. )
-
GEORGE LEWIS
Brought out of obscurity in 1942, when
he was selected as the clarinetist for the
band put together for the rediscovered
Bunk Johnson, Lewis took over leadership
of the band when Johnson died and has
established it as the outstanding (and
practically only) exponent of the relatively
unsullied basic New Orleans style. It is
one of the most widely recorded New
Orleans groups, but much of the recording is decidedly low -fi. The band has developed an excellent group rapport over
the years so that the ensemble work is
usually bright, assured, and skillfully developed even though Lewis and trombonist
Jim Robinson are the only individual
musicians of consequence.
From the point of view of both recording values and performance, Blue Note
7027 and 7028 are easily the best of the
Lewis disks. Programmatically, these disks
are quite representative of the group, mixing blues, marches, spirituals, and standard
tunes from the New Orleans repertoire.
Both Delmar 105 and Jazz Man 331 are
distinctly superior collections in which
the band develops a fine, raucous, charging
power on the fast numbers and Lewis'
eloquent clarinet is warmly expressive on
the blues and spirituals.
Empirical 107 is an unusual departure
for a jazz band
performance at a
vesper service at Holy Trinity Episcopal
Church in Oxford, Ohio. The band concentrates on its rhythmic interpretation
of spirituals, and even the slight restraint
imposed by the surroundings fails to
quench its energetic spirits. Recording is
good.
One side each of Southland 208, Riverside 2507, and Riverside 2512 is devoted
to Lewis with a rhythm section, exhibiting
his rich, flowing clarinet style. Riverside
1058 is evidence of an attempt to reassemble a traditional New Orleans marching band, built around Lewis' personnel
(see also the Eureka Brass Band, Pax 9001,
in which Lewis plays). The effectiveness
of the effort is diminished by muffled recording. The remaining two Blue Notes,
7010 and 7013, are rough and vigorous
-a
JUNE 1956
performances played through noisy sur
faces. Blue Note 7013 includes two excellent samples of Albert Nicholas' polished clarinet work. Lewis' band acquits
itself well on Decca DL 5483, but half of
the disk is devoted to largely dreary work
by Freddie Kohlman's band. Disc ,jockey
r oo suggests the amount of energy that
Lewis and his band expend at a concert;
but it does little else, since the ba'ance is
so bad that only the banjo and drums
are heard consistently.
-"George
7027.
BLUE
NOTE
lung Plaqing Record
E
Bi61e "áf
to-in. 23 min. $4.00.
-"George
7028.
Lewis, Vol. 3."
Whg. ii1-IflW;ÂII.1f s
Lewis, Vol. 4."
Io -in.
BLUE
NOTE
23 min.
$4.00.
-"George Lewis' New Orleans Ragtime
Band, Vol. I." DELMAR 105. to-in. _-.
min. $3.85.
-"George Lewis' Ragtime Band, Vol. 1."
JAZZ MAN Li 331. 10 -in. 26 min. $3.98.
-"Spirituals in Ragtime." EMPIRICAL
107. t 0 -in. 30 min. $3.98.
-"George Lewis and His New Orleans
Rhythm Boys." SOUTHLAND 208. to -in.
22 min. $3.95.
-"New Orleans Jazz Band and Quartet.
RIVERSIDE 2507. 10 -in. 26 min. $3.98.
-"New Orleans All Stars and Quartet."
29 min. $3.98.
RIVERSIDE 2512. 10 -in.
-"Original Zenith Brass Band." RIVER
SIDE 1058. to -in. 17 min. $3.98.
-"Echoes of New Orleans." BLUE NOTE
701 o. to-in. 25 min. $4.00.
-"Echoes of New Orleans, Vol. 2." Four
selections by Lewis, two by Albert
Nicholas' Sextet and Quartet. BLUE NOTE
7013. to-in. 24 min. $4.00.
-"New Orleans Jazz Concert." Three
selections by Lewis, plus four by Freddie
Kohlman's Band. DECCA DL 5483. to -in.
29 min. $2.98.
-"Jass at Ohio Union." DISC JOCKEY
too. Two 12 -in. too min. $11.90.
( Also
see BUNK JOHNSON, Jazztone j
1212; COLLECTIONS, Good Time jazz
12005. )
Record Collectors?
Because Schwann offers on o regular monthly
basis a complete listing of long ploy records
classif,ed as follows:
Classical (By Composer)
Chamber Music
Anthologies
Piano
Organ
Vocal
Spoken & Miscellaneous
Orchestral
Operas
Musical Shows
Operettas
Films
Folk Music & Folksongs
Popular, Jazz, Swing
Childrens
If your dealer does not handle Schwann
Catalogs kindly send us his name and oddess.
WINGY MANONE
Manone is a relatively minor figure, better
known as a singing comedian than as ,i
trumpet player. He is capable of driving,
meaningful trumpet work, however, as
these disks occasionally attest. Brunswick
BL 58011, attributed to the New Orleans
Rhythm Kings, is nothing of the sort
simply a Manone group which includes
one original member of the Rhythm Kings,
trombonist George Brunis, and an excellent New Orleans clarinetist, Sidney
Arodin. The performances are inexcusable
sloppy. Riverside 1030, recorded in 193x.
presents as valid a claim to jazz eminence
as Manone can make as he drives a band
of utter unknowns (Miff Frink, trombone,
George Walters, clarinet, etc.
through
some happy swinging numbers. One of
these selections, Tar Paper Stomp, provided
the riff for Glenn Miller's hit, In the
Mood. Manone's single contribution r..
Victor LJM 1008 is routine.
-"Dixieland Jazz." BRUNSWICK
58011. $2.98.
-"Dixieland Jazz." RIVERSIDE 030. oin. 18 min. $3.98.
-"Jazz for People Who Hate Jazz."
Casey Jones, plus selections by 11 other
groups. RCA VICTOR L jM 008. 12 -in.
37 min. $3.98.
( Also
see COLLECTIONS, Capitol II
239.)
-
)
1
1
i
Hay
seen
the new
SCHWANN DIGEST?
The Schwann Digest is the
companion piece to our regular catalog. It's a beautifully
illustrated brochure which lists
fifty to sixty: outstanding releases of the month as selectea
by the record manufacturers.
Many of the album covers are
illustrated in a sparkling display of color. Ask your
Schwann dealer for this exciting new addition to the
Schwann family.
Schwann long Playing
Record Catalog
137 Newbury St.
Boston 16, .Moss.
i
RECORDS
-"Kings
PAUL MARES
.>irlP:%:='.a'à.
v. ..
Mares, the trumpet player with the New
Orleans Rhythm Kings in the early
Twenties, made these sides in 1935 with
a mixture of New Orleans and Chicago
men. They are cohesive, often exciting
performances with Mares playing an impeccable lead horn and clarinetist Orner
Simeon and trombonist Santo Pecora contributing driving solos.
-"Chicago Style Jazz." Four selections
by Mares, plus selections by four other
groups. COLUMBIA CL 632. 12 -in. 41
min. $3.98.
(Also see COLLECTIONS, "X" LVA
.
3o29.)
CHARLES A. MATSON
(See COLLECTIONS, Riverside
1005.)
PUNCH MILLER
(See RICHARD M. JONES, Pax 6o10;
COLLECTIONS, Folkways FP 63, Brunswick BL 58026.)
Write for Dept. HE
listing.
SONOTAPE
CORPORATION
'A
183
iladison Ave.
1:
York 16, N.
)
VA NGUAR D
A Roster
ERICH
f
of Great Artists
VINE
German University Songs
With Male Chorus and Orchestra
Conducted by Franz Litschauer
"A genuine arti,!." Philip L. Miller, Guide to
Long -Playing Records.
VRS -477
1 -12"
sa
DAVID
s3
Dvorak: Violin Concerto, Op. 53
Glazounov: Violin Concerto, Op. 82
Kondrashin cond. State Orch. of the U.S.R.R.
"A great virtuoso." Harold C. Schonberg, High
Fidelity.
1 -12" VRS -6027
ANNY
57
1-32,c
\F
7
.s
Mozart: Twenty -Four Songs
Erik Werba, piano
-12" Full German and English texts VRS -481
"As fine a soprano as is singing today. Her
voice floats over the music in a manner almost
m.rçical." The New Records.
1
Bach: Suites No. 2 and No. 5
for unaccompanied 'cello, and shorter pieces
'Impressive artistry. He is the 'musician first'
type of virtuoso." Paul Henry Lang, N. Y. Herald
Tribune.
1
ALFRED
-12" VRS -6026
DELLEB.
The Three Ravens
Songs of Folk and Minstrelsy of Elizabethan
-12" VRS -479
England.
1
Desmond Dupré, lute
"His phrasing is consummately graceful and
sustained. If there is music in Heaven, it
should resemble these masterpieces of the age
of Shakespeare." Musical America.
Send for new catalog to
Vanguard Records, 256 W. 55th St., N. Y. 19
SAM MORGAN
(See COLLECTIONS,
Folkways FP 75.)
JELLY ROLL MORTON
Morton was a flamboyant lone wolf all
his life from his earliest days as a New
Orleans pianist to his last, lonely years
when he was asserting that he "invented
jazz." Even now, years after his death, he
is such a yeasty character that his stock in
the jazz world rises and falls regularly.
The small -group records he left behind
arc thoroughly individualistic. He was
able to impose his spare, oddly accented
style and his robust personality on almost
every group of musicians that he collected
for a recording date. The best of his band
recordings were the ones he made for Victor between 1926 and 1929-wonderfully
deliberate, mannered, and driving performances, many of them gems of small group jazz. The Vault Originals series on
"X" Records (now known as Vik) had
released two disks drawn from these Victor
sessions and, chronologically, had reached
mid -1927 when that project came to a
halt
temporary halt, one hopes. Vol. 1
in this series ( "X" LX 3008) is excellent,
Vol. 2 ( "X" LVA 3028) almost as good
despite a dreary, unMortonish presentation
of Someday Sweetheart with a string section. Victor LPT 23, which repeats two
of the selections in the "X" series (The
Chant and Black Bottom Stomp, both on
"X" LX 3008) is probably the best single
Morton band LP in existence.
Riverside 1027 is made up of various
earlier Morton groups, poorly recorded but
still marked by his personality. Commodore FL 20,018 contains his last records,
a somewhat desperate attempt to hit the
jukebox market but which produced at
least one fine bit of Mortoniana, Sweet
Substitute. This number and three others
from the Commodore disk are included
on Jazztone J 1211 along with ten solos
by Morton.
-"Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers,
Vol. 1." "X" LX 3008. Io -in. 26 min.
$2.98.
-"Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers,
Vol. 2." "X" LVA 3028. to -in. 25 min.
$2.98.
-"Jelly Roll Morton." RCA VICTOR LPT
23. Io -in. 18 min. $2.98.
-a
of Jazz." RIVERSIDE 0027. loin. 23 min. $3.98.
-"Jelly Rolls On." COMMODORE FL
20,018. Io -in. 24 min. $3.85.
-"Jelly Roll Morton." JAZZTONE J 1211.
12 -in. 39 min. By subscription.
(Also see COLLECTIONS, Folkways FP
55, Folkways FP 57, Folkways FP 63, Folkways FP 75, Brunswick BL 58026.)
NEW ORLEANS BOOTBLACKS
(See COLLECTIONS, Folkways FP 63.)
NEW ORLEANS RHYTHM KINGS
The New Orleans Rhythm Kings band
was one of the primary connecting links
between New Orleans jazz and the later
Chicago jazz. This ensemble was also
one of the two groups most responsible
for establishing white New Orleans jazz
in northern centers (the other being the
Original Dixieland Jazz Band) . Actually,
the NORK was a blend of New Orleans
the
and Chicago right from the start
front line, Paul Mares, trumpet, George
Brunis, trombone, and Leon Rappolo,
clarinet, were all New Orleanists, but the
other members of the group were usually
Northerners. Their performances are especially valued today, aside from historical
interest, as the only available instances of
the work of Rappolo, an apparently superb
clarinetist who was committed to a mental
home in 1925 and remained there until
his death in 0943
The recordings on these disks were made
in 0922 and 0923 and have the acoustical
hallmarks of those days. Despite this, the
ensembles and the solo work of the front
line keep bursting through the cloudy
recording. Jelly Roll Morton takes over
the piano chair on four selections on Riverside 12 -IO2 but fails to shake the essential
NORK style.
-"N.O.R.K." RIVERSIDE 12 -102. 12 -in.
35 min. $4.98.
-"George Brunis with the New Orleans
Rhythm Kings." RIVERSIDE 1024. Io -in.
21 min. $3.98.
(Also see COLLECTIONS, Folkways FP
57, Folkways FP 65.)
-
-
NEW ORLEANS WANDERERS
(See COLLECTIONS, Folkways FP 57.)
ALBERT NICHOLAS
A polished and genteel clarinetist with
a warm, melodic style, Nicholas is the
saving grace (along with trombonist
Fernando Arbelo) of these erratic performances. When Nicholas or Arbelo is out
front, the selections have a New Orleans
feeling; unfortunately, Rex Stewart, the
nominal leader of the group and normally
an excellent and thoroughly individual
trumpet man, is completely out of his
element. The two disks are identical.
-"Dixieland
Location." CONCERT
r2 -ln. 53 min. $3.98.
-"Dixieland Free -For-All." JAZZTONE J
1202. 12 -In. 53 min. By subscription.
(Also see GEORGE LEWIS, Blue Note
7013.)
on
HALL CHJ 1202.
JIMMIE NOONE
Noone provides the bridge between the
New Orleans clarinet and the more recent
cosmopolitan style exemplified by Benny
Goodman. Though Noone was firmly in
the tradition of New Orleans clarinetists,
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
You'll get
much more of t
the groups he uses on these disks are made
up of Chicago men. The blend, dominated
by Noone, is light and lyric, particularly
on Brunswick BL 58006, which contains
Noone's best -known recordings.
-"Dean of Modern Hot Clarinetists."
BRUNSWICK BL 58006. I0 -in. 24 min.
$2.98.
-"Gems of Jazz, Vol. 5." Four selections
by Noone, plus selections by two other
groups. DECCA DL 8043. 12 -in. 35 min.
$ 3.98.
(Also see JOHNNY DODDS, Brunswick
BL 58046.)
cot,
KING OLIVER
Oliver was one of the most important
early figures of jazz, not only because of
the talents that won him the tide of
"King" but also because of his powerful
influence on the development of young
Louis Armstrong. It was Oliver who
brought Armstrong from New Orleans to
Chicago in 1922 and installed him as
second cornet in Oliver's Creole Jazz Band,
widely considered the best band of its day.
This was an ensemble band in the old
New Orleans tradition. Some suggestion
of its spirit and power
but only a suggestion
comes through the acoustical
( 1923)
recordings on Riverside 5029.
The Brunswick BL 58020 selections are
dated 1926, 1927, and 5928. The recording quality is much better than the
Riverside and permits a clearer impression
of Oliver's playing
strong, positive,
and dark -toned. The four 1926 numbers
on this disk have a lot of bite but the
later recordings show the Oliver band
going down hill.
The "X" disk is the work of studio
bands in 5929. Reputedly, Oliver (who
was losing his teeth) had to assign the
trumpet solos to others on these recordings, though this has been questioned on
the basis that Oliver's is the only trumpet
listed on the file sheets for these dates.
Be that as it may, there are some fine
trumpet passages on this disk (quite in
the tradition of Oliver's rich, warm style)
along with some feeble ones. The performances in general are sound and cohesive, often more in the Harlem tradition
than in that of New Orleans.
-"Louis Armstrong with King Oliver's
Creole Jazz Band." RIVERSIDE 1029. IOin. 21 min. $3.98.
-"King Oliver, Vol. j." BRUNSWICK BL
58020. Io -in. 24 min. $2.98.
-"King Oliver's Uptown Jazz." "X" LVA
3018. 10-in. 25 min. $2.98.
(Also see LOUIS ARMSTRONG, Riverside I2 -IOI; COLLECTIONS, Folkways FP
55, Folkways FP 57, Folkways FP 63, Folkways FP 65, Riverside 1005, Brunswick BL
58026.)
-
of music with...
-
-
óI?, 4
'a/T)p
Josh White
US
Big Bill Browny
By B. H. HAGGIN
/77,91.
Ralph Burns' "Bijou"
Jack Teagarten 8 Orch.
Osie Johnson's "Oasis"
AI Haig's "Woody'n You"
best part of it unless you understand what you're listening to. In
this enlightening new book, B. H.
Haggin shows you how to listen to
music the way the composer meant
it to be heard. He explains the
meaning and form of music, charts
the courses of particular selections,
and recommends recorded performances. `The book is quite first
class." Virgil Thomson.
Django Reinhardt's "Nuages"
Charlie Shavers -John Kirby Orch.
Maxine Sullivan -Shavers' Orch.
Charles Mingus -John LaPorta
discoimt
record
shop
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-
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ORIGINAL DIXIELAND JAZZ BAND
THE NEW E
The first jazz record ever made was the
work of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band.
The date was Feb. 24 or 26, 1917. The
tune, Livery Stable Blues, is one of the
selections on "X" Lx 3007, all of which
were recorded in 1917 and 1918. The
ODJB was also the first band to make
New York aware of jazz. Possibly the
group's most lasting claim to fame is the
amazing number of contributions it made
to what has become the basic repertoire
of today's Dixieland bands. Every number
FLEXIBLE ARM and IONIZING UNIT
JUNE 1956
Expensive high- fidelity components can help you hear music better, but you're still missing the
Bs
After the record has been cleaned with the
STATICMASTER Record Brush, it becomes important to prevent another build up of static.
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RECORDS
RECORD
INDEX
Of all
High MeÍlil,
RECORD REVIEWS
for
1954
arailalile
on the "X" disk, which includes Tiger
Rag. Clarinet Marmalade, Sensation, and
Original Dixieland One -Step, is now a
standard; and they were all written by one
or another member of the ODJB. The
band's style derived from the white New
Orleans school of Papa Jack Laine, built
on marches and ragtime. Today their
playing seems jagged and angular, lacking
the smooth qualities of the Negro jazz of
New Orleans, though Larry Shields showed
much of the traditional New Orleans fluidity in his clarinet work. Considering the
age of the recordings, the "X" disk is
remarkably clear and well-defined.
The band heard on Commodore FL
20,003 is a 1947 attempt by Brad Gowans,
an ODJB enthusiast, to revive the band
around two of the original members, trombonist Eddie Edwards and drummer Tony
Sbarbaro. Edwards' trombone is a tower
of strength and the ensemble playing is
full of vitality, but it's a far cry from the
which may
sound of the original ODJB
be just as well.
-"The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, Vol.
1." "X" LX 3007. to -in. 24 min. $2.98.
-"Eddie Edwards and His Original Dixieland Jazz Band." COMMODORE FL 20,003.
23 min. $3.85.
10 -in.
-
ORIGINAL TUXEDO JAZZ ORCHESTRA
(See COLLECTIONS, Folkways FP 55.)
KID ORY
NOW
-
A complete index, alphabeti-
cal by composer or collection -
title, of all the classical and
semi -classical, jazz and spoken
word record reviews contained
in HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
during 1954. Discographies included. A "must" reference.
ONLY
500
EACH
Send for your copy NOW
HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
Publishing House
Great Barrington, Mass.
Enclosed find
send me a copy of:
1954 Index
NAME
ADDRESS
No C.O.D's, please
84
Wept.
R17
Please
-a
trombonist of the
At sixty -nine, Ory
huff -puff and dark, drawling smear school
is now the oldest of the active New
Orleans band leaders. He has had two successful careers in jazz. His New Orleans
band (1911 -1919) included some of the
King
greatest of the New Orleans greats
Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Johnny Dodds,
Sidney Bechet, Jimmie Noone. In the
Twenties, in Chicago, he played with
Oliver and was the trombonist in Louis
Armstrong's Hot Five. He spent the
Thirties in California as a chicken farmer,
returning to music in 1942. By 1945 he
was leading a band again and made his
first records as a leader since 1921 ( see
Folks ays FP 7 5)
These first 1945 efforts are understandably stiff. Jazz Man LJ 332 -x and Good
Time Jazz 10 and it are saved largely by
the clarinetists, respectively Joe Darensbourg, Omer Simeon, and Darnell Howard.
By 1947, when the selections on Riverside 1047 were done on a radio broadcast,
the band had shaken down, Ory had his
old assurance, and the uncertain Papa Mutt
Carey had been replaced on trumpet by
Andrew Blakeney. The four Bunk Johnson
selections included on this disk are sad
samples of recording.
Some of Ory's best recorded performances
certainly his liveliest work since
were
moving back onto the jazz scene
made in 1949 for a Dixieland Jubilee concert on Decca DL 7022. In 1953 Ory's
band made an auspicious debut in high
fidelity recording on Good Time Jazz 21,
highlighted by a superb performance of
Creole Love Call and some cracked, gasping, but feelingly phrased vocals by Ory.
The two subsequent annual reports on Ory
(Good Time Jazz 12004 and 12008 )
show a band with increasingly hardened
arteries. There is a show of spirit and
-
-
-
vigor on 12,004 and a fine sample of
Don Ewell's ragtime style on Maple Leaf
Rag, but 12,008 is largely heavy, plodding
music.
-"Kid Ory's Creole Band." Four selections by Ory, plus four by Johnny Witt wer's Trio. JAZZ MAN L j 332-X. to -in.
24 min. $3.95.
-"Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band, 1944/45,
Vol. t." GOOD TIME JAZZ 1o. 10 -in. 25
min. S3.00.
-"Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band, 1944/45,
Vol. 2." GOOD TIME JAZZ II. Lo-in.
25 min. $3.00.
-"New Orleans Revival." Four selections
by Ory, plus four by Bunk Johnson's New
Orleans Band. RIVERSIDE 1047. to-in.
28 min. $3.95.
-"Dixieland Jubilee." Four selections by
Ory, plus selections by two other groups.
DECCA DL 7022. Io -in. 24 min. $2.98.
-"Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band, 1953"
GOOD TIME JAZZ 21. to -in. 25 min.
$ 3.00.
-"Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band, 1954."
GOOD TIME JAZZ 12,004. I2 -in. 47 min.
$4.85.
-"Kid
Ory's Creole Jazz Band, 1955.41 min.
GOOD TIME JAZZ 12,008. 12 -in.
$4.85.
(Also see COLLECTIONS, Folkways
75, Good Time Jazz 12,005.)
FP
TONY PARENTI
Parenti, a New Orleans contemporary of
Louis Armstrong, has been active in the
Northern jazz scene for the last thirty
years with jazz groups, commercial bands,
and in studio work, yet is still relatively
little known. He is a very able, schooled
clarinetist who plays with New Orleans
warmth. However, none of the groups he
plays with on these disks is essentially New
Orleans in style. On Jazzology J -t he
has the help of trombonist Jimmy Archey
and bassist Pops Foster, and they manage
to infuse the playing with some New
Orleans feeling, particularly on Blues for
Faz. Chicago's Bill Davison is in exceptionally fine form on this disk. Parenti's
southern confreres on Kingsway KL 700
are Bobby Thomas, trombone, and Danny
Barker, banjo, both from Paul Barbarin's
band. The playing by this group is erratic;
Parenti contributes most of the better
moments. Jazztone I 1215 and Concert
Hall cHJ 1215 (identical disks) are even
more uneven with Parenti once more the
steady element.
-"Tony Parenti's New Orleanians."
JAZZOLOGY J -t. 12 -in. 32 min. $5.95.
-"New Orleans Shufflers." KINGSWAY
KL 700. 12 -in. 46 min. $3.00.
-"Happy Jazz." JAZZTONE J 1215. 12in. 46 min. By subscription.
-"Jazz -That's All." CONCERT HALL
CHJ 1215. 12 -in. 46 min. $4.98.
SANTO PECORA
Pecora is a trombonist in the great New
full -toned,
tradition,
Orleans
tailgate
rugged, and dominating. He is well recorded with a good group on Southland
213. On Clef 123 he is as strong -voiced
as ever but his band is less capable. Southland 202 is the least satisfactory of his
three disks. Half of the latter disk is
given over to a heavy -toned group led by
drummer Monk Hazel.
-"Santo and His New Orleans Rhythm
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
RECORDS
12-in. 33
Kings.
SOUTHLAND 2 3.
min. $3.98.
-"Santo Pecora Collates." CLEF MG C123. t0 -1,11. 25 min. $2.98.
-"Santo and His New Orleans Rhythm
Kings." Four selections by Pecora, four
by Monk Hazel's New Orleans Music.
SOUTHLAND 202. 10 -in. 24 min. $3.85.
1
KID RENA
These recordings, made in 1940 by Heywood Hale Broun, were the first attempt
to put on record the work of the older
generation of New Orleans jazzmen. Rena,
a trumpet player, and Alphonse Picou and
Big Eye Louis Nelson, both clarinetists, are
legendary figures of New Orleans jazz but
they were well past their prime and out
of practice when these badly balanced, thin
recordings were made. They have value
as historical documents, but beyond that
they are feeble jazz performances.
"Kid Reni s Delta Jazz Band." RIVERSIDE 106o. to -in. 26 min. $3.95.
(Also see COLLECTIONS, Folkways FP
57.)
JOHNNY ST. CYR
St. Cyr, banjoist in Louis Armstrong's Hot
Five, leads a rough group through routine,
recently recorded performances. Even the
best of the soloists, trumpet man Thomas
Jefferson, has a hard time working against
St. Cyr's elementary plucking. The Paul
Barbarin selections on this disk are identical with those on Southland 203.
-"Johnny St. Cyr and His Hot Five."
Four selections by St. Cyr, plus four by
Paul Barbarin's Jazz Band. SOUTHLAND
212. to -in. 24 min. $3.85.
OMER SIMEON
Simeon is one of the most finished of the
New Orleans clarinetists, a musician who
can go well beyond the limitations of
many of the other clarinetists of that
school. Playing in trios on both of these
disks, he is equally at home with James
P. Johnson's striding piano on Pax 6006
and Sam Price's heavily accented Kansas
City piano style on Concert Hall CH
1014. The Concert Hall disk affords him
the greater scope with its several adaptations of Creole themes, a couple of standard
blues, and a great, soaring version of Bill
Bailey.
-"Jazz
Duplex." Four selections by
Simeon, plus four by Pops Foster's Big
BERKSHIRE FESTIVAL
By the BOSTON SYMPHONY Orchestra
('HARLES MUNCH, Vlosir Director
Fri. & Sat. Eves. & Sun. Afts.
through
2
6 weeks
( Jul. 6 -15)
week -ends
'Bach-Mozart" concerts
-
Each week -end of 3 concerts
Su) and $12
Last 4 week -ends ( Jul. 20 -Aug. 12
Shed concerts
Each week -end of 3 concerts
$6 to Si5
Also Chamber concerts on
6 Wed. Eves.- $ 8 and $ i o
-
SERIES TICKETS
JUNE 1956
ZUTTY SINGLETON
(See COLLECTIONS, Capitol
H
239.
JOHNNY WIGGS
Johnny Wiggs is a relatively unheralded
veteran of the New Orleans jazz scene. Re-
)
NOW!
ditional material. Half of the eight selections
on Commodore FL 20,030 are so badly recorded as to be worthless. The remaining
four selections show more recording skill but
only moderate inspiration on the part of
the musicians.
-"Johnny Wiggs' New Orleanians." PARAMOUNT 107. Io -in. 23 min. $3.85.
-"Wiggs -Burke Big 4." S/D tool. lo -in.
26 min. $3.85.
-"Johnny Wiggs' New Orleans Kings."
SOUTHLAND 200. 10 -in. 23 min. $3.85.
-"Papa Laine's Children." TEMPO MTT
2084. 12 -in. 41 min. $5.07.
-"Johnny Wiggs and His New Orleans
to -in.
Band." COMMODORE FL 20,030.
28 min. 53.85.
(Also see COLLECTIONS, "X" LVA 3029.)
CLARENCE WILLIAMS
kid Dry.
cordings made by one of his groups in 1927
(John Hyman's Bayou Stompers) will be
found on "X" LVA 3029 (see Collections).
From 1931 until recently he taught mechanical drawing in the New Orleans school
system, playing only infrequently until
after World War II. The disks below all
represent his postwar work. Paramount 107
and S/D loot, both involving the same
quartet, have a delightfully casual, relaxed,
after -hours feeling with several apt vocals
by Dr. Edmond Souchon, a jazz -striken
surgeon who also plays guitar. Wiggs,
whose playing is a cross between Armstrong
and Beiderbecke influences, is occasionally
uncertain on these disks, but clarinetist
Raymond Burke is suave and wistful in
his full -toned fashion. Sherwood Magiapane is the group's capable bassist.
Southland zoo is made up of easygoing
treatments of several standards, some of
which (Tiger Rag, for instance) are usually
done in a more frantic manner. Tom Brown,
leader of the first white jazz band to travel
beyond New Orleans (to Chicago in 1915),
proves that he is still an effective trombonist
while Wiggs and clarinetist Harry Shields
are in excellent form. Tempo MMT 2084,
designed as a tribute to Papa Jack Laine,
offers substantially the same group as is heard
on Southland 200 in workmanlike run throughs of some traditional and not so tra-
SOUTH MOUNTAIN CONCERTS
Lenox, Mass.
JULY 4th to AUGUST 12th
TANGLEWOOD
First
Eight. PAX 6006. io -in. 24 min. $3.85.
à la Creole." CONCERT HALL
CHJ 1014. Io -in. 23 min. $3.98.
-"Clarinet
Pittsfield, Mass.
Saturday afternoons, 3:30
July 28, Claremont String Quartet
Aug. 4, Beaux Arts Trio
Aug. 11, John Corigliano, N. Y.
Philharmonic Quartet
Aug. 18, Claremont String Quartet
Aug. 25, Robert Goldsand, Piano
Sept. 1, Stradivarius Society
Joseph and Lillian Fuchs,
Artur Balsam, Gerald
Warburg
.
.
.
.
$2.00
Tickets
For information, urfite
Mrs. Willem Willeke, Box 23, Pittsfield, Mass.
Although Williams is a New Orleans native
and was once a piano player at Lulu White's
Mahogany Hall, he has done most of his
work in New York and any stylistic inclinations he may have are Northern. The New
Orleans aspect of this disk is the possible
presence of King Oliver on trumpet. If it
is Oliver, these are less notable instances
of his work. Recording is tubby.
-"Clarence Williams and His Orchestra
Featuring King Oliver and /or Ed Allen."
RIVERSIDE 1033. Io -in. 23 min. $3.95.
BERNIE YOUNG
(See COLLECTIONS, Riverside i005.)
COLLECTIONS
There are relatively few collections of New
Orleans jazz in which several performers are
Of this
represented on a single disk.
limited selection, only three or possibly four
have real merit. Easily the best, and most
broadly representative, is the disk titled
"New Orleans," Volume 3 of Folkways'
eleven -disk review of recorded jazz, a series
made up almost entirely of dubbings
min.;
FL
57; I2 -in.
41
(FOLKWAYS
$5.95). This contains topnotch performances, recorded in the Twenties, by some of
the classic New Orleans men and groups
Armstrong, Oliver, Morton, Johnny Dodds,
as well
the New Orleans Rhythm Kings
as more recent but scarcely comparable recordings by Kid Rena and Bunk Johnson.
Several of the selections are unavailable on
any other LP: the New Orleans Wanderers'
wonderfully poignant Perdido Street Blues (on
;
-
-
MUSIC MOUNTAIN
Falls Village, Connecticut
Chamber music Sunday afternoons at J
July
through September 2
Twenty -seventh Year
1
This season's series will feature two
cycles: the string quartets of Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart, complete, and a representative presentation of chamber
works by contemporary American and
British composers, including several
premiere performances.
The resident artists are the Berkshire
Quartet. Among the guest performers
will be notable pianists, woodwind
players, and singers.
Single admission: $2
Sunsets gratis
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CORP.
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N. Y.
which George Mitchell's cornet is so Armstrong-like that it was thought to be Armstrong himself for many years), Jelly Roll
Morton's lovely Mournful Serenade, and
Johnny Dodds's biting Heah Me Talkin' To
Ya, as well as Bunk Johnson's Down by the
River and King Oliver's High Society.
Several other disks in this Folkways series
contain some New Orleans jazz, though
none have quite the same combination of
quantity and quality. Volume 5, "Chicago
No. 1" (FOLKWAYS FP 63; 52 -in.; 42 min.;
$5.95) includes an excellent Oliver version
of Sugarfoot Stomp, a graceful piece by the
New Orleans Bootblacks (the same group
as the New Orleans Wanderers in Volume 3,
above), two lesser Morton and Armstrong
pieces, and superior efforts (duplicated on
other LPs) by Johnny Dodds,Jimmie Noone,
and Punch Miller. Volume 2, "The Blues"
(FOLKWAYS FP 55; r2 -in.; 39 min.; $5.95),
offers the only LP appearance anywhere of
the Original Tuxedo Jazz Orchestra, a fine
ensemble group whose trumpet men were
Kid Shots Madison and Papa Celestin,
along with Jelly Roll Morton's magnificent
trio version of Mr. Jelly Lord, King Oliver's
sturdy Working Man's Blues, and Armstrong's
deeply felt I'm Not Rough. On Volume r s,
"Addenda" (FOLKWAYS FP 75; I2 -in.; 43
min.; $5.95), New Orleans is represented by
a scratchy reproduction of Kid Ory's 1921
recording of Orÿs Creole Trombone, a 5923
appearance of George Lewis' excellent trombonist, Jim Robinson, with Sam Morgan's
otherwise unheralded band, Sidney Bechet's
hard -driving exuberance on Maple Leaf Rag,
and Jelly Roll Morton's amusing Kansas
City Stomps. The only items pertinent to this
discography in Volume 6, "Chicago, No. 2"
(FOLKWAYS FP 65; I2 -in.; 40 min.; 55.95)
are two versions of Sweet Lorin' Man by
Oliver and the New Orleans Rhythm Kings
which contribute to the prestige of neither.
Oliver and Morton are both represented
on "Riverboat Jazz" (BRUNSWICK BL
58,026; 10-in.; 24 min.; $2.98), but the star
of the disk is the relatively unknown Punch
Miller, an Armstrong-styled trumpet player
and singer, who is featured on four selections with groups led by Jimmy Wade and
Albert Wynn. He vitalizes all his numbers
and, especially on Parkway Stomp, sets an
exuberant, driving pace.
Morton's two
numbers (Mr. Jelly Lord; Midnight Mama)
are typically Morton instrumentally but
quite atypical on the vocals, sung by a girl
instead of the master. Oliver's playing of
Snag It on this disk is slightly different
from his version on Brunswick BL 58020.
GIBSON GIRL TAPE SPLICERS
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"New Orleans Styles" ( "X" LVA 3029;
Io -in.; 24 min.; $2.98) is made up of performances by three groups, of which the
New Orleans Rhythm Kings is the only
one that is widely known. However, this
is a 1925 version of the NORK when all the
original members but Paul Mares, trumpet,
had left. Despite the installation of Santo
Pecora on trombone, the two numbers on
this disk are only a pale reflection of the
original Rhythm Kings. The other groups,
the Jones and Collins Astoria Hot Eight
and John Hyman's Bayou Stompers, are
infinitely superior. The Hot Eight is an
admirable strutting, stomping band, sparked
by Lee Collins' pungent trumpet and Sidney
Arodin's liquid clarinet. The Stompers'
John Hyman, better known today as Johnny
Wiggs, had a hearty, zestful band backing
his spirited cornet when he made his two
contributions to this disk in 1927.
Three of King Oliver's pace -setting performances of the early Twenties and two of
Freddie Keppard's best -known works, Stock
Yards Strut and Salty Dog, are the commendable features of "New Orleans Horns"
(RIVERSIDE 1005; Io -in.; 25 min.; $3.98).
Keppard was one of the great New Orleans
cornetists who might be better known if
his contentious nature had not led him to
spurn most recording offers because of his
fear that his "stuff" would be stolen by
others. His "stuff" was certainly good, and
it comes through these acoustical recordings
with reasonable clarity. The disk is burdened
by uninspired performances by Charles A.
Matson's Creole Serenaders and a merely
passable bit of work by Bernie Young's
Creole Jazz Band.
The bands of two veterans of the New
Orleans scene, George Lewis and Kid Ory,
are heard in adequate performances of some
of their standard material on "Jazz Band
Ball" (GOOD TIME JAZZ 12,005; 12 -in.; 48
min.; $3.98), which also includes selections
by Turk Murphy and Pete Daily and their
bands. There are eight bands represented
on "Dixieland Stylists" (CAPITOL H 321;
so -in.; 22 min.; $1.98), but only those led
by Armand Hug and Sharkey Bonano are
full -blooded New Orleans groups. They
turn out sound, typical performances
Hug's with more than the usual amount of
piano, Bonano's with a raucous merriment.
Wingy Manone, another New Orleans man,
is buried beneath hybrid influences in a
band led by Eddie Miller. Manone finds
himself in much the same position with
Nappy Lamare's group on the first volume of
Capitol's four -disk "History of Jazz"
"The Solid South" (CAPITOL H 239; Io-in.;
23 min.; $1.98). New Orleans gets short
shrift in this "history," for, aside from
Manone, Barney Bigard's mellow but limited
Creole clarinet (featured in two selections
by Zutty Singleton's Trio) is the only evidence it offers of New Orleans jazz.
In 1954 several of the current generation
of New Orleans stars traveled to Los Angeles
to play at the annual Dixieland Jubilee concert there. The portions of the concert recorded on "New Orleans All Stars" (NOR MAN 13; 12 -in.; 44 min.; $3.98) indicate
that the trip was a mistake. Clarinetist
Raymond Burke and trombonist Jack
Delaney play with some measure of consistent skill, but George Girard, trumpet,
Johnny St. Cyr, banjo, and Buglin' Sam
DeKemel range from the pedestrian to
the painful.
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"WHAT
one deck:-
IS NEEDED, and just how
one begin, to explore the
world of recorded tapes ?"
Well, the requirements are fairly substantial, for they include money, a willingness to expend not only it but also some
or
time and effort, and the possession
purchase
of either a tape recorder or
playback -only equipment. But given these
(and, after all, you weren't fazed by corn parable demands when you first yearned
for music on disks), the beginning itself
is relatively easy. The logical steps are: a
preliminary survey of the available repertory and its accessibility; a check of the
suitability of your present or projected
playback means, and intensive listening study of several releases expressly chosen
both to display the characteristic attractions
of tape recordings and to form the nucleus
of a truly rewarding tape library.
For the survey, you need only 250
r.
for the current issue of the comprehensive
Harrison Catalogue of Recorded Tapes (as
useful in this field as Schwann's catalogue
Determining the acis in that of LPs)
cessibility of tapes for purchase may be
more of a problem, for comparatively few
dealers yet carry fully representative stocks,
although tape manufacturers are now
energetically working out better distribution facilities. Luckily, however, tapes may
be ordered, either via your regular dealer
or directly from the manufacturers, without the occasional disk -risk of receiving an
unsatisfactory copy or one damaged by
previous playings.
2. The essential equipment feature to be
checked is the capability of playing 2 -track
7.5 -ips tapes with correct head alignment
and equalization for the standard Ampex
or NARTB playback characteristic. ( Since
this column is primarily concerned with
more -or -less "serious" music, 3.75 -ips tapes,
best suited to speech and background
materials, will not be discussed here.)
Most recent -model tape recorders, at least
outside the lowest price range, and all
playback -only models are properly equalized. With some older or low -cost recorders, it may be necessary to have the
playback preamp circuit revamped, although with good, versatile tone controls
elsewhere in the system, faulty equalization
generally can be brought approximately
into line, at least as a temporary makeshift.
The best check means is an Ampex
5563 -A5 Standard Alignment Tape, which
even at its high price ($12) is a definite
necessity for any maintenance -conscious
tape deck hand. For others, fair enough
checks can be made with one of the
"sampler" tapes ( especially Omegatape
D -1) or with a tape of some recording
you already own and know well in its
LP version. If the tape's frequency balance
differs markedly from that of the disk ( and
particularly if the high end is either shrill
or weak) , you must strongly suspect your
present equalization and /or head align-
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'ew
ork
i.y
.
,
ow
WI(
Darrell
ment. If you can't correct the fault easily
yourself, put in a call to your maintenance
man.
Some of the inexpensive "demonstration sampler" tapes also qualify as useful first
investigatory
purchases. Of these I
have heard Berkshire's H -1 ($1.5o) with
excerpts from its series of Haydn Society
recordings; Omegatape's D -r, D -3, and
D -5 ($2 each) illustrating the Alphatape
and Jazztape as well as Omegatape series;
and Phonotapes- Sonore's PM -1 ($s.98)
with excerpts from its series of Vox,
recordings.
and
other
Philharmonia,
( There are many others, as well, on which
I hope to report later.) None of these is
really satisfactory for listening, since the
selections are tantalizingly short, but they
provide valuable clues both to the performance of your playback facilities and to the
complete-work tapes you are most likely
to want. Omegatape's D-r is especially
useful in that it (alone among the "samplers" I know so far ) includes a "Tape
Recorder Test Track."
3. Then at last you can safely turn to
complete works on tape, choosing them
according to your special interests, knowledge of the LP versions (if any) , and
possibly by reference to the following reviews
which, it is only fair to warn in
advance, are largely devoted ( this month
only) to tapes deliberately selected for
a combination of musical and technical
qualities likely to alert you to the charms,
powers, and rewards of the new world of
sound on tape.
(Next month, a discussion and first
reviews of that world's most exciting attraction: stereo sound. But meanwhile, I
strongly suggest that, if you are contemplating purchase of tape equipment for
the first rime, and especially of playback
gear only, you seriously ponder the desirability of starting with a stereo system if
at all possible. For such a system is of
course also capable of playing standard
2- ( unrelated ) -track tapes, whereas a singlechannel system is limited to these alone
and generally is not easily adaptable to
stereo.)
-
-
-
-
Note: All tapes reviewed, unless
otherwise noted, are z- track, 7.5 ips
as standard today for serious, musically
minded tapeophiles as double -sided
331/3 -rpm microgroove disks are for
phonophiles. The specified reel sizes
(7 in. and 5 in.) are roughly comparable to rz -in. and so -in. LPs in
playing time, although of course inlike disks vary condividual tapes
siderably in the amount of material
actually included.
-
-
BACH
Cantatas: No. 51, Jauchzet Gott; No.
209, Non sa che sia dolore
Teresa Stich -Randall, soprano; Vienna
RECORDS
State Opera Orchestra, Anton Heiller,
cond. A -V TAPE LIBRARIES AV 1038. 7 -in.
$10.95.
PHONOTAPES -SONORE
If you nourish the delusion that tape is
suited best or only to "background" music
most of these Studies; my heart and ears
indignantly demand, Who cares about occasional muddling or miniaturization when
we are bewitched by such lyric warmth and
truly singing piano tone? In any case, no
properly definitive version of all 24 Etudes
has yet appeared and Novaes', for all its
digital and formal flaws, is by far the
most sensuously gratifying. Strangely, the
Vox LP versions (PL 9070, April 1955,
and PL 756o of 1952) never have been
coupled on a single disk, so the present
tape has a special value even above its
freedom from surface noise and its right -inthe -room piano reproduction
superb in
Op. 10 and tonally only a shade less full blooded, but no less ingratiating, in the
older recording of Op. 25.
and non -participating listening, this jubilant No. 51 (above all its ecstatic final
Alleluia) and endearingly lyrical Italian
Cantata, No. 209, will electrifyingly jolt
you out of it. In his July 19S5 review
of the LP version (Bach Guild -Vanguard
BG 546) , Nathan Broder justly noted some
imbalance between obbligato trumpet and
solo soprano in the first aria of No. 51,
but I must confess that Helmut Wobisch's
bravura playing and ringing tone are so
exciting to me that I can't regret their
partially obscuring the vocal line and text.
Anyway, Miss Stich- Randall convincingly
demonstrates her own skill and tonal purity
in other passages, and the recorded performances throughout are surcharged with
irresistibly infectious vitality.
BACH
Toccatas and Fugues: in D minor, BWV
565; in E, BWV 566; in F major,
BWV 540
Prelude and Fugue in E-fiat major,
BWV 552; Toccata in D minor
( "Dorian "),
BWV 538; Toccata,
Adagio, and Fugue in C major, BWV
564; Canzona in D minor, BWV 588;
Alla Breve in D major, BWV 589
Carl Weinrich, organ.
and SW 5002. Two
SONOTAPE SW or
7
-in.
$7.95 and $11.95 respectively.
Westminster's rapturous claims for the
recording potentialities of the Church of
Our Lady organ in Skänninge, Sweden,
no longer strike me as extravagant after
hearing these two tapes, which reveal the
first completely felicitous marriage I know
between the vivid tonal spectra of authentic baroque stops and modern sonic power
and flexibility. Moreover, the acoustic enwith enough revironment seems ideal
verberation to provide the characteristic
spaciousness of a church performance, yet
not so much as to blur intricately woven
textures. There are sure to be listeners for
whom many timbres here will seem
strangely "raw," and perhaps some for
whom Weinrich's readings may seem unduly metronomic or lacking in conventional expressiveness. But even they hardly
can remain unresponsive to the tremendous
drive and novel lack of ponderousness in
the usually overdramatized Toccata and
Fugue in D minor. While others, who
have long cherished Weinrich's Bach interpretations in spite of the wretched recording he has been given in the past, now
can exult in hearing him in the most thrilling, best balanced, and most profoundly
satisfying organ recordings I, for one, have
ever encountered. For just one of many
aural marvels, listen particularly to the
pedal -points in the F major Toccata (or
Prelude as it is more commonly known)
(Some, but not all, of the works played
here have been released in LP versions, on
Westminster W -LAB 7023 and WN 18148,
have not yet been
which
as of April
reviewed in these pages.)
-
A
!
7
-
-
CHOPIN
Twenty-four Etudes, Op.
Guiomar Novaes, piano.
JUNE 1956
1o, Op. 25
PM
119.
7
-in.
$8.95.
My mind says this is not the way to play
-
GREGORIAN CHANT
Roger Wagner Chorale, unaccompanied.
OMEGATAPE OT 8003. 7 -in. $10.95.
Granted that the male voices of the
popular West Coast choral group are
hardly masters of the Solesmes tradition,
and that a larger ensemble, recorded less
closely and in a more expansive acoustic
environment, might approach more nearly
the ideal in plainchant reproduction
these 13 chants and 8 Introits in 8 Modes
are otherwise sung and recorded with
wholly admirable fervor, straightforward ness, and clarity, thankfully without the
too frequently heard but always inexcusable
"support" of an organ. No less importantly, the velvety background of tape
reproduction enhances the atmospheric
magic of the music itself as no disk possibly could
although, to be sure, I
haven't heard the LP versions ( Gregorian
Institute LAY ío6 and LL I I I ) , unreviewed in these pages, or anywhere else
to my knowledge.
-
Series 20
CONCERTONE CUSTOM
TAPE RECORDER
Only tape recorder with all these
professional features:
so!"..4,4 I
-
All reel sines up to 10'/2 " -No
adapters necessary. Record and
playback up to 11/2 hours of uninterrupted music.
-
Test fader compare original
sound with recorded sound while
making recording. Permits accurate
comparison.
A -B
RAVEL
Bolero; Alborado del gracioso; Pavane
pour une Infante défunte; La Valse;
Rapsodie espagnole
Orchestre Radio -Symphonique de Paris.
Cueing and editing -simplest, fastest, most accurate means of locating tape at exact desired spot for
René Leibowitz, cond.
PHONOTAPES- SONORE
for
Heads
instantaneous monitoring from the tape while recording. Space for 2 extra heads for
sound -on- sound, stereo recording,
echo effects, etc.
3
splicing and cutting.
PM
107.
7
-in.
41/2" metal signal lever meter
$8.95.
month, one of the most
delightful first rewards of my tape adventures was replacing my dirty (if not
worn) LP of this Ravel program (Vox
PL 8150, Jan. -Feb. 1954) with a tape less
easily subject, if not impervious, to deterioration. But, except perhaps for the Al-
eliminates guesswork in recording
by accurately measuring input signal and output signal. Measures
bias level.
As I noted last
borado and Pavane, Leibowitz's way with
the music itself still strikes me as uninspired, while the recording
ultra -sensational only a few years ago
has since
been out-sensationalized. Under micro aural comparison, the (clean) disk version
retains a slight superiority in high -end
crispness; the tape wins by an equally narrow margin in the mid and low ranges
and in over -all sonic balance. And the
tape enjoys an advantage that well may
appeal to audiophiles dubious about the
abilities of their pickups (and the disk producer's lateral equalization) to cope
--
CHOICE OF 9 MODELS IN:
Full or Half Track
Stereo
Sound-on -Sound
Playback only
Models available for custom installation, in handsome
hardwood cabinets or in newly styled carrying cases.
See your Concertone distributor for a demonstration
of these new models and find out why the Concertone
is the personal choice of leading audio manufacturers...and the first choice of audiophiles too, according to a recent survey. For detailed literature write
to Department 41E.
Audio Division of American Electronics, Inc.
655 West Washington Blvd., Los Angeles 15, Calif.
FOR
INDUSTRIAL REQUIREMENTS CONSULT RECORDATA DIVISION
Continued on next page
89
RECORDS
with inner -groove distortion susceptibility.
The two tape tracks add up to almost an
hour of music, yet of course the end of
each track is as clear and easy listening
as the beginning.
vinsky demands, but are equally magisterial
in coping with both extremes of the expanded dynamic range exploitable on tape.
Even the most overwhelming climaxes
here are scarcely more impressive in one
way than
in another
the superbly
clean pianissimos of say the bass drum
or solo wind instruments.
-
STRAVINSKY
Petrouchka
Philharmonic -Symphony Orchestra of London, Hermann Scherchen, cond.
SONOTAPE SW I059. 7 -in. $7.95.
-
SPOTLIGHT ON PERCUSSION
Arnold Goldberg and Kenny Clark, percussion. Al Collins, narrator.
The one real technical weakness of 7.5 -ips
rapes I have observed so far is the tendency of the high end to lose something
of the crispness and "bite" of the very
best disks (at least when the latter are
new, with unmarred surfaces and grooves).
It isn't exactly distortion as we usually
recognize it, but a kind of dulling of the
edges of steep- fronted transients, probably
mainly in the duplicating process, and of
course it doesn't show up in piano or
chamber music, or indeed in anything but
ultra -brilliant modern orchestral works.
But that it is not inevitable is conclusively
demonstrated in the present release.
Scherchen's Petrouchka has been generally acclaimed the best to date on disks
(Westminster W -LAB 701r, Feb. 1956 )
so there's no need to argue the merits
of his reading, which although individual
is completely free from the mannerisms
that have marred some of his other performances. But much as I like conductor
and orchestra here, the more novel and
even more exciting triumphs are those of
the recorders and processors, who not only
achieve perfect tonal balances and clarity
throughout the wide sonic spectrum Stra-
PHONOTAPES -SONORE
PM
1
1
5
7 -i
.
n.
$8.95.
Perhaps it's because I know the disk
version (Vox DL 180, Oct. 1955) so well,
and was present at one of the original
recording sessions, that I'm able to detect
in close comparisons only
some
rounding-off of the steepest wave -fronts
here. But I doubt whether I'd be conscious
of it otherwise, and certainly the mid -range
reproduction and the extreme lows are if
anything slightly better than in even an
immaculate LP pressing. The accompanying notes have been cut down (I note with
some regret, for I wrote them) from
fifteen to six text pages, but at that this
is the first booklet I've found with reoutcorded -tape releases, many of which
side the Phonotapes -Sonore and Sonotape
series, among the scattering of tape manuare
facturers represented this month
issued entirely without annotations. Here,
surely, is one aspect of "packaging" where
tape makers would be well advised to
profit by the example of their disk colleagues.
-
-
-
CROWN
fessional Tape Recorder
SPECIFICATIONS
Three Speeds
Three Motors
Meets NARTB Standards
"Micro- Sync" Timing
Straight Line Threading
4" Dual Lighted Meter
Magnetism Braking
CROWN IMPERIAL
Breaks Sound Barrier! Breaks Price Barrier!
Breaks Service Barrier!
A COMPLETE HI -FI PACKAGE!
10" Reel Facility
Recorder
3 -Speed
GUARANTEED
Record
&
Playback
IPS
15
% WOW
.12
DB
CPS
NOISE
RATIO
±2
20
10
2
Perfumes
7'/
33/4
.18
±3
30 to
22,000
16,000
55
52
1
20 -Watt Micro -Linear Amplifier
Monitor Speaker
Channel Mixer
Exponential Curve Equalizer
Dual
Fu]] Track
Complete with case
$42 5
.25
±2
70 to
A -V TAPE
$1 0.95.
LIBRARIES
AV
851.
7 -in.
Any Josh White fan who has missed the
LPs of this twenty-fifth anniversary program (Elektra 701, Sept. 1955) featuring
an extended "Story of John Henry," or
who wants to bring the balladeer into
his living room even more realistically than
via disks, will relish the present tape
and what is perhaps the most effective
"close -up" recording of a singer I have
Altogether apart from the
ever heard.
performances themselves, which now sometimes approach a virtuoso slickness hardly
in keeping with the folk materials, this is
a recorded demonstration of sonic "presence" in excelsis.
-
REEL MUSIC NOTES
ALPHATAPE: High Fidelity Jazz displays
in short but lively measure the Hollywood
All- Stars, Jack Teagarden's, and four other
bands in stimulating if not especially
"open" recordings (AT I, 5 -in., $3.95).
The Best of Billy Butterfield
in an ear -opening example of extremely
brilliant, open recording of vivacious performances, some with enthusiastic college audience participation (501, 5 -in., price
BEL CANTO:
not stated)
.
JAZZTAPE: If I'm old-fashioned in my
jazz tastes, that's an explanation only, not
an apology, for my delight in Kid Ory's
Creole Band blues performances, many
of them starring the doughty Lizzie Miles,
only routinely recorded but (for me)
superbly played and sung (JT 4008, 5 -in.,
$6.95) . On the other hand, Scene West,
with Herbie Harper and Bob Gordon's
Quintet, sends me only in its livelier
moments (JT 3ool, 7 -in., $9.95); and
The Guitar of Oscar Moore leaves me
cold except for Mike Pacheco's bongo
drumming (JT 1002, 7 -in., $9.95) . Moreover this last tape has been recorded in
unduly bottom -heavy fashion.
High Fidelity Showpieces,
Vol. 1, is hi -fi recording (in London's
Kingsway Hall) all right, with Dave
Goodwyn's piano and the percussion section of the London Pro Musica Orchestra
admirably captured, but Sheldon Burton's
performances, spirited in an Offenbach
Can-Can and graceful if unidiomatic in the
Rhapsody in Blue, are strictly "Pops"
routine in the Second Hungarian Rhapsody
and Hymn to the Sun (OT 5015, 5 -in.,
OMEGATAPE:
"Micro- Linear" Heads
Perfect Erasure
JOSH WHITE ANNIVERSARY RECITAL
0,000
Write for literature. Address Dept.
F -6.
44
for Full Track Head.
INTERNATIONAL RADIO & ELECTRONICS CORP.
Elkhart
Indiana
$6.95)
.
PENTRON: A light tape (in length as well
as music) especially notable for its scintillating sound qualities, as well as for
Larry Paige's toe-tickling Show Pops selections (RT 400, 5 -in., $3.50).
PHONOTAPES-SONORE
The Holiday in
Naples airs by Gianni Monese's Orchestra
impress me mainly by first -rate recording
:
of typical Neapolitan performances novel
only by their inclusion of timpani as well
as mandolins. But apparently I've missed
some special appeal which has made the
LP version (Vox 25030) something of a
best-seller (PM 109, 7 -in., $8.95)
.
90
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
TESTED
I
PII
ThE UIOM E
Equipment reports appearing in this section are prepared by members of HIGH FIDELITY'S staff, on the basis of actual use in
conjunction with a home music system, and the resulting subjective evaluations of equipment are expressed as the opinions of the
reviewer only. Reports are usually restricted to items of general interest, and no attempt is made to report on items that are obviously not designed primarily for high fidelity applications. Each report is sent to the manufacturer before publication; he is free
to correct the specifications paragraph, to add a comment at the end of the report, or to request that it be deferred (pending changes
in his product) or not be published. He may not, however, change the report. Failure of a new product to appear in TITH may mean
either that it has not been submitted for review, or that it was submitted and was found to be unsatisfactory. These reports
may not be quoted or reproduced, in part or in whole, for any purpose whatsoever, without written permission from the publisher.
Pye HF -25 Provost Amplifier and HF -25A Proctor Control Unit; the
"Qualify Anlplili('r"
SPECIFICATIONS
25 -watt
(furnished by manufacturer):
-
a
power amplifier and separate control unit.
Inputs: two high-level high-
HF -25 AMPLIFIER
impedance, direct to input grid and through
coupling capacitor. Controls: positive feedback
(damping factor adjustable from 35 to infinity);
hum balance. Output: may be strapped for 60. 15,
6.6, or 3.75 ohms to speaker. Negative feedback:
26 db. Power output: 35 watts. Frequency response:
substantially flat from 2 to 160,000 cycles. Sensitivity: 0.5 volts input for 25 watts output. IM
distortion: 0.5 % at 25 watts; 0.7 % at 35 watts.
Hum and noise: 90 db below 25 watts. Tubes:
KT-66 or 6L6: ECC35 or 6SL7; ECC33 or 6SN7;
GZ32 or 5V4. Dimensions: 13
in. wide by 10
deep by 7 high. Price: $139.50. HF -25A CONTROL
UNIT
Inputs: two at low -level high -impedance
for Phono and Microphone; two at high-level high impedance for Radio and Tape. Controls: selector
and equalizer (Tape, Radio, Mic., U. S. COL. LP.
RIAA-Eur LP, U. S. 78, Eur 78); bass ( -12 to+
15 db, 40 cycles); treble ( -15 to
db, 10,000
cycles); cutoff filter (4, 7, 12 kc, out); volume.
Outputs: two; one at low impedance to highimpedance amplifier input; one at low impedance
to high -impedance tape recorder input. Sensitivity:
.003 volt in Phono input, 0.12 volt in Radio input
for 0.5 volt output. Noise: 60 db below 0.5 volts.
Tubes:
ECC40. Dimensions: 10% in. wide by
4 high by 4 deep. Copper front panel.
Price:
$59.50. MANUFACTURER: Pye Ltd., Cambridge,
England. U. S. DISTRIBUTOR: British Radio
2-
-
2-
Electronics, Ltd., 1833 Jefferson Place, N. W.,
Washington, D. C.
There are many schools of thought about
how much flexibility a control unit should
offer, and available units reflect approaches
ranging from ultra -simplified to a degree of
complication that demands from the user
at least a basic knowledge of electrical engineering theory. The Pye Proctor unit is
about midway between the two extremes,
and it seems to me that it has hit a very
happy medium.
Input connections to the Proctor are
fairly conventional, with one or two outstanding differences. The phono input has
no level -set control on it, and no built -in
cartridge termination.
Simultaneous adjustment of these functions is cleverly provided by a recessed socket next to the phono
input which receives any one of a number
of "matching plugs." Five types of plugs
are available to match practically any pickup
cartridge, and a list in Pye's very comprehensive instruction booklet gives the recommended matching plug for a wide variety
of European and American cartridges.
Really a neat solution to the pickup matching problem. (A word about the instruction manual. This one is a typical British
JUNE 1956
production; 23 pages of instructions, explanations, recommendations, charts and
circuits, leaving nothing to the imagination.)
Other input facilities include a Microphone input and Radio and Tape inputs.
Of these, only the Radio input has a level set control on it, since most tape recorders
are already equipped with a playback volume
control.
Playback equalization on the Proctor unit
covers practically every contingency, but
the European 78 -rpm position puzzles me.
This curve provides about 10.5 db of rolloff
at to kc, which is London records' early LP
characteristic, but I was under the impression that European 78s were recorded with
either a flat high end or with about 5 db of
boost.
The tone controls on the Proctor are really
a delight to use. The control circuit is the
popular Baxendall type, which varies the
turnover point of the boost and cut rather
than the slope of the entire bass and treble
control ranges. Turning the bass control
up a little bit, for instance, simply adds a
touch of very deep bass to the sound, while
having no effect on the middle-bass range.
It can introduce some solid bottom to the
sound without making it boomy, or it can
be used as a continuously variable 6 db/ octave rumble filter in its cut position. As
the controls are turned further up or down,
the compensation curve maintains its slope
The Pye HF -25A preamp- control unit.
but changes in frequency, so that an increasingly widening frequency range is
affected. In their more advanced positions,
they begin to operate like conventional
tone controls, affecting the over-all balance
of the sound. They are smooth -operating,
and are apparently completely free of distortion.
The treble cutoff control provides very
sharp attenuation (about 20 db per octave)
above any one of three high- frequency limits,
to suppress surface noise and distortion
from poor program material. It is extremely
effective, and the cutoff frequencies have
obviously been judiciously chosen; the filter
removes no more of the desired program
than is necessary to reduce noise and interference.
The instruction booklet gives much useful information about the Pye control unit,
but I didn't realize how essential an instruc-
The 25 -watt Provost power amplifier.
tion booklet could be until I went to install
the Provost power amplifier.
Referring to the instructions, I found the
amplifier to have provision for setting the
line voltage to anywhere between loo and
25o volts, the output impedance to between
6o and 3.75 ohms, the damping factor to between 35 and infinity, and the feedback
circuits to suit the output impedance being
used.
Units imported into the U. S. are wired for
15 ohms output impedance. If a different
speaker impedance is to be used, the amplifier must be turned over and the output
transformer taps reconnected. Then, the
feedback resistor and its equalizing capacitor should be changed as specified, and the
positive feedback control must be readjusted, using a voltmeter. Presumably, any
further adjustment of the positive feedback
(variable damping factor) could be made
after the unit is installed, if listening tests
indicate that the speaker is not working at
its optimum damping.
The other screwdriver adjustment is a
hum - balancing control, which is set in the
Continued on next page
95
TESTED IN THE HOME
Continued from page 96
gage the drive idler. To do this, the
speed selector switch must be returned to
a neutral position. Also, disengaging the
idler by itself will stop the turntable,
but the motor will continue to run unless
the arm's shutoff switch is actuated first.
Since this unit has a very low rumble
level, it is important that the user remember to disengage the drive idler after shutting off the motor. Failure to return the
speed selector to a neutral position when
the unit is being turned off for any period
of time may result in idler flats, and the
rumble level will increase.
I've had the opportunity to examine two
of these units; the one that was submitted
for TITHing, and another that an associate
of mine purchased recently by mail. Both
units proved to have free -moving arm bearings, very low rumble, and excellent speed
regulation.
But be careful to avoid cartridges that
exhibit strong magnetic fields toward the
turntable. The Miraphon is normally supplied with a steel turntable (brass turntable
is available on special order) which will
attract these pickups, considerably increasing stylus force when the pickup is on
a record, and the addition of a turntable
mat will simply raise the arm level to a
point where it tilts the cartridge to one
side, with attendant groove destruction.
The Miraphon isn't a substitute for a
transcription turntable and arm in a top quality system .
it isn't meant to be.
But it is certainly a first -class unit of its
kind, with no apologies needed for any
aspect of its performance.
J.G.H.
.
.
-
MANUFACTURER'S COMMENT: The rubber drive
wheel on the Miraphon XM -110A is made of a
specially developed neoprene. which under exhaustive tests does not develop "flats." If at any
time it is necessary to replace the rubber on the
drive wheel, this is lifted off in a matter of seconds
and replaced like a rubber tire, since it has a special
rim into which the rubber drive wheel snaps.
The Miracord XA -100 changer and Miraphon
XM -110A have identical chassis, so the same base
and motor hoard may be used for either unit.
SPECIFICATIONS (furnished by manufacturer):
a
compact, FM -AM tuner of maximum sensitivity,
with separate AM and FM tuning meters. Sensitivity: 3 microvolts for 20 db of quieting on 300 ohm antenna input. Frequency response: FM,
db from 20 to 20,000 cps; AM,
2 db to 7,500 cps
in broad position; useful response to 9,000 cps.
Built -in 10 KC whistle filter. Dimensions: 12% in.
wide by 8% deep, less knobs, by 4 high. Price:
$169.50; cabinet $17.95 extra.
MANUFACTURER:
Fisher Radio Corp., 21 -25 44th Drive, Long Island
1
1,
N. Y.
The 50 -R, predecessor of the 8o -R, was
first advertised in HIGH FIDELITY in its
May -June 1953 issue; a TITH report on
the unit appeared in the September -October issue of that year. At the time
of its introduction, the 50 -R was an outstanding unit, doubtless the best then
available. Without recourse to laboratory
measurements, I would hesitate to say
whether my 50 -R
the one tested in
1953
has been significantly surpassed,
except in detail, even today.
In detail, the new 8o -R is an improvement. It is more compact. It is sleeker
looking. It has two tuning meters instead
of a single tuning eye. One meter indi-
-
98
-
of the left -hand concentric knobs). The
selector switch has six positions: AM
The 8o -R tuner in mahogany cabinet.
BROAD, AM
SHARP, FM, and three high level input channels for a TV set, tape
recorder, or what have you.
Like the 5o -R, the 8o -R is blessed with
a logging scale numbered from o to too;
really a must except in sparse FM areas.
Certainly it is needed on both Coasts.
There is no front -of -panel volume control on the 8o -R. The level control is on
the rear apron of the chassis and is
intended to be adjusted at the time of
installation. Output is at low impedance
it is far too easy for an inexperienced high
fidelity enthusiast to make a mistake when
choosing components himself, we have
seen more and more integrated speaker systems appear on the market during the past
few years.
These three integrated systems from University are attractively cabineted in very
solidly constructed enclosures. The "Tiny Mite" system, which is the lowest -priced of
these models, contains an 8 -inch triaxial
speaker mounted in a specially designed
corner -horn type enclosure.
The "Senior" and "Master" are also three way systems, but are mounted in much
larger enclosures and incorporate separate
driver units to cover the low, middle, and
high- frequency ranges. Both of these systems are equipped with University's "Acoustic Baton" controls, which allow the user
to accentuate or suppress the brass and
string sections of the reproduced orchestra
by depressing or boosting the presence and
overtone ranges.
Both systems use the
HF -2o6 compression -type super -tweeter, but
differ in the type of mid -range and low -frequency drivers. The "Senior," for instance,
uses a 4408 mid -range driver and Cl2W
52-inch woofer, while the larger "Master"
system contains a 4409 mid -range and a
Ci5W 15 -inch woofer.
All three systems utilize the same rear loaded woofer horn design, which brings
the back -of -cone pressure out through an
opening beneath the front panel of the enclosure, thus minimizing the critical room corner bass augmentation effects which are
used to extend the low range in some other
(cathode follower).
So
two years and more have passed,
and the exceptional 50 -R has yielded to
the more modern and compact 8o -R.
...
-
C.F.
University Tiny -Mite, Senior, and Master Speaker
Systems
Fisher 80 -R Tuner
City
cates AM signal strength, and the other
is a center -of-channel meter for FM. (Fisher's FM -8o, an FM -only job, has both a
center -of- channel tuning meter and a
signal- strength meter; in addition, it is
even more compact. Electrically, the FM8o and the 8o -R have indentical FM
sections and characteristics.)
In the 5o -R, AFC was variable, with
the control on the back of the chassis; it
could be switched in or out by changing
the selector switch position. On the 8o-R,
AFC is also variable but the control is
on the front of the panel (the smaller
SPECIFICATIONS (furnished by manufacturer): three way rear -horn- loaded speaker systems.
TINY MITE
Frequency response: to 15,000 cycles. Impedance: 8 ohms. Power capacity: 25 watts pro-
-
gram. Crossover frequencies: 1,000 and 5,000 cycles.
Cabinet Finishes:
cherry or blonde mahogany.
Dimensions: 19
in. high by 15 wide by 12% deep.
Price:
$75.75.
-
Frequency responce: 40
cycles to inaudibility. Impedance: 8 ohms. Power
capacity: 30 watts program. Crossover frequencies:
700 and 5,000 cycles. Crossover network: L'C type
SENIOR
with continuously variable "Brilliance" and "Pres-
ence" controls. Cabinet finishes: cherry or blonde
mahogany. Dimensions: 30 in. high by 21,!,- wide
by 15% deep. Price: $177.00. MASTER
Frequency
response: 30 cycles to inaudibility.
Impedance:
8 ohms. Power capacity: 50 watts integrated program. Crossover frequencies: 700 and 5,000 cycles.
-
L/C type with continuously
variable `Brilliance" and Presence" controls.
Cabinet finishes:
cherry or blonde mahogany.
Dimensions: 37 in. high by 28 wide by 19% deep.
Price: $275.00. MANUFACTURER: University Loudspeakers, Inc., 80 South Kensico Ave., White
Plains, N. Y.
Crossover network:
It is becoming increasingly evident to many
critical listeners that it isn't enough just to
use an excellent loudspeaker in an equally
good enclosure; the units must, with but a
few exceptions, be designed and made to
match each other.
For this reason, and also probably because
The Master three-way speaker system.
enclosures. The systems may, as a result,
be used equally well in a corner or mid -wall
location.
Sound -wise, the greatest immediately
noticeable difference between these systems
is at the low end, where the larger enclosures
of course produce deeper bass.
The "Tiny- Mite" is an ideal speaker for
those who demand the ultimate in presence,
although it is simply too brilliant for my
taste. The "Acoustic Baton" controls on
the "Senior" and "Master" systems permit
a very wide variation in the middle and
upper range response, so I was able to get
balance from them which was much closer
to the flat response I prefer. With these
settings, both systems produced impressive
Continued on page too
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
HIGH -FIDELITY TURNTABLES
TAPE RECORDING
and PLAYBACK EQUIPMENT
PRESTO R -11 Series
Professional Tape Recorders
The ultimate in recorder -reproducer units. Three full -track
heads. Tape speeds 15 and 71/2 ips, with others on special
order. Reels sizes 101/2' or 7 ". Exclusive capstan drive
with hysteresis motor. Torque -type reel motors. Solenoid operated, self- adjusting brakes. Variable fast -speed control.
Wired for remote control.
Model
Model
Model
R -11
tape transport mechanism (chassis only)
in carrying case....__._- ....._
recording console (includes R -11 mechanism,
A -901 amplifier and CC -2 studio console)
Model SA -5 remote control switch
$
R -11
775.00
827.00
SR -11
1250.00
40.00
PRESTO SR -27 Tape Recorder
moderately priced tape recorder for professional and
home use. Consists of R-27 tape transport mechanism and
A -920B amplifier. Three separate heads. Three -motor
drive, including hysteresis capstan motor. Tape speeds
15 and 71/2 ips, plus fast forward and rewind. Reel sizes
up to 8 ". 10 -watt amplifier has two built -in speakers
and controls.
A
Professional performance standards combined
with maximum simplicity of operation. Beautifully machined 12" or 16" cast aluminum turntables for super -smooth, rumble -free operation.
Choice of heavy -duty four-pole motor or
hysteresis synchronous motor to meet all requirements in speed accuracy. Three -idler drive
system with interchangeable idler wheels minimizes wear. Single -flick shift, operated in one
plane, selects 331/2, 45 or 78.26 r.p.m. speeds
and shuts off motor.
Model
Model
Model
Model
T
-18, 12" turntable, four -pole motor
$
8H, 12" turntable, hysteresis motor
T -68, 16" turntable, four -pole motor.......
T -68H, 16" turntable, hysteresis motor
T -1
66.00
117.00
87.00
147.00
Model
SR -27
complete in two portable carrying cases.
$588.00
___
PRESTO Long -Playing
Tape Reproducer
for Background Music
hours continuous playback from 14" reels with dual track operation at 32/2 ips. Fool- proof, trouble -free,
economical. Complete assembly includes PB -17A tape
playback mechanism, A -904 preamplifier and CC -4
(horizontal) cabinet *.
Complete __..__ __......_ .............. $996.00
*Cabinets for vertical mounting available
8
DISC RECORDING EQUIPMENT
New
PRESTO
K -11
\
Three -Speed
Disc Recorder
-
Ideal for home or semi -professional use. Three speed operation without adapters. PRESTO
cutter head for both standard groove (110 -line
pitch) and microgroove (220 -line pitch). Records discs up to 131/4" diameter. Comprises the
popular T -18 Turntable, recording and playback
amplifiers, high -fidelity pickup with turnover
cartridge, and two speakers (woofer and
tweeter) mounted in cover of carrying case.
Separate microphone and radio inputs, montitor jack, level indicating meter and recording
equalizer also featured.
the
PRESTO
LOOK...
different where
it counts
Export Division:
25 Warren Street, New York 7, N.Y.
Canadian Division:
Instantaneous Recording Service,
42 Lombard Street, Toronto
JUNE 1956
.
AMPLIFIERS
Designed to complement PRESTO tape recorders. A -900 -5
has separate record and playback channels, three-microphone input, 250-ohm low -level mixer, illuminated VU
meter, and 500-ohm output with +20 db maximum power.
A -901 is similar to A -900 except for single 500-ohm transformer input instead of mike inputs. A -920 is more
compact, has both microphone and playback preamplifiers,
single 250-ohm mike input, 10 watts power output into 15
ohms with provision for 500-ohm output at 0 db, plus
two small, built -in speakers.
Sided Masters.
-
.
quality -controlled without
fail ... THAT'S the Presto
Look - result of a quarter
century's experience as
America's leading manufacturer of tape and disc
recording equipment.
and A -920 Amplifiers
RECORDING DISCS
Also available from PRESTO
a complete line of
sapphire and stellite cutting and playback needles.
constructed without economizing on components and
machined parts ... custom built without short -cuts .
PRESTO A- 900 -5, A- 901
PRESTO Green, Brown,
White and Orange Labels
for Instantaneous Recording. Single and Double -
every step.
promise... massively
TAPE RECORDER
$396.00
Model K -11, complete with four -pole motor
445.00
Model K -11, complete with hysteresis motor
Recorder mechanism only, with four -pole motor 210.00
Recorder mechanism only, with hysteresis motor 259.50
The perfect disc for every recording need.
Optimum performance combined with highest
permanence. Made to conform with rigid
PRESTO standards and quality-controlled at
Functionally designed without mechanical or electronic
"gingerbread" ... precision engineered without com-
Model A- 900 -5, for rack mounting
Model A -901, for rack mounting
$388.00
350.00
309.00
Model A -920, for rack mounting
(Each supplied in carrying case for $15.00 extra.)
Write for latest technical data
RECORDING CORPORATION
PARAMUS, NEW JERSEY
99
TESTED IN THE HOME
Continued from page 98
sound from orchestral recordings and crisp
reproduction of speech. The difference between the low ends of the speakers was
really remarkable, exhibiting a definite extension of the low range each time the next
largest speaker was switched in.
These are speakers which can be recommended to audiophiles who demand a
highly efficient system but who vary widely
in their taste for reproduced sound. The
"Acoustic Baton" controls on the two larger
models take care of the latter contingency,
and the rear- horn -loaded, non -resonant enclosures and high -conversion drivers provide
all the efficiency anyone could want.
J. G. H.
-
Because of the great
convenience of small size systems like the Tiny Mite can and often are put anywhere in the home
that space permits
usually tucked away in some
crowded area. As a result, the high -frequency
response and projection are generally severely
damped, and over -all performance at the listening
point is left wanting. For this reason University
uses a driver -driven tweeter with a wide -angle
horn for the top range. As a rule, the resulting
sound will "balance out" properly at the point of
reception. The amplifier tone control can be used
to attenuate the highs in rooms where this is not
the case.
MANUFACTURER'S COMMENT:
...
by manufacturer):
Big Brother on its chrome chassis.
and in low- frequency stability the Big
Brother is matched by very few others.
We don't know what other qualities could
be desired in any amplifier: superlative
construction and sound, standard output
taps, plenty of reserve power, individual
unit performance curves and long-term
guarantee.
There is one specification, though, that
won't be so attractive to the average buyer
the price. It is undeniably high; so
is that of other luxury items. Considering
the quality of parts, the workmanship, and
the individual attention given each amplifier during its assembly, the price is
certainly not excessive.
R.A.
-
-
MANUFACTURER'S COMMENT: We are aware that
$265 is a high price for a power amplifier, but we
Audio Exchange `Big
Brother" Amplifier
SPECIFICATIONS (furnished
l' he
a
custom -built deluxe power amplifier, using modified
ultra - linear Williamson circuit. Rated power: 60
watts. Output impedance: 4, 8, or 16 ohms. Two AC
power outlets. Distortion: less than 1 % IM at
60 watts, 0.2 % at 30 watts (50 and 2,000 cps, 4:1).
Frequency response:
3 db to 70,000 cps. Damping
factor: 16. Controls: hum balance, bias voltage.
Tubes: 2- 6SN7GT, 4 -KT66, 2 -5 V4GA. Dimensions:
17 5/8 in. long by 10% wide by 8 3/8 high. Price:
$265.00. MANUFACTURER: The Audio Exchange,
Inc., 159 -19 Hillside Ave., Jamaica 32, N. Y.
The "Big Brother" amplifier is obviously
designed for ultra-deluxe home -amplifier
performance, and is built to last indefinitely. It is large and extremely heavy.
four push-pullThe output stage
parallel KT66's into an Acro TO -33owill deliver 6o watts at 20 cycles and 4o
watts at 16 cycles. Oil-filled filter capacitors are used, and coupling capacitors
are of exceptionally high quality. The
chromed chassis can't corrode or tarnish.
The wiring, which is unbelievably precise
(even beautiful) is sprayed for protection
against mildew. A unique guarantee accompanies this amplifier: it is unconditionally guaranteed to be free from defects
in parts (excluding tubes) and workmanship for five years! You might think that
rather daring until you actually get a
-
have not been successful in reducing costs without
also reducing quality. Since the amplifier is not
built to compete in price, we have not compromised
quality in any way. The amplifier is sold only
through the two Audio Exchange stores.
Zenith Trans- Oceanic
Portable -- Model Y -600
by manufacturer): an
AC-DC- battery, all -wave portable with two built in antennas. Wavebands covered: standard U. S.
SPECIFICATIONS (furnished
broadcast; 31, 25, 19, and 16-meter short-wave
broadcast; 2 -4 and 4-8 megacycle (150 to 38 meters)
weather, marine, and amateur.
Power supplies:
built -in battery pack; 110 volts AC or DC; plugin adaptor available for operation on 220 volts
AC or DC. Outputs: to built -in speaker and to
headphone jack. Input: for phonograph (crystal).
Antennas: built -in broadcast band antenna can be
removed from case for greater sensitivity; built -in
whip antenna for short-wave reception extends
52 in.
Price: $139.95. MANUFACTURER: Zenith
Radio Corporation, Chicago 39, Ill.
Over the years, quite a number of readers,
living outside FM and strong -signal AM
areas, have written to ask about the possibility of getting reasonably good music via
look at the amplifier.
Listening quality matches the construction, too. Treble is sweet and crystal clear;
bass is tightly controlled and definitive,
with a feeling of unlimited reserve power.
As a matter of fact, the reserve isn't quite
we measured 1.6% IM disunlimited
tortion at 7o watts, and about io% at
8o watts. Most will agree that that is quite
enough power. We can't resist quoting
another figure: at any level below 15
watts (where the amplifier would operate
for 99.9% of the time in most home
systems) the IM distortion on our test
unit was below o.1 %!
Stability at high frequencies was as
nearly perfect as is likely to be achieved,
-
100
The Trans-Oceanic opened up for use.
short -wave broadcasts. The music is there.
of all kinds and in considerable quantity,
but the problem is to get a good receiver.
Several companies manufacture short -wave
tuners for commercial and amateur use;
most of these suffer from lack of bandspread
on the broadcast bands. The short -wave
bands are all crowded ... jammed is a better
word! The ability to stretch out a small part
of the spectrum is almost essential.
By international agreement, short -wave
broadcasters are supposed to operate within
the following bands:
2.300
2.498 megacycles
3.200
3.950
4.750
5.005
5.950
7.500
9.500
i
t.700
------
15.100-
--
3.400
4.000
4.995
5.060
6.200
7.300
9.775
1.975
15.450
17.900
21.750
26.100
t
17.700
21.450
25.600
"
In general, the stations operate at 5 kilocycle intervals, but there are many stations
operating closer together than 5 kc., and a
number operate outside the bands listed
above. All this results in a need for highly
selective tuning, to reduce interstation interference.
Therefore, though the broadcasters are not restricted to a given audio
frequency range, most tuners must limit
frequency response.
Partly to have some fun for myself, and
mostly to do a bit of research into this
whole question, I asked Zenith to send us
one of their "Trans- Oceanic Portable" receivers. This provides bandspread tuning on
major short -wave broadcast bands; it covers
all those listed above except the two highest
frequency bands, which are still somewhat
experimental in nature.
To give you an idea of how the tuning
scale is stretched out, one band covers from
11.4 to 12.2 megacycles; the tuning scale
is 61/4 in. long. The short -wave spectrum is
divided into 6 bands, plus a seventh for the
standard AM broadcast band. The various
bands are selected by pushbuttons. Incidentally, the dial includes a logging scale
which is invaluable for relocating stations.
I presume the audio frequency range of
this receiver is not over 6,000 cps at the most.
After several evenings of listening, I doubt
that a wider range would serve any useful
purpose. In other words, there is plenty of
music on the short waves, and it may be
broadcast with a range exceeding 5,000 or
6,000 cycles but by the time the signal has
traveled through atmospheric and other station interference it has picked up enough
"garble" on its edges so that wide frequency range reproduction becomes more or less
pointless except in rare cases.
Note that I did not say "wide frequency
range high fidelity reproduction." There is a
distinction here. The Zenith uses a 5 -in.
speaker, and sound is not bad. The Zenith
also provides for earphone listening; there's
a jack on the front panel. The jack is bridged
in parallel with the speaker. When earphones are plugged in, the built -in speaker
This jack can
is automatically silenced.
also be used for an external speaker, and that
makes a tremendous improvement in fidelity.
Continued on page I oz
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
VITAL
NEW
harman kardon INSTRUMENTS
READY
1îlf
NOW!
OVVITOP
AM -FM Tuner
An altogether new and brilliantly engineered tuner,
tuned RF
designed to mate the Prelude amplifier
Meets
Foster- Seeley Discriminator
stage on FM
Automatic Frequency
FCC Radiation Specifications
Control AFC Defeat 3 mv. FM sensitivity for 20 db
quieting Printed Circuits throughout AM Ferrite
Brushed Copper EsLoopstick Built -in Antenna
cutcheon Matt Black Cage Dimensions: 121/2" wide
x 4" high x 9" deep.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Model T -10
(complete with cáge)
$79.50
The Romeo AM -FM Tuner
The ultimate development of the famous Harman.'
Kardon silhouette in a fine new tuner, designed to mate
Tuned RF stage on FM
the Melody amplifier
Exclusive new FM Rumble Filter Cathode Follower
Output Ferrite Loopstick and 10 KC Whistle Filter
in AM
Meets FCC Radiation Specifications AutoPrinted
matic Frequency Control and AFC Defeat
Circuits throughout
Only 3s/8" high x 131/2" wide x
83/" deep.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Model T -120
(complete with cage)
1t12
Sot Combined AM
-FM Tuner
$95.00
- Amplifier
A beautiful and complete high fidelity system on one
and at a remarkably modest price. The Solo
chassis
-
combines the tuner characteristics of the new Overture,
T -10, with the preamplifier and power characteristics
of the Prelude, PC -200, amplifier in a brushed copper
and black enclosure only 4" high x 131/4" wide x 13"
deep.
Model TA -10
(complete with cage)
$129.50
All prices slightly higher in the West
Write Dept. HF6 for free Technical Dala Sheets
harman kardon
INCORPORATE
D
520 Main Street, Westbury, L. t.,
N. V.
TESTED IN THE HOME
Continued from page wo
®
®ls
real
high fidelity
music
made easyYou no longer need to under-
stand the complications of high
fidelity sound systems to have
the very finest music in your
home. MusiCraft experts will
recommend the best combination of components in your price
range and demonstrate them in
an atmosphere like that of your
own living room.
part
of a high fidelity installation .
We will handle all or any
from supplying a single component to designing special cabinet
work or built -in construction
detail. We are also prepared to
work with your architect or interior decorator.
The output impedance of the transformer is
4 ohms; you can connect a 16 -ohm speaker,
but the power loss is substantial. There's
enough power in the Zenith output stage
to drive my Tannoy but it's something of
a struggle, as you can well imagine. Connected to a good quality 4 -ohm speaker,
there is plenty of volume and sound is surprisingly good.
A further improvement in fidelity can be
achieved by making a slight modification
to the Zenith: connect a wire from the hot
side of the volume control and then run into
a standard hi -fi control unit or power amplifier. Then the so -so (from the fidelity
point of view) output stage of the Zenith
is bypassed.
This is what I mean by improving the
fidelity without widening the frequency
range reducing distortion. If you like
your music, improve the fidelity but never
mind stretching out the frequency range.
Doing the latter will, in 99 cases out of roo,
result in more interference and "garble." As
a matter of fact, on some of the weaker stations, more pleasant listening resulted from
cutting the frequency range of the Zenith.
It has four slide- switch tone control buttons;
with these, range can be cut down to about
3,000 cycles, which is plenty for voice and
good for music under adverse atmospheric
or adjacent station conditions.
So much for the hi -fi music possibilities
of the short waves. This set is also a
cracker -jack all- around receiver. You can
operate on AC or DC current, to or 220
volts, 25 to 6o cycles, and a thermal regulator
tube makes up for differences of voltage
over the range 90 to r 3o and zoo to 25o volts.
Furthermore, it has a built -in battery pack
which is said to give about 15o hours of
service. It has two antennas: a whip, which
telescopes into the case, for short waves, and
a "Wave- Magnet" for standard broadcast
reception. This is built into the top of the
case, but snaps out and can then be attached
to a window pane for increased sensitivity
in steel buildings, cars, and airplanes. For
example, I put the Zenith on the back seat
of my car, attached the Wave -Magnet (suction cups are provided) to the back window, and had fine music while I drove.
To give an idea of how completely
thought -out this unit is: the AC (or DC)
line cord is on a spring- return built -in reel,
and there is a detailed station index and log
built into the top cover.
Fun? Almost unlimited. In addition to
the short -wave broadcasts, the Zenith covers
several of the marine and weather bands
and also some of the amateur bands. You
can have hours of fun "eavesdropping" on
the world. Furthermore, every clock in my
house is now accurate to within half a second
at the most; a weekly check -up with the
WWV (Bureau of Standards) time signals,
which are broadcast 24 hours a day, is all
that is necessary.
So
the short waves are packed with fun
and even excitement; they also contain lots
of music. Low distortion reception is advocated, but I wouldn't worry too much about
extending the frequency range beyond
5,000 cycles. And for an all- around, all purpose, operate-anywhere, do- anything receiver, this little Zenith is a honey.
C. F.
University 2 and 3 -way
Diffaxials...the largest
variety of extended range
speakers available today.
Model 315
o
15" 3-way Super -Diffaxial speaker. Em.
ploys the deluxe multi -sectional "Diffu
sicone" element and 61/2 lbs. of Alnico
5 magnet. Response to beyond audibility.
Exceptional power capacity of 50 watts *.
8-16 ohms. $132.00 User net.
A
-
3
Model 6303
15" 3 -way Diffaxial speaker. Employs
the deluxe multi -sectional "Diffusicone"
element and extra heavy 2 lbs. of Alnico
5 Gold Dot magnet. Response to beyond
audibility. 30 watt* power handling
capacity. 8-16 ohms. $80.10 User net.
A
Model 312
12" 3 -way Super -Diffaxial speaker. Employs deluxe multi -sectional "DiffuA
slcone" element and extra heavy woofer
Alnico 5 Gold Dot magnet. Handles 25
watts*, 8-16 ohms. $64.50 User net.
Model
UXC -123
A 12" 3 -way Diffaxial speaker. Employs
the standard uni -sectional "Diffusicone"
element. Response encompasses full musical reproduction range. Handles 25
watts *, 8 -16 ohms. $59.50 User net.
-
48 East
Chicago
11
Oak
DElaware 7 -4150
COMPONENTS AND COMPLETE INSTALLATIONS
IN ALL PRICE RANGES
IO2
-
Model 308
8" 3 -way Diffaxial speaker. Employs
the deluxe multi -sectional "Diffusicone"
An
element and is the only small integrated
3 -way speaker on the market. Performance is unbelievable for its size. Handles
25 watts *, 8-16 ohms. $37.50 User net.
*Integrated Program
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
Model
4C
BROClNER
CORNER HORN
MARANTZ Adio
Equipment
40 WATT
POWER
AMPLIFIER
One of the most natural- sounding speaker
systems ever designed, giving effortlessly
realistic sound with complete absence of
listening fatigue, Exclusive PM -2 twin -cone
driver, expressly designed for horn loading,
has field magnet with a flux of 20,000 gauss
in the gap, providing exceptional damping,
efficiency and transient response. Front of
driver exhausts through unique reflector
horn, giving optimum mid -range and high .J
range dispersion; back of driver is loaded
by folded exponential horn supplemented by the entire space below the
cabinet plus the corner of the room, far superbly defined reproduction of
the range below 150 cps. Dimensions: 42" high x 321/4" wide x 24" from
front into corner.
Built -in metered operational
odlustment. Output transtormer with low
leakage reactance and high flux- handling capability. New type -6CA7 output
tubes are more efficient and distortion -free. Variable damping from
separate 4, 8 and 16 ohm outputs. Oil input -filter capacitor, long -life
telephone -quality electrolytic condensers,
terminal -board construction.
_...
_ ............ ............................._. 51 BÁ00
899
AUDIO
CONSOLETTE
Self -powered. 7 inputs. Input
selector, loudness compensation, volume,
filter, treble, turnover, rolloff, and power on -off controls. Low
and high -impedance outputs. 3 switched AC power outlets. Response
±1 db, 20- 40,000 cps. 1% maximum intermodulation distortion at 15
volts output. 4 microvolts equivalent maximum
open -circuit noise at first phono grid.
.........
$16200
$39600
Model 4C, golden mahogany or dark mahogany
Special woods and finishes at slight e:_tra cost.
HARVEY. carries
a complete line of- pre -recorded
tapes --Westminster Sonofape, Concertape, Livingston,
-.etc.
-blank recording tape, tape accessories, blank
--recording discs, and recording styli.
-
-
AMPEX
600
PORTABLE TAPE RECORDER
bass, cutoff
quality tope recorder designed for
professionals: broadcasters, recording
studios, and other critical users. Housed in
a truly portable case, the entire unit weighs
less than 28 lbs. The quality of performance
A high
DIAMOND CARTRIDGE
of the 600 is identical to the console model
350.
Has separate erase, record and playback heads . . . and separate record
and playback amplifiers. A direct- reading meter permits continuous
checking of recording level. Tape speed is 71/2 inches /sec. with a frequency response from 40 to 10,000 cycles ± 2db , and to 15,000 cycles
± 4db.
Latest version of the famous
FAIRCHILD moving coil cartridge,
Other features include:
Signal -to -noise ratio: more than
New
FAIRCHILD 225
'Micradjust'
incorporating many new and
important improvements. New
'Micradjust' construction permits
individual micrometer adjustment for optimum performance in each installation. Improved magnetic circuit eliminates all turntable attraction New
symmetric damping ring provides further reduction of distortion. Reduced
moving mass extends frequency range and increases smoothness of response.
Many other improvements.
q
Model 225A, 8 or C (1.0, 2.5 or 3.0 mil diamond styli,respectively)53750
FAIRCHILD
Transcription Arm
-
Series 281A for 16" transcriptions
Serias 280A for more compact installations
f3595
_
...... ...............................
33.95
CARRARD
Flutter and wow: less than
_
PRINTED -CIRCUIT
Series 280
Accepts all variable reluctance and dynamic cartridges, and permits interchange without screwdriver or other tools. Built -in mut'ng switch eliminates
hum when interchanging cartridges. Provides perfect midgroove tracking
with no side thrust or groove jumping. Has adjustments for hoight and
level. Requires no arm rest. Two models available:
55 db
.25%
Fast forward and rewind: 90 seconds for 1200 feet
Microphone
input: high impedance
Line input: for high level source (.5 volt level)
Separate level and mi.dng controls for microphone and line inputs
Monitoring: through phone jack or playback output
Playback output:
1.25 volts into 10,000 ohm load (matches input of most amplifier systems)
Recording distortion is negligible.
Coplete
m
with tubes, less microphone .................___.
....__.......... $545.00
3
-tion
`Prea)mp
-MINIATURIZED
with Presence'
described by C. G. McProud in May Audio Engineering. 3 equalizachoices, presence control, volume and loudness controls, and
Baxendall-type bass and treble controls.
os
Basic kit containing the 1.0 henry encapsulated choke, the printed circuit
panel completely drilled, and the
$750
4 metal chassis parts.
.._...._...
The complete kit of parts, including the basic kit and all other parts
and tubes as specified by author.
With complete, simplified instructions... .................................... ................................53550
TRANSCRIPTION
TURNTABLE
Model
Professional Model 301
designed specif.cally for discriminating listeners and owners of
home sound systems. The turntable itself is a 71/2 lb. disc, precisely
machined, accurately centered and balanced. A 4 -pole induction motor was
specially developed by Garrard for use in this unit. Armature is dynamically balanced and the rotor set in self -centering phosphor bronze
bushings. A newly designed motor mounting technique, employing counterbalanced springs, absorbs virtually all vibration.
Intended for all 3 speeds: 33t/3, 45 and 78 rpm, the 301 features on eddy
current speed control for making fine adjustments. Speeds cannot be changed
unless the unit is shut off, thus preventing any possible jamming of the
STROMBERG
CARLSON
A unit
idlers.
$8900
Model 301
Everything worthwhile in high -fidelity equipment is IN
STOCK at Harvey's
out demonstration facilities are
second to none I Orders shipped same cloy received.
-
TIME PAYMENT
PLAN AVAILABLE
Prices are net, F.0.0. N.Y.C.
JUNE I956
-
TRADE -INS ACCEPTED
subject to change without notice.
SR -402
FM -AM
Kadio Tuner
Only tuner with dynamic cascade noise limiter. Frequency response on
FM 20 to 20,000 cps. at less than 1% total harmonic distortion Temperature compensated oscillator prevents drift on both FM and AM Geared
tuning condenser and expanded tuning scale assure ease of control.
Sensitivity 1.5 microvolts for 20 db quieting. 2- position selectivity control
on AM. AFC provided ...............
$1 5000
HARVEY
1123 AVENUE
ESTABLISHED 1927
RADIO COMPANY, .INC.
OF THE AMERICAS in
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.(6th Ave. at 43rd St.) New York 36,14.Y.
105
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EVERYTHING IN HI -FI SOUND EQUIPMENT
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Continued from preceding page
NEW YORK
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WORLD'S
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thoroughly bench tests all units
before selling. Lowest net prices.
We pay shipping within U.S.A.
TAPE
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featuring gee-VI/MCC
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820 W. Olympic Blvd.
CINCINNATI AND TI IF
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"A Component or a Complete System"
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Since 19.14
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YOUR COMPLETE SUPPLIER is
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SOUND STUDIO
709 Arch St., Philadelphia 6, Pa.
gleCVi0yO1CL ®
WE 3 -8208
The spelling throughout
Ed.
this essay is that of the original
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editors disclaim all responsibility.
Phone: LOmbard 3 -7390
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108
THE EROICA CASE
Continued from page 4o
CUE84Gl1L49
95th St., Chicago 43. III.
BEverly 8-1067
Roodleschnee? I may have to hunt
out his picture in an old year book to
recall who he was. For here is an
enigma: while I pride myself on the
"hits," the ones I usually remember
most vividly are the "misses." For
instance, I can still see the face of
that pretty little girl who gave me
this gem (and she made Phi Beta
Kappa, too) : "One of the best loved
American operas is 'Porky and Bess'
by Gershwin." I believe George, himself, would have enjoyed that one!
And then there was the note at the
end of the final exam: "Since the
object of this course was to obtain a
personality of being able to listen to
good music and discriminate against
it, I think that I have carried away
from this course more than any other.
I can sit down now and be a better
listener than I could a semester ago."
I enjoy this kind of scrambled commendation- and I trust that this
product of my tutelage is now, at
the very least, a season- ticket patron
of his home town philharmonic.
ALL THE BEST FROM
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boundaries, occasionally hitting equal
temperament pitches squarely in the
middle, sometimes approaching just
intonation, sometimes nearing Pythagorean intervals. (In equal temperament each semitone is precisely ioo
cents wide; Pythagorean scales are
built of twelve consecutive fifths of
702 cents each, a procedure resulting
in somewhat wider intervals on the
tones in the upward cycle steps, with
sharps, and somewhat smaller intervals
on the tones in the downward cycle
steps, with fiats; just intonation intervals are replicas of the series of
acoustically pure harmonics which
give us scales with various deviations
from equal temperament intonations.
The major third C -E, for example,
measures 400 cents in equal temperament, 408 cents in Pythagorean intonation, 386 cents in just intonation.)
When an equally tempered keyboard instrument, such as the piano,
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
organ, harpsichord, or the tempered
harp, joins in orchestral performance,
there will be a strong inclination on
the part of all other instruments to
adjust their intonations to the inflexible pitches of the tempered instruments. In all other cases the
strings will show a tendency towards
Pythagorean intervals, because of their
tuning in acoustically pure fifths of
702 cents; brass instruments tend
towards just intonation due to the
fact that many of their tones are based
on the natural harmonics series. The
tonal beauty of our foremost orchestras
lies partly in the skill and experience
they have developed in adjusting and
integrating the intonation of the
various instruments continuously during performance. Lesser orchestras
and amateur groups are sometimes
very proficient musically and technically, but many of them produce unstable and unintegrated pitches, often
to a degree where listening pleasure
is spoiled.
Apart from the deviations from
equally tempered pitch there are other
deviations which must be taken into
consideration. No singer or vocalist
sticks to a clear -cut pitch on any one
note sung or played. Every singer has
a vibrato, and so have practically all
instruments in the orchestra with the
exception of the harp and keyboard
instruments. Vibrato means that the
intoned pitch fluctuates around a
given center of pitch. For example:
Pitch center: 400 cents;
Highest point of vibrato: 43o cents
Lowest point of vibrato: 37o cents.
This would be the ideal acoustical proportion of a vibrato. The musically
ideal vibrato looks different:
Pitch center: unimportant;
Lowest point of vibrato: 400 cents
Highest point of vibrato: 440 cents
(or less).
In other words, a good vibrato technique will set out from the pitch level
on which the tone would have to
sound without any vibrato, and the
vibrato would always rise above this
zero level, never fall below it. Otherwise the pitch definitions would become ambiguous: one could not really
hear what pitch the performer was
trying to use. (In cases of poor technique the performer may not know
himself.) Thus, intonations forming
a vibrato around a pitch center sound
often like a bleating goat because
there is no real pitch conception or
definition present.
Continued on next page
JUNE 1956
TESTED IN THE HOME BY HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
Rated BETTER Because
e
. .
"Such performance is excellent; exceeded only
in price."
"The cantilever-stylus- armature construction is inherently capable
of more rough treatment than most moving -coil mechanisms."
"Will fit just about any American-made arm."
"Listening quality is very good, smooth and free of strain
even on heavily recorded passages."
by a very few units, all of which are much higher
"In
terms of what you receive per dollar spent,
the `500' is a noteworthy bargain."
$9.90
Only
including 2
synthetic sapphire styli
(diamond styli extra)
-G0.4frín.
9
500" MAGNETIC TURNOVER
CARTRIDGE
Af
leading hi -fi distributors; write for descriptive literature to:
52 -35 Barnett Ave., Long Island City 4, N.
RECOTON CORPORATION,
t1..
Y..
Manufoclurers of World- Fomous Phonograph Styli.
or people who want hi-fi
without expensive built -ins
Now you can install the finest high fidelity components in your home, without the expense of
built -in cabinets. Decorator- styled
Newcomb Compacts fit on your
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book shelf, desk, or table, and
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They are beautifully golden -finished to match any decorative
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Compacts are the finest high
fidelity components money can
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complete with all controls. Newcomb Compact FM -AM tuners in
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10, 12, or 20 watt amplifiers
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Name
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IC9
of tones of a long duration, such as
final chords, dominant or tonic chords
and waits for them, with the measuring dial preset for the pitch one would
expect by approximate guessing. The
moment the tone arrives, one adjusts
the meter dial according to the observation just made. This is repeated
until one is satisfied that the result is
reasonably accurate. This tone is
charted down, and then the next tone
or series of tones is treated in a similar
way. Finally one has a chart comprising all or most of the tones occurring
in the piece. Analysis of the charted
data will show clearly where obvious
errors in measuring (or in the performer's intonation, for that matter)
may have occurred, and these particular tones are checked and rechecked.
To eliminate the obscuring influences
of vibratos, one tries to find a number
of tones with a minimum of vibrato
and measures those for confirmation.
The rest is figuring. Comparison of
all listed values leads easily to at least
one unequivocal conclusion: an awareness of the pitch "intention" or pitch
"planning" of a certain number of
tones in the key of the performance,
stripped of all influences of vibrato
and other deviations, and the reference
THE EROICA CASE
BETTER LOW
FREQ UENCIES ;
Good clean bass can be felt as well as
heard, for the first audible octave is adjacent to the threshold of feeling. Unless you can actually feel the vibration
of the drum, the physical temper of
the oboe and the air pressure changes
from the bass drum, tympani, tuba
and tom -tom, you're not dealing with
fundamental tones, but undesirable harmonic or "one -note boom ".
The Racon HI -C (high compliance)
loudspeaker is the answer to almost perfect low- frequency response. It uses a
floating cone (24 cycle resonance) with
a special plastic suspension (pats pending) to provide pneumatic damping.
There are no "hangover" effects, for
the cone is a slave to the signal at all
times, following it to the minutest detail and stopping when the signal
stops. This special compliance results
in a peak -to -peak movement of 5/8 of
an inch for smooth reproduction of
bass, even to lower limits than are
available from present day program
Continued from preceding page
From the aforesaid it is clear that
measuring pitches from an orchestral
or other musical performance in
progress is a complex and difficult
proposition, and that usable results
can be achieved by approximative
methods only. First of all, swift and
florid passages usually go by much
too fast to measure, let alone to take
a reading. On the other hand, lively
moving melodies don't give the performer much chance for a vibrato on
individual tones and are thus much
more precisely defined as to their
"pitch intention." As a rule one waits
for prolonged tones and tries to
measure those, realizing at the same
time that any long held tone is at
least partly obscured by vibrato when
it comes to pitch definition. Thus
it is almost impossible to arrive at
precise pitch measuring results in
actual performance, unless the piece is
a rather slow one. Recordings afford
the opportunity for indefinite repetition, and in this way usable results
may be obtained.
The best procedure is roughly as
follows: one picks a certain number
sources.
Because of this unique damping feature, any conventional enclosure may
bass reflex, infinite baffle or
be used
horn loading device.
-
The above features are incorporated in
every Racon "HI -C" high fidelity
loudspeaker- woofer, dual cone and away speaker. Write for free literature.
*The first of a seriez
MODEL 15 -HTX
15" 3 -WAY
SPEAKER
The
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40 WATT AMPLIFIER
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RESPONSE: 20 - 20,000 cps
POWER: 25 watts
IMP:
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RES. FREO: 24 cps.
FLUX: 14,500 gauss
CROSSOVER: 2000 and
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WEIGHT: 23 Ms.
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I
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HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
L
S
urinal
VALUES
D
The 5 BUTTON
MIRACORD XA -100
with the
iyfly
S>`®Ap
pitch intended for the performance
of the piece as a whole. This result
can usually be reached with an approximate accuracy of roughly ±2
cents which is good enough for definitions of performance pitch.
By the above method, I made,
among many other tests, an analysis
of four recent recordings of Handel's
Messiah. I found that reference
pitches varied considerably between
the various recorded performances:
435.5, 438.2, 440.5, and 448 cps. The
third figure is the one likely to contain
practically no pitch distortion introduced during the manufacturing
process; No. 2 is inconclusive
while
No. T (435 cps) is a frequent organ
tuning in Europe, and the organ used
in the performance may well have
been tuned at that standard frequency.
Definitely distorted and much too high
is No. 4. The organ used in that
particular recording is known to be
much lower in reference pitch; accordingly the pitch as it occurs on
the final disk has been raised considerably by the manufacturing proc-
For Every
Listener's Bookshelf
TRE
High Jidleliiq
READER
ROY HOOPES I,
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REPEAT
PAUSE
STOP
START
FILTER
World's Only Automatic Record Changer
and Automatic Manual Player in
ONE Precision Instrument!
Truly a miracle of modern automation, the Miracord
XA -100 with the new STOP button
the ultimate
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The "Magic Wand"
eliminates pusher arms and stabilizing plates
Intermixes 10" and 12" records regardless of how stacked
PROLONGS THE LIFE OF YOUR RECORDS
Heavy
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Interchangeable Plug -in Head.
Shipped completely assembled and ready
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with GED RPX -052A (LP Diamond and Sapphire)
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M RATW H
FOR the past four years the most
literate and informative writing on
the subject of sound reproduction
has appeared in High Fidelity Magazine. Now, for those of you who
might have missed some of High
Fidelity's articles and for those of
you who have requested that they be
preserved in permanent form. High
Fidelity's Managing Editor, Roy H.
Hoopes, Jr., has selected 26 of them
for inclusion in a HIGH FIDELITY
READER. The introduction was
written by John M. Conly.
ess.
The above testing results of the
four Messiah versions show, on a comparative basis, how certain recorded
performances of the same composition
may differ considerably. As the organ
participates in all four versions, valid
conclusions are impossible; the organ
will always impose its reference pitch
on all other performers who may,
without the organ, usually perform at
very different reference pitches.
A LTHOUGH the
READER is not
intended as a "layman's guide" to
high fidelity, it tells you everything
you need to know, and perhaps a
little more, for achieving good
sound reproduction.
I NCLUDED
by:
in the READER are
articles
Richard W. Lawton
Roy F. Allison
Theodore Lindenberg
Peter Bartók
John W. Campbell Thomas Lucci
Car/ridge
ge
unusual wide -range
response and sensitivity
LONDON AUDIO
With a Miratwin magnetic
cartridge, you'll enioy the
rich, full tones of your records more than ever before.
Miratwin low stylus force
prolongs record - life too!
Features include 2 separate,
non-reacting movements in
one sturdy case, instant fingertip stylus replacement.
For LP and Standard records.
r
Unsurpassed Response:
within 2 db, from 3018,500 cycles at 331/3
rpm; within 4 db, to
22,500 cycles at 78 rpm.
Higher Output: at 1,000
cycles, 55 mv for 331/3
rpm; 45 mv for 78 rpm
at recorded velocity of
10 cm /sec.
Continued from page 45
Minimum Distortion: lowest ever achieved in
wide -range cartridge.
Hum Improvement: produces
a
6 -10
db hum
ration with amplifiers.
Perfect Tracking: even
at very high amplitude
peaks.
Miratwin Turnover Cartridge with
Sapphire Stylus for Standard and Diamond
Stylus for Microgroove
MST -2A Miratwin Turnover Cartridge with
MST-2D
2
Sapphire Styli
$45.00
22 50
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DISTRIBUTORS OF ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
misal Radio
CORP
85 CORTLANDT ST., NEW YORK 7, N. Y.
WOrth 4.3311
JUNE 1956
an official told me. "If we find anyone
putting forty watts into a speaker...."
( Sinister silence.)
One of the main purposes of the
fair was to allow the potential customer to hear a wide range of equip-
ment under conditions approximating
the size of a home living room. This
is especially important since most
British manufacturers look upon the
to -watt amplifier as the standard for
domestic use, and 10 -watt amplifiers
reveal their merits best in rooms that
are not too large.
Almost every exhibitor tried to
show something new, but many of
the items are not appropriate for export, and the following is simply a
group of things in the catalogue that
Continued on next page
Carini
Abraham Cohen
Emory Cook
Eleanor Edwards
Charles Fowler
Irving M. Fried
Chuck Gerhardt
Gus Jose
F. A. Kuttner
L. F. B.
Joseph Marshall
Gilbert Plass
R. S. Rummell
Paul Sampson
David Sarser
Glen Southwotth
Fernando Valenti
Edward T. Wallace
Harry L. Wynn
ONLY $3.50
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
Publishing House
Great Barrington, Mass.
I
Enclosed please find $.
copies of
Please send me
THE HIGH FIDELITY READER
NAME
ADDRESS
NO. C.O.D.'s please
(PUBLISHED BY HANOVER HOUSE)
111
LONDON AUDIO
Continued from preceding page
ESL
VERDICT Fijis
Almost twenty leading phono pickups have been tested by the
authoritative Audio League. Its official verdict:'
"The
ESL
Professional and Concert Series cartridges are
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"These were unquestionably the smoothest, cleanest sounding
cartridges tested.
"For sheer naturalness and undistorted
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has no peer.''
your pickup obsolete? Switch to the sensational new ESL
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Is
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Soloist Series from $14.95
Concert Series $35.95
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Professional Series arm and cartridge $106.50
al. i. 'Co,. e
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LAlardr4pril n Nov. tgcc. and April )9.; 0) of The Audio
.4arlmrizcd quotation .,O. ]J. l'l,asr
Re ¡port, Pkasanrrille, \. 1 ".. for dit a+updeti whnind and aihìectire report.
r
,
.
League
appeared of interest. Peter Walker's
electrostatic speaker system I have
described above, but please note that
Acoustical showed it at the fair, together with their new FM tuner. ( I
plan to run comparison tests of about
five British FM tuners some time in
May.) Decca (i.e. London) exhibited
records rather than equipment for
playing them, although EMI did the
switch the other way and showed their
( three
Emisonic speaker
system
woofers, two mid -range units, and a
ribbon tweeter) and an 18 -watt amplifier and preamplifier unit. The
HMV part of the EMI combination
exhibited some home radiograms of
the type American manufacturers were
offering ten years ago. Garrard had as
innovations a 7 -inch, 45 -rpm turntable, battery operated, for use with
transistor amplifiers, plus a clockwork
motor offering the usual three speeds
for larger installations of the same
type. This suggests the possibility of
really portable hi -fi, suitable for the
Gobi desert or Little America. H. J.
Leak allowed one to look at his
speaker system, still to be marketed
"later this year," while Lowther offered in their TP1 corner reproducer
a drive unit with 5o 6o(-z- efficiency
(as opposed to the 2
recently taken
as an average in this magazine) which
Lowther claim is unequalled by any
other system. The result of efficiency
of this level, of course, is to diminish
the need for large amplifiers. Pam phonic showed a new preamplifier,
,
The
1213
Turntable
has 3 added features
RPM
-
Simple flick of a switch changes speed
electrically from 331/2 to 16% r.p.m.
-
RPM MOTOR New low r.p.m. motor gives extremely low vibration along with acoustic
silence: motor runs 1200 r.p.m. at 331/2
table speed, and 600 r.p.m. at 16% table
speed.
4ER FLUTTER REDUCTION -Below 0.03% r.m.s.
30 -300 c.p.s. band; wow below 3.06%
r.m.s.
LT
I12
CI-
The new DR -12B is now available at no increase in price.
See your dealer.
402 EAST GUTIERREZ STREET, SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA
quite the most elaborate in its equalization of any available in Britain,
while Trix unveiled their Trixonic
home music system which, in their
words, has "everything" and certainly
appeared to incorporate all the features one could think of. TITH reports of such of these items as arrive
on the American market can, no
doubt. be expected in due course.
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
111111111111W4UNINNIeleilleirearievviarratesseavcr,vvr
,.
COMPLETE HI-FI
6/e,t cf;ceesel4,,
SIR:
b
Your answer to the inquiry of Dr.
Alex E. Gold, in the March "Audio
Forum" section interested me very
much. I am wondering whether I
could not improve my speaker system
by packing my Klipsch -type corner
enclosure with fiber- glass.
Walter Gotsch
Aurora, Ill.
Fiber -glass packing is applicable only
to a completely enclosed baffle, mounting a woofer that is specifically designed for use in an infinite baffle,
so it could not be used in your enclosure.
SIR:
r
I would like to ask what is the point
of all this fuss that is made about
record equalization. You have a table
in your record section listing the recording curves allegedly used by all
the record companies, you were obliged to publish a "Dialing Your
Disks Clarification" in the February
issue, and yet I hear acquaintances and
high -fidelity equipment dealers screaming that they still don't know what
curves some records use because some
companies "switched gradually" to the
RIAA curve and some other cornpanies apparently never did have any
idea what curve they were using.
My inclination is to say the dickens
with it all! Who cares when Virago
Records switched from the PLFF
curve to the XMMS curve? If one of
their records sounds right with a certain playback curve, then play it back
that way. If it doesn't sound right,
it is probably incorrectly equalized, so
adjust the equalization accordingly.
If no equalizer setting can make it
sound good, chances are it is simply
a bad recording anyway, so why worry
about it?
There are enough records around
now that are known to use the RIAA
curve that a listener can tell whether
his system is equalizing properly. If
something is amiss in his system, these
records will sound too bright or too
dull or too thin or too bassy. If his
system is working as it should, they
will sound correctly balanced except
in those rather rare cases where the
JUNE 1956
record companies mess up their recordings. The listener will at least
be able to get a pretty good idea of
how a correctly equalized record
should sound.
Records that are improperly equalized will sound improperly equalized,
regardless of what "Dialing Your
Disks" recommends as equalizer settings. Small inaccuracies in playback
equalization are undetectable on all
but the very best reproducing systems
anyway, so why quibble over whether
a disk is supposed to play at 12 db
or 13.7 db rolloff? The exaggerated
brightness that is built into many
loudspeakers makes a farce our of
"accurate equalization" in a control
unit, so why split hairs?
Standardization of playback equalization is an excellent idea for simplifying the basically simple act of playing a record, but the fact that different
record companies started out using different curves, and took some time to
arrive at agreement over a standard
curve, is no reason for gnashing of
teeth and tearing of hair.
Correct equalization of records is
necessary to make them sound realistic,
but if they don't sound right with a
given setting there is certainly no need
for getting into a lather about it.
Just adjust the equalization for the
best sound and learn to accept it as
the best the record is capable of.
Mrs. Sarah Lewis
Whitestone, N. Y.
Amen.-ED.
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SIR:
It was encouraging to see that Mr.
Burke, in his article "On Modifying
the Senescence and Mortality of
Disks," believes that reduction of stylus force below 6 grams is not necessarily harmful to the record if the
components are properly installed.
I've been trying to operate my GE
single -play cartridge in a Livingston
Universal arm at around 4 or 5 grams.
I've been guided by the theory that
you can hear it if the stylus is harming
groove walls or is distorting the musical sound. I may be wrong regarding
Continued on next page
TV55 TELEVISION
SOUND TUNER
Designed
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See it -hear it now.
Visit your Hi -Fi dealer for a personal
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Write for full
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the complete
RAULAND
Hi -Fi line
RAULAND -BORG CORPORATION
3515 W. Addison St., Dept,
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AUDIO FORUM
TRADER'S MARKETPLACE
Continued from preceding page
the former, but with good vertical
and lateral compliance and with both
the turntable and the arm operating
as nearly level as possible, what can
happen? I don't expect anything over
800 hours from a stylus, but I would
like that without distortion and harm
to the record.
Its a relief to have an authority
like Mr. Burke finally put an 800-hour
limit to the playing time of a diamond.
It seems only a short time ago that
diamond styli were claimed to give
thousands of hours use, and we saw
ourselves growing old with our jewels.
is the tubes.
"a:urally leading hi -fi equipment
1
'f
.
makers, in both the United States
and Great f31-tain, turn to Mullard
Howard Gilligan
Montara, Calif.
ta maintain their superior and
Exacting quality requirements.
It is very likely that if a stylus is
operating at below its optimum force,
the sound from it will be fuzzy on
high- volume passages. Excessive stylus
force will not usually be audible until
record wear has reached a fairly advanced state, so a pickup should generally be run at the minimum force
that produces clean sound on loudly
recorded passages.
The 800 -hour limit for a diamond
.
stylus is not an absolute figure
it is more like a safe average. A
highly- compliant pickup operating at
very low stylus force on dust -free
records may have a useful life of well
over 2,000 hours, but it is good
practice to have any diamond stylus
checked periodically after about 500
to 600 hours use, just to be on the
safe side.
important tube to these
manufacturers and to hi -fi owners
is the audio output tube. That's
why you'll find Mullard EL34 golden
grd power output tubes in the
finest equipment. Selected for
dependability and peak performance
A most
,uq to 100 watts) for
a longer
period, Millard is the name to look
fer when selecting hi -fi or when
.
your tubes teed replacement.
.
SIR:
Ask you - hi -fi distributor for
complete interchangeability end
replacement information, cr
write
ta
i
INTERNATI)NAL ELECTRONICS CORP.
E1 Spring Street -New York 12 N. Y.
DEVELOPED FOR HIGH -FIDELITY
World% greatest name in audio receiving an
special purpose tubes, ultrasonic equipment,
radar, electronic instruments, an high fidel
ity equipment.
114
-
"HI- FIDELITY.' tape recorders, speakers, microphones,
Quality unsurpassed in their price
etc. Wholesale.
range.
C.
&
Distributors, Dept.
D.
H,
Box 5116,
Orlando, Florida.
TAPE RECORDERS, TAPE. Unusual value. Free catalog. Dressner, 69 -02K 174 St., Flushing 65, N. Y.
HI -FI SPEAKERS REPAIRED. Amprite Speaker Service.
70 Vesey St., N. Y. C. 7. BA 7 -2580.
6 ELEMENT BROAD BAND FM antennas.
Wholesale
ppd.
aluminum, $10.95
Lunenburg, Mass.
All seamless
Supply
Co.;
two rooms with private
Lakesh
TANGLEWOOD
bath, sleep three. Teachers preferred for full season
occupancy, Will consider renting six weeks Boston
R. V. Murphy, P. 0. Box 6,
Symphony Festival.
Lenox, Mass.
LeMANS - World's finest AUTO RADIO.
Drift free FM -AM short wave. Includes GE Model 950
SPEAKER and GRILLE (40- 12,500 cps) with AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC ANTENNA, which rises and retracts
with set ON or OFF. Simple installation for all car
models. Specify 6 or 12 volt system. For PUSH BUTBECKER
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$239.95.
For SIGNAL SEEKER
TON
$179.95
Stan -Burn Radio & Electronic Co., 558 -H Coney Island
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low prices before
and ELECTRONIC
equipment. Rush your list for our low prompt quota& Electronic
Radio
Stan
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No
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tions.
Co., 558 -H Coney Island Ave., Brooklyn 18, N. Y.
HI -FI ENTHUSIASTS! Get our terrific
buying any HI -FI, TAPE RECORDER
SWAP: Ampex 350 heads,halftrack. Want fulltrack.
Box 884, State College, Pa.
Bozak 3 -wayspeaker system in blonde
mahogany, 4 woofers, 2 mid -range, 8 tweeters.
BOSTON AREA ONLY. Jay Tol Thomas,
$350.00.
9 Edgehill Rd., Winchester, Mass.
FOR SALE
AM -FM TUNER, 5 MV sensitivity, $65.00; Pilot
preamp reg. $129.50, only
AA -905 35 watt amp
$115.00. Both: $175.00. Wm. Kapner, 133 Mason
Farm, Chapel Hill, N. C.
NEW
list. Components guarandays. We will send you a
name for our mailing
your
to
get
Staticloth
free 89c
list. Let us know what equipment you have to trade
all major brands
stock
We
components.
for new
Dept. HF, Sound Reproduction, Inc., 34 New St
N.
J.
2,
Newark
USED EQUIPMENT. Send for
teed. May be returned in 10
,
Since I am planning for stereophonic
sound, I have a few technical problems. Where should I place the
speakers, for the best monaural and
stereophonic sound? I had originally
planned to place them on top of the
hi -fi storage cabinet, one in each
corner; however, I recently read that
the speakers should be one -third of
the total wall length from each side
of the room.
W. W. Barnhardt
Winston -Salem, N.
i
Here's the place to buy, swap, or sell
audio equipment. Rates are only 30¢ a
word (including address-) and your advertisement will reach 60,000 to 100.000
music listeners. Remittance must accompany copy and insertion instructions.
C.
Most of the manufacturers of recorded
stereophonic tapes recommend placing
the playback loudspeakers about eight
feet apart, with both speakers aiming
squarely into the room (without an
convergence or divergence).
This type of placement will give
optimum results from both stereo and
DB 0 -10 KC,
MICROPHONE
low distortion, high sensitivity, rugged, $20.00.
Write for data. C. Tendick, 900 Glenway Dr., Inglewood, Calif.
D42 CONDENSER
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NEAR TANGLEWOOD 16 acre estate for sale, Lenox.
Mass. Main house: 20 rooms, 4,2 baths, 7 fireplaces.
Guest house, large coach house with theatre, tennis
Box AH, Publishing
court, nearby lake privileges.
House, Gt. Barrington, Mass.
CHANGE
OF
ADDRESS
If you plan to move soon, please
notify us six weeks in advance.
Give old address as well as new,
clipping stencil imprint from wrap
per of last copy received.
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
MISSILE SYSTEMS
ELECTRONICS
Significant developments at
Lockheed Missile Systems Division have created new openings
for engineers and physicists in
fields related to: UHF and
microwave receivers; antennas;
radomes; countermeasures; radar
systems; propagation; circuit
techniques; radar reflectivity;
guidance; semi-conductor and
magnetic amplifiers. Inquiries
are invited about positions in
these fields. Please address the
Research and Engineering Staff
at Van Nuys.
MISSILE SYSTEMS DIVISION
LOCKHEED AIRCRAFT CORPORATION
VAN NUYS
PALO ALTO
SUNNYVALE
CALIFORNIA
...the ultimate goal
?,of the
monaural sound sources. On monaural
sources your sound will be located
shout mid -way between the actual location of the speakers; on stereo it
will stretch from one speaker to the
other.
Two other things should be emphasized. First, the speakers should be
identical units, and if they use tweeter
level controls, these should be set to
give identical tonal balance from both
speakers. Second, the best blending
and center fill -in on stereo programs
will occur if the speakers are mounted
fairly high in the room. Mounting
at about eye level seems to give the
best results.
tó
C°
ÿ Ñ
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l
! iei'
¡¡''
$189*
'slightly higher
in west
and deep south
write for literature
ma rat maul z company
44 -15 Vernon Blvd., Long Island City 1, N. Y.
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am in the U. S. Foreign Service
and am presently living in Greece,
where the electric current is 220 volts,
5o cycles. Will a r.io -volt high fidelity
system function satisfactorily with a
step -down transformer?
Obtaining
220 -volt components would not be
satisfactory, because I may subsequently be living in a country where
t so volts is standard.
Dale E. Good
American Embassy
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Amplifying equipment designed for
6o -cycle operation at rro volts will
function quite satisfactorily when used
with a step -down transformer from a
OCD
22o -volt So -cycle supply.
A 6o -cycle turntable, however, will
run at a slightly slow speed unless
there is some provision for continuously varying its speed, or unless it is
equipped with a special So -cycle sleeve
on the drive motor.
I own a Garrard Model T player
and a Garrard RC8o record changer.
They use plug -in heads, but I find
it very difficult to install and align
these heads correctly.
Is this the fault of the equipment,
or is there a means of insuring proper
alignment of these? Excessive wear
on my diamond needles leads me to
believe that the faulty alignment will
not only ruin them but my record
collection also.
Carl R. Saia
New York, N. Y.
'
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n
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CD
CD
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SIR:
preamplifier, complete $162*
_: =w=
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N
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The usual cause of sloppy- fitting Garrard cartridge shells is a loose socket
plug. On the underside of the pick -
Continued on next page
JUNE 1956
115
AUDIO FORUM
Continued from preceding page
First Public
S
Annual
HiFi Show
O
U
T
H
W
E
Weekend of
June 15, 16, 17
Rice Hotel
Houston, Texas
Hours:
l0 am to 10 pin
Here's your
1956 answer by
industry's leading
manufacturers:
"The How's
Why's
and
Where to Buy
Everythin g
for
Hi Fi"!
Bringing to
HOUSTON
a national
S
EPIC
of TODAY'S
HI FI!
T
Contact:
Office of Secretary
Southwestern Hi Fi
Distributors Assoc.
2410 West Alabama
Houston 6, Texas
up arm there is a small screw that
serves to hold the socket plug in place.
Plug one of the shells into the arm,
loosen this screw, and adjust for level
tracking. Then retighten the screw.
A second screw is also used to
adjust the pressure exerted by a small
strip of spring steel below the arms
on a ball bearing that holds the
cartridge shell in place. This screw
should be adjusted so that the fit is
firm 2vithout being too tight.
Excessive; wear of your diamond
styli may also. be caused by incorrect
stylus force. This should be checked,
and should be set at between 7 and
8 grams for most magnetic cartridges.
NEW
BOOKS!
"`
HI -FI
FOR
AND
TAPE RECORDER FANS!
YOUR
8 USE
HOW TO SELECT
TAPE
RECORDER
by David Mark
Written for the user of magnetic tape recorders
a guide in selecting a ma-and to serve assuitably
meets his or her inchine that most
dividual requirements.
The material is written for tape recorder fans
businessmen
housewives
office workers
and all those who
music listeners
lawyers
in the science
training
no
formal
have little or
of electronics.
how"! It is
you
"shows
which
It's a book
practical throughout. It uses easy -to- follow
"set -ups' for
actual
the
to
illustrate
pictures
the many different applications of tape re-a
you buy
before
hook
this
Read
cordera
It will save you many
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IT!
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150 pages 5Y x 8jß -gin. 152 illus. Soft cover
--
--
- ...
SIR:
I should like to have your opinion on
the value of an electronic crossover.
Does the improvement in quality
of sound make a biamplifier system
worthwhile? I have an extra amplifier
of good quality on hand at the
moment.
Another question. In all the drawings I've seen it shows a hookup for
only two speakers, but I am using a
three -way speaker system. How can
I connect these speakers for biampli-
fier use?
Christopher B. Sykes
Ashburnham, Mass.
The main advantage of multi -amplifier
systems is that they permit the woofer
to be connected directly to its driving
amplifier, eliminating the slight DC
resistance and consequent loss of
damping that a divider network choke
introduces into the voice -coil circuit.
Secondary advantages that are
claimed for multi-amplifier systems
are reduced intermodulation distortion
(since the channel carrying the treble
does not also carry the bass range),
while the separate volume controls
for each power amplifier provide adjustment of the relative levels of each
channel over a very wide range without the need for speaker level controls
(which introduce considerable DC
resistance into the circuit).
The improvement in listening
quality due to biamplifier operation
is usually quite small, and whether or
not it is worth the additional cost to
most listeners depends, first, upon
how good the existing system is, and
second, how much of a perfectionist
the listener is. There are very few
systems that are good enough that
$2.95
HI -FI LOUDSPEAKERS
and
ENCLOSURES
by Abraham B. Cohen
THE "CLASSIC" IN HI -FI LITERATURE!
Here is a long- needed book. Every question
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loudspeakers and enclosures is answered. and
This book is supremely authoritative
brilliantly written! The author is a recogan engineer.
musician
nized authority
but it is
The book is not only informative
exciting and interesting reading.
help
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Vivid and imaginative
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A MUST book for all hi -fi
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No. 176. 360 pages, 5q x 8h -in. Leather
finish MARCO cover. Hundreds of illustraOnly $4.60
tions
--
-a
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HIGH FIDELITY SIMPLIFIED
by Harold Weiler
This is the overall hi -fi guide for the hi-fi fan.
More than 50,000 copies have been sold. Discusses in understandable language what the
hi -fi fan wants to know about sound, tuners,
changers, amplifiers, pickups, tape recorders,
and
speakers, etc. It's the perfect primer
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Cat. No. 142. 224 pages, 5%-in. x 8% -in. Soft
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Cover. illus
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GUIDE TO AUDIO
REPRODUCTION
by D. Fidel man
An A to Z explanation of the reproduction of
sound, covering design, construction, assembly
and testing of sound systems and their com-
ponents.
No. 148. Soft Cover: 240 pages,
into
HOW TO SERVICE TAPE
5
j x 8h -in.
Only $3.50
RECORDERS
by C. A. Tuthill
Completely describes operation of recording
heads, types of electronics circuits, drive
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No. 167. Soft Cover: 160 pages, 53 x
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Rho
RIDER BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE AT ELECTRONIC PARTS
AND IN TECHNICAL BOOK STORES.
DISTRIBUTORS
IF UNAVAILABLE THERE, ORDER DIRECT.
JOHN F. RIDER Publisher, Inc.
480 Canal Street, New York 13, N.Y.
In
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Charles W. Pointon, Ltd.6 Alclna Avenue, Toronto, Ontario
-
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
FOR A SOUND
INVESTMENT...
USE A QUALITY CRAFTED
DIAMOND STYLUS
only
Our skilled diamond craftsmen convert your present
needle to a genuine, unconditionally guaranteed diamond needle! Send or bring
your replaceable needle,
check or money order for
Sits. Specify either 33 or 78
rpm. If desired, new shaft
supplied, 52.75 additional.
DIAMOND STYLUS CO.
DEPT. H2
31
WEST 47 STREET
N. Y. 36, N. Y.
part
Seericwen
part...what?
t
is one thing to hear a few
a sonata
whets the
Appetite of the`conncisseur and
gives him a foretaste of future
enjoyment. But to .Year half of a
complete symphony is more than
disappointing.
Yet, you can play a recording from
end to end and you can't hear ALL the
-it
)ers of
music unless your hi -fi equipment
includes a KELLY Ribbon "tweeter ".
Then, you ean be sure that you've heard
EVERYTHINti that's on the record
so,
for music's sake, acd a KELLY
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in England!
SPECIFICATIONS
Frequency response
-3000 -20,0000 cps
Horn loading
1000 cps cutoff
-
Dimensions--81/2"
51/2" x 41/2"
Force mass ratio
4 x 107 dynes /gm.
x
-
Audiophile
Net
6(19(15
Crossover network
(3000 cps) Model DN
$9995
I
L
they cannot be further improved by
conventional means (better power amplifier, speaker, etc.), but since you
already have the second amplifier on
hand you might go ahead and tr)
biamplifier operation.
To connect your three -way speaker
system for biamplifier operation, disconnect the woofer from the divider
network and replace it with a 5 -watt
resistor of the same resistance as the
woofer's rated impedance. Connect
an electronic crossover, of the type
designed specifically for biamplifier
use, between the control unit and trio
porter amplifiers. Select the amplifier
with the best high- frequency perform ance for the treble channel, and use
the best bass performer for the lowfrequency channel.
Then connect the woofer to the
output terminals of the low-frequencychannel amplifier. If the damping pro tided by the amplifier is too great
(if the extreme low end sounds deficient), you might try moving the
speaker to the next highest output tap
on its amplifier.
The divider network feeding the
mid-range and treble drivers is then
connected to the output of the treblechannel amplifier.
When the system is connected, set
the electronic crossover to the frequency at which the woofer channel
originally' cut off (when the three-way
divider network was used), and never
tarn it below this setting when operating the system, Louver settings will
cause a dip in the response, beeala3C
the loin- frequency limit of the midrange speaker is already determined
by its section of the crossover network.
Set the channel level controls for
optimum balance, and play ca record ing of piano or voice through the
rpstem. While listening. revere the
connections between the treble amplifier and its output divider network,
and choose the polarity which giro the best sensation of "depth" to the
recorded .round. Listen for the room
reverberation in the studio or hall
where the recording was made; correct connection of the speakers will
produce the most clearly audible reproduction of recorded roost acoustics.
Finally, reset the channel balance'
controls.
Write for complete information
on
1KELLYTUHF reproducer.
AT LEADING
341
-FI MUSIC CENTERS
ERCONA CORPORATION
(Elect-wile Division)
551 Fifth Ave., Dept. H-6 New York, N. Y.
JUIVE 1956
Among the
finer things
in life
High Fidelity
Listening to good music
its finest goes hand in hand
with the other facets of enjoyable and gracious living.
Shown are our Golden
Twins
and
.
.
.
12 -watt
matched tuner
amplifier. See
and hear the Golden Twins
and other fine Bell compo-
nents at your high fidelity
dealer's. Full -color literature
available upon request.
Those who demand the fittest in
"living reproduction"
always choose Bell
-a
,--
elf
t
555 -57 Marion Rd., Columbus 7, Oh,o
A
am planning to use a good 8 -inch
speaker in some type of enclosure here
in my rather small study. This system
subsid,ary of Thompson
I
Continued on next page
sv.
Sound Systems, Inc.
\
SIR:
at
Export Office:
401
/
i
i
Products, Inc.
Broadway, New York City 13
In Canada:
Charles W. Pointen, Ltd., 6 Alcina Ave., Toronto 10. Ont.
ll
AUDIO FORUM
Continued from preceding page
ANTENNAE
9rr&eputllir.. theif reita/urtú°
t
"
Carini, Ph.D.
Noted F.M. Authority
L. F. B.
Both for optimum sensitivity and quality of
construction, the FM /Q Antennae offer truly
outstanding performance that is unsurpassed
by any other.
Don't limit your tuner's sensitivity by using an
inefficient antenna. Listen to the many other
Good Music Stations on the air and enjoy the
full capabilities now dormant in your FM
tuner. Obtain increased signal strength and
greater distance with an FM, Q.
For advice and information, write our consulting correspondent who will be happy to advise
you regarding the solution of your particular
problem. Our valuable monograph "All About
FM Antennae and Their Proper Installation"
is available upon request.
will also serve from time to time in
an adjoining classroom as a public address speaker for a tape recorder.
Will I get better results from a
small corner horn enclosure or from.
say, a 4- cubic -foot solidly built sand loaded bass reflex, or a 4- cubic -foot
infinite baffle?
Your advice on this problem would
be greatly appreciated.
George Alder
San Jose, Calif-
Since you will probably be using ii
speaker system in a number of different rooms, you would do better to
avoid using a corner -type enclosure,
and should consider either a bass -reflex
or infinite baffle.
Your purpose might best be served
by a small bass reflex enclosure,
housing any quality 8 -inch speaker.
ÜLTIMATE PERFEC ION
IN TONE ARM PERFORMANCE
G{
Ortho-sonic v/4
Y -US
TRACKS COURSE Or ORIGINAL RECORDING STY
VITAL ENGINEERING
PRINCIPLE SOLVED
!
Tracking Error Eliminated
FLAWLESS REPRODUCTION ATTAINED.
Stylus moves in straight line from
edge to center as originally recorded.
INSPIRED DESIGN: Increases record
fits smallest cabinet . .
.
life
no scratch
plays all size records
. all popular carting possible
ridges fit.
NEVER BEFORE in the history of Hi -Fi
development has the introduction of
a single component created such
wide interest, laboratory and editorial endorsement.
Get ORTHO -SONIC V!4 with ittsl0
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SIR:
APPARATUS
DEVELOPMENT
COMPANY,
WETHERSFIELD
9,
INC.
CONNECTICUT
Keep Your
Records Young!
No more brushing, spraying
or wiping records
Use the new
DIS CHAltGER
Now i 00% better
than ever!
Imitated but not duplicated.
This tiny plastic device contains
a radioactive material which constantly ionizes the air in its vicinity,
drawing off the static electricity
generated by your records.
Static electricity causes records to
attract and hold dust. Use of the
Dis- Charger* eliminates the static
electricity and allows the stylus to pick
up the dust and clean the record in a
few plays. Records now no longer attract dust and stay clean and noise free.
gram
clips to any pickup arm.
See your local distributor, $4
or shipped postpaid, only . .
Each
-
50
MERCURY SCIENTIFIC
PRODUCTS CORP.
1725 W. 7th ST.
LOS ANGELES 17, CALIF.
*l'at. App. For
I18
am uncertain about the method of
using a Garrard stylus force gauge
to check the setting of the pickup on
my manual player.
Garrard's directions call for placing
the gauge on the turntable. When
I do that, and set the arm for 6 grams,
it reads 3 to 4 grams at record level.
If I set the arm at 6 grams at record
level, and then check by setting the
gauge on the turntable, as the instructions suggest, the reading is over
Io grams.
I'd appreciate it if you could let
me know which method gives the
correct pressure.
Arnold H. Lewin
Cortland, N. Y.
I
Probably the reason Garrard recommends putting their stylus force gauge
on top of the turntable is to insure
that the average stylus force on a
record changer will be correct, from
the first to the last record to fall onto
the turntable from the changer pile.
The pressure of a spring- counterweighted arm is likely to change somewhat between the first and last side
played, so it is best to set a record
changer arm for correct pressure at
in. above the turna height of about
table.
In your case, though, since your
player is strictly a manual unit, you
should set the pressure with the stylus
at record height.
AT
BETTER HI -FI DEALERS EVERYWHERE
Write For Illustrated
literature
ORTHO -SONIC INSTRUMENTS, Inc.
66C Mechanic Street, New Rochelle. N. Y.
4
BRAINARD TUNER -AMPLIFIER
Every feature the experts specify, plus the exclusive Brainard Acoustic Balance Control. For
complete specifications write to Engineering
Department for Catalog
H -2.
ralna4
CS
1
8586 Santa Monica Blvd. /Los Angeles 46, California
HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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