I "gamle dager" (på slutten av 50-tallet) leide man inn et symfoniorkester og et konsertlokale og så lot man orkesteret øve i 3-4 dager mens man satte opp 3 mikrofoner - center for mono, og høyre/venstre for bredde. Når man var fornøyd med lyden og mikrofonoppsettet gikk lyden direkte til opptak på en 3-spors båndspiller som så siden ble mikset ned til 2 spor. Liveopptak uten endringer. Hvis man skulle gjøre endring i en sats, spilte man hele satsen om igjen.
Det ble det god lyd av (men dyrt, det var det)!
In late 1955, Mercury began using 3 omnidirectional microphones to make stereo recordings on 3-track tape. The technique was an expansion on the mono process—center was still paramount. Once the center, single microphone was set, the sides were set to provide the depth and width heard in the stereo recordings. The center mike still fed the mono LP releases, which accompanied stereo LPs into the 1960s. In 1961, Mercury enhanced the three-microphone stereo technique by using 35 mm magnetic film instead of half-inch tape for recording. The greater emulsion thickness, track width and speed (90 feet per min or 18 ips) of 35 mm magnetic film increased prevention of tape layer print-through and pre-echo and gained in addition extended frequency range and transient response. The Mercury 'Living Presence' stereo records were mastered directly from the 3-track tapes or mag film, with a 3-2 mix occurring in the mastering room. The same technique—and restored vintage equipment of the same type—was used during the CD reissues. Specifically, 3-track tapes were recorded on Ampex 300-3 (½" 3-track) machines at 15 IPS. 35 mm magnetic film recordings were made on 3-track Westrex film recorders. The 3-2 mixdown was done on a modified Westrex mixer. For the original LPs, the mixer directly fed the custom cutting chain. At Fine Recording in NY, the Westrex cutter head on a Scully lathe was fed by modified McIntosh 200W tube amplifiers with very little feedback in the system. Older mono records were made with a Miller cutter head. For the CD reissues, the output of the Westrex mixer directly fed a DCS analog-to-digital converter and the CDs were mastered on Sony 1630 tapes. No digital enhancement or noise reduction was used.
Den gangen man prøvde å gjenskape hvordan lyden faktisk hørtes ut i en konsertsal.
PS: Som vanlig når jeg skriver ender det opp som OT, da dette absolutt ikke har noe med det opprinnelige innlegget å gjøre, da det dreide seg om lyden på Tidal. So be it.