I do remember that when it came out. Never got around to seeking it out. I always thought quad was perfect for synthesizers even though I have not heard traditional quad for many many years. I just play the records two channel. Another 70s thing that has not been brought to this thread is Lasarium. In the early 1970s you could go to a planetarium where the seats tilted back and they would have a quad music show with lasers going off on the dome ceiling. Dark Side Of The Moon was a staple of these events. Who knows where those tapes are.
It is early in the am here, but this thread has got me in the mood to break out the quad records I have. Maybe I will take some photos of them and post em.
I thought that the Flaming Lips Cd's were to be played on different players around the room and the space orientating
changed the way you perceived the songs. That is kind of the way quad is. One reason I thought they used so many synthesizers in the early 70s quad days, was {one} because they were in fashion and {two} because they are direct to tape so they do not need room acoustics to perform like wood instruments. The problem I think with quad is if you are using traditionally recorded 2 channel recordings then it is not really a quad recording but a quad effect treatment. I have never heard Sonic Seasonings in quad but I do own the remastered CD and the vinyl record and they talked about their process as being true 4 channel quad. The CD has a CD ROM section which shows Wendy's studio and how she had her 4 speakers set up. From hearing the CD it almost sounds like the 4 channel may have had big 2 channel sound washes. This would be a 2 channel slow moving low synth wash which is stereo but is used for a super dramatic effect in 4 channel as the sound moves from one end of the room passes thew the center and drifts off just like ambient sound do in life only much stronger with the use and subsequent mix of synthesizers.
Anyone can record a full acoustic performance really easy today 4 channel with what has been left over from the 70s. I had a collection of old 4 track reel to reels, which I think were made to record backups of 4 track records in the day. The other way you could use them was to have 2 channel going one way then reverse the reel for the other songs to be played back. I used them for 4 track multi track home recording.
You just get 4 microphones which are the same and go directly into a 4 track reel to reel. You do only one take and no over-dubs. On playback you need two stereo amps and 4 speakers which will be placed in the same areas that the microphones were in.You would want to keep your speaker wire all the same distance even if the player and amps were near you. You need to make sure the 4 track reel to reel tape recorder you find has the preamp section as some do not. This way you could use power amps and use the volume knobs in the reel to reel for volume. In this set up all levels should be kept the same on play back to keep it like it was recorded. The cool part here to is you have no tone controls which the signals go through. You then sit in the center and have a quad replay of the jam session. This is a very pure way of recording music as you have no mixing board, no effects, no compression, and you are using the performers placement as the way of arranging the levels.
The stereo community has evolved to a place where they believe that four opposing speakers would be producing waves which cancel out one another just like ripples of water in a pond. The quad feeling was just to over power this with volume!
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
