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Tape Recording of "How The Rocking Chair Got Its Squeak" is Aired on Indiana University's "School of the Sky"

• Anmerkung : Rechts auf dem Bild sind die beiden Toningenieure vor den zwei großen amerikanischen Magnetbandgeräten zu sehen.

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"How the Rocking Chair Got Its Squeak", the prize winning script in the 1949 Association for Education hy Radio script contest, division five which was sponsored by Audio Devices, Inc., was broadcast this Autumn throughout Indiana, Illinois and Ohio on the Indiana University "School of the Sky" program.
The script, written by Fred Brewer, a graduate assistant at Indiana University, is one of many programs heard each weekday by school children in the area covered by thirteen radio stations which air the series.

"The School of the Sky" is now in its third consecutive year. Its programs, designed for in-school listening, cover history, news, science, books and guidance.

George C. Johnson is the general supervisor of the series, and Fred L. Gerbcr directs and produces all the programs which total 126 during a school year. Harry J. Skornia, chairman of the I. U. Department of Radio, originated the educational series which is now considered by educators as one of the finest programs offered to children.
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by C. J. LeBel, Vice President - Audio Devices, Inc.

While the rest of the country has been occupied with a mere political election, we have been checking into another type of preference - for tape. We have been busily checking the recommendations of tape recorder manufacturers, and so this issue presents the first published table of recording machine tape requirements - direction of wind, type of oxide and base material.

It is interesting to examine these recommendations in the light of possible industry trends. We note that of 23 manufacturers, 18 use the oxide-in style of wind. This surely registers an overwhelming preference - 78% - and we can only hope that the remaining 22% will fall in line in future models. In the meantime, the manufacturer and dealer have to stock every variety of tape in both styles of wind.

When we come to the question of oxide, the matter becomes one of engineering choice, rather than random draftsman's whim. Seventeen have preferred red oxide, 4 take black and 2 have compromised with both.

For base material 16 firms take plastic, 4 take paper and 3 have compromised.

Without having conducted any extensive survey, we strongly suspect that many of the designers, who picked red oxide, did so mainly because they had to take it if they wished a plastic base. Now it is possible to get plastic base, paper base, black oxide and red oxide in any combination. This opens up certain possibilities not hitherto feasible, and should induce the engineer to do a little experimenting.

A little listening has convinced us, that on the highest grade professional machines the difference in sound between plastic and paper base is not as great as results from the less perfect bias waveform of poorer machines. We would suggest, therefore, that the large radio station reduce its capital investment in tape by using red oxide paper base tape for legal record recording.
 
There is no reason why a tape of a quiz show, destined for filing for three months before final erasure, should be temporarily stored on the same high quality material as is used to preserve a world-famous artist's performance for posterity. Since the same oxide is used on both bases, the machine bias will not require readjustment. In many ways this parallels the disc recordist's practice of using a Red Label blank for important work, and a Yellow Label or Reference disc for less significant recordings.

Another possibility opened up by our complete line is of help to the owner of a home machine designed to use black oxide. For his most important recordings he can use Audiotape No. 1240 or 1241 which are combinations of plastic base and the black oxide he needs.

So, by making a complete line of tape available, we make it possible for the engineer to use whatever type best fills his needs for the job in hand.
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Tape-Recorded Interviews Used as Editorial Feature in "Journal of Metals"

When Mr. T. W. Lippert, Editor of the Journal of Metals, and Manager of Publications for the A.I.M.E., called on Henry Kaiser for an editorial interview, the usual note pad and pencil were conspicuously lacking. Instead, Mr. Lippert carried a Crestwood portable tape recorder - set it up on Mr. Kaiser's desk - plugged it into a (natürlich 110 Volt) power outlet - and started shooting questions at the famed industrialist. These questions, and the answers, in Mr. Kaiser's exact words, appeared as an editorial feature in the September issue of the Journal of Metals, under the heading - "Henry
Kaiser Says ... (a tape recorded interview)".

• Anmerkung : Auch wenn es die Chefs der Firma "Audio Devices" anfänglich nicht wahrhaben wollten, das Tonbandgerät war einfach nicht mehr aufzuhalten oder auch nur zu bremsen. Es kam mit Macht einfach durch die Hintertür.

Mr. Lippert has long been a proponent of the direct interview technique of editorial reporting. And he has tackled the job from every angle. Trying to jot down a person's words in abbreviated longhand was too slow - and not accurate enough. He has tried taking a stenographer along to record the conversation in shorthand. But the presence of a third party was not always desirable, and inhibited a free and natural flow of conversation. Also, this method of transcribing was not 100 per cent accurate either - especially when the dialogue was rapid, as is apt to he the case when a man really warms up to his subject.
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The tape recorder, on the other hand, has proved the ideal solution to the problem. Easily portable (weighing considerably less than the average stenographer), it assures an accurate word-for-word picture of the entire conversation - recorded in no more time than it takes to tell it.

To simplify transcribing interviews from tape to typewriter, Mr. Lippert has had his recorder equipped with a special foot switch attachment which plugs into the machine, and controls the tape drive. During transcription, the playback circuit is kept energized and the typist uses the foot switch to start and stop the tape as desired. It has been found entirely satisfactory to use the loudspeaker included in the equipment for transcription, without the need for a headphone attachment.

These tape recorded interviews have been adopted as a regular feature of the monthly Journal of Metals, at present appearing in every other issue. For the November issue, Mr. Lippert and his tape recorder have recently completed a tour through the Youngstown, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh areas, where he interviewed about twenty strikers picketing steel plants - getting their first-hand reactions not only on the strike, but on associated problems as well. As his recorder had to be connected to a power source which was not available on the picket lines, Mr. Lippert set up his equipment in a nearby barber shop or garage, then engaged the pickets in conversation and withdrew them one at a time from the picket line to his temporary "field headquarters". He states that the novelty of the tape recorder, and the instant playback feature, were a big asset in eliciting the cooperation of the strikers. They got quite a "kick" out of listening to the playback, and hearing their own voices probably for the first time in their lives. They were also fascinated by the fact, that their interviews were being recorded on the same reel of tape which contained the interview with Henry Kaiser - parts of which were played back to them before they went "on the tape".

Mr. Lippert states, that he selected tape instead of wire for this recording project, in order to obtain higher fidelity, more natural voice quality for easier transcription, and greater strength, with freedom from danger of breaking and snarling of the recording medium either during recording or playback. The Crestwood recorder which he uses is a dual-channel unit with a recording speed of 7 1/2 inches per second, providing up to one full hour of recording on a 7-inch reel of tape. This is more than adequate for any interviews which he expects to make.

Just as "the pen is mightier than the sword" - so tape recording has proved itself mightier than the pen, at least for this type of article.
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AUDIO RECORD November, 1949 - Vol. 5, No. 9 - November
(Additional information con be obtained by writing to the manufacturer)

EICOR, INC. CHICAGO
Model 15 - Portable - Listprice $ 134.95

Portable, dual-channel recorder with 7 172" per second tape speed, giving 1 hour of continuous recording on a 7" reel. Replaces original Eicor Model 1000, with addition of more simplified controls, time markings, faster rewind, and jacks for professional recording and reproduction. Weight, 27 lb.

PELCO INDUSTRIES 629 Second Ave., New York 16, N. Y.
SOUNDMASTER Model 44

Price to Distributors Around $85.00 - Listprice around $150.00

Portable, single-channel recorder with tape speed of 3 3/4" per second. One hour continuous playing. Frequency response (3db), 80-5000 cycles. Percentage of WOW, 0.2%. Rewind time 3 min. 6 1/2" PM Speaker. Neon lamp recording indicator. By adding tonearm, machine can be used as 78rpm phonograph. Weight. 38 lb.
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A good reporter is said to have a nose for news. But Thomas J. Valentino, not being a reporter, can afford to be different. He has a nose for noises! In fact he has spent the past fifteen years collecting them - not merely as a hobby, but as a fascinating and profitable vocation. Proof of this is the fact that the sound effects catalog of Thomas J. Valentino, Inc., New York City, lists disc recordings of over five hundred different noises - "From a cat's meow to a lion's roar - a pistol shot to a world war."

That quotation, incidentally, is Mr. Valentino's trade slogan - one that gives a pretty good idea of the scope of his collection. There are soft, peaceful, pastoral sounds - like the chirping of crickets and croaking of frogs in the dead of night. Busy, active, crowded sounds - like the din of heavy traffic in New York's Times Square. Quick, urgent sounds - like the fast, rhythmic clack-clack of a battery of teletype machines in a busy news room. Exciting, dangerous sounds - like the stacatto barking of a machine gun and the whine of ricochetting bullets.

Name just about any kind of sound you can think of, and chances are you'll find Mr. Valentino already has a recording of it. Take bells, for example. He can give you ambulance bells, burglar alarm bells, church bells, dinner bells, door bells, fire alarm bells, locomotive bells, telephone bells, ship's bells, and even the melancholy clang of a bell buoy. Or, suppose you want airplane noises. Take your choice of these: Air-cooled motor, fast; airplane crash; dive bombers diving for attack, zooming; Navy bi-plane; PB-40, zooming; twin-motor transport; fast bomber; flight; landing; propellers winding; squadron takes off; squadron passing; start motor; starts, takes off, flies; stunting; take-off, tri motor; twin-engine bomber; twin engine bomber, one engine missing. And of course there are all the associated sounds, too - like air raid sirens, falling bombs, crashing buildings, ackack, etc.

Mr. Valentino explains that his sound effects recordings sound so real because they are real - recorded from life on sound film, then re-recorded on Audiodiscs in the studio. On Record No. 5031A, for example, you hear the sound of subway turnstiles, the rumble and roar of an approaching subway train, the click of the wheels on the rails, the hissing of air brakes, the opening of the doors, the surging shuffling footsteps and grunts of the passengers getting off and squeezing on. the closing doors, the train starting up and rumbling away into the tunnel again. This recording was made in the Lexington Avenue subway station at 116th Street. Mr. Valentino's recording equipment was parked in a station wagon near the entrance, and he carried the microphone on a long line right down to the platform. This is realism - for nothing sounds quite as much like a subway train as a subway train!

It's not always an easy matter to get exactly the sound effects he wants. In making recordings for the Broadway show, "Casey Jones", for example, he was asked to reproduce the sound of a locomotive hurtling along at 90 miles an hour, Valentino finally got the New York Central Railroad to "loan" him a locomotive and a mile of straight track at Harmon, New York. But even that didn't solve the problem, for the engineer said the best speed he could possibly develop in that distance would be a scant 60 miles an hour (provided the engine would hold the rails). Not to be daunted by such a technicality, he had the rails coated with grease. Then the locomotive rolled along at 40 miles an hour, with the wheels spinning madly at 90 miles an hour or better! This was one of Mr. Valentino's favorite assignments - one, incidentally, on which he was accompanied by Mr. William C. Speed, president of Audio Devices.

Once, when selecting sound effects records for the Broadway production "The Farmer Takes a Wife", playwright Marc Connelly wasn't exactly satisfied with the numerous "baby crying" records. "I want something like this", he explained - and proceeded to demonstrate by emitting a most realistic infantile wail. Whereupon Valentino grabbed a mike, asked for a repeat performance, and recorded it on the spot. And when the show opened, the audience never suspected that what they actually heard was the voice of Marc Connelly, crying like a baby - literally, that is.

Up until fairly recently, all of Mr. Valentino's original recordings were made on film before being transferred to Audiodiscs. But, now that high fidelity portable tape recorders are available, many of his original recordings are made on Audiotape, and then re-recorded in permanent form on Audiodiscs.

Readers of this article who would like a copy of Mr. Valentino's latest sound effects catalog can obtain a copy from their local sound equipment dealer, or by writing to Thomas J. Valentino, Inc., 150 West 46th Street, New York 19, N.Y.

C. J. LeBel, retiring president, honored for contributions to Audio Engineering Society

The Audio Engineering Society's (AES) Audio Fair and first Annual Convention was held in New York City on October 27. 28 and 29. 1949. This, the first convention and exhibition devoted entirely to audio equipment, occupied the entire 6th floor of the Hotel New Yorker. The 56 exhibitors each had private rooms in which were displayed their latest equipment.

One of the high spots of the convention proceedings was the presentation of the Audio Engineering Society Award to C. J. LeBel, vice president of Audio Devices, in recognition of his many contributions as one of the founders of the organization and its first president. Mr. LeBel was succeeded by Theodore Lindenberg, of the Fairchild Recording Equipment Company.

The Audio Fair chalked up a total registration of 3,022 - more than four times the membership of the sponsoring organization. Attendance at the technical sessions averaged 250. Exhibitors, visitors, and members of the Society all evinced great enthusiasm - which augurs well for an even bigger and better Audio Fair in 1950.

The Audio Devices exhibit featured the new plastic-base Audiotape which at that time had just been released to the trade. Demonstrations of recorded music on both plastic and paper base Audiotape gave eloquent proof of the fidelity, brilliant high-frequency response, uniformity, and freedom from background noise and distortion which are made possible by this new and perfected recording medium.
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- in new radio advertising course at Montana State University

A course in radio advertising is being taught for the first time this fall at the Montana State University Journalism School, Missoula, Montana. Prof. O. J. Bue is in charge of the course - "Radio Commercials".

Students in the class learn the theories of radio selling and get considerable practice in the preparation of commercial copy. They each prepare and make tape recordings of a series of 13 commercials for each of 12 different products. The copy will be submitted to local stations for criticism and suggestions.

An extensive collection of recorded commercials als« is used for classroom analysis. In another phase of the course the young writers study the report on radio advertising recently prepared by Joske's of Texas. Audience studies and analyses of listening habits also come in for consideration by the students. All the students have completed a course in principles of advertising.

Professor Bue, veteran journalist, is one of the first journalism teachers in the United States to be selected for a summer radio internship. He served at Station KVOO in Tulsa, Okla., in 1945. He has taught the radio journalism courses at MSU - newscasting, radio editing, and special events - since their inception.

by C. J. LeBel, Vice President, - Audio Devices, Inc.

Tape recording is afflicted with a species of noise wich is of no practical significance in disc recording. Sometimes it masquerades as distortion, sometimes as ordinary ground noise, but in any case modulation noise must he suspected.

We may distinguish hetween ordinary ground noise and modulation noise, when we recall that the former is constant in intensity, whereas the latter varies with the signal and is modulated by it. In Fig. 1 we have exaggerated the effect for greater clarity. The ear interprets this as distortion, for the result has heen the creation of innumerable intermodulation products which make the tone fuzzy.

Modulation noise is a function of the character of the oxide and of the uniformity of coating. Many of the natural oxides seem to be very bad in this respect. Since they also seem to he rather poor recording media, this additional fault poses no special problem. Synthetic oxides with good recording characteristics seem satisfactory as regards modulation noise, and indeed certain procedures that lead to best results in one respect also are beneficial in the other.

Variation in coating thickness will also introduce modulation noise. Perfection of the coating surface in contact with the hase material is determined, of course, by the smoothness of the base, and a plastic-base tape, therefore, has about 15db less modulation noise than the smoothest paper hase material. A poor paper-one that has not heen supercalendared will have 5 to 15 db more noise than the best paper. We have exaggerated the effect in Fig. 2 so that it can more easily be seen.

The professional user will naturally use a plastic base tape for all critical work, but he will not thereby assure the lowest possible modulation noise. It is possible to have a rather uneven coating top-surface, and, therefore, much noise. Some plastic tape presently marketed has considerable modulation noise in the 40 to 60 cps range due to coating machine imperfection. However, our engineers, with more than ten years experience in the construction and use of disc coating machines, were able to design and build coating equipment that makes the tape free from such low frequency components.

• Anmerkung : Das ist auch wieder Marketing Blabla. Die Beschichtung von relativ dicken ALU-Scheiben mit einer Lackschicht ist gänzlich (oder völlig) anders als die Beschichtung von extrem dünnem Papierband oder noch dünnerer Plastikfolie. Die Prozeduren sind absolut verschieden und nicht vergleichbar. Die Magnetbänder müssen nämlich ganz im Gegensatz zu den "lacquer discs" extrem flexibel sein und extrem dünn absolut gleichmäßig beschichtet sein. Dazu läuft das Band am Ende duch einen Kalander.

If the recording machine's bias waveform is even slightly assymetrical, the resulting dc component will create modulation noise. Since this will be as steady as the bias current, it will masquerade as ground noise. Most machines on the market suffer from this defect, in varying degree. If there is a 40 to 60 cps component in the modulation noise, it will show up as a hoarsely raspy hum in the background, when run on such a machine.
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on plastic or paper base with red or black oxide

Audio Devices now offers you a complete line of professional quality magnetic recording tape - designed for matched performance in any tape recorder.

You would have read this announcement two years ago - except for one thing. Our engineers were not content to offer you a recording tape that was merely "good" by existing standards of comparison. They wouldn't put their seal of approval on Audiotape until it had been so perfected in every detail that it would match the quality and uniformity which have characterized Audio-discs for the past decade.

Paper base Audiotape reached that goal last May (1949), after more than 2 1/2 years of research and development. And now plastic base Audiotape has also graduated from the laboratory - with a degree of engineering excellence which is an unqualified recommendation to all professional recordists.

SEND FOR YOUR FREE SAMPLES and let Audiotape speak for itself. We will be glad lo send you a 200-foot sample reel of plastic or paper base Audiotape. Write to Dep't. T-l.

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