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Old is New - technology-wise

C

Chuckigo

funny story to share -

one of my son's boy scout leaders mentioned to me a phone call received from her Eagle scout, away at college in upstate New York. he does a weekly college station on-air gig.

He: Hey, Mom - i got this request for a really great song, but they only have it on vinyl here in the studio

She: So play it.

He: I'd love to, but... how do you make that happen?

She: explains the whole "take record out of sleeve, put on turntable, lift arm, count the grooves..." thing

He phoned later, very proud that he played 3 cuts from vinyl and declared his one desire for Christmas was a turntable of his own.

how many stations around (that you're personally aware of) still have turntables in the studios? i know that our engineer has embraced the whole new-technology thing and the ability to play vinyl i think exists in one of our studios (buried under a counter-cover).
 
Turntable in a studio, not where I'm at. I bet if you ask 90% of people today what is "cue burn" they would either have no clue or have to ponder for a few minutes. Forget about a live read donut. I'm showing my age but I remember the first "Automation" machine I saw was at a station in CT and the unit stood 7' tall and just about as wide. and you could watch carts rotate in and out. That was back in the 80's. I think it may have even had a reel to reel player too. To long ago to remember. Have things changed or what? Sometimes I miss "wowing" in a record.
 
RVG's WDEV in Waterbury still has one in use. They had turntables at WDRC AM & FM when I worked for them from 1980 through 1990, (I think the turntables didn't last more than a couple of years,) and who cared about que burns? The worst was the Doobie Brothers, I think, Black Water? The rest we just potted down and talked over it so the listener wouldn't hear it. Compression would always keep you on your toes as well with covering it up, but we did it. That also ended alot of segues. Remember splicing tape, leader tape and no Adobe Audition? Now, I'll just seg away back to you.
 
Oh yes splicing tape-- I sucked at that, no patience ---I think today they would call it ADD. WDRC in the mid 80's, that was back in the days of Phill Briton was it not? I was a proud grad of the New England school of broadcasting. They had the hottest receptionest. OH NO -- FLASH BACK
 
Hey Green,
DRC owned the New England School Of Broadcasting. I was an instructor there. I went to the Ct School Of Broadcasting. Alot of good stories about that place. Yep, I started most of em.
 
A couple of years ago I needed a sound effect that I just could not find on our CDs or anywhere on-line. Wah-Lah! Found it on a record and even though I had to clean it up a little bit, it was just what I wanted. For my two cents on this topic, keep a turntable around as long as you can.
 
ken gilbert said:
Remember splicing tape, leader tape and no Adobe Audition?
Click to expand...
Splicing Tape? LOL!!! The very first station I worked at we actually had to use SCOTCH tape because there was no money in the budget for splicing tape. Ah, the memories! LOL!
;D
 
Hey Ken, When did you teach there? Yes I remember DRC owned the school. Ah the memories, the days when I would open the mic and puke on it. Thank God I grew up.
 
Green-on-the-Machine said:
Hey Ken, When did you teach there? Yes I remember DRC owned the school. Ah the memories, the days when I would open the mic and puke on it. Thank God I grew up.
Click to expand...
Opening the mic and puking on it was probably what I did at my first station. ;D
 
Wow - bringing back memories. I learned how to do production at JSC in the mid 80's. Then when I got my first real gig as a 'full time' jock in the early 90's we still used reel to reel, records and carts.

Good memories (now they're behind me) of cutting my fingers, the white marking pencil, and razor blades chaotically strewn around the production rooms. If I recall my first puke was actually my third job in Radio, but it was the first show that had my name on it - rather than just a weekend or fill in shift.
 
therealvoice said:
Wow - bringing back memories. I learned how to do production at JSC in the mid 80's. Then when I got my first real gig as a 'full time' jock in the early 90's we still used reel to reel, records and carts.

Good memories (now they're behind me) of cutting my fingers, the white marking pencil, and razor blades chaotically strewn around the production rooms. If I recall my first puke was actually my third job in Radio, but it was the first show that had my name on it - rather than just a weekend or fill in shift.
Click to expand...
The ones I knew who cut their fingers splicing were using double-edged blades. We actually had someone who got fired from a station for using a boxcutter for splicing.

I was taught in broadcasting school never to use a white grease pencil for splicing marks since white grease pencils smeared. The instructor was right.
 
The ones I knew who cut their fingers splicing were using double-edged blades. We actually had someone who got fired from a station for using a boxcutter for splicing.

I was taught in broadcasting school never to use a white grease pencil for splicing marks since white grease pencils smeared. The instructor was right.
[/quote]

Wow - a box cutter? That's hardcore. You're right about the grease pencil. I remember switching to the high tech method of sticking torn up pieces of paper in the reel at edit points.
 
I worked there full time on the air from 1980 throught 1990. TIC FM and WACKY FM 102 before that. DRC owned the broadcast school for, I believe only a couple of years. I taught both, but we took turns at different shifts. All of the Instructors were DRC on air people.
 
I am so glad the days of splicing tape are over. It seems the blade was good for only 10 cuts before it got dull. Doobies Black Water stated with wind chimes and it wasn't until CDs came in that we were able to hear them clearly without the cue burn
 
Chuckigo said:
how many stations around (that you're personally aware of) still have turntables in the studios? i know that our engineer has embraced the whole new-technology thing and the ability to play vinyl i think exists in one of our studios (buried under a counter-cover).
Click to expand...

Not strictly speaking New England, but check out www.wiry.com. Not just big ol' transcription 'tables, but walls of albums & 45s.
 
therealvoice said:
Wow - a box cutter? That's hardcore. You're right about the grease pencil. I remember switching to the high tech method of sticking torn up pieces of paper in the reel at edit points.
Click to expand...
You did that, too? ;) Glad I'm not the only one. ;D
 
Old Technology nightmare: I was playing AT40 on Vinyl. Played the flippin' records out of order.
 
I guess it's inappropriate to bring up acetate, polyester, and mylar reel-to-reel tape?

How many of us screwed up a commercial (or a syndicated show) that was recorded this way? The white splicing tape & single edged razor blades saved my butt more times than I care to remember! ;)

argytunes
 
argytunes said:
I guess it's inappropriate to bring up acetate, polyester, and mylar reel-to-reel tape?

How many of us screwed up a commercial (or a syndicated show) that was recorded this way? The white splicing tape & single edged razor blades saved my butt more times than I care to remember! ;)
Click to expand...

Remember the old Ampex decks that you had to "feather" the FF & Rew buttons to slow down the tape when you were rewinding/fast-forwarding? Just hit "stop" and guaranteed, one reel would lock up immediately and the other would continue to turn...depending on whether it was the takeup or supply you'd either break/strettttttttch the tape or have a big pile on the floor.
 
Old Bones,
That was the old 5 mm tape that always stretched. What a pain in the ars. The local Ministers and Preists would always show up with that weekly Sunday Show in the 70's. Yep.
 
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