"Swing 1270"

[Mike Sheridan]

I heard on the radio this week that Woodstock was 41 years ago. Wow did that make me feel old!

 

[Yeziknoradio]

BTW- if your doing Canadian, I think it is "eh"... (hey, a few Labatts and who cares, eh? )

HDBG

Yeah, it IS eh, eh...but sadly, there is no BIG name beer brand anymore there.
BOTH Labatts and Molson were sold to foreign companies.

BOXer BEER anyone??? ( http://boxerlager.com/ )

Apparently, this "Little guy" makes great beer...

"Boxer Lager is made in small batches with the finest Western Canadian 2-row Barley..."

It's also sold at the "Lowest legal price in Ontario beer stores" AND
it is SOLD OUT in 1 of every 3 beer stores you visit!
(beer is sold only in a beer store in the province of Ontario, Canada)

See the tv ad here: http://lowestlegalprice.blip.tv/

 

[Element9]

Ravinder and Manjit?! That sure as hell ain't Ian and Sylvia... or Gor and Megan, either. Eh, Yezi man?

 

[Yeziknoradio]

Ah, gotta love those "New Canadians" eh?
I do swear that I really did have a bad cold and a stuffed up nose when I came up with the name "Yezi" though.
You'll just have to trust me.

 

[RBW]

Finally remembered to listen to 1270 this morning on the way to work (about a 45 minute drive). I live in Lancaster and Scott hit it on the head, it's useless east of Transit Rd. It's amazing how much man-made crap is blanketing the AM band these days. Lots of noise, though it never faded. I didn't get good signal level until I got near Union Rd.

I'm sorry but this is bad on so many levels.

First, AM radio for music is a dead platform. I get more fidelity listening to music on hold. I grew up in the 50's and I know what AM is capable of and what it did, indeed, sound like once upon a time. Has anyone actually heard the letter "S" clearly annunciated in the last 20 years? Sounds like everyone has a lisp. The audio is too compressed for my taste, also. It really got tiresome. It reminded me why I never listen to AM.

Second, it's an unfortunate brand for the station. Folks, this music has nothing to do with Swing. Not even close. They seem to flirt with the Great American Songbook at times but it's not often enough. It sounds like it's centered on 50's pop. A lot of music they play doesn't seem to fit cleanly in any one genre. There's no one selling the music, either. I'm familiar with a lot of it but I heard some things I couldn't identify and will never know because there is nothing tellling you what the track was. The format to me sounds kind of like the first incarnation of WECK (The Mucous of your Wife). Kudos to ownership for trying but I don't see this going anywhere. The audience that first loved WECK is pretty much disappearing.

I just completed a trip west through Nia Falls & back. I’m not sure about your reception report… since from going west on Rt. 77, by the time I got to Royalton, I was getting WHLD pretty well. This was at about 5 pm. It began coming through in splashes (to the east) not far from where Talk 1280 lost its co-channel mash! I will agree that the processing is a tad much at times, and when a Mathis song came on, it actually took me a moment to realize that it WAS him. His voice lacked the resonance it often displays on similar stations.

As far as programming goes, I’d say it seems closer to MOYL. Yes 65+ seems to be the target. I’m actually amazed why they didn’t get a contract with Dial Global and put “America’s Best Music” on there! After all, that's what WECK had before their last incarnation. The DG format skews a slightly younger demographic, and are now adding more late 70’s cuts into the mix while still featuring the American Songbook evergreens. Unless they felt they’d steal a few more ZOOMER 740 listeners away, by digging deeper into the vault.

I’m also wondering why they ID as “Buffalo” and not Niagara Falls/Buffalo? Since the tower no longer sits on Grand Island, did they lose their SOL status in the Falls??

 

[RBW]

Some of what's discussed in this thread involves AM radio receiver quality as much as it does transmitter and antenna capabilities. WHLD-AM 1270 shares a five tower array with WNED-AM 970, creating a few problems getting decent (music) audio through the traps and ATUs. The mostly inferior construction of modern day AM receivers and the electromagnetic debris that affects the AM band make matters worse.

Just as a "by the way" reply..........

My wife has a 2008 Hyundai Sonata. I still have my 2003 Toy Corolla. The AM reception on her car, although not bad, is horrendous with selectivity. If close by to a tower (even a weak one) the noise will splatter down several frequencies making even other well heard stations sound like crap. Meanwhile, the AM audio in this car is the dirtiest I've EVER heard. The treble changes minimally when selected from all the way + to all the way -. It's almost as if Hyundai just assumes that you'll NEVER use the AM band period (or want to).


In comparison, my Corolla is just the opposite on everything I've said is wrong with the Hyundai's AM receiver.

 

[Element9]

As far as programming goes, I’d say it seems closer to MOYL. Yes 65+ seems to be the target. I’m actually amazed why they didn’t get a contract with Dial Global and put “America’s Best Music” on there! After all, that's what WECK had before their last incarnation.

Citadel owns the ABC Networks (ABC Media) which includes satellite formats. Citadel won't sign a deal with a competitor, such as Dial Global. This is a home brew format which probably runs off a hard drive in a rack in a production studio or closet.

The DG format skews a slightly younger demographic, and are now adding more late 70’s cuts into the mix while still featuring the American Songbook evergreens. Unless they felt they’d steal a few more ZOOMER 740 listeners away, by digging deeper into the vault.

Citadel most likely won't program many (if any) 70s on 1270. To do so might infringe on the format that's on 104.1 which is 70s based pop and rock. Ironically, WHTT seems to be nibbling on 97 Rock's steak in this regard.

I’m also wondering why they ID as “Buffalo” and not Niagara Falls/Buffalo? Since the tower no longer sits on Grand Island, did they lose their SOL status in the Falls?

According to the latest FCC data base the COL for WHLD is Niagara Falls. Something's amiss here. WHLD either has been granted Buffalo as the COL or their TOH is wrong. If the TOH is incorrect, they'll get a notice from the FCC and correct the problem in ten minutes.

 

[average_listener]

Actually, the quality of AM could be similar to satellite - albeit in mono unless you want to go back to C-QUAM. It would require a return to 10KHz bandwidth, and upgrading modern AM processing.

It's more of a slam against the poor quality of satellite radio. Satellite talk channels are no better than AM, and satellite music stations don't begin to approach the quality of a well-processed FM. They're more in the range of a bad MP3. Of course, there are poorly-processed FMs that sound like overcrunched crap (a/k/a "Syracuse pre-set"). Fortunately, we don't have many of those in the Buffalo market.

Rox, you either haven't heard Sirius/XM recently or are content to repeat urban legends about satellite radio. I scanned through all the talk channels I could find and except for the traffic/weather/info channels (and that's only a handful) they all beat AM quality hands down. Consider the source of some of them like CNN or MSNBC which are taken off a TV sat receiver. Live TV studio audio always sounds funky since the acoustics are generally poor with very live studios and the processing is non-traditional. And I will actually defend the music channels as being better than FM (at least around here) since they clearly use less processing and are much easier to listen to and without the fatigue tune-out factor. I admit some of the channels have more bandwidth allotted to them but as far as "bad mp3" sound, I haven't heard a bad mp3 since the mid 90's and satellite doesn't really fall into that category.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Just for the record, I've heard Sirius/XM recently, and can instantly tell the difference in music quality when a car stereo switches back and forth between satellite and FM. As far as satellite talk is concerned, it doesn't have to be very good to be better than a lot of AM stations these days - especially the ones churning out i-Hash that I've experienced in my travels.

The audio quality is markedly better if you're in a market big enough to have ground repeaters providing the signal most of the time. It's not as good if you're on the interstate between major cities.

I do agree that there are too many poorly processed FMs, particularly if you listen to CHR or Hot/AC. In our own market, Star is fatiguing to me. They used to have very good processing. Now, they're LOUD, but the processing is just plain ugly. Apparently I'm not the only one spending less and less time on 102.5.

 

[average_listener]

Just for the record, I've heard Sirius/XM recently, and can instantly tell the difference in music quality when a car stereo switches back and forth between satellite and FM. As far as satellite talk is concerned, it doesn't have to be very good to be better than a lot of AM stations these days - especially the ones churning out i-Hash that I've experienced in my travels.

The audio quality is markedly better if you're in a market big enough to have ground repeaters providing the signal most of the time. It's not as good if you're on the interstate between major cities.

I do agree that there are too many poorly processed FMs, particularly if you listen to CHR or Hot/AC. In our own market, Star is fatiguing to me. They used to have very good processing. Now, they're LOUD, but the processing is just plain ugly. Apparently I'm not the only one spending less and less time on 102.5.

Points well taken Rox. I agree there is a difference but it may not necessarliy make either one better. Maybe I've just gotten used to satellite audio. I was an early adopter and what got me into it at first was content, not quality which in those days wasn't the greatest. The orginal model called for far fewer channels and the audio could have been really good. But, alas...

 

[Philip_Airtime]

I'm just astounded by why Citadel chose to name this station Swing 1270. It's anything but! I was listening today. First of all, you hear the liner announcer proclaiming "this is Buffalo's favorite radio station," which is absurd in and of itself! And then I hear him say "Swing 1270" followed by the Turtles' "Happy Together." The Turtles represent swing? OMG! Call it "Oldies 1270." "Gold 1270." Now, I'm not critical of the format. There's a certain charm in hearing this particular format of music on the AM, the radio band where all of these songs were heard for the first time. I commend Citadel for doing something with this frequency. I'll admit it's not a station that I'll be tuning in a lot. But while I was on the road for a half-hour today, it was enjoyable. But please, change the name!

 

[Yeziknoradio]

I'm just astounded by why Citadel chose to name this station Swing 1270. It's anything but! I was listening today. First of all, you hear the liner announcer proclaiming "this is Buffalo's favorite radio station," which is absurd in and of itself! And then I hear him say "Swing 1270" followed by the Turtles' "Happy Together." The Turtles represent swing? OMG! Call it "Oldies 1270." "Gold 1270." Now, I'm not critical of the format. There's a certain charm in hearing this particular format of music on the AM, the radio band where all of these songs were heard for the first time. I commend Citadel for doing something with this frequency. I'll admit it's not a station that I'll be tuning in a lot. But while I was on the road for a half-hour today, it was enjoyable. But please, change the name!

Isn't this the same company that flushed out the oldies format on FM (Oldies 104) because there's "no money" targeting the older listener?

Sooooo....they went OLDER????

I'm sorry, I think I missed something...

 

[SirRoxalot]

C'mon, guys. "Swing 1270" may not have been the best choice of names, but you know that they're not going to change it now. And Yezi, there's a big difference with what you do with a full-market FM and a forgotten AM.

Citadel, for all its failings, has finally reverted 104.1 to "Classic Hits", which is '70s-centric, with some '60s and some '80s, and the format is recapturing a nice chunk of saleable audience. "Swing 1270" is offering disenfranchised older listeners and those with an interest in pop music from a bygone era something to listen to. It's a niche format, and if it makes a profit, it's a bonus. Would you rather that they take 1270 back to a format that got NO ratings?

C'mon, they gotta make that stock that they're giving Farid worth something, right?

 

[heydaybegone]

"Swing 1270" may not have been the best choice of names

But then again, maybe in "today's" nomenclature...they may be searching for the "swingers" in the market.

(Easy, I'll keep my day job - LOL)

 

[Nick Gerard]

But then again, maybe in "today's" nomenclature...they may be searching for the "swingers" in the market.

(Easy, I'll keep my day job - LOL)

Then they should change it to "Schwing 1270."

(...apologies to "Wayne's World.")

Nick Seneca

 

[SirRoxalot]

Then they should change it to "Schwing 1270."

(...apologies to "Wayne's World.")

Nick Seneca

...Brought to you by Viagra....

 

[Mike Sheridan]

"Swing 1270" is a lot better than "Slide 1270" or "Monkey Bars 1270"

ba-dump-bum! Try the fish, I'll be here all week....

 

[RBW]

"Swing 1270" may not have been the best choice of names

There seems to be stigma these days in calling this type of format, what they used to call it. Last year in the Mohawk Valley (Utica) --- when formats changed on 1480 WADR & 1550 WUTQ, they emerged playing everything from Sinatra, Mathis, et all to The Drifters, The Eagles, Bread, etc... and labeled it "beautiful". The canned liners proudly announced,... "Dean Martin, Johnny Mathis, Barbra Streisand, The Carpenters... just beautiful".... followed by a mid 70's pop-hit! They've since added an FM -- on 95.5 The "beautiful" liners have ceased, but the format remains the same.

 

[Yeziknoradio]

"Swing 1270" may not have been the best choice of names

There seems to be stigma these days in calling this type of format, what they used to call it. Last year in the Mohawk Valley (Utica) --- when formats changed on 1480 WADR & 1550 WUTQ, they emerged playing everything from Sinatra, Mathis, et all to The Drifters, The Eagles, Bread, etc... and labeled it "beautiful". The canned liners proudly announced,... "Dean Martin, Johnny Mathis, Barbra Streisand, The Carpenters... just beautiful".... followed by a mid 70's pop-hit! They've since added an FM -- on 95.5 The "beautiful" liners have ceased, but the format remains the same.

Sounds like they use the same consulting team as CKDX 88.5 FM in Newmarket Ontario! :

 

[rdcuffpa1]

My wife has a 2008 Hyundai Sonata. I still have my 2003 Toy Corolla. The AM reception on her car, although not bad, is horrendous with selectivity. If close by to a tower (even a weak one) the noise will splatter down several frequencies making even other well heard stations sound like crap. Meanwhile, the AM audio in this car is the dirtiest I've EVER heard. The treble changes minimally when selected from all the way + to all the way -. It's almost as if Hyundai just assumes that you'll NEVER use the AM band period (or want to).

In comparison, my Corolla is just the opposite on everything I've said is wrong with the Hyundai's AM receiver.

I'm a 1998 Camry owner, but rented a 2008 Sonata two years ago for a trip to Montreal from our Eastern PA home. I was aghast at the lousy AM performance of the Sonata's radio; the bandwidth was somewhere around 4-5 kHz - what I'd expect out of a shortwave receiver, not local AM broadcast.

The Camry's AM performance is much better.

Richard in Allentown, PA (ex-East Aurora, NY)