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From: edward@ukma.UUCP (Edward C. Bennett)
Newsgroups: net.audio
Subject: Re: SuperFi LPs (This does make sense folks!)
Message-ID: <1593@ukma.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 9-Apr-85 19:39:26 EST
Article-I.D.: ukma.1593
Posted: Tue Apr  9 19:39:26 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 10-Apr-85 23:36:17 EST
References: <7000001@petrus.UUCP>
Organization: Univ. of KY Mathematical Sciences
Lines: 62

>   SSI plans to offer to the public the ultimate analog recording--
> half-speed direct-to-disc LPs.  "We won't just be offering the
> Chipmunks," Speakes said, "there are many instruments, particularly
> in the woodwind family, that can be played one octave below score,
> and sound natural when the playback speed is doubled."
>
>   Speakes went on to observe that half-speed live recording will
> make it possible to capture performances of some of the most difficult
> music ever written, more accurately than the composer dreamed
> possible.  Some critics have objected on the grounds that human
> composers were well aware of human performance limitations when
> putting notes to paper, and intended a certain rough-hewn quality
> in the performance.  Speakes' recordings will be inhumanly,
> mechanically perfect.

(Granted this may be a hoax, seeing as how the original article was
posted on April 1st. But here goes....)

	You people seemed to have missed something. What is being
described is this:

	Play the music one octave lower than normal (i.e. half
the normal frequency) at half the normal tempo. This would allow
the musician to play complicated passages with a greater degree
of "correctness".
	Record this music on the recorder of your choice. When you 
cut (master) the master disc, play the tape at the same speed it
was recorded at while running the cutting machine at half its
normal speed. (This would be the 16 2/3 that Herb mentioned.)
Now you have half-speed music on a half-speed disc.
	Play this at the normal speed (33 1/3). The music
will now be playing twice as fast as it was played. Correct
key and tempo!!! (I think)

	What "half-speed mastered" commenly means is this:

	Play the music correctly. When you play the tape into
the cutting machine, play it at half speed and run the cutting
machine at half speed. The end result is the same.

	Half-speed mastering allows the amplifiers for the
cutting machine to have 4x as much power as they normally
do for powering the cutting stylus. (I once read a nice
description of this process and I think I've remember it right.)


	**** Here's the conclusion ****

	What Mr. Speakes is proposing is halving the music
speed rather than halving the playback speed of the master tape.



	There. Now either I'm the only one who figuered this
out, or the only one who fell for it.

-- 
edward

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