UNLABELED VS ACCIDENTAL
SURROUND AND QUADRAPHONICS

THE REASONS

The recording is made in matrix surround sound, but the label is disguised for only those who know (I)

1. The record company placed a symbol indicating a quadraphonic recording on the cover and/or the label.
2. The record catalog number is encoded to tell the type of recording (e.g. M, S, or Q for mono, stereo, or quadraphonic).

   RCA used a similar catalog coding system (M, AM, DM, D) to tell whether its 78 RPM record albums were made in the manual sequence (M), the slide-automatic sequence (AM), the drop-automatic sequence (DM), or were unsequenced (D) for different kinds of record changers (See record sequences).

The recording is made in matrix surround sound, but is deliberately not labeled as surround (I)

1. The record company decided not to label it to keep from losing ordinary stereo sales. Often record stores put recordings labeled as being in surround sound in a special "quadraphonic" bin, instead of with the other recordings by that artist. The record company does not want that to happen.
2. The artist recorded in a surround or quadraphonic system other than the system the record company has contracts for. Since the encoding can't be removed from the recordings, the only solution is to not label the recording.
3. The artist recorded in a surround or quadraphonic system his own record company used, but a company that makes and distributes the artist's recordings in other countries has contracts for a different surround or quadraphonic system. Since the encoding can't be removed from the recordings, the only solution is to not label them.

It is NOT a good idea to not label a CD-4 or UD-4 record because they cause trouble with radio stations.

The record company doesn't know the recording is made in surround sound (I)

1. The artist recorded in a surround or quadraphonic system other than the one allowed by the record company. Since the encoding can't be removed from mixed down recordings, the artist did not tell the record company.
2. The record company does not want quadraphonic recordings, but the recording engineer put surround or quadraphonic effects into a recording anyway. He didn't tell anyone, so the recording is not labeled.
3. The recording engineer put surround or quadraphonic effects into a recording, but didn't tell anyone. Therefore, the recording is not labeled.
4. The recording is taken directly from a movie's film soundtrack, so it is recorded in Dolby Surround, but the record company does not know this.

A process intended for some other purpose creates a surround or quadraphonic effect (U)

1. Attempts to pan instruments outside the normal stereo pair (wide stereo) cause those instruments to appear in the back speakers of RM, SQ, and Dolby Surround.
2. Attempts to pan reverb outside the normal stereo pair cause the reverb to appear in the back speakers of RM, SQ, and Dolby Surround.
3. The trick to make an instrument appear in both stereo speakers without centering it between them causes it to appear between the back speakers of RM, SQ, and Dolby Surround.
4. The use of the Blumlein or Stereo-180 miking system puts sounds approaching from the sides into the back of RM, SQ, or Dolby Surround decoding.
5. The Haeco CSG (Compatible Stereo Generator - also known as the Holzer system - and as a process used by Jerry Moss of A&M Records) was a system to reduce the size of the center soloist in mono playback. It was used on records produced by the A&M, Warner Brothers, Atlantic, Atco, and Reprise labels from 1968 to around 1971, although some bands continued using it afterwards. It reproduces correctly through a BMX or UD-4 decoder, and throws the center soloist to the left back in SQ playback. "CSG Process" appears on some record jackets or labels.
6. Devices intended to simulate a stereo effect from a mono recording can create surround effects.

The recording techniques used accidentally produce a surround effect (A)

1. Mic placement is such that one mic picks up another instrument with a time delay.
2. A binaural pair of mics picks up some instruments with phase relationships that locate sounds in the back of the surround sound space.
3. Reflections from the sides and back of a concert hall strike the microphones with random phase relationships.
4. Sound approaching the back side of a supercardioid or hypercardioid mic is picked up out of phase, compared to other sounds picked up by the mic.
5. Sounds approaching a Blumlein M-S microphone array from the side are sent to the back of an RM or SQ system.
6. If the effect is caused by a time delay between mics picking up the same source, the perceived direction of the instrument will vary with which note is played.
7. The sawtooth, sine, and square wave outputs of a synthesizer have phase differences between them. This can create surround effects when a different output is sent to a different mixer channel.

EXAMPLES

A Recording Company Deliberately Disguised any Quadraphonic Labeling (I):

• Angel Records decided to minimally label its SQ quadraphonic issues with a circle around the Angel logo of a recording angel instead of a rectangle. This was done because records labeled "quadraphonic" were placed in a quadraphonic records bin in the record store instead of being placed under the composer's name. Information about SQ was often on the inside sleeve.

  People who knew what the logo meant and wanted SQ bought the records. People who did not know about the special logo also bought the records.

• Vox just put the QS logo and the words "Regular Matrix" at the bottom of the back of the album covers of its later classical releases. Their classical releases also had Q in the catalog number.

  People who knew what QS was and wanted it bought the records. People who did not know what QS was bought the records too.

A Recording Company Deliberately does not Label Recordings (I):

• Because Polydor had adopted the CD-4 quadraphonic system, it did not disclose that the soundtrack album from the 1975 movie Tommy was recorded in QS.

  Note: It appears that the first production run was in QS, but successive runs were of a new master remixed to remove the QS encoding, probably at Polydor's insistence.

• Because records stores threw their records in a "Quadraphonic" bin, instead of placing them with their other records, the Beach Boys removed the Dynaquad label from two of their albums in 1973.

A Recording Company does not Know the Recording is Surround (I):

• Most soundtrack albums made directly from film soundtracks made between 1977 and 1995 were in Dolby Surround, though most of the record companies did not know this fact. The film credits said Dolby Stereo, but the record company didn't equate this with surround sound in recordings taken from the film soundtrack.
• Most of the albums by Meco (Meco Monardo) are recorded using regular matrix (RM) surround mixing techniques, but the record company sold them as stereo records.
• Because RCA would never make records in the CBS SQ matrix Vangelis used for his recordings, RCA was not told that the recordings were in SQ.

Recording Techniques Intended for Other Purposes Creates a Surround Effect (U):

• Almost all stereo records by Herb Alpert were made using the Haeco CSG system. They behave as if they were recorded in SQ or BMX, even though they were recorded before either system was introduced. This system was also used on recordings made by the Baja Marimba Band, the Carpenters, Sergio Mendez, Chris Montez, and the Association.
• The reverb on Melanie's Candles in the Rain is recorded out of phase on the stereo channels, so it can't be located in stereo playback. This reverb comes from the back channels of RM, SQ, and Dolby Surround decoders.
• Emerson, Lake and Palmer's Tank has a snare drum riff that is panned completely around the RM speakers. This was recorded in mid 1970, before the details of the quadraphonic systems were known. The original purpose was to make the drums sound weird in the middle of the pan. Phase buttons on a mixer were used to create the effect.
• Many synthesized stereo records show quadraphonic effects.

Recording Techniques Accidentally Create a Surround Effect (A):

• The Beatles "Let It Be" and "Abbey Road" give pleasing results in RM, even though they were mixed before the secrets of matrix recording were known. An echo chamber with multiple microphones might be the reason.
• The Neil Diamond album Hot August Night puts the audience noises in the back of an RM sound field of this live recording. This appears to be an accidental phase shifting of audience sounds caused by mic placements. The Steppenwolf album Steppenwolf Live exhibits the same effect.
• Many of the older stereo classical recordings made with distant mics or the Blumlein configuration have an excellent ambient field caused by pickup from the sides of a concert hall.

Recordings with Unknown Reasons for Surround Effects

• Almost all ABBA recordings behave like either SQ or BMX recordings. But it is not known whether these effects are caused by unlabeled SQ or BMX recording, by some process similar to the Haeco CSG system, or by an accidental mic placement effect. It might also be due to using the Stereo-180 mic system.

HOW TO TELL BY LISTENING

What to look and listen for when determining whether the quadraphonic or surround effect is Intentional (I), an Unintentional side effect of a technique (U), or an Accidental combination of equipment location and aiming (A):

• Any recording made before 1970 that exhibits surround effects must either be accidental (A) or unintentional (U). The Haeco system is most likely the cause of any recordings with SQ or BMX characteristics (U).
• If the sound changes position when each different note is being played or sung, it is an accidental effect caused by multiple microphones picking up the same source (A).
• If an instrument seems to be very wide in the stereo image, a simulated stereo synthesizer was probably used (U).
• If the recording was made from a movie soundtrack made between 1977 and 1995, suspect Dolby Stereo surround sound encoding (I).
• If the effect seems to be an ambient pick up from the room the music was played in, it could be from any of several different causes:
  1. The back sides of supercardioid mics picked up the room ambience picked up by the front sides of other mics (A).
  2. A reverb effect was mixed out of phase so it could not be located in stereo (U).
  3. A binaural pair of mics picks up some instruments with phase relationships that locate sounds in the back of the surround sound space (A).
  4. Reflections from the sides and back of a concert hall strike a Blumlein stereo pair from the side (U).
  5. Devices intended to simulate a stereo effect from a mono recording can create surround effects (U).
  6. A mic aimed at the audience is added to the mix out of phase (I).
  7. Someone was trying to place parts outside the speakers in the stereo image (U).
• If nearly all of the recordings of one particular artist have the same surround effect, it is either:
  1. Intentional, where the artist wanted to create a surround effect (I).
  2. Unintentional, as the by-product of a technique used for some other reason (U).
• Recordings made after 1977 are more likely to have intentional quadraphonic or surround effects (I).
• SQ, BMX, and H effects that don't change position with each note are more likely to be intentional, because it is much harder for them to occur by accident (I). But the Haeco system also does this (U).
• Some Moog synthesizers have normal and phase-shifted outputs. These when used together can cause unintentional SQ or BMX effects (U).
• The Haeco CSG system can cause center parts of a stereo record to appear in the back of SQ recordings (U).
• A fake stereo simulator often puts some instruments into the back of RM or SQ systems. But the location of each part seems to move as the note played changes, and some parts seem smeared across the stereo stage (U).
• Some electronic instruments even sort the notes of a stereo output into order as the positions of keys on a piano are, from left to right. The location moved as the note played changes. Mixing these two channels with other pan positions can produce quadraphonic effects (U).