Stereophonic Sound - Magnetic Tape Recording

Magnetic Tape Recording

Stereo magnetic tape recording was demonstrated on standard 1/4-inch tape for the first time in 1952, using two sets of recording and playback heads, upside-down and offset from one another. A year later, Remington Records began recording a number of its sessions in stereo, including performances by Thor Johnson and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

Later that same year, more experimental stereo recordings were conducted with Leopold Stokowski and a group of New York studio musicians at RCA Victor Studios in New York City. In February 1954, the label also recorded a performance of Berlioz' masterpiece The Damnation of Faust by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Charles Münch, the success of which led to the practice of regularly recording sessions in stereo.

Shortly afterwards, the last two public concerts directed by famed conductor Arturo Toscanini were recorded on stereophonic magnetic tape, however they were not released as such until 1987 and 2007, respectively. In the UK, Decca Records began recording sessions in stereo in mid-1954, and by that time even smaller labels in the U.S. such as Concertapes, Bel Canto and Westminster along with major labels such as RCA Victor began releasing stereophonic recordings on two-track prerecorded reel-to-reel magnetic tape, priced at twice or three times the cost of monaural recordings, which retailed for around $2.95 to $3.95 apiece for a standard monaural LP. Even 2-track MONAURAL tape which had to be flipped over halfway through and carried exactly the same information as the monaural LP - but without the crackles and pops - were being sold for $6.95.

One has to understand that the average working man in 1954 might be taking home $50-$60 a week if he was lucky and paying $75-$100 a month in rent for his two-room apartment. Therefore the price of a great deal of 2-track stereo tape recordings of the period being upwards of $12.95-$18.95 apiece for a full-length album when the corresponding mono LP was only $3.95, would be prohibitive. In addition, the cost of the stereophonic recorder upon which to play them may have been equal to or greater than the cost of a new car.

However, audiophiles, with little or no regard for the cost, bought them and the players anyway, and stereophonic sound came to at least a select few living rooms of the mid 1950s. Stereo recording became widespread in the music business by the 3rd quarter of 1957.