# Vinyl or analog sources in modern radio



## 13hm13 (Oct 31, 2016)

I was listening to my local FM classical radio station and heard the signature pop/click of vinyl.

Questions for any classical DJ's or radio-station programmers:

How often do you use vinyl or other analog (e.g., open reel) material that has never been released to consumers on CD, SACD or digital download?

Do you rip the vinyl (or tape) in-house (in your radio station), or is it done by some commercial supplier?

*Note: *My queries are for any broadcast radio stations: AM, FM, digital, or streaming.


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

I am sure that our many resident radio station programmers here on TC will be lining up to answer your query.


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

When I was a classical announcer, all music (with the exception of some provided reel-to-reel tape) was on vinyl played on real turntables, And one became expert at turning down the sound and flipping them over quickly when needed.


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

WMMR/Philadelphia's Pierre Robert has hosted a "Vinyl Cut" feature for years, obviously wise to the trend before it became a trend. And most recently, Scott Jameson's KQRS/Minneapolis showcased an all-vinyl version of the Beatles A-Z to commemorate the passing of John Lennon. One can expect more of this, especially for stations whose music originated on the vinyl album format. The vinyl/analog era and radio stations were unique because occasionally the records would skip and it was not always noticed immediately! Lol. But I think that was part of its charm: that there was an actual person who was actually at the station playing the records manually and sometimes accidents would happen. Rarely it seems were tapes used. But somehow the music sounded better, warmer, more human, and one considered the radio stations as friends and companions.

PS. Another characteristic of the vinyl era is that the studio turntables wouldn't always be calibrated to the correct speed, so the records would sound out of tune with a well-tuned piano, either noticeably too sharp or too flat. During the digital era most everything that was played sounded calibrated and in-tune, but IMO it was at the price of the richness of the music. The interest in vintage vinyl continues to grow, the tell-tale evidence of that is that far more receivers now have a built-in phono input. But I believe that it's not necessarily that listeners want vinyl but that they want the richness and depth of _analog_ sound and vinyl is one way to get it, at least on vintage vinyl that was manufactured before the onset of the Digital era.


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## Tikoo Tuba (Oct 15, 2018)

Local recordings were on magnetic tape , and sometimes there were infamous guest artists at the concert venue or live-in- studio . Either of these would be broadcast as is without any processing . They were not generally considered to have re-broadcast value , yet likely have been historically archived .
_
Jefferson Public Radio - Ashland , Oregon_


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## Guest (Dec 4, 2018)

Larkenfield said:


> PS. Another characteristic of the vinyl era is that the studio turntables wouldn't always be calibrated to the correct speed, so the records would sound out of tune with a well-tuned piano, either noticeably too sharp or too flat. During the digital era most everything that's played sounds calibrated and in-tune, but IMO it was at the price of the richness of the music. The interest in vintage vinyl continues to grow, the tell-tale evidence of that is that far more receivers now have a built-in phono input. But I believe that it's not necessarily that listeners want vinyl but that they want the richness and depth of _analog_ sound and vinyl is one way to get it, at least on vintage vinyl that was manufactured before the onset of the Digital era imbedded in_ plastic_.


I find it hard to believe that Radio Stations were using turntables that weren't calibrated to run at the right speed. As far back as the 1950's the Thorens TD124 had a stroboscopic indicator for monitoring platter rotation rate.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Certainly hard to believe. I was overseas in the later 60s and early 70s, and all the better turntables for sale on military bases had strobe bands around their platters, often 33 1/3 and 45 RPM bands for both 50 Hz and 60Hz power -- 4 bands total. Playing with the speed control was almost as much fun as fiddling with the (usually complicated) anti-skate mechanism.


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## 13hm13 (Oct 31, 2016)

Thx for all the lucid replies!

I should've made this clear in the OP:
The vinyl or analog source the MODERN station uses is a rip; not playing live as in the old days.
Bottom line: ripped on to a harddrive -- part of a playlist --and ready to be aired/streamed.

Somewhere on this forum is a post (or thread) about how much to the total vinyl/acetate classical-music output was digitized (for CD, etc). I believe the total % was less than 50% (Correct me if I'm off.) Hence it was my thinking that a modern radio station -- wanting to boost its audience -- would try to acquire some of that still-unique content.


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## 13hm13 (Oct 31, 2016)

Some of you noted live broadcasts (in the pre-digital era).

I'm not sure how much of this was archived? Probably, some TV simulcasts (here in the US, it was PBS), did archive. 
On YouTube, there are countless self-taped examples.

Other "live" radio/tv broadcasts were cut onto Lp's for nationwide distribution. In fact, one of my most-wanted recordings is Furtwangler's Piano Concerto, LA Phil. , Mehta/Barenboim, 1971.
I think the broadcast LP is here (note "private recording", probably means not for resale):
https://www.discogs.com/Daniel-Bare...m-Furtwängler-Symphonic-Conce/release/9503992


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

13hm13 said:


> Some of you noted live broadcasts (in the pre-digital era).
> 
> I'm not sure how much of this was archived? Probably, some TV simulcasts (here in the US, it was PBS), did archive.
> On YouTube, there are countless self-taped examples.
> ...


what about all the excellent live recordings of Callas operas from the 50s that have the words - private recording on the LP label? Were they broadcast on radio and somebody - perhaps in the studio handling the feed - cut records on the spot? Or taped by a listener and subsequently cut.


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