What was with WPEN this evening?

[JoeyDee_WOGL]

Some of thier songs around the 5-6 o'clock hour sounded like it was beign played on a mono car radio with just one channel working. All you could hear was vocals, and some bass.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by JoeyDee_WOGL on 06/22/05 01:28 AM.</FONT></P>

 

[Phillyradiogeek]

> Some of thier songs around the 5-6 o'clock hour sounded like
> it was beign played on a mono car radio with just one
> channel working. All you could hear was vocals, and some
> bass.
>

Their processing has been an issue since they went to the oldies format. They really need to fix that ASAP--along with the signal. And weekend programming.

 

[Jim_Hicks]

I have noticed that frequently. It becomes very apparent with some Motown tunes recorded back in the day when the main singer, say Marvin Gaye, would be on one channel and the backup singers on another. There really is only one music channel coming out.

> Some of thier songs around the 5-6 o'clock hour sounded like
> it was beign played on a mono car radio with just one
> channel working. All you could hear was vocals, and some
> bass.
>

 

[KC2LDY]

> > Some of thier songs around the 5-6 o'clock hour sounded
> like
> > it was beign played on a mono car radio with just one
> > channel working. All you could hear was vocals, and some
> > bass.
> >
>
> Their processing has been an issue since they went to the
> oldies format. They really need to fix that ASAP--along
> with the signal. And weekend programming.<

Well, yes, you're right. But this particular problem isn't the processing. It's one channel of a stereo recording making it to air. And it's a problem I'm hearing on more and more stations these days - AM or FM. Also, often the song you hear on an FM Oldies station may include both channels, but is simply in mono - whether it was recorded in stereo or not. Sometimes, this last problem has more to do with which Oldies library the station bought. But often, it's just sloppy engineering - particularly when only one channel can be heard. There's no excuse for it and it's another reason people are abandoning broadcast radio in droves.

Steve
KC2LDY

 

[eGillCVI]

They were adjusting their processing for the upcoming change to Pen-AM, "Playing Whatever No One Wants To Listen To."

> Some of thier songs around the 5-6 o'clock hour sounded like
> it was beign played on a mono car radio with just one
> channel working. All you could hear was vocals, and some
> bass.
>

 

[billjacobs]

Another problem that crops up sometimes (though probably not here, since WPEN isn't broadcasting in analog stereo any more, as far as I know) is that some mono recordings which have been re-released in "rechanneled stereo" achieve the stereo-ish effect by playing phasing games with the two channels. That, in turn, can give a station's stereo synthesizer fits.

It happened to me once. A record I was using had the two channels out of phase, so the stereo synthesizer flipped one of the channels to restore proper phasing. Unfortunately, when I talked over the record, *I* was in phase, so when the synthesizer flipped one channel to fix the music, it put my voice OUT of phase, and no one listening in mono could hear me. Of course, that may have been a good thing.

Bill

 

[Jim_Hicks]

Back when we first changed from carts to cd's for the music, when only one channel came out (very noticeable on Mamas and Papas songs) you knew the y-connector on the back of the player needed to be replaced. These days the problem is far more complex and too few stations have full time engingeers who really know how to fix things. Its the old "hey, everything is digital and solid state, what can go wrong ?" Well, as we are noticing on many stations, a lot can and DOES go wrong.

> > > Some of thier songs around the 5-6 o'clock hour sounded
> > like
> > > it was beign played on a mono car radio with just one
> > > channel working. All you could hear was vocals, and some
>
> > > bass.
> > >
> >
> > Their processing has been an issue since they went to the
> > oldies format. They really need to fix that ASAP--along
> > with the signal. And weekend programming.<
>
> Well, yes, you're right. But this particular problem isn't
> the processing. It's one channel of a stereo recording
> making it to air. And it's a problem I'm hearing on more
> and more stations these days - AM or FM. Also, often the
> song you hear on an FM Oldies station may include both
> channels, but is simply in mono - whether it was recorded in
> stereo or not. Sometimes, this last problem has more to do
> with which Oldies library the station bought. But often,
> it's just sloppy engineering - particularly when only one
> channel can be heard. There's no excuse for it and it's
> another reason people are abandoning broadcast radio in
> droves.
>
> Steve
> KC2LDY
>

 

[Jim_Hicks]

When Jim Nettleton refers to the old WFIL albums, he better not be playing one of those on the air. They almost always used that phasing game. On a cheap stereo system-no problem. But they sure were not broadcast quality!

> Another problem that crops up sometimes (though probably not
> here, since WPEN isn't broadcasting in analog stereo any
> more, as far as I know) is that some mono recordings which
> have been re-released in "rechanneled stereo" achieve the
> stereo-ish effect by playing phasing games with the two
> channels. That, in turn, can give a station's stereo
> synthesizer fits.
>
> It happened to me once. A record I was using had the two
> channels out of phase, so the stereo synthesizer flipped one
> of the channels to restore proper phasing. Unfortunately,
> when I talked over the record, *I* was in phase, so when the
> synthesizer flipped one channel to fix the music, it put my
> voice OUT of phase, and no one listening in mono could hear
> me. Of course, that may have been a good thing.
>
> Bill
>