The basic rhythms of our media life depend upon the theory that a certain portion of the atom, the electron, will under certain conditions move out of its orbit around the nucleus and travel into the orbit of the nucleus of another atom. Each of these electrons has a negative charge and is held in place by the positive charge of the nucleus; their flow to another nucleus is caused by a surplus of negatives existing around one nucleus and a lack of negatives existing around the other nucleus. This flow of negatives is known as electricity.

A positive charge of electricity is a lack of negatives, a lack of electrons. A negative charge of electricity is an excess of the normal amount of electrons, a surplus of negatives. Thus electricity is the exact opposite of what one might presume it to be — it is the flow or movement of negatives. Positive is too few negatives to be negative. And just to zap it all together: a no charge or uncharged group of atoms is a perfect balance of positives and negatives.

Consider that the atoms of which we�re all made are only positive when they can�t be negative, and that they�ll willingly become negative if given half a chance. When electricity is flowing from the socket in your wall to your record player it is the flow of negatives which makes the record player run.

The philosophical aspects of electricity and this positive-negative mumbo jumbo may not be interesting or startling, but it is nice to know that the basic principles on which everything from light bulbs to electric chairs operates has a Confucian tinge to it. It is also nice to know that the majority of people who work with electricity don�t spend too much time fretting about this reverse of the obvious; they just assume it works (an old scientific ploy) because they haven�t run into too many situations where it doesn�t.

In our culture the assumption without proof that electricity works has been refined to the point where it is an assumption that the button you push works. A reading lamp works because it goes on when you push the button, a tv works because it goes on when you turn the knob. We have become dependent on the magic button to the point where manufacturers of electronics know that they will sell more of an item if it has one button that causes it to operate rather than two. That this will eventually lead to units which have no buttons at all — tvs that turn on when you sit in front of them, for instance — is not a scientific fiction but just a question of how cheaply such units can be mass produced.

To be horrified by these electrical advances is to have a false s6nse of where you�re at. Guitars, amplifiers, sound systems, recording studios, records, stereo sets, even the process by which this story is printed are all purely electrical or electro-mechanical phenomena. We are the children of an electronic event and the sooner we are able to grasp that fact, the more potential we have of dealing with it ip a constructive manner.

Just consider the music we listen to. There was a time when an electric guitar was nothing more than an amplfied acoustic guitar, but that hasn�t been the case for five years. An electric guitar is, today, an entirely different instrument than an acoustic guitar, with very little similarity except in shape to its pre-electric ancestors. Our culture is electronic and electric, but it is not artificial — the advancement of electricity and electrically operated conveniences is nothing more than the sophistication of energy, leading us into another age.

The ultimate extension of this electronic revolution is difficult to predict. This century has been a crossing point between the age of mechanical machines and the age of electrical machines. Most of today�s equipment is electro-mechanical, meaning that electricity rather than water-wheels or windmills is being employed to make mechanical devices function. We will enter the totally electronic age when there is no need for a motor or a turntable, when sound is stored as electrical impulses and retrieved and reproduced without the aid of any mechanical devices (record players or loud speakers). When this happens, more information will be stored in smaller spaces. The waste inherent in records, amplifiers, turntables, speakers and the wires that connect them will be eliminated. There is an essential purity to totally electric realities that we are attaining slowly but surely through what may seem to be totally wasteful, disgusting methods.

To urge every individual to understand how electricity works is futile. Many of us are happy that it works and can�t be bothered as to why. That is a false, defensive attitude. We must not surrender but rewire ourselves for a world where we will be the elder statesmen/ women able to remember the die-cast days when you had to put a record on a turntable, turn on the turntable and the amp and put the needle in the groove before you could hear the music. I hope they won�t laugh at us too much.

Sound Systems

We are living in an era of electronic decadence where the slightest whim can be instantly satisfied — if you can afford it. The luxury of being able to acquire a home entertainment system that is more sophisticated than most professional recording studios were eight to ten years ago does have its drawbacks however. Not only is there a hefty price tag on every component you�ll need to build that system, there is also an inherent confusion in the number of alternatives available and the ever-present possibility of getting suckered into buying carefully merchandised electronic junk which serves no useful function. The compulsive spending mania of credit-based consumer affluence has been met and conquered by the manufacturers on their own terms. Otherwise sensible people willingly rip themselves off in an effort to have as much chrome-plating as possible. Big has become synonymous with good, dramatic with dependable; what something looks like presumes how it will work.

During 1971, the American consumer spent $5.5 billion on electronic equipment and $1.7 billion on records. Which means that during 1971 the American consumer got burned for several million dollars worth of crap masquerading under various brand names. An even larger number of consumer dollars went to buy items that are marginally crap; units which do function but which do not provide full service. No matter how hip, disclaiming any knowledge of how things work is too expensive. The time has come when there is just too much shit to wade through blindly.

There are three pieces of equipment essential to any sound system. All three of them should be chosen for their reliability rather than convenience or, as they say in the biz, cosmetic appearance. The phrase �sound system� is used intentionally, rather than �stereo� or �hi-fi� because that�s what a record player, amplifier and speakers are: a sound system. Their basic function is to retrieve the information encoded on a disc, amplify that information, and translate it into audible sound. To do this all three of these

components must meet certain specifications and tolerances which, without laboring the point too much, manufacturers of these components are liable to side-step if they can sell the units by other means.

Let�s start with the machine with which you play your records. This can be either a turntable or a record changer. A turntable is a circular plate driven at certain speeds on which a disc is placed so that it revolves at those speeds. Adjacent to the turntable is the tone arm, which is just a stick of wood or metal holding a needle, encased in a cartridge held at the proper angle and weight relationships to the disc so that the needle can ride in the disc�s grooves. A record changer is the same as a turntable except that it has a mechanism for automatically changing the discs.

The tumtable/changer must turn at the proper speed with a minimum of motor-plate vibration which produces bottom end rumble; the tone arm must track across the record at the proper' angle to preserve the record for another play and must lie in the grooves without any undue weight on the needle; the mounting case for all these pieces must provide proper damping so that you�ll be able to walk around the room while a record is playing. You�ll soon realize that you can�t buy a good turntable for less than $80, and a good changer for less than a hundred. That�s what it costs to make them right. The AR turntable (Model XA, $87) and the Dual changer (Model 1215S, $109) are excellent examples of well manufactured equipment in this price range that will provide dependable service. Both are designed along simple lines with heavy-duty turntable plates, low mass tonearms, good drive motors and accessible adjustments. (You will have to adjust your own turntable from time to time, checking to see that the weight and tracking angle of the tone arm are correct and that the drive speed is right. Both Dual and AR make this easy by presuming that you can and will do it and providing you with the necessary manualinformation to get it done.)

From the turntable/changer the signal goes to the amplifier where it is amplified, the frequencies are adjusted to suit your ears (bass and treble controls), and then sent out to the speakers. Although the trend is towards amplifiers that incorporate AM/FM Stereo or FM Stereo receivers, if you�re into rock music you would do well to buy a good amp and get a radio receiver-tuner as a seperate component. Since a good amp will cost almost $200, you�re not going to get what you need if you buy some converted tin can for $87.50 that includes a radio and lots of controls and dials.

Amplifiers are really two seperate sections: the pre-amplfier which accepts the signal from the turntable (or FM receiver or tape recorder) and contains the bass, treble, function selector and other switches, and the amplifier which amplifies the signal before it goes to the speakers. The pre-amplfier must be sensitive in terms of allowing you to control the signal; the amplifier must be powerful yet not introduce any distortion as it amplifies. If you�ve got the money these two units can be purchased separately (Dynaco PAT-4 Stereo Pre-Amp $ 159.95/Stereo Power Amp $199.95 or Marantz Model 71 Stereo Pre-Amp $325/ Model 16 Basic Stereo Amp $395), but that�s the ultimate system situation and you can do very well without it by getting an integrated amplifier (pre-amp and amp built together in the same case). The best rock amp on the market at the moment is the Dynaco SCA-800 ($169.95 in kit form, $249.95 ready to plug in). Other good amps for rock music are the old Fischer tube amps which you can find used for around $100 and the AR amp which lists for around $250. All of these amps are very basic in design, with a minimum number of controls, but all will provide good amplification over the full range of sound — meaning the bass will pump, the drums kick and the guitars wail. Many amps, especially the lower priced models, just don�t give you good bottom when it comes to reproducing rock music. Tube amps were, in general, better for playing rock, but nobody�s making them since the advent of transistors. If you can buy a used tube amp that once sold for two or three hundred dollars you�ll probably do better than spending the same amount of money for a transistorized unit.

The only controls you really need on a good amp are volume, bass and treble. All the rest of that stuff is there to catch your eye more than your ear, so be wary when you buy. It�s also a good idea to take your favorite rock record along with you when you go to buy equipment as the easy listening and classical shit they�ll be playing at the store doesn�t give an amp or speakers the kind of work-out that rock does.

There are two kinds of speakers: low efficiency and high efficiency. A low efficiency speaker needs a lot more power to drive it than a high efficiency speaker and results in a packed sound: KLH speakers are famous for this. In general high efficiency speakers are better buys. Get the largest speakers you can afford — especially if you�re going to be playing your music loud — and make sure that they�ll handle at least ten to twenty per cent more wattage than your amp puts out. That way, you won�t blow them the first week.

There are many good speakers on the market, some of the best for rock being the AR line such as the AR 2AX ($128 each), Dynaco Model A-35 ($119.95 each), and Altec Lansing 891A ($125 each).

If you can afford it get the big Altec or JBL floor model speakers. Although they cost over a couple hundred dollars each and you may never use them at full power, you�ll get much truer sound, the principle being that if the speaker is of very high efficiency (requiring little wattage to drive it) and your amplifier puts out a fair amount of power (20 to 50 watts) you�ll be driving your speakers for normal listening at a power level that has little distortion in it (the closer the volume

control of your amp is to being up full, the more likely you are to be running a distorted sound into your speakers).

Very often there is a temptation to forget all this by purchasing an integrated sound system — turntable and amp built in one case with external speakers — or a package deal — amp, speakers and turntable all for one low price. You lose either way. Although there are some good integrated units such as those suitcase models put out by KLH, you won�t be able to replace any of the components if you decide you want to upgrade your system. As for package deals, there�s usually a catch: a good amp and turntable but speakers with some weird brand name you never heard of — and rightly so because it�s just some shit they threw together in the back room. Or a good amp and good speakers with a cheap turntable such as some of the bottom of the line Garrard or BSR turntable-changers that come unglued (the plastic parts start falling off, honest!) within a few months.

Even if you make a mistake with one of the components you buy, you can always replace it without having to scrap the whole thing. Think simple, know what you want before you get to the store, and don�t believe in light-up dials and miracle units. Sound systems are at their best when they�re built to

Tape Records

If you�re a perfectionist when it comes to reproducing sound then you�ll definitely need a tape recorder to complement your other stereo equipment. The most versatile and sophisticated of all tape configurations, reel to reel tape recorders have reached a point in their development where 600 dollars will buy a machine that meets recording studio specifications. Unfortunately, less expensive machines, especially those in the under two hundred dollar category, have few of the advantages of the higher priced models, so if that�s all you�ve got to spend it�s advisable to get a cassette machine instead.

A good reel to reel tape recorder will provide you with the facilities to make excellent recordings and, if you�ve got a good amplfiier and speakers, to play-back those recordings with no loss of quality. In addition, many recorders include professional features such as editing, cueing, mixing and sound-on-sound in case you want to record live music or produce your own audio programs. '

Audible sounds come within a certain frequency or sound range — from very low frequencies (bass) to very high frequencies (treble). To store these frequencies on tape they are electronically pulsed onto the surface of the recording tape as that tape is run from reel to reel past the heads of the tape recorder. Without getting into electronic theory, the faster the tape passes the head the more �room� there is for each impulse to be stored on the tape arid thus the more true the impulse is when stored. A tape running at 1 7/8ths ips (inches per second) will not hold as much bass and treble as a tape running at 3 3/4ths ips, the quality rising again as you record at 7Vi ips. Professional recordings are made at 15 ips, guaranteeing that whatever is being played will be stored on the tape. Unfortunately the faster the tape speed you use, the more tape it takes — you�ll use twice as much tape recording at 15 ips as you will at 7V2 ips. But if you�re interested in quality recording, you should record at 7V4 or 15 ips.

The majority of higher priced tape machines being made have both 7Vi and 15 ips speeds. (By higher priced we mean a machine that costs $400 to $600.)

Other important aspects of good tape recorders are the motors and the way they drive the reels. Again, higher priced machines have the electronics to provide stability in terms of motor functioning and at least two motors, one for each reel.

The quality and number of heads included in a tape recorder are also worth your attention. Cheap tape recorders have two heads, one to erase the head (clean it) before you record on it, the other to either record or play-back depending on which mode you�re in. A head that serves the dual function of both record and play-back will not perform either function as well as if there were two heads, one for record, the other for play-back. In addition a third head for play-back (making one erase, two play-back, one record) will allow you to monitor the recording on the tape as it is being made, to do echo and sound-with-sound. Again, the more expensive machines will have these features.

Finally if you�re going to spend the money on a good recorder you should get one that takes a 1014 inch reel. These will give you an hour of recording time at 714 ips, half an hour at 15 ips, plus you can store your tape in boxes on hubs (rather than on reels) which makes buying tape less expensive since you can get a reel of tape on a hub for about $5. The same amount of tape on reels would cost between $8 and $11. Also, if you want to do editing it is much easier to manipulate 10/4 inch reels than the standard home size of 7 inches.

There are a few other conveniences that you�ll find on expensive machines which, while not crucial, are nice. These include solenoid operation (solenoids are devices which allow for push button operation of controls rather than lever operation and which also allow for the fast-forward, play, record and rewind controls to be located some distance from the actual recorder by means of a cable with a control box), and mic-line mixing (you can mix two signals together onto the tape through the internal electronics of the machine rather than having to go out and buy a mixer).

Among the units we�d recommend as really good tape recorders are the Panasonic RS-103US ($699.95); the Sony TC-850 ($795); the Teac 3300-11 ($529); and the Revox A77-HS ($779).

In the lower priced field (top speed 7Vi ips, largest reel 7 inches, no editing facilities for the most part), you�d do well to consider the Revox A77 ($679), Teac 1230 ($359.50), AKAI 1721W ($269.95). A word of caution: just as Sony makes really fine cassette machines, amplifiers and video equipment, so they seem to turn out some really bum tape recorders, especially in the lower price range. Also, stay away from mail order houses� brand name tape recorders if you can; they have a habit of being really terrible.

There are a number of tape recorders on the market that feature automatic reverse, meaning once one side is played a second set of heads comes into play to reproduce the reverse side/tracks. These are very nice but they make it very difficult to get at the tape head mechanism for cleaning apd if they fuck up they�ll eat your tape, small children, and anything else in the vicinity. If you�re too lazy to get up and turn over the tape yourself, get one of these, but don�t expect too much consolation from your repair man if it stops functioning.

Speaking of automatic reverse, it is a common practice among home audio buffs to record on both sides of their tapes (you record on one side and flip the tape over and record on the other side, although you�re still recording on the same side of the tape, it�s just that the tape heads cover l/8th of the tape width per channel and thus you record on half the tape going one way and the other half on the way back). Doing this means that it is unlikely that you�ll be able to play the tape on any machine but the one you own, as tape heads have a habit of not exactly lining up from machine to machine. If you�re going to invest the time and money in recording tapes, record only on one side, using new tape.

Cassetes Cartridges

Introduced in the mid-sixties, audio cassettes are the ultimate extension of audio tape as an information storage and retrieval device. Using a one-eighth inch wide reel of tape up to two hours in length, the outer dimensions of the cassette in which this tape is enclosed measure no more than 4� by 214� by >4�.

Despite the obvious advantages of a tape configuration where an entire record collection could be kept in a shoe-box, cassettes have had a rough time establishing themselves as a consumer item. This has been due in the most part to several American corporations who had tooled up to make eight-track cartridges in the sixties and weren�t about to scrap their investment just because something better was available. But during the last two years the consumer has chosen cassettes over cartridges despite the hype.

Cartridges are almost four times as large as cassettes, they are more expensive and they won�t hold as much recording time/tape as cassettes. In addition there are four points during the playing cycle of cartridges when the program material is interrupted while the play-back mechanism switches channels. This can lead to songs breaking off in the middle or being unmercifully edited to fit on the cartridge, since the design of the cartridge system demands there be four program segments of exactly equal tape length — which means that if you have a recording which is going to be reproduced on cartridge it must be divisible into four equal parts or else you�re going to lose some of it. Like records, cassettes have two program sides and in the case of pre-recorded cassettes the length of the cassette is determined by the longer of the two program sides — thus whatever material is being put on the cassette gets there unaltered. The advantage of the cartridge is that the program can be played continuously since the tape inside is a continuous loop and that the fidelty is very good since cartridges run at 3?A ips using VA inch wide tape while cassettes run a 1 7/8 ips using. 1/8th inch wide tape. (The wider the tape and the faster its running speed, the better the sound reproduction.)

But these are false advantages. The continuous nature of cartridges fucks up the programming potential as mentioned above while the higher running speed only means better sound until the electronics of the cassette machine are improved — and that is already happening. Once the electronics companies decided that cassettes really were the best in terms of size and consumer appeal, it became a question of improving the machines on which thecassettes are played to the point where the sound was as good as on the records. European and Japanese companies have done this, forcing the big American companies to swallow their pride and follow suit. It was less than three years ago that RCA was saying they weren�t going to manufacture cassettes because the consumer was going to want cartridges. Today, of course, RCA is churning out cassettes just like the rest of �em.

Anyway, cassettes are now a total reality. If you�ve never used a cassette, you probably aren�t aware how simple they are to manipulate. You just drop the cassette into the slot and push the record or play button.

The machines on which you play the cassettes have been miniaturized as well, the smallest machine available having the dimensions of two packs of cigarettes put together. Many cassette machines have microphones built right into them and it is moving towards the day when you�ll have an entire sound system that fits in the palm of your hand.

There are two varieties of cassette machine on the market — the compact, battery operated portable units and the highly sophisticated home deck units. The portable-machines have advantages in terms of size, weight and general utility while the home deck units have internal electronics - such as Dolby noise suppression units - which allow recording and play-back with the fidelity of reel to reel tape recorders or records.

For cost, dependability and ease of operation, Sony makes some of the best portable machines on the market, starting with their TC-40, a battery operated portable with a built-in mike. It sells for about $100. In the same price range is Sony�s TC-45 ($119.95), a deluxe version of the TC-40 with extras like automatic shut-off. The most sophisticated of the Sony machines in this category is their TC-55 ($139.95) which is really a sub-miniature unit (114� x 5 7/8� x 3 7/8�) and has everything you need to make your own bootleg albums: built-in mike, automatic shut-off, fastforward and cueing, tape counter, speech/music selector switch, and very dependable motors. All of these machines have automatic gain controls, so you don�t have to set any volume controls when you�re recording. Other cassette machines in this size and price category are the Hitachi TRQ-21 ($99.95) and the Sharp RD-428U ($69.95).

Stereo portable machines are larger and more expensive. The biggest hit in this area is the Sony TC-124CS which comes complete with cassette machine, two external speakers and well-made carrying case. Believe it or not, you�ll hear things on this system when you play pre-recorded cassettes on it that you didn�t hear on the original record. This is the machine that Brigid Polk used to record the tape that became the Atlantic album The Velvet Underground Live at Max�s Kansas City. The TC-124CS lists for about $175.

It is also possible to buy a cassette machine with AM/FM Stereo Tuners built-in. You have to be careful when buying one of these machines that you get stereo as there are a number of units on the market with AM/FM but no stereo such as the Hitachi TRK-1260 ($89.95) and the JVC 9245 ($99.95); there are some that have stereo play-back but not stereo record such as the Sanyo M4410 ($69.95); and there are some that have both stereo play-back and record — among the best are the Sony CF-550 (around $200) and the Sharp RS-433V ($149.95).

In general the following price guides are applicable to portable cassette machines: mono, battery operated portables should cost you at least $100; stereo battery operated portables should cost about $150; stereo with AM/FM radio should be $150 to $200. If you pay less, you�ll be using the machine as a flower pot before long.

If you�re planning to purchase a cassette deck for home use it is advisable to get a model that includes a Dolby noise reduction system. The biggest problem with the fidelity of cassettes at the moment is the treble hiss when you play a cassette through a good stereo system. The Dolby units go a long way toward removing this hiss through the use of electronic circuits. Even thought it makes for a more expensive cassette deck the extra cost is more than worth it. Stereo cassette decks start at about $100 (Hitachi TRQ-242, Olson RA-275, Norelco 2000) but Dolbies mean at least another $75 on the price tag: Lafayette RK-D40 Dolby Deck, $179.95; Hitachi TRQ-2000, $199.95; Sony TC-134SD,

$239.95; Teac 350, $289.95; Trandberg TCD-300, $329.95. The more you spend, the more extras you get and the more dependable the internal electronics are.

It is possible to buy a stereo cassette deck and then later add the Dolby unit on as an adaptor. You can get the Teac AN-60 Universal Dolby Noise Reduction Unit for $89.95; it plugs in between your amp and your cassette deck.

A number of automatic change cassette decks have appeared on the market — these machines will play more than one cassette and some of them will turn over the cassette to play each side in turn. They�re expensive at the moment and must be considered in the novelty item class since each unit works on a principle that has been developed by the particular manufacturer. Among them are the Ampex 355 Auto Change Deck which will play both sides of up to twelve cassettes for $299.95; the Concord F-120 which will play twelve cassettes, one side only, for $229.95; and the Craig 2805 which will accept up to six cassettes, playing one side only, for $199.95. None of these units have Dolby features.

The future sophistication of cassettes and cassette electronics looks good. Even during the past two years, the improvements in reproduction quality have been enormous and we can look forward to quadrophonic cassettes within the next five years. In all, the cassette has all the basic features of the ideal sound record-reproduction system: small size, convenience and ease of use. It�s only a matter of time before the few remaining bugs — mainly the frequency response — are ironed out.

Audio Tape

Unless you're a recording engineer, buying audio tape for your tape recorder can be a very annoying pain in the ass. There are any number of brands to choose from, with prices for what appears to be the same type of tape varying by as much as a dollar or two depending on the brand. And if you ask that guy in the store who�s supposed to be the salesman you�ll quickly realize that he knows less about it than you do, mainly because he doesn�t make much commission on recording tape.

There are no quick solutions to the problem of deciding what tape to buy, but there are a few general guidelines to follow which will at least put you in the right area. From there, it�s a question of personal taste.

Recording tape consists of a ribbon of backing material coated with oxide particles which can be magnetized to hold electronic impulses. These impulses are read on and off the tape as they pass the record and playback heads of the tape recorder. The majority have an iron oxide coating, although during the past two years a new coating of chromium dioxide has been introduced which is more efficient in terms of storing magnetic impulses.

When buying reel to reel tape the first thing you have to consider is what backing material you want. There are two categories of backing: acetate and plastic. Acetate is not as strong as plastic but it has advantages in that if the tape is accidently stretched it will break clean and you can splice it back together without any loss of program material. Plastic tape is made of either mylar or polyester and even though many plastic backed -tapes are tensilized (pre-stretched) if you do pull or stretch them by accident they won�t break but stretch instead which means that the program material will become distorted.

The thickness of backing materials is measured in mils.. The standard thicknesses are .5, 1, and 1.5 mils. The thicker the tape the more sturdy it is and the more it will resist stretching or breaking. But the thicker the tape the less you can get on a reel, thus the less recording time you can get on the tape. For instance, l.S mils results in 1,200 feet, of tape on a standard seven inch reel while 1 mil polyester results in 1,800 feet on a seven inch reel — about ten minutes more recording time if you�re running your machine at 7V4 ips. .5 mil polyester tape will give you 3,600 feet of tape on a seven inch reel with that much more recording time.

One other confusing encounter you�ll have at the tape counter will be what is called �high input� or �high energy� tape. This type of tape will give you more of a signal (ie.: it puts a stronger signal on the tape) and if you�re recording at slow speeds such as 3% ips or 1 7/8 ips you won�t lose as much of the dynamic frequency range as you would with regular tape. But make sure your tape recorder will handle this type of tape before you go out and buy a carton of it.

Okay, now that you�re thoroughly confused, here�s a simple guide. If you�re recording music such as a live band or any other program where you eventually want to have copies made or want to play it for lots of people on different machines, buy either 1.5 mil acetate or 1.5 mil polyester tape. The acetate is 50 cents to $1 cheaper than the polyester. If you just want to mess around with your tape recorder buy some of the el cheapo lines that you can find in most electronics stores and don�t worry about any of this! If you want to record hours and hours of music on a single reel of tape (off the radio or off records) then go ahead and buy thin polyester tape, but be very careful threading it onto your tape recorder and be even more careful when you�re rewinding so that it doesn�t stretch.

Always keep tapes in their boxes when not in use, away from excess heat and humidity, and stored on end, not on top of each other.

As for cassettes, the game is pretty much the same, although it�s even more difficult to tell what�s going on inside the little sealed container. Cassettes come in a variety of lengths from C-30 to C-180. Each of these numbers refers to the total length of recording time on the cassette. C-60 means 30 minutes on each side, C-90 means 45 minutes on each side, and so forth.

Because the size of the cassette remains the same no matter how much tape is inside the most dependable cassettes are C-30, C-60 and C-90. Lengths over that mean that the tape inside is very, very thin and the slightest prpblem will lead to broken or jammed or stretched tape.

The internal mechanics of the cassette are also a factor when you�re on the buying end. Those cheap cassettes you see advertised, C-60�s for 89 cents for example, mean that the tape is cheap and that they�re skimping on rollers, pressure pads and all the other things more expensive cassettes have inside to get the tape from one mini-reel to another.

A good C-60 cassette should cost between $1.50 and $2.00 and it�s a good idea to stick with brand names. TDK makes good dependable cassettes as does Certron. There are also chromium dioxide tape cassettes but if you don�t have a Cr2 switch on your cassette machine they won�t be of much help.

As for blank cartridges, there aren�t many brands to choose from so you�ll have to pretty much take what you can get. Both Lafayette and Scotch make blank cartridges with prices ranging from $2 to $3 depending on length of recording time.

The only real bargains you can get on recording tape are by purchasing tapes in quantities of a dozen or more. Otherwise, stick to brand names. If you value the recordings you�re going to make keep in mind that tape is the cheapest part of the time and energy spent recording, so use good tape.

The advent of four channel sound systems as a marketable item demonstrates just how uncommunicative communications manufacturing companies can be. Every major company making four channel equipment has a different way of doing it (not compatible with the other ways), an advertising campaign that says they are the best, and a manic determination to ignore the fact that the consumer is so confused at this point he or she probably isn�t buying any four channel sound system at all.

Each company is hoping that enough people will buy their system so that the system will, by sheer force of numbers, become the established standard. Of course, if it turns out that you bought the Columbia SQ System and the RCA Quad-8 system wins, well then, tough shit. And if you buy a four channel record that has been encoded on the Sansui QS system and try to play it on a unit fitted out for SQ, tough shit again.

This isn�t the first time that this riff has gone down between manufacturers and the public. The same games were played by Columbia and RCA in the late 40�s when, they both came up with recording systems to replace the 78 rpm disc. Columbia introduced the 33 1/3 rpm album, RCA introduced the 45 rpm album. Luckily, there was a place for both. More recently, Columbia went all out on a cartridge television system known as EVR, convincing people that this was going to be the ultimate video system, only to stop manufacture when it became obvious to them (most consumers found it obvious all along) that a video system had to have the capability of recording as well as playing back, something the EVR system did not have.

What usually happens is that one or two systems become standard while the rest fade into obscurity. This happened with cartridges and cassettes becoming the two accepted self-contained tape configurations. The same will probably happen in video, unless of course someone invents a video disc, in which case you can throw away any video equipment you now own. And in the area of four channel sound it is more than likely that at least two of the systems will become standard. As for which two, well, that�s impossible to say at the moment.

Before we get into the various systems, let�s consider what four channel sound is supposed to be.

The monophonic reproduction of sounds means that all the sound has been recorded as one signal and is played back as one signal from one sound source or speaker. If you had a room with four speakers in it — one in each corner — and you played a mono record, you would hear the same sound coming out of each speaker.

The stereophonic reproduction of sound means that two channels of sound have been recorded and two channels of sound are being reproduced, usually through two speakers with a space between them to enhance the effect. There is a depth to stereo, because of the way the signals are played back combined with the fact that we have two ears.

Stereo was created out of mono by dividing the groove in the record into two sections, each wall of the groove being used to carry one of the two signals. The stereo amplifier is in reality two mono amplifiers, one for each signal. The stereo speaker system is just twice as many speakers as you�d have for mono — two.

Quadrophonic or Quadrasonic or Four Channel Sound or Quad or whatever any particular manufacturer is calling it is in principle four channels of sound, twice as many as stereo. In an ideal situation quad uses four amplifiers, four speakers, and four different signals. The problem with quad is how to store those four different signals until the consumer is ready to play them. With mono and stereo this had traditionally been done by means of the record, with a lesser amount of storage going to tape — reel to reel, cartridge, or cassettes. With quad the record is no longer the ideal method of storing information. There is just too much information to be stored.

And so compromises have been made. And these compromises have taken many different forms, depending on the manufacturer and the system they�ve developed.

Four channel sound should be just that, four different channels of sound coming out of four different speakers. Put yourself in the middle of a room with four speakers, one in each corner of the room. The speakers that you�re facing will be designated as Left Front and Right Front (LF and RF), the speakers behind you will be designated as Left Rear and Right Rear (LR and RR). In the ideal quad system there are four separate channels of sound, one being played through each speaker. As in stereo you get the effect (on your ears) of a sound coming out of each speaker, plus the effect of sound coming out of two speakers (you hear it as being in the middle between the two speakers), plus the effect of sound coming out of all four speakers (you hear it as being in the exact center of the room, equi-distant from all four speakers). Thus there are really five sets of stereo effects capable of occurring — between LF and RF, RF and RR, RR and LR, LF and LF, plus LF, RF, RR, and LR all playing the same thing resulting in C (center). A sound can spin around your head in the same manner that it can pass in front of you in stereo. Say the sound of the guitar is coming out of LF. By putting some of the guitar sound on RF and lowering the sound of the guitar on LF the guitar sound will seem to pass from LF to RF. If this is repeated between RF and RR the sound of the guitar will seem to pass by your right side from the front of the room to the back. If the sound is then proportionately raised on LR and lowered on RR it will seem to pass across the room behind you. Then the sound can be lowered on LR and and raised again in volume on LF and the sound will pass by your left side back to where it started. Done quickly, the guitar sound seems to . swing in a circle around your head. Other effects of this nature can be done, such as lowering the guitar sound on LF while raising it on RR. In this case the guitar seems to fly over your head. Or say you have the sound on the drums behind you on both LR and RR. By lowering the sound of the drums on the two back speakers and raising it on the two front speakers the drums seem to come pounding right over your head from rear to front So you can have sounds wandering all over the place, slowly revolving around you, or flying over you, depending on how the various volume relationships are mixed in the studio.

The problem with commercial quad is that there is only one system at the moment that can give you exactly this effect — and that is using recording tape which has four separate channels of sound on it. RCA makes a cartridge that does this,, but then RCA hasn�t got all of the rock acts in the world by a long shot, so while their system is ideal on a technical level it lacks the product backup to be ideal on a consumer level.

Since records are still the largest selling form of pre-recorded sound, most manufacturers have been forced to develop a system by which four channels of sound can be stored on a plastic disc. With the added problem of making four channel records compatible and playable as stereo records on stereo equipment — in the same way stereo records had to be playable on mono equipment when they were first introduced — the manufacturers have come up with solutions which leave a great deal to be desired in terms of giving you genuine four channel sound. The process that most of them have used to get four signals onto the two walls of the stereo record groove is a �matrix� or encoded set of signals, playable as stereo but decodeable into quad. This has created a number of problems, not the least of which is cross-talk or leakage between channels which results in a quasi-four channel sound, not at all as realistic or malleable as four channel tapes.

At the moment quad is available as Electro-Voice quad, Columbia SQ quad, Matrix, Sansui QS quad, RCA Q-8 and by the time this article appears, possibly a couple more. With the exception of Columbia�s SQ and Electro-Voice�s system which are compatible (a concession on the part of Electro-Voice), you can�t play a record made by one manufacturer on a quad system made by another manufacturer.

What this means is that the equipment used to decode each system varies in working principles. When you buy quad equipment you need a new cartridge for your record player, a four channel amp, four speakers, and some form of decoder or matrix box. If, for instance, you buy a unit which uses the Columbia SQ system, you won�t be able to play any records made by the Sansui system (QS) on them.

The probability at the moment is that the Columbia system is going to be one of the winners, mainly because Columbia has a lot of records you�re going to want to hear in quad and a number of major electronic chains such as Lafayette have gotten behind the Columbia system. It is also possible that the RCA disc system (developed by JVC in Japan) will be a major contender if RCA can convince record companies who haven�t yet decided what to do. (such as Phillips) to go with their system. What Warner Brothers — Elektra — Atlantic are planning to go with is still unknown, but if they decided against both the RCA and Columbia systems you can imagine what would happen.

Now each of these companies no doubt believes that their system is' the best. They also believe that if they can win the systems race they�ll make a lot of money licensing their system to the losers. And even if their system isn�t too good, all they have to do is convince the public it�s great, anyway. There is some question in the minds of the pros as to whether any of these systems really does supply real four channel sound (except for what is known as the discrete system — four channels on tape).

To further add to the confusion there are various ways in which the encoded signals can be decoded into four channels of sound — even when the same system is being used. Lafayette has three different sets of electronics for decoding Columbia SQ records, depending on how much money you�re willing to spend. (Matrix, SQ logic circuit, and SQ wavematching full logic circuit.)

It kind of makes you want to line all these people up against a wall and throw their systems at them.

And to further fuck up the already broiled mind of the consumer there are these shit ambient or derived four channel units on the market for about twenty bucks. They advertise that you can get four channels of sound out of your present stereo records by just adding a little black box and two extra speakers. In reality all they are is little volume controls which give you the same sound in back as in front at a certain percentage ratio (you get about 22% less sound in back as in front, regulated to be kept in proportion as you turn up the volume control by the little black box). These are a load of shit. They are already being discounted and soon they will be no more.

Four channel sound is a great idea. On tape it works really well. On record it can work just as well once the bugs and the competition are ironed out. At the moment, however, you would be well advised to flip a coin when deciding what four channel System to buy. Thefe is also a slim possibility that all this confusion may result in quad not happening at all, at least during the next few years. The communications giants may just have gone too far in their greed trip this time.

If you really want to be practical in buying quad right now you should consider getting a quad tape deck such as the ones sold by Toyo, AKAI or Sony. This has four real channels on it and is great to play with since it is a mini four track recording studio. And maybe someday you�ll be able to record four channel FM broadcasts on it. Possibly you�ll even be able to buy four channel reel to reel tapes. Then again, it�ll be one hell of a collector�s item if quad never happens.

Odds �n� Ends

There are all sort of odds�n�ends you can get to pep up your audio equipment. Many of them are designed to help in the cleaning and maintenance of the components of your system. Keeping electronic equipment in top running shape has a lot to do with keeping that equipment free from dust, dirt and other evils. So if the operating manual says clean, oil or stand on end, do it at the prescribed intervals.

Records should be cleaned periodically. Dust and other shit getting in (he grooves leads to scratches. Try a product like Discwasher which is anti-static and good for cutting through grease such as the kind you put on records with your fingers. In a pinch water with a very mild detergent plus very careful drying will do the trick. Another nice item in this category is the Watts Record Care kit. SB

Dust brushes which attach to the tone arm are okay for collecting dust as it hits the record, but be sure you clean them regularly or they won�t be of any help.

Stylus Pressure Gauges will allow you to make sure your tone arm isn�t lying on the record too heavily. This is extremely impor tant in prolonging record life. Some companies (AR) include a pressure gauge with their turntables; if you don�t get one, buy one (about $1.50) and use it at least once a month.

Strobe Discs are available for checking to see that your turntable is running at proper speed; strobe tapes are also available to check your tape recorder speed. If you have some way of correcting the speed should it be off, get one and use it. If you don�t and can�t afford taking the unit to a repair shop, forget it, you�ll only get depressed.

Bulk Tape Erasers are very handy items to have if you�re constantly reusing recording tape. They will clean the old signal off the tape and leave it fresh and new and ready to use again. This is accomplished by the internal electronics of the eraser — usually a strong electromagnet — which returns the oxide of the' tape to a passive, scrambled state. The more expensive a bulk eraser, the better it is. Sony sells a cassette eraser you don�t have to plug in (their BE-7), but be careful with it and all other erasers, don�t leave them around tapes you want to keep in their recorded state. And when you do bulk erase, do it in a room where no already recorded tapes are stored.

Tape Head Demagnetizes are used to demagnetize the heads of tape recorders. Tape heads will slowly build up a magnetic field of their own which must be removed periodically or else they won�t record well and could erase pre-recorded tapes as you�re playing them. You must be careful with head demagnetizes when you use them, making sure that you don�t touch the tape heads with them. If you�ve got a cassette machine get the Ampex Demagnetizing/Cleaning Cassette ($4.95) - it requires no electricity, you just pop in this special cassette, push the play button and the job is done for you.

Head Cleaning apparatus ranges from bottles of head cleaning fluid with cotton swabs to head cleaning spray in pressurized cans to head cleaning tapes and cassettes. Head cleaning tapes for reel to reel machines and head cleaning cassettes for cassette machines are a load of shit They dry out and they won�t really clean the heads properly. The best and cheapest head cleaner is isopropyl alcohol, available from your local drugstore for 29 cents a pint Dip Q-tip cotton swab into the alcohol and swab the tape heads. Don�t worry about getting the fluid on other parts of the machine, it will evaporate. Clean all the guides and metal runners as well. Don�t clean the rubber pinch rollers too often as the alcohol will dry them out. A more sophisticated method of head cleaning is the head cleaning spray that is sold in pressurized cans. Again you �ll need a Q-tip cotton swab to really clean the heads, but the spray has better chemicals in it than the alcohol and will do a better job. It�s expensive, though, at least $3 a can.

Cleaning the heads of your cassette or reel to reel machine should be done very regularly. Take a tip from professional recording studios and do it just before you use your tape recorder. Every time. Your tapes will sound a whole lot better and you won�t loose rer cordings because the heads were so dirty the machine didn�t record - which can happen, especially on the smaller heads of cassette machines.

Splicing tapes can be done with the tape splicers that are sold by a variety of manufacturers, but if you do a lot of splicing or want dependable results invest the ten dollars in an Editall splicing block, some razor blades (one sided, please!) and some splicing tape. As for doing splicing on cassettes there�s really no practical way to do it because of the small size of the tape and the fact that there are no professional units such as the Editall around. The best advice here is if the tape breaks, throw it away. Or cry.

Kits

We have become a nation where doing it yourself is considered an indulgent pastime to wile away non-working hours. If you�ve got the money you can build anything from a vacation cabin to a light plane. In most cases it�s just busy work since all the parts come numbered and the instructions can be understood by the average idiot. But even faced with these obstacles people still manage to extract a certain joy from putting things together with their own hands, even if friends and relations consider them on the odd side.

The prevalent attitude seems to be �Why should I bother?� followed-up by a mumble about having better things to do. Well sure, watch television, scratch and visit the refrigerator. Maybe go to a rock concert, listen to the radio and between naps talk about getting Nixon out of the White House.

Since this is an electronics supplement and not a platform to get you -off your ass, the campaigning will be left at this: there are lots of electronics kits around that you can build yourself and when you finish you�ll feel like you�ve done something even if what you�ve built doesn�t work. None of these kits will really teach you about electronics and few of them will save you much money, but they do remove the fear you feel when you look inside a tv set or radio and see all those little things sitting there wired together with gobs of silver solder. And, especially with electronics, the more familar you are with the components involved, the less frustrated you�ll feel when they don�t live up to their as-advertised performance.

There are a number of companies who specialize in manufacturing electronic kits. Prices for these kits start at about $5 and run into the thousands. You can build anything from a crystal set (that�s a radio that doesn�t need batteries or electricity) to a color tv. At home. In your spare time. With a soldering gun and a screw driver.

One of the largest of these companies is Heathkit (Heath Company, Benton Harbor, Michigan, 49022). They manufacture a diverse line of do-it-yourself stuff that includes color televisons you can build in twelve evenings, guitar amplifiers, and huge two keyboard organs. They�ll send you an eightypage catalog free.

If you�re looking for a stereo amplifier or FM tuner in the $100 to $200 price range you should consider building some of the Heathkits. They use quality components in their units and although their instruction booklets are sometimes so explicit they�re confusing, they generally give you everything you need to build your units in record time.

Check out their Kit AA-1214, a 50 watt amp kit for $89.95; their Kit AA-15, a 150 watt amp kit for $189.95; and their Kit AA-29, a 100 watt amp kit for $159.95 All three are good, functional units that you won�t be able to buy ready-made for less than twice those prices.

Heath also has a cassette deck kit for $129.95, their AD-110, which you might enjoy building, but with this unit it�s a case of the building kicks since you can buy a cassette machine for this price that will be just as good as what they�re giving you in terms of style, features and all those little extras the Japanese are so good at.

In the $100 to $200 price range Heath sells both JBL and AR speakers in kit form. These are real good speakers when purchased from their respective manufacturers and since they�re really simple to put together, you might very well want to have the company freight a pair to you instead of paying up to $30 more for the privilege of having them instantly from the store downtown.

Another big-time kit manufacturer is Eico (Eico Electronic Instrument Co., 283 Malta Street, Brooklyn, New York, 11207). They too have an illustrated catalog they�ll send you and while a lot of it is taken up with various electronic testing equipment, they do have a line of stereo amplifiers and AM-FM receivers that go under the brand name Cortina and range from $69.95 to $189.95 in kit form.

Eico also has a line of low priced kits that are fun to build even if they don�t work particularly well in every instance. (We built one of their amplifiers and had to replace two parts before it worked.) Among them are their EC-500 Tremolo at $9.95 for all you guitar players; EC-1400 FM radio for $9.95; EC-2400 Bullhorn for $8.95; and EC-102 Electronic Burglar Alarm for $6.95.

RCA also manufactures a series of these cheap kits as IC Project Kits. Included in their line is their KC4001 Two Channel Mixer for $6.84 and their KC4000 Microphone Preamplifier for $6.34. RCA also has a line of Experimenter�s Kits that are fun to play with.

The Dynaco Company is another kit manufacturer and their kits are sold in most electronics stores. If you�re looking to build an amplifier or a tuner, Dynaco will give you a great piece of equipment for your money. Even if you don�t want to build their kits, you can buy them pre-wired. Especially for rock music the Dynaco amp can�t be beat by anything in a comparable price range. We�d especially recommend the Dynaco SCA-80Q, an 80 watt stereo amp that will cost you $169.95 in kit form or $249.95 pre-wired and ready to go. This is the kind of amp that will drive rock through walls and it will sound like rock music - all the highs, mediums, and lows will be there from guitar solo to bass guitar pattern. If you want to get a little more classy, Dynaco has a four hundred (oh my god!) watt amp that is their Stereo-400, $399.95 in kit form, $499.95 wired.

If after you�ve built a couple of these kits you begin to get hot flashes from holding a soldering gun there are two companies who manufacture some bizarre kits. They are SWTP (Southwest Technical Products Corp., 219 West Rhapsody, San Antonio, Texas 78216) and PAIA (PAIA Electronics Inc., P.O.Box 14359, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73114).

SWTP has made their reputation on their line of �Tiger� amplifiers which are reputed not to blow out even when you turn them up full blast and let them roar for hours. Their kits are very reasonably priced, although they aren�t for rank beginners; you should have a little prior knowledge of kit building before you tackle them. Their �Lil Tiger� amp will give you 22 watts per channel for only $37.00 plus postage. They also have a �Universal Tiger Mk II� which puts out up to 100 watts per channel with a negligible amount of distortion. Two channels in kit form costs $115.00. With either of these amps you�ll need a pre-amplifier (that�s the section with the controls) which they also manufacture -their FET Stereo Preamp at $44.50 plus postage. Among the other kits sold by SWTP are a Theremin for under thirty dollars, a programmable melody synthesizer for around fifty dollars, and a digital read-out electric clock for about sixty dollars. They have a real fun catalog full of all sorts of stuff at very reasonable prices.

PAIA has a line of kits similar to the things manufactured by SWTP although they accent novelty items such as their �Chatter Jammer� (a pink noise generator for $4.75) and a number of items for the do-it-yourself guitarist such as their WAA-WAA kit ($18.75); Foot Switch, in the shape of a foot no less ($9.95); Attach Delay Unit ($19.25); and Rotating Speaker Simulator ($22.50).

Before this kit section ends there is one more item that should be mentioned. For those of you who really want to get into the big time you can build your own tv camera which will work through any normal television for under two hundred dollars. It�s manufactured by ATV Research (ATV Research, 1301 Broadway, Dakota City, Nebraska, 68731). The camera kit, their XT-1A Series D, comes complete with vidicon tube for $149.50 postpaid. It isn�t much harder to build than a hi-fi amplifier and folks will be impressed.

VIDEO

Video Revolution

You can make your own television shows. That�s the video revolution.

Video is, in reality, the use of television as an alternative communications medium. Equipment is now at hand that allows anyone to make their own television programs professionally and relatively inexpensively.

A record player is nothing more than an information retrieval system (what you put on the turntable determines what comes out of the speakers). So�s television: what you put into your television antennas comes out on the screen. Regarding television as nothing more than a sight and sound speaker, video people all over the country have expressed dissatisfaction with the present programming of television and the present concept of television as a medium. As a result, they have begun to make their own television, incorporating many of the attitudes and aspects of the rock and revolutionary cultures into a more refined level of idea-communication.

Many people are first introduced to video through light-weight, battery operated video machines such as the Sony VideoRover II, called a �portapak� in video circles. This unit is an ideal beginning to making your own video since it employs all of the standard principles of video in one compact camera and record-playback deck.

The portapack camera has both a sight and a sound microphone. The �sight� is a vidicon tube (with a zoom lens in front of it in the case of the Sony machine) and the sound is a regular microphone which is placed directly above the lens on the face of the camera. At the other end of the camera is a view-finder/ eyepiece which is a small one-inch tv screen. To use the camera you look through the eyepiece at the mini-screen and then focus the lens. Whatever you see on the screen is being recorded. The sound microphone has an automatic gain control/level control so you don�t have to worry about it.

The portapak camera is connected by a cable to the portapak recorder, an 18 pound video tape recorder that will record up to a half hour of video tape. To record you put a reel of tape on the recorder, put the recorder in the record mode and then look through the camera eyepiece. Whatever you see through the eyepiece and hear with your ears is going on the tape.

The Sony portapak uses half-inch wide video tape and, like the majority of half-inch video equipment, is standardized by the Japanese Electronics Institute on what is known as the EIAJ-Type 1 standard. That means any tape you make on any standardized machine can be played on any other standardized machine. (Other companies manufacturing such machines include Panasonic, Shibaden, JVC, Concord and Riker.)

These portapak units are a major investment ($1,300 - $1,600) but they are also a complete tv studio that you can carry wherever you go.

If you don t need the portability or your pocketbook can�t support it, you can buy less expensive, less portable equipment. Sony and Panasonic and all the other companies make video tape recorders starting at around $800. This includes only the tape recorder and does not include a camera which will run you another $200 to $300. These decks are semi-portable (about 35 pounds) but run only on house current, not batteries.

Besides taping live events, you can also use your video tape recorder to tape programs off your television. To do this you will need a television set which is also a monitor. This means it has output and input plugs in the back for direct connection to the video tape recorder. Monitors cost from $150 up. To record an off-the-air broadcast you simply plug the video deck into the monitor, tune in the channel and the program, put some tape on the deck and push the record button. To play it back you simply rewind the tape and put it in the play mode.

Video tape machines are easier to use than audio tape recorders; since there are no recording volume controls to fiddle with, you don�t have to worry — the sound and picture recording levels are adjusted automatically within the machine.

Without creating too much more confusion, there is one more item you should understand. To play back a video tape through a monitor you just connect the record deck to the monitor via a cable. To play back a video tape through a normal tv you need what is known as an rf generator. This is a little module that plugs into the back of your deck and is not included in the price of the machine. It costs an extra 50 bucks and is a miniature television transmitter. When you buy one you choose a model that will broadcast on an unused channel in your area. With an rf generator you simply attach a wire between the rf output jack on the back of the video deck and the antennas of your tv set. You are actually broadcasting a picture into you* set.

Since video is recording tape you can use it again and again, simply erasing what you�ve recorded by recording a new program over it Again, it�s just like audio tape.

You won�t need any special lighting to record video, although the better the lighting the more detailed the picture. But you can use normal room lighting and get a good picture. You won�t need a bank of lights for anything but a special production.

Once you get hooked on making video tapes there are all sorts of extras you can buy. You can run up to 40 tv sets off the rf unit by getting an'rf amplifier sold at most electronics stores. You can buy a special effects generator (prices run from $600 to $1000 depending on the make) plus extra cameras and do all sorts of things you see on tv — fades, wipes, inserts, switching, the works.

To call video electronic acid may be a little strong, but over the course of the first year that you have a video machine (there will be weeks and weeks after your first exposure to it when you may not be able to stand using it, when your subconscious needs time to absorb the impact) you will be taking the most advanced media trip of our time. When you play a little bit of yourself on the screen, be warned: it is your self you will see, the electric you.

Video Equipment

When it comes to buying video equipment, Sony and Panasonic are the two heavies in the field with JVC, Riker, Shibaden, Sanyo and Concord as the runners-up. Both Sony and Panasonic are more or less organized in terms of producing, delivering, servicing and advertising their equipment lines. Ev.en so, neither of them have yet realized the full potential of video as media, so don�t be surprised if you run into a lot of ham and eggs operations when you�re looking around for one of their franchised dealers.

For the time being it is a good idea to stick with Sony or Panasonic when buying video equipment. They�ve already sold enough equipment to have gotten the bugs out of their most popular models and service and repair shops are familiar with the units and their problems, so you won�t have to ship your recorder off to east New Jersey for a month while they try to figure out what�s wrong.

The following list of equipment has been compiled from units available that comply to the EIAJ-Type One Standard. This means that any tape made on any one of these machines can be played back on any other of these machines.

Battery Operated Portables

Sony VideoRover II model AV-3400 / AVC-3400 the leader in the field, retails for $1,650 and can be purchased for about $1,300 to $1,400. This includes a hand-held video camera with a zoom lens and built-in microphone and a battery operated video recorder-playback machine which will record up to a half-hour of tape. Included are an AC power adaptor to recharge the batteries and/ or run the machine on house current plus stop action and audio dubbing facilities on the deck so that you can erase the sound and re-record it without disturbing the picture portion of the tape.

Panasonic ...odel NV-3080 / WV-8080 is similar to the Sony listed above except that it only records; you have to buy another machine to play the tape back. This means the unit weighs less and the price, at list, is only $1,250. Be careful you don�t buy this as your first machine.

Panasonic model NV-3082 / WV-3082 is their new improved portable unit which is exactly the same as Sony�s. It will record and playback, and has a list of $1,600. Panasonic is making a color adaptor (Model NV-A610) for this portable unit but don�t get too excited - you can�t record color with the camera, you can only record color off a color tv monitor and show it back through a color tv. Still, it is a move in the right direction.

Other portable battery operated units include the Concord VIP-360 (looking suspiciously like the Panasonic as all Concord equipment does — Panasonic must be making it for them, as Sony does for 3M/Wollensak with their cassette machines), the JVC FV-4500 / GS-4500, and the Riker 750. The JVC unit lists for $1,780, the Riker for $2,235.

Video Tape Recorders

All of these decks will record and playback video tape. None of them come with cameras; that�s an extra you have to buy. The standard half-inch video deck runs on house current and the cameras you can get are combination picture and microphone units. You�ll need a camera for picture and a mike for sound. They have inputs on the back for both.

Sony AV-3600 is a simple, easy to use video tape recorder you�ll see a lot of. Weighing only 33 pounds, it has fully automatic gain controls (age) for both picture and sound, plus a vu meter and level control for sound in case you want to skip the age and do it yourself. There is a single control lever for all the functions from fast-forward to rewind, plus a button you push if you want to record. List price is $795.

Panasonic NV-3020 is their bottom of the line record and play-back deck and it is similar to Sony right down to the price which is again $795. Panasonic makes one cheaper deck, their NV-3010 but it is a play-back only machine. It won�t record, and is probably designed for things like classroom use where tapes are made one place and shown another. It lists for $575.

Sony AV-3650 is their record and playback deck which also features electronic editing. Video editing is done electronically. You need two decks, one. a play-back deck like the Sony AV-3600 and the other an editing deck like the 3650. To edit you put a blank reel of tape on the 3650 editing deck and the reel of tape containing the material you want to edit from onto the play-back deck. The two decks are connected by a cable and the material is edited off one tape and transferred onto the other, each section transferred one by one onto the master reel. This is known as an. �assembly� edit - you�re assembling a master tpae from portions of other tapes. This works well; the only problem is about a two second lag between the time the picture comes in and the sound comes on. Electronic editing means that there is no picture roll when the picture changes from one scene on one tape to the next scene on the other tape. The AV-3650 also features vu meters for both sound and video plus lots of levers and dials to play with if you want to. It is easy to use and editing is very simple, much simpler than it sounds. List price on this unit is $1,150.

Panasonic NV-3020 SD is their editing machine and some people prefer it to the Sony. It sells from $1,050 and that hundred dollar saving can mean a lot to any video budget.

There are other more sophisticated decks on the market at, of course, higher prices. Panasonic�s NV-8020 will allow you to do time-lapse video recording for $1,750. Javelin one of the few American companies in the video business, also makes a dandy time lapse recorder, their X-400 which lists for $1995. Shibaden makes a video tape recorder at a lower price than either Sony or Panasonic — their SV-510U lists for $695. Again Riker, JVC and Concord also have similar units.

Color Video Tape Recorders

Since there are not yet any inexpensive color video cameras (the cheapest is over $3,000) color video is limited to recording color programs off the air' with a color monitor or �colorizing� black and white tapes with a unit known as a colorizer which allows you to add the three primary colors in various combinations to get some pretty weird — and often too pyschedelic - effects.

Panasonic NV-3120 is the least expensive color deck now on the market conforming to the EIAJ color standard. There is a discontinued Sony color deck around, their AV-5000, but stay away from it as the color ain�t too good and it isn�t on any standard. There are also reports that Sony has a new color deck out, but they haven�t told us about it. Anyway, the Panasonic NV-3120 retails for $1,250 and is a fine machine.

Panasonic NV-3130 is similar to the NV-3120 except that it also features editing facilities. List price is $1,550.

Panasonic is also making a super-deluxe color video tape recorder, their NV-3150, which will do everything but talk at a list price of $3,000. This unit is supposed to be as good as many one-inch video machines and it really does have all sorts of marvelous features including six motors, extra video heads, and solenoid operated controls (buttons instead of the standard lever).

Other color decks are the Shibaden SV-520 for $1,250; JVC-FV-3500 for $1,250; and the Concord VTR-100 (no price available, but probably in the $1,250 to $1,350 price range).

Cameras

Cameras for your video tape machine are available at prices ranging from $250 to $1,250 and more. The differences have to do with the resolution of the picture you get, controls, zoom lenses, and so forth. If you just need a camera to plug into your deck the lower priced models will do fine, such as the Sony AVC-3000 for $285 or the AVC-3200 for $400. One thing you must keep in mind: if you have a Sony deck get a Sony camera, if you have a Panasonic deck get a Panasonic camera. It is possible to use different manufacturer�s cameras with different decks but you may have to have the cable connections re-wired by your friendly dealer. Be warned.

Monitors

There are two kinds of monitors, just plain �monitors� and monitor/receivers, the latter having vhf-uhf tuners in them so that you can use the monitor as a regular tv and you can tape programs off the air. Monitors are nice things to have since when you show video tapes through them the tape will look better than if you get an rf unit and use a normal tv.

Just about everybody makes all kinds of monitors. Prices range from $195 to $850. Most black and white monitors will cost from $200 to $300 and this is one place you won�t have to worry about standardization; we haven�t run into a monitor yet that didn�t have the same eight pin and/or uhf connector plugs. A good all around monitor is the Sony CVM-192U Monitor/Receiver which lists for $300. It�s an 18� monitor with a good picture and solid, dependable internal electronics.

If you�re interested in taping color programs off the tv you will need a special color tuner (the tuning part of the tv) which will cost you $300 and a color rf unit which will cost another couple hundred plus a color tv. The easier answer is to get a color monitor/ receiver. When it comes to color Sony�s Trinitron system is the best available. It really is much, much better, much brighter color than anybody else has, and with their CVM-1710 17� color monitor/reciever you�ll have the best color tv money can buy at any price, if you can afford the price tag of $850. Sony also has a smaller Trinitron monitor/ reciever, their CVM-1200UA which is $595 for a 12� screen.

Special Effects

If you want to have your own tv studio you�ll need a video tape recorder, at least two cameras, plus a special effects generator. Called an �seg,� the special effects generator is a video mixer, capable of mixing together or switching back and forth from more than one video camera. You can get an Seg to handle from four to six cameras depending on what your ultimate plans are. Make sure you get an Seg with internal syn (this is the pulse that goes from camera to camera without horizontal rolling) such as the Sony SEG-1 ($595) or the Sony SEG-2 ($900) or the Panasonic line of Seg�s. A couple words of warning: word is that the Sony SEG-1 has been having problems and if you want to mix

pre-recorded video tapes with live action you�ll need what is called �gen-loc� which is not included on the Sony equipment and will cost you at least $300 to have built in but which is included in Panasonic�s VY 922�s $950 price tag.

Video Tape

Video tape is available in quarter-inch, half-inch, three-quarter inch, one-inch and two-inch widths. The width of the tape used depends on the standard of the video tape machine in question. The majority of the video equipment being used to make alternative video uses half-inch wide tape, although there are a few video people using machines that take quarter-inch tape and a few using one-inch tape. But by and large most video is being done on half-inch tape, one-quarter of the width of the two-inch wide tape used by professional broadcasters on their video tape machines.

There are two types of video tape on the market, one of which should be avoided at all costs. Referred to as �brown tape� the early video tape (manufactured until about two years ago and still being put out by a few companies) is pure shit. It is full of lines and dropout and will mess up the heads of any video tape machine necessitating constant cleaning and other problems. Very often this tape can be found as a �special sale� item in electronics catalogs. Don�t buy it.

The other type of tape is the new generation manufactured by Sony, Panasonic and a number of other companies. It is a black colored tape and you won�t have any problems with it.

If you have an Akai machine you have to use quarter-inch tape. Akai is the only company making machines on this standard and only they and Scotch manufacture tape for their machine. You can use regular recording tape (audio tape such as that manufactured by BASF) on the Akai but it is not recommended by the manufacturer since it will wear down the video heads of the machine.

If you have a half-inch machine you have a greater choice of tape brands including Sony, Panasonic and Memorex. Most video people use Sony tape since it is ultimately reliable. Sony tape is available in a number of lengths ranging from their V-30F (10 minutes of playing time) through their V-30H (30 minutes of playing time) to their V-32 (60 minutes of playing time). Although it lists for around $20 per half hour reel, $40 per hour reel, Sony tape is being discounted in New York City to as low as $10.50 for a half hour, $19.00 for an hour. This includes a neat little plastic box and plastic bag to store the tape in when it�s not in use.

One-inch tape is about $1 a minute at list price, which explains why so many people are into half-inch video when you combine the cost of one-inch tape with the cost of one-inch tape machines (which run about three times as much as comparable half-inch machines).

One further word of warning: from time to time you may see ads for computer tape (often used) with the suggestion that it can be split into half-inch widths and used as video tape. It�s really cheap, but don�t use it since it will wreak havoc with the delicate heads on the machine. In all, Sony tape really is the standard tape for most people who are into video and you should get on the bandwagon if you want a well made, dependable tape.

Video Cassettes

Drop a cassette into the slot and your television set lights up with I Am Curious Yellow. Or The Amazing Colossal Man. Or Nights of Cabiria.

When is it going to happen?

It already has. All you need is a fistful of dollars and the directions to the nearest Sears & Roebuck.

While the Japanese have been developing video equipment with an eye on the educational and industrial market (their mistake), an American company with good oF American know-how has come up with a video line that is going to sink the Japs at the game they invented, barring a large miracle. Called Cartridge Television, the company has developed the Cartrivision line of video merchandise that includes everything from video tape recorders to pre-recorded video cassettes. They have manufacturing plants to make the machines, duplicating plants to turn out pre-recorded cassettes, their own distribution network, H even a department that develops programs for cassettes. Some of the biggest American electronics manufacturers and outlets have made a deal to use the Cartrivision system with their own brand names surrounding internal electronic components manufactured by Cartridge Television. Presently on the list are Sears, Montgomery Ward, Admiral, Emerson and Teledyne-Packard-BelL

Both Sony and Panasonic are manufacturing video cassette systems, but neither of these companies� systems have the advantages of Cartrivision. First of all, the Cartrivision cassette is long enough to hold a complete movie on one cassette — about 110 minutes. Neither the Sony nor Panasonic system has cassettes that run for longer than an hour.

Second, Cartrivision is manufacturing prerecorded cassettes on a wide variety of subjects — movies, sports, cartoons, music and specials — which are available through their distribution network for both sale and rent. Rental on a film is $3 to $6; buying a Cartrivision cassette outright will cost you from $12.95 to $39.95 depending on the title and length of the program. All cassettes are in full color with stereo sound. (There are pre-recorded cassettes available on the Sony system, but they are institutional type titles like �How to Play Nose-Flute� and have institutional price tags - from $125 to $250 per cassette.)

Of course, the Cartrivision cassettes are not compatible with the Sony cassettes or the Panasonic cartridges or anything else. Nothing is compatible with anything but its own system. Another dumb move.

The cost of a Cartrivision cassette player is in the same price range as half-inch video .. equipment. You can buy a console unit which includes a color tv and a cassette recordplayer for between $1300 and $1600. These come housed in American ugly furniture — . you know, those low-line fake Mediterranean consoles with swinging doors that reinforce the concept that you must stare down at television sets and up at movie screens.

Cartrivision is also making a stand-alone player (with no record facilities — that will come later in a higher priced model) for about $700. This looks like an aborted airconditioner and is again, plastic-wood grained orange, upholstered ugly. Cartrivision machines-are easy to operate: just drop the cassette into the slot, push the play button and you�re off and running. The stand-alone models attach to your own tv set through the antennas.

The advantages of video cassettes over half inch reel to reel have to do with the consumer mind in this country. Manufacturers have found that people will buy things that they don�t have to touch more often than they�ll buy things that they have to manipulate in some way. Thus a cassette which drops into a slot and a machine with a play button is much more attractive than a reel of tape that has to be threaded into a machine.

If you�re not interested in things like portablility, editing and special effects, get a video cassette machine. For an extra $250 you can buy a black and white camera for it and you�ll have your own video system. But if you want to really get into video, use halfinch reel to reel equipment (really flexible to work with) and then transfer the finished product to cassette.

To further whet your appetite for cassettes, here are some of the movies and programs that Cartrivision has available for sale and/or rent: High Noon, Horrors of the Black Museum, Mothra, Key Largo, Maltese Falcon, Big Sleep, On the Waterfront, Wild One, Rock All Night (with the Platters), Popcorn (with the Stones and Hendrix), Divorce Italian Style, Repulsion, Hollywood Blue, Orson Welles in an American Heritage series, light shows accompanied by classical music, programs of performances by country performers including Webb Pierce and Marty Robbins, past Super Bowl games, a series by Julia Child and a wide variety of other goodies. Most of the films are for rental only; special programs, sports, music and so forth can be bought out-right.

When the first units went on sale, in Chicago this year the first five machines were sold to people who walked in off the streets: four steel workers and a guy who owns a bar.

Definitions

Audio

Acetate: A fairly brittle backing for recording tape which will snap under tension.

Amplifier: In a strict sense an amplifier is an electronic device which strengthens an audio signal before it goes to the speakers. In common slang an amplifier or amp is used to denote both the pre-amp and amplifier (tone and volume controls), this combination being in reality an integrated amplifier.

Automatic Gain Control: (Also Automatic Level Control, Automatic Volume Control, AGC, ALC, AVC.) An electronic circuit which regulates the gain on a microphone automatically to keep the strength of the input signal at a certain level - loud sounds are cut down by an age, soft sounds are boosted. Units having an age mean that the operator doesn�t have to worry about adjusting the volume when recording under most conditions.

Battery Operated: Most electronic devices in the home entertainment field are run on direct current (dc) and have a transformer built into them which convert house current (ac) to dc. Any unit operating internally on dc can be powered by batteries since the amount of current in terms of voltage needed to run the machine is low enough to be supplied by one to six storage batteries. If you have a unit which runs on batteries and want to run it on house current you can buy an ac to dc transformer, plug one end into the wall outlet and attach the other end (dc) to the battery clips.

Cartridge: A self-contained tape system using quarter-inch wide tape in a continuous loop configuration. 8-Track cartridge refers to the number of sound channels (two used at any one time) which are stored on the tape.

Cassette: A self-contained tape system using one-eighth-inch wide tape running at half the speed of a cartridge (cart: 3 3/4 ips, cassette: 17/8 ips) in a reel to reel configuration. In cartridge parlance, cassettes are 4-Track since they have two different sets of tracks, each composing a stereo signal.

Derived Four Channel Sound: Also known as Ambient Four Channel Sound. Derived quad is an electronic process by which the ambient (room-noise) sounds inherent in any stereo recording are recovered and used as the signal for the two back speakers of a four channel system.

Discrete Four Channel Sound: Four channels of sound are supplied by either record or tape to an amplifier that has four seperate channels. This is real four channel sound.

Dolby Noise Reduction Unit: An electronic unit invented by boy-wonder Ray Dolby (a Californian now living in England) which lowers the signal to noise ratio of a tape recording in the sense that the signal is made louder than the hiss noise of the tape by use of a Dolby unit. Dolby units work on the principle of accentuating the.higher frequencies when you record and de-accentuating them in the same proportion when you play back. Especially helpful in taking the hiss out of cassettes.

Edit: The removing of a section of a signal and joining the remaining signal back together at that point. This is done mechanically with audio tape by cutting the tape to remove the unwanted portion and joining the remaining tape back together with gummed splicing tape.

Heads: The units by which the tape passes on a tape recorder. Heads can be erase, record or playback in function. They all work on the same principle: little electro-magnets with gaps across which a signal passes. These gaps face the tape and the signal is pulsed onto or off the tape.

IPS: Inches per second. The measurement of tape speed. The number of inches of tape per second that pass the tape head. The higher the tape speed (IVi ips or 15 ips) the better the frequency respbnse that can be stored on the tape (bass, mid-range, treble). .

Mono: A single sound source. A mono amplifier is an amplifier that will only amplify one signal. A mono speaker system would be one speaker. A stereo sound can be played mono by combining the signals of the two stereo channels into one, prior to running those signals into a speaker.

Oxide: The magnetizable coating on a tape. Usually iron oxide, but more recently chromium dioxide (or Cr2) tape, which is more sensitive in terms of storing electronic signals.

Polyester; Along with mylar, polyester has become the standard backing for home audio tape.

Pre-Amp: The portion of the amplifier which accepts the signal from the record player, tape recorder or other sound source and allows the listener to vary the frequencies (bass, treble) prior to the signal being amplified.

Quad: A contraction of quadraphonic (also quadrasonic), denoting four channel sound.

Reel-To-Reel: (Also Open Reel) Any tape configuration in which there is a reel of tape and an empty take-up reel and which the user has to thread him/herself.

Stereo: Two channels of sound, the composite of which is a total signal.

Tape Deck: No matter what the tape configuration, a tape deck is a tape recorder without internal amplifiers or speakers. Just the play and record mechanisms. A tape deck must be used with an external amplifier and speakers.

Tape Recorder: By strict definition, a selfcontained unit for recording and playing back tape including all amps, controls and speakers. Often used to describe a tape deck. Make sure you understand what they�re talking about when you buy either.

Track: On a tape, a track is the space allotted for one channel of signal/sound. A stereo tape is a two-track-quarter-track. This means that the signal is divided between two channels or tracks and that the width of the track is a quarter of the tape. Professional machines are usually two-track half-track machines when they use quarter inch tape, meaning that there are two signals on the tape, each taking up half the width of the tape.

Turntable: A device oh which records are played. A turntable differs from a record player or record changer in the sense that it will play only one record at a time and that the records have to be changed manually.

Video

AC Adaptor: A unit which will power portable machines from house current and recharge the batteries of portable machines. (Also frequently used with audio cassette machines.)

Audio Dub: A facility incorporated into the vast majority of video tape recorders which allows the user to erase and re-record the audio portion of the tape without disturbing the video portion.

CCTV: Closed circuit television, non-broadcast television. A camera attached to a tv set on which you can watch what the camera is pointed at is the simplest form of closedcircuit television. Cable television is the most sophisticated form of closed-circuit.

Color: Color video is not yet a reality in alternative video, since the cost of color cameras is still in the $3000 to $5000 price range. Color recording decks are available, however, at about the same price as black and white recording decks. You use the same tape for black and white as for color and a color tape can be played on a b&w recorder in b&w.

EIAJ-Type One: The standard established by the Japanese electronics industry so that tapes made on any EIAJ-Type One video tape recorder can be played on any other EIAJType One recorder. Almost every video manufacturer conforms to this standard.

Recently an EIAJ color standard has been introduced. If you are buying a color capable video tape recorder, make sure it complies to this standard.

Editing: Since editing is done electronically in video you must get an editing machine, a video tape recorder that has facilities for editing. At the moment the most advanced form of alternative video is the capstan-servo system in which the signal of the master tape is locked in terms of synchronization to the incoming signal from the tape segment being assembled onto the master tape.

Gen-Lock: A device which allows a pre-recorded tape and a live camera signal to be mixed together to form one composite signal. In alternative video, it is not yet possible to mix two pre-recorded signals together.

Half-Inch: The width of the video tape used on certain video tape machines. A description of alternative video. A slang phrase to describe video equipment that confroms to *he EIAJ-Type One standard.

Helical Scan: The process by which video heads function. All half-inch, EIAJ machines are helical scan video tape recorders.

Looping: The linking together of a number of tvs to show the same picture.

Monitor: A special television set with input and output plugs on it so that it can be connected directly to the video tape machine by means of a cable. A monitor/receiver is used to record programs off the air.

Portapak: A video slang term used to describe a battery operated video unit consisting of a camera and video tape recorder such as the Sony VideoRover II.

RF Generator: An electronic module which converts the video and audio signals from the video tape recorder into a composite broadcast signal which can then be run by means of a cable into a normal television set through the antenna leads.

SEG: (Also special effects generator) A device which allows the user to employ more than one camera. An seg will switch from camera to camera, mix, fade, insert, and do other special effects as well as supply sync signals to the cameras (except for lower priced segs). The seg is attached between the cameras and the video tape recorder the same way an audio mixer is attached between the microphones and the audio tape recorder.

Slow Motion: A playback feature of many video decks. There are also time-lapse recording video decks available. But if you see a slow motion function on a video deck such as the Sony or Panasonic editing machines you should presume it works only when playing back tapes.

Standard: (New standard/old standard). The video standard is the EIAJ standard. Often the phrases old standard and new standard are used to describe machines that conform to the EIAJ requirements (new standard) and machines that were manufactured before any standard (old standard).

Still: A function included on most video decks which allows the user to stop or freeze the action at any particular segment of the tape.

Sync Generator: Included in most segs, a sync generator supplies a pulse signal to all the video cameras being used which make sure that they are all functioning at the same rate of scan. A sync generator is needed most often when more than one camera is being used so that one can switch from camera to camera without any horizontal roll (loss of sync) in the picture.

VTR: An abbreviation for video tape recorder.

Video: Used to describe the picture on a tv screen, the pioture portion of a video tape and the� signal that is the picture. Also used as a slang expression to denote half-inch video tape recording and the processes involved.

Vidicon Tube: TV camera tube. Basically, the reverse of a TV set�s picture tube.

Additional Reading

Audio

There are a few books that really explain audio to the non-technically trained consumer. Your local electronics store will probably carry books by technical publishers such as Hayden/Rider, Sams or Tab. (Also available by mail from Lafayette.) There are some introductory titles in their lists, but don�t count on any of them being truly enlightening. More or less recommended are How To Select and Use Hi-Fi And Stereo Equipment by Murray P. Rosenthal published by HaydenRider in two volumes at $3.50 per volume; Hi-Fi Stereo Handbook published by Howard Sams for $5.50; and Audio Systems Handbook by Norman Crowhurst, published by G.L./Tab at $4.95

A copy of the most recent Lafayette catalog (111 Jericho Turnpike, Syosset, Long Island, New York 11791) will probably be more instructive, and it�s free.

Video

There is a video magazine called Radical Software that deals with video as some sort of a revolutionary political what do you think of the war in Vietnam medium. Once in a while they have interesting technical articles on equipment. They are also responsible for the book Guerrilla Television (Holt, Rinehart and Winston; $3.95 paperback) which will really put you off getting into video unless you�re a gung ho media revolutionary left off from the sixties.

Much more readable and understandable is Community Access Video by H. Allan Frederiksen which you get by sending him $3 at 695 30th Avenue, Apartment E, Santa Cruz, California, 95060. A well-written, step-bystep introduction to video.

Richard Robinson publishes a video magazine called Magnetoscope which you can find out about by writing him at Video White Light, Box 298, Planetarium Station, New York, New York, 10024.

If you�re interested in video equipment, prices and lots of pictures send $1 to C.T.L. Electronics, 86 West Broadway, New York, New York, 10007 for their Video Tools catalog.

Tell �em all �CREEM A/V sent ya.�