Wow, I heard things on tape I never heard before

Today I attended a daylong seminar at ATR Services. The first half of the day was in a classroom environment that explained, in detail, the theory of magnetic recording, tape machines and the tape media formulations that are used.

Topics such as such as how the various brands of machines transfer information to magnetic tape, tape speed, bias frequency, tape formulations and tape drive designs all have an effect on the final result. After the theory discussions the floor was open to questions. The first one asked was " Why do you hear things on tape you don't hear on another format?"

The answer Mike Spitz gave was one I've never heard before and I'll pass it on to you for thought. If you have a mind to offer a reply, one way or the other, it will be interesting to hear YOUR thoughts.

The question was posed after a discussion on phase problems that develop when music is recorded with many microphones and passed through and processes by many digital boxes.

A drawing of the stylus in a record groove showed how the right and left channels are reproduced by left and right movement of the stylus. There is another movement of the stylus, vertical, that is the component of phase relationships. That movement doesn't have an effect on the left and right channels but is noticed on a tape recording and adds air that gives the music an effect that won't come across on an LP.

Have those of you that have the same selections on tape and vinyl noticed the sonic difference between the two. If so, what are your thoughts on the subject?

Ken