Re: WFNX --> WNHQ ?

[Chuckigo@aol.com]

 At 01:09 AM 7/27/99 -0400, Chris Beckwith wrote:
 >At one of my old stations we had to run an Eventide Harmonizer on
 >almost everything because the bulk of our spots primarily ran on a
 >sister station that wasn't automated (I pity the statons that don't
 >have a Harmonizer!) >>

In a message dated 7/27/99 2:32:56 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
brian_vita@cssinc.com writes:

<< I'm confused.  What magic would this miracle box do?
 
 Brian>>

brian...

    the Eventide Harmonizer allows one to perform a number of audio 
miracles...  from making anyone sound like Darth Vader to adjusting the 
length of a spot without the resulting "chimpmunk effect".  
in the good old days, you had to read the copy faster and faster until it fit.
next, the idea gods in radio production allowed us to learn how to pitch up a 
spot, (another Nick Seneca trick...), you'd take a little scotch tape, and 
wrap it around the capstain of the reel to reel machine.  the more scotch 
tape used, the faster the resulting audio.  so, to shave a second or two off, 
from a :62 to :60, one would use just enough scotchtape to reach around the 
capstain once.  too much tape, and you wound up being the sidekick to Dave 
Seville.
then came the days of vary speed reel to reel machines.  they'd have a "pitch 
control" knob built right in !!!    using pitch control alone would still 
create the "chipmunk effect", but it kept the capstains on the reel to reel 
machines scotchtape free.
then, the harmonizer allowed you to take as much as seven full seconds off a 
spot, without any quality loss.   pitch control up, and send it on into the 
time-squeeze function in the harmonizer.  
the drawbacks to digital squeezing, though, include "clipping audio", where 
the unit actually takes percentages off each sound sample (word).  if the 
spot is really too long, and you're trying to shave much more than six or 
seven seconds off a spot, then you wind up with a noticeable loss of quality 
throughout the spot. (eliminating six seconds to make a spot fit into :60 is 
asking the machinery to eliminate ten percent, across the board, of every 
sound... )

if you wonder why these "marvels of modern technology" are even needed, then 
perhaps you've not had the pleasure of reading :40 worth of copy in :29.5 
(for tv audio).  and you really can't tell a salesper...ooops, account 
executi...  ooops... Certified Radio Marketing Consultant (herb) that the 
copy's too long...

Chuck igo

------------------------------