Baby
steps
In
fairness, the first sessions with Leo and the Prophets provided
a valuable opportunity for Sonobeat to "get
its act together" before investing in a startup business. KAZZ-FM chief
engineer Bill Curtis reworked the homemade
portable
mixer's circuits, eventually eliminating
the overload distortion. He also suggesting acquiring better
microphones -- the Prophets sessions were recorded
with ElectroVoice 665 dynamic mikes -- and located a pair of
used but high quality condenser mikes. Aside from
the technically poor quality of the recordings, the
Prophets sessions were creatively disappointing,
too. The group's performances were raw, like the
young garage band that they were. The Joseys reluctantly put the work tapes
away. Fortunately there were alternatives on the horizon.
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The Sonobeat logo was set in the Stiletto
type font
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At the same time
the Joseys had other decisions to make. Among the earliest
decisions was that Sonobeat's 45 rpm singles would be recorded,
mastered, and released
in stereo. The motivation was primarily to establish
Sonobeat as distinctive and to give it a gimmick to attract
radio stations, reviewers, and consumers alike
to
the
recordings of a tiny Central Texas label that otherwise would
be easily overlooked or ignored. As a result of following
that
decision
from
its first release, Sonobeat was
widely
credited
with
launching
the
mono-compatible
stereo 45
format.
The record industry, led by 45 rpm format inventor RCA, had flirted
with the stereo 45 format in the late 1950s but by the early
'60s had abandoned it as consumer interest shifted to
the 33-1/3 rpm LP format.
So,
record industry practice from the early '60s through the end
of the decade was to release
singles
only in monaural, because almost all radio stations
that played
45s were AM, technically unable to broadcast in stereo
and whose turntables therefore were outfitted with mono cartridges
and needles. The diamond-shaped mono needles damaged
the groove walls of stereo records after only a few plays.
Although all FM stations technically could broadcasting in stereo,
KAZZ-FM
broadcast in monaural but nonetheless was outfitted with stereo
turntable equipment. Indeed, well into the '70s
no significant percentage of teens -- the target
audience for 45 rpm singles -- had stereo record players, and
in the
late '60s less than 10% of albums were offered
in stereo. Stereo mastering and pressing added additional
manufacturing costs; nonetheless, the Joseys were
convinced stereo singles were the wave of the future
and would
differentiate Sonobeat as a progressive and foresighted
label.
The
Joseys began researching stereo recording and mastering
techniques and found that stereo cutting
heads -- used to create the lacquer masters from
which the metal record stamping plates are made -- easily burned
out with sustained high energy high frequencies and
would distort
high
energy
low
frequencies. In rock and pop music, constant
high intensity high and low frequencies -- notably
cymbals,
bass
guitar, and
kick drum -- are primal elements, almost assuring
stereo mastering problems. One technique
to reduce both problems was to master the
lacquer at half speed, which cut the frequency spectrum
in half, providing the cutting head "breathing
room" on the high frequencies. Another technique
was to mix bass to the center (that
is,
with equal
volume
on both the left and right channels), where it could
be mixed at lower volumes and still be clearly heard.
Centering low frequencies also prevented phase distortion. The
phonograph records themselves had to be pressed from
a tougher, smoother, and
more expensive virgin vinyl in order to protect
against groove damage from diamond-shaped
mono
record
player needles (stereo needles are elliptical,
a design that "rides" instead of gouges the groove walls).
The
Sonobeat label logo promoted "surrounding sound" stereo
The Sonobeat label background pattern was yellow and then later changed to blue-gray
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At the same time the Joseys began researching
facilities that could master and press high quality stereo
45s, they also began the process of naming the company. Rim
(Bill Jr.) contributed the name that finally stuck, Sonobeat,
and started designing the logo and record label. Personal computers
and desktop publishing didn't exist in the '60s, so he laid
out designs on Bristol board using sheets of self-adhesive
film laminate textures and dry transfer lettersets. The Joseys
had seen hundreds of record labels at KAZZ and wanted something
distinctive and different, so the final design featured an
unusual background pattern they'd seen on no other label. The
font selected for the Sonobeat logo was Stiletto and was hand
set from dry transfer sheets. The ribbon-like font was chosen
because it resembled audiotape shaped into letterforms.
The Sonobeat label background pattern was a yellow mezzotint
on all 1967 releases. At the beginning of 1968, the mezzotint
color was changed to light blue-gray to make it less dominant,
and the logo color was changed to complement the new background
color. The only single released with both versions of the Sonobeat
label was Lavender Hill Express' Visions,
which went into a second pressing just as the label color changed.
"Blank" labels -- just background and logo -- were printed locally
in South Austin by Powell Offset Services and shipped to the record
pressing plant where they were overprinted with title, artist,
running time, and other release-specific information. Sonobeat
also printed "PROMO
COPY" labels
-- used for records distributed to radio stations and reviewers
-- for the first two or three singles released.
There
was still another major challenge the Joseys had
to deal with: finding facilities to could use as
a recording studio, since they didn't have the resources
to lease
and outfit a permanent studio facility. This problem
was solved conceptually by looking to the KAZZ-FM
live
remote
broadcasts
for inspiration: record "on location".
And it was solved practically with the group
Sonobeat
decided to record for its first release.
Next:
Toddler steps
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