I checked about a hundred of my tapes and I am not sure any of the 2 
track (non stereo) were from 1952.  I have several 2 track non-stereo tapes, 
7 1/2 speed that were issued by Ampex for London.  No date on the box or 
tape reel, so I can't be certain of the date.  None of the early 2 tracks I 
bought were stereo though.  I thought the high-fidelity was great and worth 
the money.   Thanks for making me look.  I found three Gilbert and Sullivan 
operettas on reels that I didn't even remember owning.  Jack

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Fine" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, April 08, 2007 7:10 AM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] commerical reels history (was Boston Pops question)


> I'd be interested to know what's on them and who released them. I do not 
> believe you'll find that they are in fact 2T stereo. They are likely 
> half-track (2-sided) mono. If they are stereo, it would be very 
> interesting to know who put them out as in 1952 only a few people were 
> experimenting with 2-channel stereo recording of music. No major labels 
> yet, although I believe RCA started making 2T masters in 1954 or even 
> 1953 -- I think Zarathustra with Reiner was the first 2T session.
>
> -- Tom Fine
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Jack Palmer" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Sunday, April 08, 2007 12:29 AM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] commerical reels history (was Boston Pops 
> question)
>
>
>>    I bought my first 2 track tapes for my reel recorder/player in the 
>> Base Exchange in Sidi-Slimane, Morocco in 1952.  I still have a couple of 
>> them in fact.   Jack
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Tom Fine" <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Saturday, April 07, 2007 9:40 AM
>> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] commerical reels history (was Boston Pops 
>> question)
>>
>>
>>
>>> Ampex developed their own, was developed by Leon Wortman in NY and 
>>> detailed in a 1951 Radio & TV News article. Wortman's line made 
>>> full-track or half-track tapes. Commercial half-track tapes were 
>>> available as early as 1951 or 1952, but there was only a very small 
>>> consumer market for reel to reel machines at that point. > Because this 
>>> was a new format sold at a premium price, a lot of QC attention was paid 
>>> by the reputable companies in this era, so the net quality is very high. 
>>> Akin to what happened when stereo LPs came along.
>> .
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>