. Photos were taken by Bill Kuhr who did sound engineering for the Carpenters
Karen Richard Carpenter Test Press and Photos of the Carpenters arriving backstage, fan club photo book 1975 ~ All collected by there Sound Engineer Bill Kuhar shown in the photo, Bill had Karen sign a featured copy of Rolling Store. Bill also shot the 3 photos with his camera on the plaque which he made himself.
Transcription of Sleeve Details
- Artist: Carpenters
- Song Title: "Only Yesterday"
- Record Label & Catalog Number: A&M 11749-S P1
- Track Length: 3:45
- Mastering Date: 3/16/75
- Mastering Studio: Ars Nova Inc. (P.O. Box 1084, Downey, CA 90240) — Downey was the hometown of Karen and Richard Carpenter, where they recorded much of their early music.
🎛️ Technical & Engineering Notes
The handwritten notes on the right side provide a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the audio engineering process used for this release:
- Original Cut Specs:
(256 LINE BASE) OUTSIDE IN — This indicates the groove density (256 lines per inch) and that the record plays from the outer edge inward. - Quality Control Note:
too much tracing distortion, recut 3/18 at 224 LPI base, and +8 Limiting- The Problem: "Tracing distortion" happens when the playback stylus cannot perfectly follow the tightly packed grooves, causing a fuzzy or distorted sound.
- The Solution: The engineer ordered a "recut" two days later (March 18) with a wider groove spacing (224 LPI instead of 256) to give the stylus more room, alongside +8 Limiting to compress the audio peaks and prevent overloading the vinyl grooves.