Which records can be played on Victrolas?

[GaryLC]

Not sure if I should have posted this here or on the Record forum, but I have hundreds of old 78's. How do I know which ones are appropriate for playing on my crank Victrolas, and which were meant to be played on the later electrically reproduced machines? I know there is a difference, that the steel needles can ruin the later records.
Can you tell visually?

Thanks!

[gramophoneshane]

Discs with a smooth outer edge (no "run-in groove") should be safe to play.

[SignatureSeriesOwner]

On machines with an Exhibition, No. 2, and Concert soundbox, it's best to play records that are noted above^.

However, (in my opinion) if you have an Orthophonic or No.4 reproducer (especially Orthophonic, which is either all silver or gold, and says "Orthophonic" on the back where it attaches to the tone arm can play 78's up until 1940 or so.


Just for a test, as I spent the better part of the weekend cataloging my record collection (piece by piece, too big to do in one weekend) for insurance purposes, I played a Bing Crosby "White Christmas" 78 on my VV 1-5 at least 100 times. Eventually, I just put a towel over the horn opening, and kept resetting the tone arm/winding up the phonograph. After 100 plays, I saw no whiting of the grooves, no increased wear, and it sounded the exact same is it did in play #1. (With newer 78's, I switch the needle after every 2 plays.) I used an Orthophonic soundbox I had lying around for the test. The main reason I used my portable, instead of the XVII, was because the tonearm is counterbalanced with a spring, and not a lot of weight is put on the record.

I would not recommend doing this with a Concert, Exhibition, or No. 2 soundbox. Maybe with a No.4.

[JohnM]

Gary,
There is no teacher better than experience. You'll need to familiarize yourself with various label types and determine both from the design (appearance) of the label and the tune and artist what era it comes from. There is a label gallery on this website that is a good place to start, and others on the internet as well.

[GaryLC]

John, I was afraid someone was going to suggest that... You're right, experience is the best teacher, and I'll start doing some research. But in the meantime, I didn't want to ruin any of my records by playing them on my VV-300.

[frenchmarky]

In my case, I have several hundred records, but *none* of them is really valuable or precious. So I don't really care if some are going into the 40's and might suffer some audible damage. I've even bought a bunch of those 40's orchestral albums (12 inch records that come 3 or 4 or 5 in an album) that I know are really too new to play even on my Orthophonic or with my #4. But again they aren't valuable, and I'd probably only notice the damage occurring to them if I played them on my hi-fi stereo. I only bought them in the first place so that I could enjoy playing them acoustically. I.e. being able to enjoy a few records on my orthophonic that aren't already scratched up and which have full range music.

Besides, all of my other records have already been worn moderately or heavily from years of misuse, dull needles and whatnot from previous owners. My playing them 10 or 20 times is velvet glove treatment compared to what has already been done to them!