The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hi everyone, I have another newbie question for everyone concerning records.

I've been reading a lot and I see that there are multiple types of records for multiple types of players out there. Does anybody have a chart which explains the types of records and what they are compatible with?

I have an Victrola XVI and when I'm browsing antique stores, I'm unsure exactly which records are proper for my player.

Thanks!!!

Bryan

Your Victrola XVI will play any 78 rpm record (be sure to always change the needle for each play), but it will play acoustically-recorded 78s better than those recorded electrically. A properly rebuilt sound box will of course be a help too.

Your next question will probably be "How do I tell an acoustically recorded record from an electrically recorded one?" That requires a big answer, because there were hundreds of record labels over the years. You're likely to encounter Victor and Columbia discs more often than others. Any Victor that is labeled "Monarch," "Grand Prize" (sometimes around the spindle hole), or carrying the common "bat wing" label will (with relatively few exceptions at the end of the "bat wing" era) will be acoustically recorded. Look carefully in the runout area of a Victor record, and if you see a tiny "VE" in an oval, it is electrically recorded. Mike Sherman wrote an excellent book on Victor records: The Collector's Guide to Victor Records.

Columbias generally labelled its electrically recorded discs as "Viva-Tonal" or "Electrical Process" but there are exceptions. The subject is simply too broad to address here. I'd recommend the book, Note The Notes, An Illustrated History of the Columbia Record Label, by Sherman and Nauck.

By Googling Victor Records and Columbia Records, you may find online guides. There's a good article on the Antique Phonograph Society web site describing types of cylinders...plus a Grand Prize 8" Victor and a bat-wing label Victor!

http://www.antiquephono.org/basic-antiq ... onal-tips/

Have fun and good luck - -

George P.

A frequently asked question. Here are sample threads for you:

http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... f=2&t=4124
http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... =3&t=16014

There are many more.

Thanks guys. I was searching and I figured there were posts on this topic, but I guess I didn't go back far enough in my searching.

For lateral-cut or needle-cut (standard "78s") you might also find this site useful -- http://www.78discography.com/

It provides a good, basic dating guide. The major brands, except for Edison, all switched to electrical recording in 1925, but some of the budget labels continued to recording acoustically until the end of the decade.

Another useful site is: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/

And not to overload you with information, but this is a good site for those new to the hobby -- https://the78rpmrecordspins.wordpress.c ... -rpm-care/


OrthoFan

Hey Snowball, There are some records that were center-start! That means, you did not put the needle on the outside rim of the record but rather to the center of the record ---so it played to the outside.

phonogfp wrote:Your Victrola XVI will play any 78 rpm record (be sure to always change the needle for each play), but it will play acoustically-recorded 78s better than those recorded electrically. A properly rebuilt sound box will of course be a help too.

Your next question will probably be "How do I tell an acoustically recorded record from an electrically recorded one?" That requires a big answer, because there were hundreds of record labels over the years. You're likely to encounter Victor and Columbia discs more often than others. Any Victor that is labeled "Monarch," "Grand Prize" (sometimes around the spindle hole), or carrying the common "bat wing" label will (with relatively few exceptions at the end of the "bat wing" era) will be acoustically recorded. Look carefully in the runout area of a Victor record, and if you see a tiny "VE" in an oval, it is electrically recorded. Mike Sherman wrote an excellent book on Victor records: The Collector's Guide to Victor Records.

Columbias generally labelled its electrically recorded discs as "Viva-Tonal" or "Electrical Process" but there are exceptions. The subject is simply too broad to address here. I'd recommend the book, Note The Notes, An Illustrated History of the Columbia Record Label, by Sherman and Nauck.

By Googling Victor Records and Columbia Records, you may find online guides. There's a good article on the Antique Phonograph Society web site describing types of cylinders...plus a Grand Prize 8" Victor and a bat-wing label Victor!

http://www.antiquephono.org/basic-antiq ... onal-tips/

Have fun and good luck - -

George P.

Just to clarify, Victor records with the "batwing" label were produced in Canada up into the forties, so check the address on the label...

emerson wrote:Hey Snowball, There are some records that were center-start! That means, you did not put the needle on the outside rim of the record but rather to the center of the record ---so it played to the outside.

Those aren't exactly common though! Are there any lateral center-start records besides the 16-inch transcription discs? I know vertical Pathés were, and it was an option on a few home recorders, but other than that I'm not sure I've ever seen a commercial one.

I think this may have been posted on this forum before, but just in case --


http://majesticrecord.com/labels.htm


The site provides photos of hundreds of 78 record labels, and a few pages contain information about when specific labels were used.

For instance:

Victor Labels -- http://majesticrecord.com/labelsvictor.htm
Columbia Labels -- http://majesticrecord.com/labelscolumbia.htm


HTH,
OrthoFan

Snowball, unfortunately there will never be the "list" you are looking for. Should anyone try to compile such "list", it would however be so long, complicated and full of exceptions to be of no practical use.

78 RPM records that won't play on your Victrola XVI are quite uncommon and are not usually found in the average shop. You can buy quite confidently. Should you damage a record, it will very unlikely turn out to be a super-valuable rarity. Super-valuable rarities are all in the hands of experienced collectors by decades. So just relax, buy, and play your records.

As a general rule (as said, with exceptions, but not too many), I would suggest that whatever looks made in black flexible plastic and/or has more than one song per side, it can't be played on your Victrola. Whatever looks made with a heavy and unflexible black compound, can be played on your Victrola. Remember to change the steel needle every two sides.

Here are two further previous topics for you to read. As anticipated, the matter is easier than it seems at first, and for some reason most people give unnecessarily picky directions when it comes to it.

http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... =3&t=27371
http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... =2&t=28048