Electric Diamond Discs prior to 52089?

[EdisonSquirrel]

Today I got a copy of Edison Diamond Disc 52063 by Walter Scanlan, consisting of (R) "I'll be with you when the roses bloom again" and (L) "Redwing." When I began playing the L side, I noticed that the record sounded somewhat like an electric recording. When I put on the R side, i.e., "Redwing," there was no longer any doubt. This is not an acoustic record--it's an electric.

I always thought that the Edison electrics began abruptly with 52089.




Rocky

[Shane]

Rocky,
What you are saying makes sense. I have 52087 in my collection (Eyeful of You/Side By Side by Oreste and his Queensland Orch). I played it on a modern record player. I swear up and down this is an electric disc. It is only two numbers off from when the electrics "officially" started.


-Shane

[Paal1994]

Rocky,

Yes, this could make sense.
I agree with Shane that 52087 sounds electrical.
I have not heard the Walter Scanlan disc you just got. But I'm sure there is a possibility that the company might have put out electrically recorded discs before 52089.

Paal.

[WDC]

I do agree too. It would be the still from the experimental phase when they were tinkering with a modified electric recorder from Victor, something no one should ever find out, of course.

I have Side by Side on BA and even with the acoustic transfer I am very sure that the source was an electrically recorded DD.

[Paal1994]

I have Side by Side on BA and even with the acoustic transfer I am very sure that the source was an electrically recorded DD.

I have BA 5359, released three months before "Side by Side". "The Doll Dance" by B.A. Rolfe & his Palais D'or Orchestra.
I don't know if it just my imagination, but it sounds more like an electrical B.A. Rolfe recording than one of his acoustic recordings.
The cylinder also sounds better and have better sound than other dubs I have. So that too could be dubbed acoustic from an electrically recorded DD...

Paal.

[larryh]

I think Edison became very adept at recording acoustically towards the end in particular on a lucky day. I have a copy of the Lucky Lindy recording which the number of eludes me but its an early 52 somewhere just before electrical recordings. I was convinced with the power and tone of the record it had to be electric but was told that it was indeed acoustically recorded.

Frankly to me the wide and solid sound of the late acoustics and even some very early ones, to me sound more satisfying than the rather canned effects electrical records often provide. It may be a issue more with early electrics than the mid period which I hear is the better of the recordings. I have often been disappointed in hearing and electric version of something like the Zampa Overture which has that sort of distant sound compared to the up front more solid acoustic version.

[52089]

I've been wondering about this for a while and here's my 2 cents. Ray Wile's book cleary says that electrical recording begins at 52089, but the note is actually on the matrix numbers for that record, 11778 and 11779. There are indeed DDs with higher matrix numbers prior to 52089. Here's a list:

52069 R and L
52070 R and L
52071 R and L
52072 L
52073 R and L
52074 R and L
52075 R and L
52076 R
52078 R and L
52079 R and L
52084 R and L
52086 R and L
52087 R and L
52088 R and L

I don't see any matrix numbers below 11778 after 52089.

I would like to hear comments from people who own any of the discs listed and their thoughts about whether the sides shown are electric or acoustic.

FYI, if this theory is correct, the last acoustic master would be 11777, which is 52065 R, Dew-dew-dewey Day by Clyde Doerr.

[VintageTechnologies]

I've been wondering about this for a while and here's my 2 cents. Ray Wile's book cleary says that electrical recording begins at 52089, but the note is actually on the matrix numbers for that record, 11778 and 11779. There are indeed DDs with higher matrix numbers prior to 52089. Here's a list:

52069 R and L
52070 R and L
52071 R and L
52072 L
52073 R and L
52074 R and L
52075 R and L
52076 R
52078 R and L
52079 R and L
52084 R and L
52086 R and L
52087 R and L
52088 R and L

I don't see any matrix numbers below 11778 after 52089.

I would like to hear comments from people who own any of the discs listed and their thoughts about whether the sides shown are electric or acoustic.

FYI, if this theory is correct, the last acoustic master would be 11777, which is 52065 R, Dew-dew-dewey Day by Clyde Doerr.

For years I have wondered about 52055 "Sweetness" by the Green Brothers Band. If it is acoustic, then it is the best I've ever heard. The singer's sibilants are so audible that I have always wondered about it being electric.

[EdisonSquirrel]

I have 52069, "Let me call you sweetheart," by Walter van Brunt and chorus. The sound is very good, but it is acoustic.

I've listened closely to several late Edison diamond discs. Obviously, Edison had perfected the technology of acoustic recording as the late-issued acoustics have great sound. Also, it appears to me that the instrumentation and arrangements of some of the late-issued acoustics were more in line with electric recordings, thus enhancing the perception that these discs were electrically recorded.

While I started this thread some time ago under the impression that Edison introduced electric recording prior to 52089, I am now more inclined to believe that 52089 was indeed the point of departure for electric recording.



Rocky