Bought 78s and played VV-50 for first time

[jboger]

I quickly scanned the disks for different labels. I believe the following is nearly complete. To be complete will need to wait until I purchase some sleeves and needles. There are just too many to sort through. I want to do that once when I box everything properly.

One-sided disks: Victor (black label), Monarch (only one), Oxford (only two); Victrola (red label).

Two-sided: Pathé, Vocalion (red platter),Columbia, Musicraft, Tower, Sonora, Bluebird (just one but cracked), Brunswick (only one), Palda, MGM, Calvary, Supertone, Continental, Banner, Decca, majestic, RCA Victor, Lincoln.

I've uploaded a few shots of labels. For those who look at the file name, eBay is the name of the folder. why I called it that, I don't know. I do very little with eBay although I may now buy some needles there.

[FloridaClay]

Your Pathé is a "needle cut," so it has a lateral grove and will be fine to play on your 50. The Victor Monarch is a nice item to have in your collection, circa 1903-05.

Clay

[TonyJ]

Not sure if this was brought up, but a good source to get some basic data on the records you have can be found here :

http://www.78discography.com/

Sounds like you got a nice catch there!

[NateO]

Here is another source for finding recording dates:

http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/

It includes mostly Victor records, but has been updated recently to include some Columbia records too. It's my favorite source for these bands, and usually has a lot of information!
Congratulations on buying your first 78s!I have to agree with Clay, these records do multiply rather quickly, but they are a lot of fun.

[jboger]

Thanks for all the encouragement. I have now ordered some needles, but what about one of those needle sharpeners? I've seen one or two at auction. Do they work? I guess only vertically cut records play on a Pathé machine. To tell the truth, laterally cut records make sense to me; less so for the vertically cut ones. Perhaps done to keep the width of the groove constant and fit more threads on a disk, that is, longer playing time for those sort of records?

[Lucius1958]

Thanks for all the encouragement. I have now ordered some needles, but what about one of those needle sharpeners? I've seen one or two at auction. Do they work?

Those sharpeners were for fiber needles only: steel needles should be replaced after every play.

Bill

[STARR-OLA]

Great machine-will sound excellent with a reproducer rebuild.78s are like a wierd addiction but a very fun one.

[jboger]

I bought needles--loud, medium, and soft. These needles are different from the period ones, which seem to be better tapered and sharper. Has anyone compared the two, modern vs old? BTW, one of my recordings is a 1909 Victor of the Fisk University Jubilee Quartette. Interestingly enough, the federal government has deemed this recording of "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" historically significant.

[Stevefury]

Be careful about the type of 78's you play on your Vic. If I'm not mistaken those RCA-VICTOR record's can't be played with a steel needle. Only the acoustically recorded ones prior to 1930 can be played. An RCA-VICTOR record would be electronically produced and designed to be used on an electric stylus.
Maybe someone else can confirm this.

[victorIIvictor]

Steve gives good advice; the RCA Victor label replaced the Victor label in 1946, and such postwar discs were not designed to be played on a phonograph using steel needles. They will not sound good, and they will wear quickly, essentially destroying them. The same is true for the following labels that you picked up:

Musicraft, Tower, Sonora (gold print on maroon label), Bluebird, Brunswick (certainly those credited to Brunswick Radio Corporation or Brunswick Record Corporation), Palda, MGM (yellow printing on black), Calvary (I don't know this label), Continental, Banner (if you have the silver on blue type featuring Jewish material), Decca, Majestic (gold print on various colors, but crediting Majestic Television and Radio Corporation), and of course RCA Victor.

These were designed to be played using an electric pickup, and thus the shellac formulations they contain our much softer than that used on discs in the 1920s and before. How to best play these back depends to a large extent on how much you wish to spend on playback equipment, and I'm happy to give advice, for what it's worth, depending on that.

Best wishes, Mark