What is the Gray Area's of The Diamond Disc ?

[Marc Hildebrant]

Group,

When I was playing a Diamond Disc record "Room for Two" by Don Voorhees (52024-L), I heard a lot of trumpet distortion during the loud parts. Looking at the record under a microscope, I could see gray area's at times in the loud parts. The gray area's were not uniform, rather odd shapes at times in the grooves.

Any idea what the grey area's could be ? They seem to be where the distortion was present.

Marc

[alang]

Most likely someone tried to play it with a steel needle

Andreas

[Wolfe]

Greyed grooves are not uncommon in more challenging to track parts of a phonograph record. Playing wear. Or it's like as suggested above, this one DD was simply attempted to be played with a steel needle.

[Governor Flyball]

I agree someone tried playing it with a steel needle. It is amazing more diamond discs have not been ruined.

I have often seen Diamond Discs on a Victrola turntable on eBay and at Antique Shops.

[CarlosV]

Playing diamond discs with a steel needle, or with a chipped diamond Edison stylus, will do a more severe damage than only distorting loud passages. It will eat away the whole groove. The distortion and greying on loud passages is consequence of normal accumulated use with the extremely heavy Edison soundbox.

[Lucius1958]

I agree someone tried playing it with a steel needle. It is amazing more diamond discs have not been ruined.

I have often seen Diamond Discs on a Victrola turntable on eBay and at Antique Shops.

Yes: I remember rescuing a nice early DD ("Soldiers' Chorus" from Faust, and "On Yonder Rock Reclining" from Fra Diavolo, iirc) from the turntable of a Victrola in an antiques mall, and explaining to the owners that it was not compatible with the machine. Luckily, nobody had tried to play it on the Victrola.

-Bill

[FellowCollector]

When I was playing a Diamond Disc record "Room for Two" by Don Voorhees (52024-L), I heard a lot of trumpet distortion during the loud parts

Visual light greying and audible distortion at louder passages is absolutely consistent (and very commonly seen) on Diamond Discs and is a direct result of lots of normal play wear from using a Diamond Disc reproducer just as light greying and audible distortion occurs with lots of normal play at louder passages on lateral 78rpm records with a steel needle. Playing a Diamond Disc using a steel needle usually results in brown (or tan) colored grooves as the needle carves its way through ALL the grooves being played (loud or quiet, it doesn't matter).

Doug

[Marc Hildebrant]

Fellow Collector,

Thanks for the info. That explanation seems to cover what I have seen.

Marc

[phonosandradios]

I only have a few diamond disks but I have noticed that one of them does have some brown grooves - which I guess is where the surface material has been worn through to the core material. If you were to play such a disk on a period edison machine would the brown grooves do damage to the stylus?

[FellowCollector]

Fellow Collector,Thanks for the info.

You're very welcome.

...one of them does have some brown grooves...If you were to play such a disk on a period edison machine would the brown grooves do damage to the stylus?

Edison Diamond Disc reproducers use a diamond stylus so an occasional play through worn grooves shouldn't damage the stylus - but I would avoid it as much as possible. And, for what it's worth, I would definitely never try to play through any Diamond Disc that has a lamination split, edge flake or any sort of fissure or crevice as you risk cleaving the diamond stylus and if that happens you're cooked until you find another good Edison diamond stylus.

Doug