Electrically dubbed blue amberols

[mjbarnes]

Is there a definitive start number to the late blue amberols that were dubbed from electric diamond discs?

[mjbarnes]

Given the underwhelming response I will post what I have learned by reading and re-reading Dethlefson.

Blue amberols 1500 to 2487 were directly recorded "into the horn."
Higher numbers were all dubbed from diamond discs. In September 1927 Edison discs began to be recorded electrically, so the blue amberol dubs were likewise electric.
Roughly the first electric blue amberol was 5426.

[Gatyam]

The book "Blue Amberol Records", a discography compiled by Allan Sutton, indicates that dubbing from electrically recorded Diamond Discs began at 5400. It was dubbed from Diamond Disc 52093.

[mjbarnes]

Thanks for the detail.

[NateThorne]

Does anyone know if there are any documented differences in sound quality between the earlier acoustic dubs and these later electric ones?

[mjbarnes]

Nate: Dethlefson writes about how challenging the electric DDs were to dub successfully to cylinders, with the result that many were not issued at all. The process of dubbing would have "rubbed out" many of the frequencies captured by the electric process. Interestingly, you can make your own judgment by listening to cylinder recordings on Youtube. Someone there has specifically chosen the 5000 series cylinders, but as noted above, the electrics started around 5400. Edison was late to the party with electrical recording: Victor started in 1925, Edison followed reluctantly in 1927.

At the other end -- the directly recorded acoustic cylinders recorded 1912 through 1914 -- sometimes sound quite sweet and fine, whatever we may think nowadays about the compositions.