Cylinder vs. Diamond Disc

[Lucius1958]

It's true that, on the whole, the wartime DDs are usually pretty awful.

However, once in a blue moon, you can find one that is an exception to the rule. Here is an etched label disc, with edge numbers, which cannot have been pressed later than September 1918, and it sounds very good:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slqV5jyMxVU[/youtube]

Bill

[marcapra]

It depends on your record and your equipment. If you have an Amberola 1A or B you can have outstanding sound from a Blue Amberol. I once heard Ron Dethlefson play "Negro in a Woodpile" on BA on his Amberola 1B and I was amazed at the sound. If you just have a Fireside with a small Gem horn or a Amberola 30 the sound is tinny. I have an Edisonic Schubert and when I play a great electric DD on it in good condition, I don't think any cylinder machine could match it. Also the music on BA is mostly from a pre-jazz era that is very corny as music. I know they made BA dubs up to 1929, but they are rare cost a fortune. At least the DD caught the great late 20's jazz that made the 1920's roar, and those are some of the best engineered records up to that time. If you mainly have etched label DD's it's easy to see why you think they're inferior to BA. That's why etched labels are so plentiful at flea markets and Ebay. Everybody wants to weed those out of their collection.