My New VIc :)

[Phonofreak]

I have played 30's - 40's records on my Vic II, and other Victors. Instead of the Exhibition, I use a No.4 or some of the later reproducers with an aluminum diaphragm. They sound good to me.
Harvey Kravitz

[gramophone78]

I have played 30's - 40's records on my Vic II, and other Victors. Instead of the Exhibition, I use a No.4 or some of the later reproducers with an aluminum diaphragm. They sound good to me.
Harvey Kravitz

Harvey, naturally electric records will sound better with a newer (than an Exhibition) reproducer. However, to get the best results, you need to use a machine that was designed to cover the frequency range later electric records have.
A machine from 1905-1909 was just not designed for this.
Jay, I should have mentioned.....keep your eyes open for some nice pre-electric records. There are many great rags, minstrels, etc....that will sound great and give you that period feel.
Gook luck.

[JayL]

Well, gentlemen that I have purchased my machine from, was kind enough to include some records to go with it. I do not think any of them are electrically recorded, but I do not know what are the signs of electrical recorded records are . Are there any visual clues to tell ?
The one sided victor records are impossible to listen to , but bluebird, columbia and decca were fine, with occasional distortion and blasting. I thought maybe reproducer just needs to be rebuild.
I looked at the eBay and they seems to be a lot of choices, but I do not know which ones would be good for me, for example would something like this be ok ?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271100372479?ss ... 1423.l2649
Thanks,
Jay

[gramophone78]

Well, gentlemen that I have purchased my machine from, was kind enough to include some records to go with it. I do not think any of them are electrically recorded, but I do not know what are the signs of electrical recorded records are . Are there any visual clues to tell ?
The one sided victor records are impossible to listen to , but bluebird, columbia and decca were fine, with occasional distortion and blasting. I thought maybe reproducer just needs to be rebuild.
I looked at the eBay and they seems to be a lot of choices, but I do not know which ones would be good for me, for example would something like this be ok ?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271100372479?ss ... 1423.l2649
Thanks,
Jay

Jay, those records on that link are very late. 40's-50's. Check some record web sites to get familiar with early labels. Records are also of personal taste. I like "minstrels and descriptive's". Here is a pre-electric Victor and since Christmas is around the corner I thought I would post it. Also, a pic of a Victor electric and you can see the "VE" on the label. This is one record I would never play on any old machine..... .
As Harvey mentioned.....if you buy a later type reproducer,you can get better sound from the early electric records and still listen to the later ones also.
The only challenge will be finding one that will fit the early narrow "U" tube on your tone arm. Most were made for the later fat "U" tube on Victrola's.
In the meantime...sit back and enjoy your machine.....

1930 Cocaine Habit Blues.jpg (76.85 KiB) Viewed 1298 times

[VintageTechnologies]

Also, where would be the best place to get some records ?
I looked at the eBay, but I'm not sure how can I tell if the record is still compatible with my machine.
Are there just certain labels that I should look for like Columbia, Decca or Victor ?
I like later releases around 30's 40's , the very early records that I have just not to much fun to listen to.

There are tons of suitable records on eBay. That is the easiest way to get started. For best reproduction, play only acoustic records generally made before 1925. The Victor "batwing" labels and blue Columbia labels are prolific and often inexpensive. There is lots of good entertainment in many genres: marches, fox-trots, ragtime, Broadway tunes, comedy, classical. What are your interests? I began my hobby collecting machines, but then discovered the music is what makes it all worthwhile.

[AllWoundUp]

Here's a great web site, "The online discographical project"

http://www.78discography.com

You can look up just about any American 78 here by label/record number and find out when it was recorded. Great for when you're looking at records on ebay.

I found that buying various inexpensive "lots" of records on ebay and at thrift shops was how I figured out what I like. Also, when you see records on ebay, you can frequently find the songs on the iTunes music store and listen to samples. And there's always YouTube: search for specific songs or just search for "Victrola" "Victor", Columbia, HMV, etc, there's a ton of stuff there.

[FloridaClay]

As far as Victor records are concerned, I'd think you'd be OK with any pre-VEs (Monarchs, Grand Prizes, "bat-wings"). Just nose around thrift and antique stores and watch your local Craig's List. They still show up. Sometimes you can find batches on eBay, but they often tend to be overpriced and then you have shipping costs. At there are the record auctions like Kurt Nauck's.

And yes a reproducer rebuild can make a big difference. If it hasn't been done on such an old timer the gaskets have doubtless turned into petrified rocks by now.

Clay

[ewok]

nickjay (Darrell), a member of this forum, is current selling one-dollar records (see his post on "Yankee Trader") and he charges actual shipping (USPS media mail). There are also other members on this forum can help you finding records you like and they know how to ship records. I'd suggest you contact them first. (Many eBay sellers have no clue on how to handle 78's records!)

Thanks everyone . I'm really enjoying it. I think reproducer though might need to be rebuild, because it distorts a bit in my opinion and screeches sometime, but than again I'm not an expert.
Also, where would be the best place to get some records ?
I looked at the eBay, but I'm not sure how can I tell if the record is still compatible with my machine.
Are there just certain labels that I should look for like Columbia, Decca or Victor ?
I like later releases around 30's 40's , the very early records that I have just not to much fun to listen to.

[JayL]

Thanks to everyone for a lot of useful information, now I know what I need to look for in records
and I have to look into some tutorials on rebuilding reproducer.
I really like different kind of dance music from the 20's .
What artists would you guys recommend for Foxtrot, Ragtag , big bands ?
Who are your favorite artists ?
Regards,
Jay

[John Svensson]

"Big Band" jazz will be electrically recorded and as others have said....not the best reproduction on that machine. Maybe pickup a relatively inexpensive portable for playing those if that is the music you are most interested in. To get an idea of some of the artists from earlier periods that would be appropriate to the machine, you can take a look at Kurt Nauck's last auction listings.... wwww.78rpm.com, just to see artists and song titles, that will give you some ideas what/who to look for in the way of records. Just about every popular music record of the early-mid 20's is labeled a Foxtrot it seems, they're not hard to find. If I were real cynical I'd direct you to Paul Whiteman so we weren't butting heads in the same auctions! John