The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Appreciate y'all's information. Didn't know about the repressings. I'll look into all of it.

And there must be some of them released from original matrixes on red Columbia laminated puddings of the 30s and 40s

Which is the one acoustic issue? Is it gut bucket blues/yes I’m in the barrel? That is the only one I have an original Okeh pressing of. It always sounded like a (not too spectacular) acoustic recording to me.

MrRom92 wrote: Tue Feb 17, 2026 2:32 pm Which is the one acoustic issue? Is it gut bucket blues/yes I’m in the barrel? That is the only one I have an original Okeh pressing of. It always sounded like a (not too spectacular) acoustic recording to me.

There are actually five acoustic Hot Fives. Okeh 8261, 8299, 8300, 8318 and 8320 are all acoustic recordings. Bear in mind, many, many, many copies were pressed with the “TrueTone” label, but original pressings have the deep red “non-TrueTone” label.

Steve

I understand that some of the True Tone OKeh records WERE electrically recorded.edisonplayer.

edisonplayer wrote: Fri Feb 20, 2026 8:20 am I understand that some of the True Tone OKeh records WERE electrically recorded.edisonplayer.

That is correct. The “TrueTone” process was Okeh’s own electrical recording process. The “TrueTone” process lasted only a short time. The first recordings using that process were made on 19 April 1926. After being purchased by Columbia, Okeh began using the “Western Electric” process in November 1926.
The first three Hot Five titles were recorded on 12 November 1925. “Gut Bucket Blues”/“Yes I’m In The Barrel” were released as Okeh 8261. “My Heart”/“Cornet Chop Suey” ( recorded 26 February 1926) were released as Okeh 8320. The six titles on 8299, 8300 and 8318 were all recorded on 26 February 1926. The first Hot Five “TrueTone” recordings were made in June 1926.

Steve

And there must be some of them released from original matrixes on red Columbia laminated puddings of the 30s and 40s

Yes, I have a few of these from the 40s labeled as "A Hot Jazz Classic" along with their original catalog numbers. Hot Stuff!