How to play these??

[Operafan]

Does anyone have experience with safely playing any of the following items:

6-inch aluminum "Remsen-Disc" [inscribed "Do Not Use Steel Needles / Use Only Fibre Needles"]

6 ½-inch cardboard "Voices of Victory" (Compliments of Gem Razors and Blades) disks

8-inch [vinyl?] Wilcox-Gay Recordio Disc
10-inch [vinyl?] Wilcox-Gay Recordio Disc

10-inch [very thin, vinyl?] "Presto/USA" record

Can they be trusted to a modern Rek-O-Kut variable sped turntable with a diamond or sapphire needle on a light-weight pickup?

[edisonphonoworks]

I think that your turntable is variable speed, I have played these on electronic turn tables, I use a shure 78S cartridge and no EQ curve, Your turntable sounds like it has different stili. I have used Audacity to record them from a studio Reeel to Reel deck. There is also DC ART and other programs, Sony Acid Pro. I use a device called an IMPORT a USB device with RCA jacks, I hook this to the pre amp, line out, or to my tube Ampex 300. Although last time I did this kind of work with home recording discs the records were warped, I used a record clamp on the turn table and I set the variable speed at 39 rpm and recorded them on my custom Borri Labs reel to reel deck, an Ampex 300 trasport with custom tube pre amps at 7.5 ips, and then played it back at 15ips, to the computer and did some digital clean up. I think the half speed mastering is better for tracking them.

[Wolfe]

If nothing else, play them with a round conical stylus to avoid cutting into the surface.

[Phototone]

The simple answer is YES, you can play all of these on your modern turntable with variable speed. With a lightweight modern pickup, and a stylus designed for 78 rpm records. (3 mil, or thereabouts) you should cause no damage, and should be able to hear what is on them.

For transcribing and "restoring" you may find that (as most professionals do) it helps to have various different stylus sizes to extract the most from old worn records.

[estott]

Does anyone have experience with safely playing any of the following items:

6-inch aluminum "Remsen-Disc" [inscribed "Do Not Use Steel Needles / Use Only Fibre Needles"]

6 ½-inch cardboard "Voices of Victory" (Compliments of Gem Razors and Blades) disks

8-inch [vinyl?] Wilcox-Gay Recordio Disc
10-inch [vinyl?] Wilcox-Gay Recordio Disc

10-inch [very thin, vinyl?] "Presto/USA" record

Can they be trusted to a modern Rek-O-Kut variable sped turntable with a diamond or sapphire needle on a light-weight pickup?

Be careful with the "Voices of Victory" disc and the Wilcox-Gay discs. In the first the coating easily cracks if the cardboard is bent. On the Wilcox-Gay discs the coating can peel off of the thin aluminum base- I've had decent luck playing them on a cheap modern machine, but the sound can be rough because chemicals leech out of the coating & leave a film.