The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I recently bought a bunch of records, the Hit of the week ones are brown and one-sided and play longer than normal records, the Goodwin ones seem the same as normal records (see pics). I should add that they are all FLEXIBLE records an unknown material to me / the brown Hit of the week ones are paper on the backside, without text. The Goodwins are double/sided.

Does anyone know if they're fit to be played with steel needles on normal windup gramophones or should I find another way?

I'd avoid playing either of those will steel needles if you want them to last.

1. It's Goodson, not Goodwin, and that is a label I've never seen.

2. Here's a good history of Hit Of The Week. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hit_of_the_Week_Records You CAN play them with steel needles (that was how they were originally played) but the lacquer surfaces get brittle with age and a bit less resilient. I keep a few of the common issues to demonstrate on my Credenza, but put the rest away.

I've never seen the Goodson label before, but I can see that it is British. Are you in England? My Love Parade is a song from 1929, so I wonder if Goodson pre-dates Durium records? If not, I wonder if Goodson was using the Durium process? I wonder what "Fit a Used needle" means in British? I'm guessing that "fit" means toss. I play my Hit of the Week Durium records on a 1946 Philco radio/phonograph with a comparatively light-weight sapphire stylus. If you try to play them on a modern turntable, the cartridge is too light-weight to follow all the usual warps of the record. A steel needle is too brutal for the plastic grooves unless you want your Hit of the Week to only last a week.

A history of Goodson Records can be found at www.retrospectmag.com.

Thanks for all the input!! No I'm not in England, I'm in Spain. "fit a used needle" I understand as "put a used needle in the soundbox and play the record" . I've tried this (I cannot think of a more agressive way to treat record grooves?) and it sounds fine... and I could not see any visible damage to the record, but then I did it only once. I'm going to try storing the records between other heavier 78s to see if they can get any flatter.

As to the Goodson record the recording certainly sounds like 1929 so that seems about right. The hit of the week ones sound more like late 1930ies but according to the Wikipedia entry above the company ended in 1932 so these records were only made during a few years it seems. They sound good and last about twice as long as a normal 78, now I've tried playing them on my Lenco which works fine if I use weights here and there since they're all bent.

Durium(GB)Products commenced production in March 1932 at their factory in Slough, Buckinghamshire, and the company is believed to have existed until at least 1936. This may explain the late 1930's sound of some of their "Hit of the Week" recordings.

Not familiar with the Goodson label,but I have been actively trying to complete my hit Of The Week collection for over 20 years now. I currently am lacking 12 titles; the most elusive ones, of course. Even though HOW records were issued in the era of steel needles and heavy soundboxes, I would never play mine that way because I've spent too much time and effort finding them to risk damaging them.

Jim

It seems then that there have been at least two different Durium record industries, the ones made in USA and then the branch in the UK - which kept going for a few years longer? Here is what wikipedia says (from above):

Hit of the Week was a US record label introduced in 1930 and discontinued in 1932.

My records (that I bought in Madrid) are all US made (but have spanish translations beneath the titles as in THE KINGS HORSES (Los caballos del rey)

Jim: if you're only lacking these few titles maybe I might have one or two *slim chance I suppose*? In which case I'd be glad to help. But then I do not know if you collect US/records or the UK/records?