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I have used a 78 rpm stroboscope to set the speed on my Victrola XVI, however many records sound too fast now. I had to set the speed to 76 rpm to make Billy Murray sound like a tenor again, yet other records sound too slow at this speed. I know that Victor didn't have a 100% standard speed during the 1910s but is there any record of the speeds they used during certain time periods?

-Steve

No. Unfortunately there is no definitive text on playback speeds for various 78 labels. Victor playback speeds can be from 70 to 78RPM in the very earliest years of the 20th century before settling in around 76RPM for most of the acoustical era. But this is the roughest of guides, because there were variations in recording turntables speeds, variations in the softness of the wax to make the recording, and other likely variables I'm not aware of. If you have knowledge of what Keys musicians typically played selections in, you can use a pitchpipe or an electric keyboard to guide you in setting pitch.

Best wishes, Mark

This topic has been discussed here at great length, and you could spend hours, if not days, on the Search page ferreting out all the posts and threads. Good luck!

oldphonographsteve wrote:I have used a 78 rpm stroboscope to set the speed on my Victrola XVI, however many records sound too fast now. I had to set the speed to 76 rpm to make Billy Murray sound like a tenor again, yet other records sound too slow at this speed. I know that Victor didn't have a 100% standard speed during the 1910s but is there any record of the speeds they used during certain time periods?

-Steve

My experience is that most acoustic Victor batwings play around 75/76 rpm, and even early electric Victors (1925/1926) play in between 75-76.5 rpm. With Victors from 1927 it's 50/50%. Half of them play at 76.5, the other half at 78. From 1928 onwards most Victors play correctly at 78 rpm.