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As all of you know probably, no 78 rpm record really plays at 78 rpm. But this record, Harmony 338-H has really been recorded MUCH too slow. The song is "If You See Sally", and the vocalist is Tom Frawley, which is a pseudonym for Irving Kaufman.

At 78 rpm it sounds like THIS

Much too slow, obviously. However, I'm having problems determining the correct speed. At 85 rpm the music sounds about right, but Irving still sounds too low. If I speed it up to the next half-key (adding 4.5 prm) Irving sounds too high!



Unfortunately I don't have perfect pitch, but I know some of you do (Richardh, among others). Can you help me out?

Thanks in advance.

Hey Bart,

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the disc was 85 RPM. I've seen (and heard) Columbias and related labels where this happens. My method for pitching is usually to listen to the music and have a picth pipe handy if you aren't exactly sure. Once you land in a key (I tend to blow an A or C), you're there. Play around a bit with it, try 83 or 86. I've seen stranger things! One Dorsey Brothers disc (The Spell Of The Blues) with Bing I have plays at 86 RPM on the "Blues" side and 78 on the other...obviously these were done at two different sessions.

Sean

Harmonys are all over the map speed-wise. I'm going to do the " Canadian Compromise" thing and say that this one is just a bit slower than 85... They are such odd sounding records....with a lot of good music!

Though they are called 78s, that speed didn't really settle in until
about 1930. The first recording of Bing Crosby [with Al Rinker], on
Columbia Viva-Tonal, as "vocal refrain" on Don Clark's record of
"I've Got the Girl" was recorded about 70 rpm. It plays properly in
the key of Eb, and you hear Bing as you know he sounded.
In my broadcasting days, the most frustrating item I found was a
two record [4 side] set of Franz Liszt's "Les Preludes" by Felix Wein-
gartner and the London Symphony Orch.--Columbia, also, though recorded
in England. I discovered that the governor on the recording machine
changed every time they started it up. Side l was about 74 rpm, and
each side was a little faster, with side 4 about 77.5 rpm. I had to
use a variable speed turntable with an LP on another turntable for
comparison.

I gave this one a pitch to 88.34rpm which does sound alright to my ears in every audible way for both the vocals and the band.

WDC wrote:I gave this one a pitch to 88.34rpm which does sound alright to my ears in every audible way for both the vocals and the band.

Hi Norman, I noticed the strangest thing. I guess you took my 77.92 rpm transfer and sped it up a little? Because I found out that your 88.34 rpm transfer plays at almost the same speed as my 85 rpm file! So I went back to my original wav. files and found out I labeled this file sally85 in error! I originally made the transfer at 90 rpm, and then used DC-Art do slow it down a little. DC-Art doesn't express the speeding up and slowing down in terms of rpm's, it just used percentages. I guess I miscalculated the number of rpm's I slowed it down with.

I'm relieved to find out that I didn't do so bad after all. I don't have perfect pitch, unfortunately, but I'm less tone-deaf than I thought!

Anyway, Norman, thank you very much for your help in solving this little mystery.