The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Newbie that I am I have never seen or heard of the thick "Diamond" Edison records. Someone gave me a small stack of them, and I have no clue on how to best care for them.


Typical tiles are Gladys Rice, Vernon Garhart, some Verdi.


EDITEd to add and correct to: Oh dear, I was given Edison Diamond discs..!

Congratulations! Now you have a good reason to get yourself an Edison Diamond Disc machine, so you can play the DD records
First of all, do not ever play Diamond Disc records on a regular 78 rpm player with a steel needle. DD records are vertical cut (hill 'n' dale), while regular 78s have lateral cut grooves. DD records should only be played with a specific reproducer with diamond tip, otherwise they will be ruined. Second, if you need to clean DD records NEVER use water, because they have a wood composite core, which can soak up the water, swell and break the record surface. If you need to clean DD records you can use microfiber cloth with a bit of rubbing alcohol. Regular 78s are quite the opposite, you can use water (carefully), but NEVER use alcohol....
Andreas

Thanks Andreas.

Yes, once I noticed what they were, I looked up care instructions, like you fine details.

I am not sure I will ever encounter a "Diamond" player though..

they are not that rare in the USA, you should be able to get one for a few hundred dollars

Edison Diamond Disc machines are pretty nifty. They are mechanically interesting, some are quite attractive, and once restored have good sound.

Clay

poodlesrule wrote:Thanks Andreas.

Yes, once I noticed what they were, I looked up care instructions, like you fine details.

I am not sure I will ever encounter a "Diamond" player though..

Check Craigslist: there's a "Baby Console" for sale down near Worcester...

You "can" play Diamond Discs with a modern turntable with a featherweight stereo pick-up without doing them harm, but unless you sum the channels out of phase to cancel out the lateral information, they will have more background noise than they should.

Phototone wrote:You "can" play Diamond Discs with a modern turntable with a featherweight stereo pick-up without doing them harm, but unless you sum the channels out of phase to cancel out the lateral information, they will have more background noise than they should.

And here's how good they can sound on modern equipment and original equipment. Get yourself something to play those records on!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf3xzwgRiN4[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwW9SQbkXE0[/youtube]