Tompkins Square 78s - Record Store Day 2012

[Mr. Tall]

Hi Everybody,

I found some brand new 78s at my local independant record store that were released for Record Store Day this year. They clearly aren't made out of the heavy shelac that the old ones were made of. They appear to be regular vinyl, although thicker like an old 10". I wrote to them to find out if playing them with a steel needle would damage them, they wrote back and said it should be ok, but I still have my reservations. Does anyone have any of these? Do you know if I should be worried about playing them on my Grafonola?

Tim

[OrthoSean]

I wouldn't play them with steel, they're pressed on vinyl and wouldn't hold up well at all.

Sean

[epigramophone]

Here's one which was on sale in the UK, given to me by a well meaning but misguided relative.
It looks like a 10 inch vinyl 78, but there is no playing speed printed on the label. In fact it plays at 45rpm!

[Mr. Tall]

Here's from their website. Definitely 78s and definitely on vinyl, so I don't think I'll risk it for a $20 disk.

March 23rd, 2012
Tompkins Square Rolls Out Line of 78RPM Records


San Francisco-based record label Tompkins Square announces the first in a series of releases in the 78 rpm 10″ vinyl format.

The first two will feature previously unreleased recordings from Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars), and Ralph Stanley. Both 78’s will be released as a limited edition of 500 copies on Record Store Day, April 21, 2012. Please note : These 78’s will not be sold on this site – they will only be available via independent record stores.

Luther Dickinson plays medleys of Southern melodies on his 78, including “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah/Beautiful Dreamer” on the A side and “Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen/Peace in the Valley” on the B side. Ralph Stanley’s 78 features “Single Girl”, with “Little Birdie” on the B side.

Tompkins Square owner Josh Rosenthal comments, “A lot of new turntables play 78’s, and many 78 collectors listen to their records on modern equipment. Tom Waits, Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe have all recently released 78’s. So I thought it would be fun to start a line of them.”

The label will also release a white label 45 of Hiss Golden Messenger’s “Jesus Shot Me in The Head” from the forthcoming album ‘Poor Moon’, b/w the unreleased “Jesus Dub,” on Record Store Day.

Hiss Golden Messenger’s album “Poor Moon” is set for release April 17th.