(Diggin in the) Acetate Crates of 78s!
Added 2024-10-26 16:40:09 +0000 UTCHey Everyone!
I was gifted some old 78 rpm records recently and in the pile I found a private press acetate from the 1940s! Pretty rare to see! So I brought out the old gramophone that I had picked up at a flea market many years ago to hear it.
On the recording you can hear some industrial sounds and what I think is some sort of typewriter? You can also hear a collection of various machinery sounds and factory ambiances. The man speaking dates the recording to July 29, 1942. Seems like he was collecting sounds for a documentary or some sort of sound effects record he was working on. Or maybe he was just a tourist visiting the Halifax Shipyard and was really into field recording! At 2:22 I think he says "I'm trying to center the mic and talking my head off. July 26, 1942...On board one of his majesty's..."
Perhaps this was recorded to tape and then transferred to a record cutter later. Or maybe he actually brought a "portable" vinyl cutter to the location for this audio tour. I guess we'll never know!
Either way it's a pretty dusty recording.... and a fun reminder of how far recording technology has come in the last 80 years!
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Comments
Oh man! This just inspired me to try and play these 16” 74rpm pressings with my tonearms and it worked! I’ve been wanting to play them but never had a turntable big enough.
James Morgan
2025-01-15 22:30:31 +0000 UTCYes! I'm going to try to find a modern turntable for 78s with an actual line output on it!
Kid Koala
2024-11-04 04:32:56 +0000 UTCSo cool! I find those from time to time in thrift shops. holiday/birthday parties, radio recordings, award ceremonies, all kinds of stuff. I bet it was done on a Recordio. Not trying to tell you how to do your thang, and that player you have is seriously awesome, but I would put that on a modern-ish turntable that can play 78s, and use a 78 needle. There's a lot of detail in those you wouldn't expect, those old cutters worked pretty well for being so clunky.
wavi-savi
2024-10-28 16:48:24 +0000 UTC
