|
45worlds Forums » 78 RPM » View Topic
| How were acoustic records duplicated? |
Add Reply
| 14th Jul 2018, 8:32 AM | #1 REPORT | |
 | mojofilter Member since Jul 2012 1434 Points | A bit of information I have never read about in all the literature I've read on the manufacture of records concerns the duplication of gramophone records. These were made before electricity and stamping records made by electroplating, So how many copies of the same record were made, so there could be boxes of the same record to ship all over the country? I have a fair number of acoustic gramophone records, but not more than one copy of each. I discovered that one of the titles I have had been compiled on a CD. You could listen to 30 seconds of the track on the webpage. It turned out to be a completely different performance, although it was listed as being from a record with the same catalogue number as mine. Same band, same song, seemingly the same day, different take. This raises the questions, are there all kinds of records that have the same catalogue number but are different takes? If so, would this be because the master disc had to be played enough times to copy it disc-to-disc acoustically that it wore out and they'd have to record the song again? Are there multiple copies of the same take that sound progressively worse, from excellent to fair due to the number of times the master disc was played? I have always wondered this, and I hope someone here can answer my questions, or point me to a website where I may read about the process. |
| 14th Jul 2018, 8:06 PM | #2 REPORT | |
| scrough No picture 'cos I'm not into 45rpm :( Member since Jan 2013 3428 Points Moderator | Starting at the beginning, when recordings were acid etched, Gramophone Co's Berliner masters could only produce around 1000 copies (from Fred Gaisberg's autobiography). So new masters had to be re-recorded either using the original artist or another. These re-recordings use the same catalogue numbers but on the record itself the catalogue number was given an alphabetical suffix (see here). As the technology improved - Eldrige Johnson's wax masters ~1902,etc - the number of pressings that could be made increased, and also methods of making sub-masters from original masters came into being, and by the start of the UK Gramophone Co (HMV) factory in 1908, an almost infinite number of pressings could be produced. On the second part of your question, it is fairly common that a certain take was initially released, and replaced very quickly by another take, or even a different title, using the same catalogue number, when the issuing company decided to change their mind. Also it was not unknown for an original master take to become damaged, which prevented further sub-masters from being produced. By the early 1920s, recording technology - still acoustic - had improved, and companies like Columbia and HMV often re-recorded old favourites (see notes and comments on a later release of Zonophone 484). These used the same catalogue number, but the matrices in the run-out are different. After the introduction of electric recording in late 1925, acoustic recordings could be replaced by a later re-recording using the same catalogue number. In the case of Columbia/Regal the catalogue numbers gain an 'R' suffix (compare Columbia 1449 with 1449 R). Edit: Although my reply is based on the UK record industry, most of it also applies to the USA since Victor and Gram Co worked closely together, and Columbia was the same company in both countries. For pressing details see Norman Field's How 78rpm Records Were Made and for how to identify the different pressings etc see Markings on 78rpm Records Edited by moderator on 6th Aug 2018, 8:47 AM |
| 12th Jul 2020, 1:05 AM | #3 REPORT | |
 | Juke Jules SUBS Tell me he's lazy, tell me he's slow Member since Jan 2011 4138 Points Moderator | Unfortunately Norman Field's account is unfinished. The question remains not only what were the last two stages, but when did the 7-stage process become commonplace? I'm sure only the major companies would have invested in the plant and process, and there must have remained countless minor labels using earlier plants in preference to contracting out the pressing. |
| 13th Jul 2020, 9:14 AM | #4 REPORT | |
 | carryonsidney a happy disposition is an omnious sign.... Member since Feb 2010 1707 Points Moderator | @Mojofilter: Luigi Brugnatelli invented electroplating in 1805, it just seems the record industry was a bit slow to realise that it could be used. As to the Q of when the industry started using the process, there is a newsreel film taken in 1920/30's, although it may be confusing to understand. The process used in it is a type of electroplating. All plating up to today is done using acid and alkaline solution in parts of the process (one of my former jobs). The distinction here is really between the disc production and music recording. Advances in electrically recording sounds came in at the end of the 20's with "Talkies" and use of electrical amplification and recording devices, i.e., microphones took off by the 1930's. Most if not all 78s post 1930 are electrically recorded. Edited by moderator on 15th Jul 2020, 9:24 PM |
| 13th Jul 2020, 9:19 AM | #5 REPORT | |
| carryonsidney a happy disposition is an omnious sign.... Member since Feb 2010 1707 Points Moderator | Film from 1942 clearing showing a fully electric recording studio. |
| 15th Jul 2020, 12:22 AM | #6 REPORT | |
| Pridesale Member since Mar 2013 805 Points | In the USA at the time of release of Mercury Recordings they got in a mix of lathe cutters depending on the disc type and quality. For the orchestral recording studio mixes they for certain recorded not to tape, but to 35mm optical film strip - but this process I think came in for some recordings by others in the mid 1930s, but would not depend on Electrical Recording Methods to work as it was a light interruption system, not an electronic one. "Electrical Recording" was of course as much a marketing term as actual process, I wonder if any labels carried it despite NOT using it (naughty!!) Edited by moderator on 15th Jul 2020, 9:25 PM |
Add Reply
45worlds website ©2025 :
Homepage :
Search :
Sitemap :
Help Page :
Privacy :
Terms :
Contact :
Share This Page
Vinyl Albums : Live Music : 78 RPM : CD Albums : CD Singles : 12" Singles : 7" Singles : Tape Media : Classical Music : Music Memorabilia : Cinema : TV Series : DVD & Blu-ray : Magazines : Books : Video Games : Create Your Own World
Latest » Items : Comments : Price Guide : Reviews : Ratings : Images : Lists : Videos : Tags : Collected : Wanted : Top 50 : Random
45worlds for music, movies, books etc : 45cat for 7" singles : 45spaces for hundreds more worlds
:
Like us on Facebook
Vinyl Albums : Live Music : 78 RPM : CD Albums : CD Singles : 12" Singles : 7" Singles : Tape Media : Classical Music : Music Memorabilia : Cinema : TV Series : DVD & Blu-ray : Magazines : Books : Video Games : Create Your Own World
Latest » Items : Comments : Price Guide : Reviews : Ratings : Images : Lists : Videos : Tags : Collected : Wanted : Top 50 : Random
45worlds for music, movies, books etc : 45cat for 7" singles : 45spaces for hundreds more worlds