Ultimate Flat Earth System
Posted by: throbnorth on 07 September 2002
Prompted by a few sad old git postings I've recently made in the music forum, I was wondering how many forum members have heard 78's played on a decent horn gramophone?
A friend of mine [ex-curator at the Science Museum] has a beautiful acoustic example from around 1920. He says that it's moderately top of the range for its time, and he always uses a fresh needle for each side that he plays [they come in different 'tones', but 'loud tone' is banned, as it harms the records too much, despite immediate thrills].
He does have a quite respectable CD system, but rarely uses it, his chief passion being collecting 78's [and more recently cylinders, which has occasioned a player for the purpose, although he makes no claims for their sound quality]. What is astonishing to me is that 78's are so readily available, in spite of their intrinsic fragility, and good condition records by famous names can be had for relatively little money. £10 is the most he will pay, and that gets you Ella, Caruso et al. Occasionally we have 'scratchy evenings', get drunk and revel in these past glories.
The gob-smacking thing is just how good they sound. Volume can be a bit of a problem , a sock down the horn [hence put a sock in it, I suppose] is all the control you have, but even with 'medium tone' needles, it's still pretty loud. Given a good [preferably pre-electric] recording, say early Eva Turner, you have the weirdest feeling of immediacy & connection with the artist, like a Stargate-style tunel that connects you and the singer through time. PRAT etc, it's all there. Admittedly, orchestral accompaniment doesn't get much of a look in, but voices are completely splendid. CD transfers of 78's, even the Nimbus ones, don't get a look in. They are dry and dead by comparison, and unless you have a dedicated TT which defeats the RIAA curve, don't even think of anything modern.
Highlights of a recent scratchy evening include:
The Planets [conducted by Holst - and you wouldn't believe just how fast he takes it! We checked the speed control several times]
J.R.R.Tokien buying tobacco, as part of an English lesson [on the B side, his wife shows us how to buy gloves].
Two demented bints playing the cello in their garden [forget what they were playing exactly, but it was at dawn, & they were competing with the dawn chorus - magical]
Eva Turner, doing her bit in the flashier parts of Turandot.
The original Broadway cast doing 'Guys & Dolls' [bought on a trip to N.Y. for around £20, on 10 records, with the most fabulous artwork, mint in box.]
any thoughts?
throb
A friend of mine [ex-curator at the Science Museum] has a beautiful acoustic example from around 1920. He says that it's moderately top of the range for its time, and he always uses a fresh needle for each side that he plays [they come in different 'tones', but 'loud tone' is banned, as it harms the records too much, despite immediate thrills].
He does have a quite respectable CD system, but rarely uses it, his chief passion being collecting 78's [and more recently cylinders, which has occasioned a player for the purpose, although he makes no claims for their sound quality]. What is astonishing to me is that 78's are so readily available, in spite of their intrinsic fragility, and good condition records by famous names can be had for relatively little money. £10 is the most he will pay, and that gets you Ella, Caruso et al. Occasionally we have 'scratchy evenings', get drunk and revel in these past glories.
The gob-smacking thing is just how good they sound. Volume can be a bit of a problem , a sock down the horn [hence put a sock in it, I suppose] is all the control you have, but even with 'medium tone' needles, it's still pretty loud. Given a good [preferably pre-electric] recording, say early Eva Turner, you have the weirdest feeling of immediacy & connection with the artist, like a Stargate-style tunel that connects you and the singer through time. PRAT etc, it's all there. Admittedly, orchestral accompaniment doesn't get much of a look in, but voices are completely splendid. CD transfers of 78's, even the Nimbus ones, don't get a look in. They are dry and dead by comparison, and unless you have a dedicated TT which defeats the RIAA curve, don't even think of anything modern.
Highlights of a recent scratchy evening include:
The Planets [conducted by Holst - and you wouldn't believe just how fast he takes it! We checked the speed control several times]
J.R.R.Tokien buying tobacco, as part of an English lesson [on the B side, his wife shows us how to buy gloves].
Two demented bints playing the cello in their garden [forget what they were playing exactly, but it was at dawn, & they were competing with the dawn chorus - magical]
Eva Turner, doing her bit in the flashier parts of Turandot.
The original Broadway cast doing 'Guys & Dolls' [bought on a trip to N.Y. for around £20, on 10 records, with the most fabulous artwork, mint in box.]
any thoughts?
throb