[78-L] Victor electrical <VE> (VE ) correction

[Michael Biel]

From: don ward <dward7 at earthlink.net>
> > Ok guys when Victor went Electric they identified the matrix
> > with an E inside a diamond, then they went to E inside an oval. 
From: "Michael Biel" <mbiel at mbiel.com>
> Nope, you got it backwards. The oval came first, The diamond didn't
> come until the early 30s.

And I forgot to say that it was VE, not E, that was in the oval or
diamond.  
 
> > Each seems to have a different sound/frequency response?
> > or something. What is the difference between the two issues.... 
 
> The oval designated the original "rubber line" Western Electric cutter
> head and system. The ledgrs show VE in the column after the size letter
> (B=10", C=12") Around 1930 we start seeing SHQ and RC in addition to VE
> on some entries in the ledger. SHQ which was later shortened to S was
> improved Western Electric cutters, and RC was an entirely RCA designed
> and built system. Because Brian Rust has ignored the use of the Victor
> prefixes in his discographies (except when Alan Debus forced him to
> include them in the Complete Entertainment Discography) we do not
> generally have the letters to compare with which ones deserved a diamond
> rather than an oval. 
 
> The accidental stereo Ellington Program Transcriptions resulted in
> experimenting with SHQ and RC equipment simultaneously. The early 30s
> Astaire Victors have some of the best sound quality and sparkling highs
> of anything done in that era, and I don't know what the letters are or
> the shape of the symbol.
 
 Mike Biel mbiel at mbiel.com