[78-L] a set of Victor PRogram transcriptions

[Michael Biel]

I don't have any of the 24 RPM discs but I do have a player.  It has a
beautiful chrome-plated Thorens spring-wound motor with speed adjustment
for 24, 33, and 78.  It has an electrical pick-up but no amplifier.  The
output is strong enough to drive a pair of headphones.  The output are
phone-tip connections (not a 1/4 inch phone plug).  It could also be
connected to an amp/speaker or the phono input in a radio.  George
Blacker found it in a Conn. antique store for me.  

The 7-inch Talking Book Records at 16 2/3 with a large hole are a
commercial label, not meant for the blind.  The recordings are done for
sighted people and include dramatic influences, while recordings
specifically meant for the blind are read faster than usual and with a
general absence of drama.

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com 


-------- Original Message --------

From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
> The early discs were shellac..presumably the slow speed would have lessened the 
effects of heavy soundboxes, and chromium needles were already in use in
the US 
for the 33RPM Program Transcriptions. Later discs feel like the same
very hard 
compound used for BBC Transcriptions.  dl

Jamie Kelly wrote:
> I've not seen one but I understand their was a gramophone designed to play
> these 24 rpm discs. The disdcs are plastic or vinyl so the usual steel nedle
> would be no good. I have a Decca disc talking book player that has verible
> speed.   Jamie
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Lennick
> 
> I have a batch of those 24RPM discs. This speed was picked because most of
> the listeners would have had wind-up gramophones at that time and this was
> the slowest that could be obtained with a single winding, as I understand
> it.
> 
> I have Talking Books of similar material at 33RPM and 16RPM..Alexander
> Scourby reading the Bible. The 33s date from 1949, the 16rpm look like late
> 70s or 80s pressings.   dl
> 
> Jamie Kelly wrote:
>> The UK RNIB talking book discs were 24 rpm. We mainly got the UK discs 
>> in Australia.   Jamie
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Robert M. Bratcher Jr.
>>
>> At 12:12 PM 11/10/2009, you wrote:
>>> I never knew such things existed....a 4 hour reading on 20 10" sides.
>>>
>>> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130343451724&ssPag
>>> eName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123     js

>> Must be the very first commercial release audiobook. From listening to 
>> parts of a few of the mp3 files the reading seems to be very good.
>>
>> I wonder when the first Library Of Congress talking book records for 
>> the blind came out? They would have been 33 rpm & either 10 or perhaps 
>> 12 inches in diameter. Later (I'm not sure when) they went to 10 inch 
>> 16 rpm records that ran 45 minutes per side. I've never seen the 33 
>> rpm ones. Only the 16 & 8 rpm records......