[78-L] Pressed in WHAT material...

[Milan P Milovanovic]

While doing some digitization I found bunch of Pathé ethnic (Serbian) 10" 
records from 1929. (written by hand in dead wax run-out groove area)  . 
These are defenitely not shelac, but some flexible, at the same time dense, 
hard material. Those records played very clearly and quiet with very little 
surface noise.

Anyone knows what are these records made of?

Best wishes

Milan


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Matthew Duncan" <duncdude2000 at yahoo.com>
To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 1:22 PM
Subject: Re: [78-L] Pressed in WHAT material...




The only other 78rpm records I have come across pressed on vinyl or part 
plastic material are the early 30s Broadcast label 9" records (series 
started 1931) pressed by Vocalion.
The material isn't vinyl but it is quite flexible and the discs are thinner 
than the earlier 8" issues of the late 20s by the company. Perhaps they 
found a cheaper material to use for the later issues to cut costs (the last 
9" Broadcast discs are late 1933)??

And if so what is the material used?? It is increasingly poor as the series 
went on and the higher catalogue numbers often turn up cracked and/or worn 
as they are so thin and soft despite appearing to have had little play.

So all other British 78s are shellac as far as I know of...

Matthew.

--- On Tue, 17/11/09, Steven C. Barr <stevenc at interlinks.net> wrote:


From: Steven C. Barr <stevenc at interlinks.net>
Subject: Re: [78-L] Pressed in WHAT material...
To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
Date: Tuesday, 17 November, 2009, 4:30


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Milan P Milovanovic" <milanpmilovanovic4 at gmail.com>
> Hello list members,
>
> I came across this article:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shellac
>
> Also this one:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakelite
>
> Both claimed that "some" records were made from bakelite:
>
> "Until the advent of vinyl around the 1940s, most gramophone records were
> pressed from shellac compounds (although some were made from bakelite)"
>
> "Recording cylinders produced by the Edison Electric Company (now General
> Electric) and 78-rpm phonograph records were originally made of Bakelite.
> "
>
> I would like to know if such statements are close to the truth. I always
> thought that no bakelite was used in phonograph record production.
>
Virtually ALL "78's" were pressed using shellac-based compounds! This is
often described by
NON-knowledgeable people (usually eBay sellers!) as "bakelite." A handful of
78's were
pressed on vinyl-based compounds during the early thirties, due to the
effect of the war
on shellac production (and as well to provide quieter records for radio
airplay!)

It is very possible that what the writer here describes as "recording
cylinders" were, in
fact, the cylinders intended for "Dictaphone" use? OTOH, it seems to me that
if there
were made of Bakelite, they would have been MUCH harder to record,,,?!

Steven C. Barr

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