[78-L] A novice-y type Purple OKeh question

[Steven C. Barr]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Andrea Walsh" <petquality1 at gmail.com>
> I have recently (on a whim) been playing all my 78's that were issued on
> Purple OKeh, and I was planning on posting them to my blog.  While
> listening, I notice some are muddy sounding, or at least sort of far-away,
> and others are really clear and the sound is much more defined.
> This may seem like a stupid novice type question, but what are the
> differences?  Are some of these dubs and others original?  I have been
> listening to everything from country and western swing to jazz and swing,
> novelty, gospel, rhythm and blues and blues.
> I read what Rust has to say about the purple issue OKehs in the American
> Record Label Book, that the revived OKeh series of 1940 and after have
> normal CBS series masters, but what does that mean?  Is, for instance the
> recording of Bessie Smith doing "Gimme A Pigfoot" (OK 6893) a dub of a
> Vocalion and say, Blind Boy Fuller doing "Step It Up And Go" (OK 05476) an
> original?
> How can one tell an "original" recording, if there is such a thing?
> I am confuzzled.
>
In some cases, it's fairly obvious...since Bessie Smith was long dead before 
Okeh
was revived, that one CAN'T be an original issue! The Fuller issue 
(originally
Vocalion 05476) could be, however.

The Okeh label was revived in July, 1940...I have a copy of a special 
promotional
Okeh sent to record dealers to announce the change from Vocalion to Okeh. At 
that
point, all Vocalions still in the catalog were issued under the same number 
as Okehs.
Essentially, they used their same stampers, but used Okeh labels in place of 
Vocalion.

Now, many reissues of pre-1936 Okeh and Columbia sides were dubbed...the
originals were 1/4" larger in diameter than the new reissued versions. 
So...how
does one tell?

"Master pressings" will physically show their original matrix numbers...IN 
THE
ORIGINAL "FONT!" (including take number/letter). Sides recorded for Okeh/
Vocalion issue will have matrix numbers appropriate to their recording date
(1933 to 1945); reissues of earlier material MAY (as noted above) be dubbed
to fit on the slightly-smaller discs. In most cases (AFAIK) these dubs were
assigned new matrix numbers appropriate to the date they were dubbed. Thus,
if the disc bears a matrix number dating from a later date (this is why you 
need
my "Dating Guide!") it has been dubbed...!

Steven C. Barr