[78-L] West African recordings, was Re: Advent of Electrical Recording

[Steven C. Barr]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <fnarf at comcast.net>
> According to Wikipedia, "EMI began recording at Kingsway Hall on December 
> 31, 1925 using electrical equipment obtained from the American Western 
> Electric company, to whom they paid a royalty on each disc sold for the 
> patents involved, and continued making regular use of it even after the 
> construction of its own recording complex at Abbey Road Studios in 1931. 
> From about 1933 EMI used its own equipment designed by their brilliant 
> engineer Alan Blumlein who successfully circumvented the Western Electric 
> patents and thus avoided their substantial royalty costs. At this time he 
> also developed and patented a stereo disc recording method which was 
> eventually adopted for the LP standard set in 1958."
>
The system used can be identified by the matrix-number prefix; 
Western-Electric type recordings
carry a "W" initial letter, while Columbia's own have a "C" initial letter!

Steven C. Barr