[78-L] Advent of Electrical Recording

[David Lennick]

Steven C. Barr wrote:
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Michael Biel" <mbiel at mbiel.com>
>> From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
>>> This W actually refers to World, which did the recording for Columbia
>>> for a while in the early CBS period. I don't think Columbia was using
>>> Western Electric after the early 30s.  dl
>> I think you have it backwards.  Wasn't it Decca where the lead matrix
>> prefix letter W denotes World? Remember the discussion with Doug Pomoroy
>> last week about the Decca vertical masters of the operettas?  And by the
>> way, World used ONLY Western Electric equipment.  Their labels note that
>> Sound Studios of NY was a Western Electric licensee.  
>>
> A bit of both, actually! On Decca (1948?-when?!).the initial "W" indicated
> the side had been cut at the World facility; on Columbia/Okeh, it indicated
> the recording had been cut using the Western Electric electrical system.
> 
> Steven C. Barr

I'm trying to find the reference..actually I thought it came from David Diehl. 
Many Columbias from 1939 into about 1941 (?) have W before the CO or XCO 
prefixes, and my understanding is that these were recorded by World. They're 
certainly far superior to any from that period that don't have the prefix. In 
the same fashion, late 40s and early 50s Columbias recorded in Hollywood have 
an R before the HCO if they were recorded by Radio Recorders. Decca bought 
World around 1942 and sold it to Ziv a few years later, but W prefixes on 
Deccas stay a lot longer.

dl


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