[78-L] Cetra-Soria (was: My second phonograph)

[S&R Pinsker]

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> Date: Sat, 1 May 2010 14:39:04 -0400
> From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Our second phonograph
> To: <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> Message-ID: <SNT131-w63844DF049E072DA80B414BDF00 at phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> 
> 
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> 
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>> Date: Sat, 1 May 2010 13:28:44 -0500
>> To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
>> From: bratcher at pdq.net
>> Subject: Re: [78-L] Our second phonograph
>> 
>>> 
>> 
>> I wonder who pressed the Centra Soria LP's plus what years did they 
>> begin & end here in the USA? 
>> 
> 
> Columbia, then Capitol. Some of those Cetra sets were truly awful, taken from Italian radio tapes..I tried 4 pressings of "Giannmi Schicchi" and couldn't get one that was listenable. The Capitols were less strident and cut at a lower level, but still terrible.
> 
> dl
> 
Columbia mastered and pressed Cetra-Soria, VOX and probably all the other indies except Mercury.
At the beginning, I think they worked from metal parts, not from tape. The deal was that they wanted
to really establish LP's, so they charged all of one dollar per finished disc, including mastering and
preparing and printing the labels. The cardboard jackets were not included. I was out of there and 
back in school b/4 Soria sold the company to Capitol. If my memory is correct, the 12" Columbia price
was $3.85; Soria decided on 5.95 and got away with it for a while. VOX split the difference.
Back to 78's; most imports cost 2.50 plus tax, Soria charged 3.50 plus tax but Tagliavini was the hot
name then.  Lets see, I think domestic Cetra-Sorias were remastered by Thomas Valentino and Reeves
was involved somewhere in the process. The Cetra 78 was 30cm, not 12" and they would fall thru
some automatic changers.
Bob Pinsker