[78-L] Pagliacci set on British Columbia

[David Lewis]

Mike,

I concur; Columbia speeds are all over the map despite the stated speed of "80." The ODJB record definitely plays at 79, despite some of the reissue speeds which are slower -- at 79 it sounds like any one of their Victor records. The Waldorf-Astoria "The Vamp" is definitely meant to go at 79-80; it seems to me that many of the Banner classical discs run too slow even at 80. Nevertheless, the Archibald Brothers Quartette record of "I Love to Tell the Story" (A-914) is rather slow, running at about 72. That was made in 1910 versus 1920 for "The Vamp;" so perhaps there is an observable trend for higher speed through the 1910s, though I think that it is probably inconsistent and was up to the engineer to establish the speed, whatever was his preference. The "Speed 80" designation may have been meant simply to guide consumers to the idea that Columbia records ran somewhat faster than average. 

Uncle Dave Lewis
uncledavelewis at hotmail.com