[78-L] Robert Johnson records claimed to be recorded 20%

[Malcolm Rockwell]

I asked Larry Cohn about this and he said he thought Johnson was 
recorded on wax.
I'll prod him and see if he's done any further research on this.
It also seems I've heard somewhere that a counterweight system was used
to drive the lathe at the San Antonio sessions, and batteries were used 
for the electronics
but don't hold me to it.
Mal

*******

On 12/13/2010 5:35 PM, David Lennick wrote:
> Just curious..would Vocalion have still been cutting on wax in 1936-7 or
> started using lacquers? Especially on field trips, I'd think lacquers would be
> easier to deal with. But I'm not familiar with when various labels started
> weaning themselves off the wax blocks..English Columbia was still using them in
> the late 40s.
>
> dl
>
> On 12/13/2010 9:39 PM, Doug Pomeroy wrote:
>> If the wax engravings were played back on the cutters on which they were
>> cut, then of course they would have sounded at the proper pitch,
>> regardless
>> of the actual speed.  The waxes could not be played back without being
>> destroyed,
>> so the only discs played at the original sessions would have been
>> those specifically
>> made as tests (and assuming Vocalion had the lightweight reproducing
>> stylus made
>> specifically for playing the soft wax, which is doubtful), but this
>> still means they
>> would NOT have noticed any speed error, relative to 78.26 rpm.
>>
>> Still, SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE, playing the test pressings or the final
>> released discs
>> at 78.26 rpm would probably have noticed something a bit strange...
>>
>> For some unknown reason I cannot download any of the slowed down mp3's,
>> so I can't hear for myself.  Anyone else having this problem?
>>
>>> Speed variations do occur on recording equipment,
>>> possibly more so on remote locations, but not through entire
>>> sessions..SOMEBODY
>>> would have noticed when the tests were played back.
>>>
>>> dl