[78-L] Question 1812 Overture

[David Lennick]

Oh..one odd thing Remington did was turn out a full price "prestige" label 
called Masterseal. The recordings were no better at $6 than they were at $2 and 
in at least one instance, it was exactly the same LP (Fritz Busch conducting a 
couple of symphonies). The Masterseals were pressed by RCA and came in a padded 
gatefold album, but with no inner sleeve or raised edges, so they always turn 
up scratched and dusty.

dl

On 4/2/2011 7:16 PM, David Lennick wrote:
> Odd about the Weingartners being on green label, since the ones I've seen have
> all been the regular blue label. Or were they "Columbia Entre" which started
> out as grey label and then were green by the mid 50s? Entre and Bluebird
> coexisted as budget and reissue labels for Columbia and Victor. When RCA
> brought out Camden late in 1953, that may be when Entre's price dropped to $2.
> And both labels were probably in answer to Remington and all the other budget
> labels. By 1953, Remington was recording American orchestras and modern
> American music (under a grant, of course) and had begun to outgrow the shlock
> reputation they'd started out with. Does anyone know why they stopped making
> new recordings after this point and just kept grinding out the same old stuff
> on Remington, Plymouth, Palace, Webster and on and on?
>
> dl
>
> On 4/2/2011 6:10 PM, Robert M. Bratcher Jr. wrote:
>> That green label Columbia LP set of the Beethoven 9 symphonies I have is by
>> Felix Weingartner with whatever orchestra he was conducting at the time. Why it
>> was on green label instead of blue label was always a mystery to me. Oh&   David
>> since you know more about Columbia than I do can you tell me more about the
>> Entre label? I have one in my collection (can't tell you offhand what the actual
>> recording is as I'd have to go dig it up) that seems to sound fairly good
>> similer to what the dark blue classical LP's sounded like. All I know is that it
>> was a lower priced budget line of classical music. A quick Google search tells
>> me that they came out in 1952&   sold for $2.95 each.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ________________________________
>> From: David Lennick<dlennick at sympatico.ca>
>> To: 78-L Mail List<78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
>> Sent: Sat, April 2, 2011 4:32:50 PM
>> Subject: Re: [78-L] Question 1812 Overture
>>
>> Columbia began recording 16-inch lacquers in late 1939, initially as safeties
>> but before long as source material for 78 issues and later for lps. However,
>> English and European Columbia didn't go near tape or 33rpm for a long time so
>> those early Columbia LPs issued from England were dubbed from 78s, usually very
>> poorly. Columbia eventually relegated these to their Entre label, unless the
>> recordings were of historical importance (Szigeti, Weingartner et al). And yes,
>> I've always felt that the 78 transfers sounded far superior and made a
>> deliberate point of using them when I was doing reissues for Pearl and Dante.
>> There are those who grew up with the early lps and preferred them. Note that
>> echo was often added during the lp transfers. Note also that a lot of
>> Columbia's early lps were dubbed direct from the lacquers, since they were
>> working on the format well before 1948 and tape hadn't been introduced, so the
>> engineers had to be pretty quick in accomplishing side joins LIVE. Nothing any
>> competent radio operator of the 40s and 50s didn't know how to do in his sleep.
>>
>> dl
>>
>> On 4/2/2011 4:31 PM, Robert M. Bratcher Jr. wrote:
>>> Part of your horrible sound quality experience with LP's made by Varsity,
>>> Royal,
>>> Plymouth&    other budget labels was the cheap low quality vinyl they all used
>>> plus the equilization wasn't RIAA but something else entirely. You have to
>>> remember that prior to 1955 many different recording curves were used such as
>>> AES&    others I can't think of at the moment. Most of those early curves don't
>>> sound great when played on a modern system. Columbia's LP curve for example
>> has
>>> weak bass when played on RIAA.
>>>
>>> The first Columbia classical LP's came out around 1948 or 1949&    were all
>>> dubbed
>>> from the 16 inch masters that the original 78's were made from or they may
>> have
>>> been dubbed from the 78 rpm stampers. I don't have the exact answer on the
>>> dubbing sources for these. Even if you the have a preamp that is able to
>>> reproduce the LP curve I don't think those early Columbia LP's sound as good
>> as
>>> the 78 RPM issues as I've managed to find a few 78 sets for some of my early
>>> dark blue label Columbia LP's&    the 78's sound better to my ears.
>>>
>>> Oh&    I've got a green label Columbia Beethoven set of the 9 symphonies that
>>> sounds ok however the dark blue label 78's (of the exact same recordings)
>> sound
>>> much better.
>>
>>
>>