[78-L] One or three holes?

[David Lennick]

This was a soft cut sent to a radio station, a pre-release of a Paul Mauriat 
single from London Records of Canada (who distributed Philips). Definitely a 
professional cutting. We used to get the occasional demo that way, although 
usually on a ten-inch disc with a long lead-in..and you'd cart it as soon as 
possible because it would be cue-scratched the first time. One time the promo 
guy brought a demo and wanted me to cart it immediately because it was the only 
copy they had. I hated the song and told them to keep it till they had a real 
record. The song: Alone Again Naturally.

dl

On 6/30/2011 10:33 PM, Robert M. Bratcher Jr. wrote:
> They may have been made for home&  semi pro use on a cutting lathe that has the proper center spindle for 45 rpm.
>
>
> From: David Lennick<dlennick at sympatico.ca>
>> To: 78-L Mail List<78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
>> Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2011 5:03 PM
>> Subject: Re: [78-L] One or three holes?
>>
>> I may still have one or I may have purged it last year..can't remember whether
>> it looked as if it had had a punch-out or not, but I can't imagine a
>> professional cutting engineer wanting to cope with the variable size of a large
>> center hole on a blank. Playing the stupid things is enough of a pain.
>>
>> dl
>>
>> On 6/30/2011 4:06 PM, Robert M. Bratcher Jr. wrote:
>>> I saw a few 7" Audiodiscs with no label on them several years ago&   all had the proper 45 rpm center hole.
>>>
>>>
>>> From: David Lennick<dlennick at sympatico.ca>
>>>> To: 78-L Mail List<78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
>>>> Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2011 2:26 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: [78-L] One or three holes?
>>>>
>>>> By the way, there WERE 7-inch lacquer blanks made by Soundcraft with a
>>>> punchable center hole for the 45 spindle..found an ad for them in a 1953 High
>>>> Fiddledeedee.
>>>>
>>>> dl
>>>>
>>>> On 6/30/2011 3:17 PM, Martin Fisher wrote:
>>>>> Three holed urban legend.  These are erroneously referred to as "punch
>>>>> marks" by misinformed Elvis devotees who believe the pressing machine made
>>>>> them while extracting the finished 45 rpm records!
>>>>>
>>>>> Tee hee
>>>>>
>>>>> MF
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com
>>>>> [mailto:78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com] On Behalf Of Milan P
>>>>> Milovanovic
>>>>> Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2011 2:08 PM
>>>>> To: 78-L Mail List
>>>>> Subject: Re: [78-L] One or three holes?
>>>>>
>>>>> Thank you so much for explanation!
>>>>>
>>>>> Best wishes,
>>>>>
>>>>> Milan
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>> From: "Graham Newton"<gn at audio-restoration.com>
>>>>> To: "78-L Mail List"<78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
>>>>> Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2011 1:51 AM
>>>>> Subject: Re: [78-L] One or three holes?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> Milan P Milovanovic wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> not so while ago, the discussion about details of lathes raised. I came
>>>>>>> across this record sample
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> http://youtu.be/tc2FrjRa9Os
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> It is clearly visible only one hole mark besides spindle. I always
>>>>>>> thought that one additional hole on lacquer was reserved for amateurish
>>>>>>> type media and three additional holes for professional blank samples.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Someone knows what's in case here? Why is there only one? Could it be
>>>>>>> possible that recording engineers used semi pro or amateur recording
>>>>>>> blanks?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It depends on the type and design of the recording lathe.  The extra hole
>>>>>> or
>>>>>> three holes are drive holes to engage with a single (usually spring
>>>>>> loaded) pin
>>>>>> to prevent the lacquer disc from slipping as it is being cut for the
>>>>>> master.
>>>>>> Why some lacquers were supplied with three holes is a mystery, since I
>>>>>> never
>>>>>> encountered anything where more than one hole was needed.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> All home use disc cutting machines used discs with at least one drive
>>>>>> hole.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Many professional mastering lathes like Scully and Neumann used lacquers
>>>>>> with
>>>>>> no drive holes, only the center pin, and it was hollow to allow vacuum to
>>>>>> be
>>>>>> conducted under the turntable platter to hold the lacquer flat while it
>>>>>> was
>>>>>> being cut.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Lathes like Presto, RCA Victor and others found in broadcast studios
>>>>>> mostly
>>>>>> used lacquers with the drive hole since it was much cheaper to make a
>>>>>> non-suction-hold-down turntable.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ... Graham Newton (RCA Victor disc mastering engineer in a former life!)
>>>>>>