[78-L] One or three holes?

Thu Jun 30 20:03:19 PDT 2011

I wonder how many of those soft cut promo's make it into collectors hands? I have two bought at the Austin Record Show several years ago. Both are the release version of Buck Owens I've Got A Tiger By The Tail & Together Again in 10 inch size (45 rpm, one song per disc) with the long lead in from close to the edge of the disc. I also have a few soft cut Lp's with the usual 12 tracks of commercially released albums. Don't know why those were cut. Maybe for the artist or someone else involved in the record production. A friend of mine has a few 8 inch soft cut 45 rpm discs each with a single Beatles song on one side only. The other side is blank. Something like 3 or 4 different songs between the discs.

From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
>To: 78-L Mail List <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
>Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2011 9:42 PM
>Subject: Re: [78-L] One or three holes?
>
>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!)
>>>>>>>
>_______________________________________________
>