[78-L] Newest Robert Johnson reissue...

[Michael Biel]

He is correct and toan extent so are yoyu but you have the timeline 
wrong.  Uncoated aluminum first was used by Pathe in the teens in the 
acoustical Pathepost system but was re-introduced by Speak-O-Phone in 
late 1927 and got more widespread use in 1929 into the mid-30s.  This 
was used professionally for airchecks but with one exception was not 
good enough for mastering.  (There is a pair of shelllac  Bob Emery 
discs that Steve Barr and Dr. Donna Halper have which were mastered on 
Speak-O-Phone discs.)  The RCA Pre-grooved plastic disc was introduced 
in 1930, and there might have also been some pre-grooved aluminum but I 
do not have any specific reports on this.  These are by no means usable 
for mastering. Floppy gelatin and celluloid were reported in 1931 and I 
know of some used for professional airchecks in 1933.  Gelatin was 
coated on glass in Europe in 1933.  The major improvement that is 
discussed in the CD notes came in 1934 with the introduction of high 
quality lacquer discs and a high quality machine for them by Presto.  
The first ads for them came in October but I have seen some dated back 
in July 1934.  These were fully capable of high-quality masters, 
although I would not go so far as to say that professional wax mastering 
was not as good.  It was just less CONVENIENT for portable field 
recordings.  Where it made the biggest difference in professional field 
use was in replacing wax cylinders and uncoated aluminum used by field 
recordists like John and Alan Lomax.  I think that this is what affected 
the liner notes writer's understanding of the technology. The home use 
of cheaper versions of lacquer coated discs did come later in the 30s as 
you describe.

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com

On 9/6/2011 9:32 AM, Milan P Milovanovic wrote:
> Hello to all members,
>
> today, I read following lines from inside booklet in newest Robert Johnson reissue:
>
> "For the Texas sessions of 1936 and 1937, Law's team included sound engineer and recordist, Vincent Liebler. Together, they captured the sound of Robert Johnson on state of the art equipment which utilized for the first time in regional sessions, acetate recording discs. Not long before, such discs had been only adequate for use on home recording machines, but they had recently been improved to the extent that they could be utilized for professional uses. Those original acetates are one reason that the Robert Johnson masters provide such a comparatively wide frequency response." - Stephen C. LaVere
>
> Is it true? I always thought that lacquers were invented for professional recording lathes, and that during mid 1930s amateurish machines used another type of blank media such as aluminum, pre-grooved or blank, wax and various other types. And after that, during 1940s they used cardboard core based acetate media, steel core and so on? Is it so?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Milan