[78-L] Ya Gets What Ya Paid For

[Jeff Sultanof]

The Institute of Jazz Studies and the WNEW collection at Lincoln Center
have many records where one side is in perfect condition and the other has
been worn beyond usability.

Even George Simon in his book The Big Bands commented on Eckstine's
off-center pressings, although he didn't name the label.

Eckstine's National's are another story. Many of them sound like they were
recorded in a box.

Jeff Sultanof

On Wed, Sep 12, 2012 at 10:30 AM, David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>wrote:

> Same here..I have Big Mama's Hound Dog in "proof that it once existed"
> condition, also known as S- (you can figure what S stands for). Others
> like it.
> Juke box records were ten cents at a few places in the 40s and 50s and you
> figured you might get one listenable side, if not necessarily the right
> one.
>
> dl
>
> On 9/12/2012 4:17 AM, Matthew Duncan wrote:
> > I have had this with lots of Blues and R&B records - one side is
> unplayable and the other is average.  I have even had ones where one side
> cannot be played at all and the other side looks and sounds like
> new...jukebox use didn't do records much good it seems!
> >
> > Matt in the UK
> >
> >
> >
> > ________________________________
> >   From: Cary Ginell<soundthink at live.com>
> > To: 78-L Mail List<78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> > Sent: Wednesday, 12 September 2012, 6:08
> > Subject: [78-L] Ya Gets What Ya Paid For
> >
> > Bought a copy of "Good Jelly Blues"/"I Stay in the Mood for You" by
> Billy Eckstine&  his Orchestra on De Luxe 2000. I didn't pay much for it,
> but held my breath when I opened up the box. Not because of the packing,
> but because you never know what you're going to get when you buy a postwar
> record without seeing it first. The seller only said it was in "very good
> condition with a few surface scratches" and admitted he hadn't played it so
> it was being sold as is. Well, I got what I asked for. The "Good Jelly"
> side was in as good condition as any De Luxe could be - except that it was
> so out-of-round, I had to move it a full quarter-inch off the spindle to
> get it to play properly. You don't have to play the record to see how out
> of round it is. In case you think I'm exaggerating, I measured it. The
> lead-in is 1/8" on one end of the record and 3/8" on the other side. The
> flip side was worn beyond gray - you could almost play both sides at the
> same time, as we
> >   used to say. Have you
> > ever had a record so worn that the needle would not even follow the
> grooves? That's how poor condition the B side was in.
> >
> > At least the labels were clean..This loser is good as a wall hanger only.
> >
> > Cary Ginell
> > __________________________________________
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