[78-L] 8 1/3 rpm??

[Michael Biel]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [78-L] 8 1/3 rpm??
From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
Date: Mon, September 17, 2012 8:57 am
To: 78-L Mail List <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>

I'm sure the American Federation of the Blind (or equivalent) provided
the 
player. In England, literature for the blind was recorded at 24RPM.

I've run across many packages of flexi discs recorded at 8 1/3.

dl

On 9/17/2012 12:34 AM, Clifford Bolling wrote:
> Just came across a really weird record. The record is microgroove, vinyl, 10 inch diameter, with paper labels on each
> side.

I suppose by vinyl you mean a regular thickness stiff vinyl pressing,
because most of the hundreds of thousands of 8 1/3 rpm discs are flexi
EvaTone SoundSheets.


 The label on one side is in braille, the label on the other is printed.
According to the printed label, the braille side
> plays at 16 2/3 rpm and the printed label side plays at 8 1/3 rpm. It is a Library of Congress Talking Book with Alexander
> Scourby's narration 'INTRODUCTION TO TALKING BOOKS' on the slow side and something else on the braille side.

Most of the microgroove talking books for the blind that were pressed in
regular vinyl were at 16 2/3, so that side would be easier for the blind
patron to play at the speed they expected.  Periodicals, meaning
newspapers and magazines with short lifespans were usually the 8 1/3
flexis, and this side would enable the blind patron to test out that his
player did have that speed.

> I've never seen a record with so much out of whack.
> As always, I would really appreciate some enlightenment here.

I don't see anything out of whack here except for the use of one disc to
test and demo two different speeds.  I've had other records over the
years with different speeds on them, usually demo records but there's a
Moby Grape Columbia that has a track at 78 (narrated by Arthur Godfrey)
while the rest of the album is at 33.

> Where does one find a record player that plays 8 1/3 rpm??
> Thanks!   > Cliff

Probably ebay or thrift shops. The players made for the blind were made
available through local libraries by the Library of Congress and were
NEVER sold, only loaned.  If the blind patron were to die or recover
sight and not need the player, it was REQUIRED to return it. 
Occasionally when an old player was obsolete, such as the tube-type
player was when the solid-state version was released, the old player
escaped onto the market. That's how I got mine which is similar to this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPVne9g4nNY 
and this
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V_e9S7-u1A&feature=related
which shows playing soundsheets.  

I also have a newer plastic one similar to this, which got liberated
when they ceased disc production. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgIKSnt0FNU

 and I also have an ancient 24 rpm spring-wind machine with a giant
magnetic electrical head that could drive headphones without an
amplifier.  George Blacker found that for me in an antique store maybe
30 years ago. This is similar to it with a replacement tone-arm. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kArLHNS6I1g   

If you are lucky enough you could also find the small speed-reducing
adapter sold by the Talking Books company, the ones which made the 45
RPM-sized discs.  It will split any speed in half.  
Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com