[78-L] experimental Victor electric?

[J. E. Knox]

Greetings from FixitLand!

On 25 Jan 2015, at 12:01 PM, Rodger Holtin wrote:

> Looking at the DAHR, I find this entry for Victor 19621, by the Trinity
> Choir.
> 
> http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/objects/detail/14565/Victor_19621
> 
> Amongst all those B- and BVE masters, these are marked BE-32166.  Click on
> the matrix and there is this curious note:  "Victor ledgers show these
> recordings with the "BE-" prefix to the matrix number, implying that they
> were early electrical recordings. However, a handwritten note on the ledger
> page states, "Miss Bushnell says elec. rec'g started Mar. 11, 1925 in one
> room only."    OK, so we know what the official record says, does anybody
> have a copy of this disc and tell us if it is acoustical, or strangely
> quasi-electrical sounding?

There was discussion on this record on The Talking Machine Forum last year; one poster acquired the record and posted label scans. It does in fact have oval-VE symbols in the wax and, per the poster, has take 1 both sides and is definitely electrical. Unfortunately, no audio files were posted. 19621-A "Hark, Hark My Soul" (BE 32167) is shown in DAHR as take 1 Hold, take 2 Master. "Prayer Of Thanksgiving" (BE 32166) is shown as takes 1, 2, 3 Hold, take 4 Master. Unless the poster is misreading the take digits...

That "one room only" was Studio #3, fifth floor, Building 15, Front & Cooper Sts., Camden NJ (per Harry Sooy's memoirs).

Also from those memoirs: "March 24th, 1925: We started this date, as per instructions of Mr. Shumaker, to mark all Electric recordings with “VE” in an oval circle."

Take care,


—
J. E. Knox "The Victor Freak"


-- 
*Celebrating 30 years of service.*