[78-L] Groove spacing - groove width

[Ron]

Weren't the first Vitaphone movie discs issued in 1926?  I believe the first
Vitaphone movies were shorts, but that in 1926 "Don Juan" was a silent film
issued with a Vitaphone sound track comprised only of music and sound
effects, no dialogue.

Also, if some sort of low frequency attenuation wasn't used, then the
amplitudes of low frequencies would have required their attenuation to keep
the groove spacing down.  I believe that they saw their options in 1925 as
either 1. attenuate the bass or 2. provide a constantly wide groove that
would have accommodated the lowest frequency on the new Orthophonic records
[50 Hz].  The constant wide groove would have required a 12" diameter disc
to hold what was previously held on a 10" acoustic disc.
So the attenuation won out.

I personally have been very amazed that no corresponding bass boost on
playback was ever provided in the earliest electrical playback equipment
such as the Victrola 10-51 electrically amplified record changer.

Does anyone know when complimentary bass boost in playback began to appear??

Ron Roscoe

-----Original Message-----
From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com
[mailto:78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com] On Behalf Of Mark Bardenwerper
Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2016 8:38 AM
To: 78-L Mail List
Subject: Re: [78-L] Groove spacing - groove width


On 11/19/2016 6:53 AM, Mark Bardenwerper wrote:
> On 11/19/2016 4:53 AM, Kristjan Saag wrote:
>> When recording went electric one of the consequences was the ability 
>> to avoid overcutting - it became easier to control loud signals. Thus 
>> groove spacing was affected: the number of grooves per inch or 
>> centimetre was increased, recording time per disc side could also be 
>> increased.
>> But apart from groove spacing - is there any evidence that groove 
>> width was affected as well? As we know different record companies 
>> used different groove width both before and after the advent of 
>> electric recording, and it's also clear that groove width generally 
>> decreased with time. But I've seen no mention of a major change haven 
>> taken place due to electric recording.
>> Does anyone know more about this?
>> Kristjan
>>
>>
> I think it is more likely that you will discover that the width of the 
> grooves did not change appreciably, but the ability to do some sort of 
> equalization allowed the grooves to be crowded in better. The slowest 
> change was on the playback end. This seemed to hold back progress more 
> than anything else, particularly in sight of the hardships created by 
> the depression.
>

Recording time was first seen as a significant factor in movie sound
recording. Vitaphone began distributing 16 inch, 33 rpm records in 1929 or
30, with standard groove width.

There were several advantages to vertical cut. Spacing could be standardized
and equalization was not as big a factor. Edisons were gear driven and it
was the lack of portability and the stranding of the technology that ended
Edison. Vertical records were still used in radio transcription for a long
time, where playing time remained important. 
Smaller grooves came first to transcription, I think. The big change in
groove width had to wait for the end of WW2 for the general public, though
RCA introduced a short-lived special line of players and records in late
'31.

Someone will chime in with better details I am sure. How accurate is this
info?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LP_record

--
Mark L. Bardenwerper, Sr.

Technology...thoughtfully, responsibly.

Visit me at http://citroen.cappyfabrics.com

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