Re: [ARSCLIST] Question re DuoDisc records

[David Lewis <davlew@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Yes - the rumble on DuoDiscs is significant, but thankfully more easy to
eliminate than noise of the kind you find on cardboard discs. The speed of
homemades is highly unpredictable - I've run into some that ran partway
between 33rpm and 45rpm. I once transferred a sermon given by a prominent
Ohio minister and University head that was recorded onto DuoDiscs from a
WCKY radio broadcast. The voice sounded fine to me, but then I played it for
a man who had heard this minister speak many times and knew him. He said "oh
no, the pitch of the voice should be much lower," and he imitated the
minister for me. I applied the change in speed, and it corrected the whole
recording, even the musical segments. The man was right, and I guess I was
lucky to connect him with the recording, as the minister in question died in
1953. 

David N. Lewis
Assistant Classical Editor, All Music Guide
1168 Oak Valley Dr.
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
734 887 8145
 
"Contemporary composers, and at least a considerable number of them, explain
what system they used, in what way they arrived at something. I do not do
that. I think that the matter of the way by which one arrived at something
is, for the listeners, unimportant. What matters is the final result, that
is the work itself." -Grazyna Bacewicz, 1964

-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
[mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Scott D. Smith
Sent: Friday, February 24, 2006 2:20 PM
To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Question re DuoDisc records

I just happened to have done a couple of these recently (cira 1942) I got 3
passes with various styli running at 1/2 speed before I began encountering
problems. I considered myself lucky!

They were both recorded under-speed (around 73 RPM, as best as I can 
determine),
and have significant rumble (although fairly quiet surface noise when using
a
stylus that rides towards the top of the groove wall).

Scott D. Smith

Chicago Audio Works, Inc.

Quoting David Lewis <davlew@xxxxxxxxxxxx>:

> Yes - I am familiar with DuoDiscs. These are cheaply made,
instantaneous-cut
> discs. The first "homemades" I ever owned were a pair of these given to me
> by a family friend thirty years ago. What the correspondent calls "vinyl"
is
> actually the lacquer coating on the outside of the aluminum center, and if
> it is already peeling there is little hope for it.
>
> This is a pity - Duodiscs have fairly quiet surfaces for homemades, but it
> appears most of the ones I see nowadays are on their way out - it appears
90
> per cent of them are flaking off. And these always seemed so durable,
unlike
> steel-base Carr-O-Tones and others which rust and usually prove unplayable
> anyway. As there are no established standards for handling these records,
it
> is hard to know what to do to preserve them. The standards may well arrive
> too late for most DuoDiscs.
>
> My advice - record the non-flaked-off portions at a very slow speed 2 or 3
> times, speed up the results and edit what's left together. You may get
> different grooves to play on different passes.
>
> David N. Lewis
> Assistant Classical Editor, All Music Guide
>
> "Contemporary composers, and at least a considerable number of them,
explain
> what system they used, in what way they arrived at something. I do not do
> that. I think that the matter of the way by which one arrived at something
> is, for the listeners, unimportant. What matters is the final result, that
> is the work itself." -Grazyna Bacewicz, 1964
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
> [mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Joel Ackerman
> Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2006 11:47 PM
> To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [ARSCLIST] Question re DuoDisc records
>
> Am asked the following question:
>
> Are you familiar with those "DuoDisc" type records?  They have an aluminum
> center (substrate) and a thin coat of vinyl (I think) on top of the
> aluminum.  I believe they are records people made home recordings on.
> Anyway I have two (or three) of them and the vinyl is peeling off the
> aluminum.  I was wondering if you knew anything about, perhaps, repairing
> the peel?
>
> Looking at photos, it appears that the vinyl is coming apart - cracking
and
> heading towards eventual peeling off,.
>
> Suggestions welcome.
>
> Joel Ackerman
>



Scott D. Smith

Chicago Audio Works, Inc.