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Re: [ARSCLIST] National Recording Preservation Board (NRPB) Study
Hi Mike:
Can you think of a large number of these examples? I can't. Almost any jazz tune put out on 78 after
the advent of the LP was put out on LP, and was probably recorded and/or mastered on tape. So the 78
is the worst-case example in that case. BUT BUT BUT, I notice a couple of obscure versions of Verve
cuts, versions made to 78 length, ended up on Mosaic anthologies transferred from the 78 because the
tape master was either tossed or lost. So perhaps I should say, better check and make sure there's
something better quality than the 78 before you consider it worthless. So, your point taken at least
part way.
Kiddie records and novelty things are another matter, but I question the historical value of most of
that stuff. I know they were still cutting kiddie records at 78 as late as 1960. A guy named Steve
Robb was the 78RPM ace at Fine Sound and Fine Recording. He also became expert at cutting super-loud
45RPM singles, which is what radio and jukebox operators wanted. He used an old Presto mono lathe,
and was still using it in 1967, but probably not cutting any more 78's. I think by then, a lot of
what was coming out of his room were radio-cut LPs (for instance, 10 public service ads per side
with stop-bands between cuts) and mono 45's.
-- Tom Fine
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Richter" <mrichter@xxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, May 15, 2006 7:10 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] National Recording Preservation Board (NRPB) Study
Tom Fine wrote:
Well, one question immediately comes to mind. Who CARES about 78's issued after the advent of
tape (1947-48), unless the tape master has been lost? Even if only a good-condition LP exists
(post-1948), it is almost guaranteed to sound better and have a wider frequency/dynamic range
than the 78. So I ask again, who cares about what's gotta be the vast majority of late-era 78's?
I mean, they might make a nice novelty, but they have little or no historical value since they're
a worst-case/obsolete-technology version of something.
I could not understand this post until I realized that it assumes that all 78s issued after 1947
or so were also published on LP. Not so in my experience. In addition, while a transfer to LP may
"sound better" in some sense, if the original issue was on 78 and the content is of value at all,
the 78 is the primary (available) source.
One may argue which source should be seen as primary when issues were concurrent in different
formats (LP/45, LP/open-reel, ...).
Finally, in cases where original tapes, metal parts or other earlier sources are available, they
may or may not be primary and may or may not be appropriate to archive in some fashion.
Mike
--
mrichter@xxxxxxx
http://www.mrichter.com/